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Check out his works!", "count": "16", "submission_left_submission_id": "464286", "submission_left_file_name": "601637_BillyPlats_swimteambio.rtf", "submission_right_submission_id": "389206", "submission_right_file_name": "500781_BillyPlats_billy_vs_the_fates.rtf" } ], "description": "Here is my latest work in the Billy series. This time, things take a different turn. I present to you: Battle For Earth.", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Here is my latest work in the Billy series.  This time, things take a different turn.  I present to you: Battle For Earth.", "writing": "[t][b][u][center]The Battle For Earth[/center][/u][/b][/t]\n\nOnce again, we check in on our platypus friend, known to all as Billy Plats, as he enjoys a weekend off. He finished all his homework early, nobody is expected to drop by, and he has no other previous engagements that he is unaware of. It's just him and free time for two days. He decided he was gonna use this time to start a new hobby. He had heard through a radio advertisement about a writing contest being sponsored by the local newspaper. The entries were to be short stories, and the one deemed best written by the editor of the paper would win one thousand dollars and a spot on the paper for the next year. Billy figured this competition to be a way to start a possible new hobby, if nothing else and he didn't win the money and the job. Friday at school, he couldn't help but to think of the different ways he could make an interesting story, and his schoolwork suffered due to it. Being a student getting great grades, he wasn't worried how badly his GPA would suffer for this one day of distraction. He spent the day dreaming up many possible stories, but one kept coming back to him time and time again. The plat decided that would be the one to write and enter. He even made himself a schedule, working all weekend on it, stopping only to sleep, snacking and eating as he wrote. Billy was ready to pour his heart and soul into the work he was about to do.\n\nThe process started Saturday. Billy had set his alarm for early in the morning, right as the sun was rising and showering the town with the golden glow of sunshine. As the clock clamored, the loud buzzing echoing through the room, Billy tossed the covers off him. He quickly shut the alarm off, drawing the room into dead silence, as he dashed out of the bedroom to his computer he kept in the living room. The plat was so excited that he hadn't even bothered to get dressed, not that he needed to as he wasn't expecting any visitors for the weekend. He sat himself down in the cheap leather chair he got on clearance from the local office supply store, booted up the computer, and simply relaxed. Billy wanted nothing to be forced, for everything to feel natural and to flow from his mind through his fingers onto the screen. After a deep breath, the plat put his fingers to his keys and started clicking away, tapping on the keys with furious strokes, and the words started to form what he was seeing in his mind.\n\nIt was a typical day in town, much like every other city. Birds were chirping, everybody was bustling about their daily lives, and nobody really had a care in the world, not that they would need one. They just went about their business, honking at each other when traffic slowed, ignoring one another, and just being the natural society of isolated loners that it typically was. Even when a mysterious figure who cloaked and masked himself stood in their presence did they not deviate from this course. Only when the stranger pulled out a .45 caliber revolver and shoot somebody at random did they take notice, and then they scurried about as they tried to save their lives. This made the unknown assailant chuckle with delight, knowing that they were acting like the insects he found them to be. The being undressed his disguise and revealed himself. Brown short fur, with black paws and a black bill. He looked normal, even though it was a weird normal, except for his eyes. Every inch of his eyes, the pupil to the iris, was black as night, and the only way you knew who or what he was looking at was if he told you, not that he would waste his breath finding you so much more insignificant. His name was Tilrodius Milana, general of the intergalactic army of the planet of Sypalupt, and he was on vacation. He decided to visit the puny planet of Earth for a little rest and relaxation, not that it would be very restful or relaxing for the planet he was visiting. Tilrodius looked at the body he had just slain and simply chuckled to himself.\n\n[i]If this is the best that these insects can muster, this will be a very fun shore leave.[/i]\n\nLittle did the alien visitor know, but there was one who would be called upon to stop him. A platypus, also brown in fur, that goes by his code name of 0011T, said aloud to be Double Oh Eleventy. His general field of work was espionage, but was able to handle himself in combat. With sharp wits and careful eye, however, he rarely needed to defend himself on his missions. The organization he worked for, the Global Reconnaissance Alliance, short-named GRA by many, was perhaps the most secretive yet the most lucrative collection of spies and thieves gathered from around the world, and 0011T was the top of the class. He himself was on shore leave, taking some time to himself after a successful mission of gathering some intel on the location of one of the world's most dangerous terrorists, when the call came in on his phone, which woke him from a nap he was taking on a white sandy beach in southern Australia. Grumbling loudly, the plat grabbed his phone and turned it on.\n\n\"Hello?\"\n\n\"Billy?\" the voice on the other end asked.\n\n\"Don't call me that. My name is Double Oh Eleventy now. Names can be traced. Aliases are nigh impossible to trace. Don't ever call me again using my real name.\"\n\n\"Ok. Sorry. But wait! This is important!\"\n\n\"Important enough to interrupt my long overdue vacation?\" Eleventy asked, heavy frustration on his voice.\n\n\"Yes. One of our thieves was in a town in North America when he witnessed something horrible. Somebody started opening fire on civilians about 20 minutes ago.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry... do I look like the police to you?\"\n\n\"Just listen! The being wasn't normal. He spoke in a weird language and had discolored eyes. We don't know who he's working for, but the police have come to us asking for help.\"\n\n\"And that's when you call me, huh? Get your top dog off vacation to infiltrate a new terrorist regime?\"\n\n\"We don't have that kind of time. We need you to move fast. We need you to find out where they call headquarters, find out who's calling the shots, and take him out.\"\n\nThe agent laughed at what he assumed was a joke. \"That's rich. You want me to go from espionage to wet work?\"\n\n\"You are the one who's most highly trained for this mission. If anybody can pull this off, it's you.\"\n\n\"Wait... you're not joking? You want me to be an assassin?\"\n\n\"You can say no if you want. We'll just tell them to use soldiers.\"\n\n\"Then do that. I'm on vacation.\"\n\nThe plat then clicked a button on his phone and tossed it down the beach, not wanting to be disturbed again on his time off. He knew that the world would still be there tomorrow and that the soldiers of North America could handle anything that one random terrorist could handle. Little did he know at the time how wrong he was, for in the town under attack, the populace was at Tilrodius' mercy, and he was showing none. If anybody so much as crossed eyes with the alien, he would pull the trigger on his Earth weapon and put a bullet right between the eyes of the unlucky victim. He wanted to have fun in his slaughter, but was a little disappointed in how easy it was to destroy the inferior race. It would take a few hours of chaos before he would get his first real sign of a counter-attack from the Earthlings. After only amassing a body count of 50 within four hours, mostly from finding the exercise a tad boring after the first 10 defenseless souls, he heard a thunderous roar and the ground beneath his feet tremble. He turned around to find the military of North America marching and rolling up on him in giant metal monstrosities, tanks and trucks and all sorts of metal weapons between them and him. The sight only made Tilrodius chuckle.\n\n\"So... the insects have metal toys? I guess it's time to show them MY toys.\"\n\nHe pulled a small plastic device from his pocket, rectangular in shape with one circle on top of the rectangle. With the device firmly in his paw and the button under his thumb, Tilrodius pressed down and almost broke out in hysterical laughter, unable to wait to see the unholy anarchy he was about to unleash onto the inferior planet. The soldiers paused in their tracks, waiting to see what weapon the attacker was unleashing. After a minute or so of waiting and wondering, they started their march again, unphased by the terrorist's display. Their advance was halted when one of their tanks suddenly exploded in a giant ball of flame and fragments of metal. Everybody stopped in their tracks and looked upon the spot where their weapon once was, trying to figure out what happened, when a figure emerged from the flame. The being climbed down from the wreckage, and away from the bright light of the pyre, and that's when everybody could get a good look at him. The creature looked like the terrorist in every way, except it glistened in the sun as the rays bounced off it's metal body.\n\n\"Now... my little robot slave. Destroy them all. Try not to get too much blood on you. Don't need you rusting on me. I doubt Earth has the materials to repair you.\"\n\nThe alien chuckled as he walked away from the battle, heading into a building down the street where he had set up his home away from home, leaving his minion to fight the army. Tilrodius, once inside, watched on from a window as his robot quickly took action, punching holes through soldiers as they fired upon him to no avail. Whatever material that couldn't be found on Earth the robot was made of, the massive hail of bullets being fired at it didn't so much as dent it, bouncing off as if they were shooting spitballs at it. The mechanical monster, unphased by such a weak attack, just started walking to the next soldier, much to the dismay of his owner, Tilrodius. The alien snarled as he watched his creation toying with the insects. As amusing as it was for him to do it, watching it was as much boring to him. He pulled the remote out of his pocket and flipped it over. On the back was a speaker system so that he could issue commands to the metal Syptaluptian warrior.\n\n\"DO NOT TOY WITH THEM! Destroy them! We must make an example of them here and now. If we let them live too long, this planet might get the idea to come back and try again.\"\n\nThe robot stopped in his tracks only long enough to hear the command in his head from his master, and then resumed terrorizing the poor souls in front of him. He no longer walked from soldier to soldier, but instead ran. The soldiers, much to their dismay, could not outrun the monstrosity. Whatever metal he was made out of, he was faster than even the trucks they drove to the battle in, which was made obviously clear when one of the soldiers started driving away and was quickly cut off by the robot. Holding the truck in place, the mechanical soldier started churning some gears until he turned his right arm into what looked to be a cannon. The Earth's army stood in awe, some of them in disbelief, as they watched their foe shoot a missle straight from his transformed arm into the engine of the truck, blowing it into scrap metal. Whether it was from desperation, or just trying to prolong the inevitable, a few of the remaining soldiers jumped into the only other tank they had brought and started to organize a last ditch effort attack on the alien machine. The turret spun around to target the robot in dizzying speed as they readied an explosive round. All the hopes and prayers of the soldiers, and the Earth itself, rested on the shell they were about to fire. With a few presses of buttons and a yank on a lever, the shell was shot, the round hitting the monster dead on, engulfing him in a massive fireball as debris flew in all directions from the spot. The military, victorious at last, celebrated being able to survive such a terrible onslaught as a few of the soldiers started to gather up the dead and a few others started to mourn the loss of their friends. As they finally started to relax, the fire in the distance burning the evil robot, they could hear some feint grinding. Without warning, another missile flew from the fireball and collided with the tank, the detonation strong enough to blast a hole in the thick armor and leaving the troops inside exposed. That's when they could see something emerge from the fire, yet again, and all their hopes sank as most of them fell in submission to their fate. The monster had not been destroyed. The robot walked forth from the flame, with only a few dents in him from the explosive shell, and was otherwise no worse for wear. The Earthlings looked at one another, tears in their eyes as they knew they were going to die and could not change it, and one decided to say one final prayer aloud for their group.\n\n\"God, save our souls. Deliver us unto heaven. And after we are gone from this Earth, please smite this unholy beast.\"\n\nMeanwhile, back on the sandy beaches of Australia, the GRA agent, oblivious to the new turn of events, is coming back up onto the shore from a relaxing dip in the ocean. As he stepped onto the white sand, he could hear some feint music. Curious, he followed the sound to the source, and groaned when he found it. It was the phone he had thrown away earlier, and it was ringing again. Eleventy didn't know whether to answer or to chuck the thing into the ocean to silence it for good. He was on vacation and he didn't want to be disturbed. He was certain he made that clear the first time, but with the phone ringing again, he figured he would have to answer and make sure they KNOW not to bother him again. Reluctantly, the platypus turned the phone on and pressed it lightly to his head.\n\n\"What?!? I'm still on vacation!\"\n\n\"It's gotten worse!\" the voice on the other end replied in panicked tone.\n\n\"What's gotten worse?\"\n\n\"The terrorist! He's built a robot that can't be destroyed! He used it to annihilate the army that was sent in to capture or kill the terrorist. There's nothing left of them.\"\n\nStunned and dismayed, the agent couldn't say anything. He felt remorse, having let those troops die when he could've taken action in the first place and all of their deaths could've been avoided. He closed his eyes, dropped is head, grit his teeth, and realized what needed to be done to prevent any more unnecessary deaths. Opening his eyes slowly in revelation, he opened his mouth to speak.\n\n\"Very well. My vacation is over.\"\n\n\"Damn right it is! Now, as soon as you get back in...\"\n\n\"I'm not coming in. I'm going straight to North America.\"\n\n\"Ok... I know you're our best agent, but you're not even thinking this through anymore. You need weapons, transportation, backup...\"\n\n\"You know I keep a nine mil on me at all times just in case I need to actually defend myself. I can steal a plane, and I'm not taking any backup. It'll be easier for me to sneak in, and keep everybody else safe, if it's just me entering the hot-zone. The last thing we need is to throw more innocent bodies at this guy's feet. I'll HALO jump in and make contact once I touch the ground. Well, better get to it.\"\n\nIt was at that point, back in the real world outside of the computer and Billy's imagination, that an alarm the platypus set for himself started to ring. It was amazing how much time Billy was able to chew up typing his entry, and the buzzing clock was proof. He set the alarm for himself so he could get away from his work and get to bed at a reasonable time so he wasn't up all night typing. The plat rolled his head, stretching out his neck, and then glanced over his document, proofreading and checking it while it was still fresh. As he skimmed, he really started to enjoy the building tension as the coming showdown of his Halloween costume aliases: Tilrodius, the Syptaluptian alien, and 0011T Billy Plats, the secret agent. Feeling satisfied, the platypus stood up from his computer, saving his work and shutting the machine down, and staggering to his bedroom. The glorious thing about not getting dressed in the morning was that he wouldn't have to get undressed at night, that he could just crawl into bed and let himself pass out, which is exactly what happened. As soon as the plat's head touched the pillow, the lights were out and weren't coming back on until the next morning. When the sun rose the next morning, Billy was wide awake when the rays hit his face. He was anxious and eager to finish the story, not only as the writer but from watching it go on in his mind. He threw the covers off him and climbed out of bed, quickly walking out of his room and back to his computer, repeating the same process as yesterday. As soon as the computer was ready, Billy started reading the last few lines of what he'd written the night before to get the story fresh in his mind once again. Once ready, the plat put his webbed fingers to the keys and began to let the story flow once more.\n\nThe city was ravaged. Buildings with holes and flames along the sides, bits of metal strewn about the streets, and dead bodies as far as the eye could see. Whoever this terrorist was, he wasn't pulling any stops. Eleventy almost couldn't bear the sight of it. He had seen some serious stuff in his line of work, but this was inhumane. To slaughter these poor souls without even giving it a second thought was just unforgivable. Which made him feel all that much worse, knowing that if he hadn't been so selfish about his vacation, he could've prevented some of these deaths. He looked away and tried to choke down any regrets and remorse he had for the time being. The time for that would come when the mastermind behind this evil plot was either in custody or not breathing. Once refocused on the task at hand, he grabbed his phone out of the bag he was carrying, as his sneaking suit was skin tight and had no pockets. He turned the device on on and dialed the number to contact his headquarters, like he'd promised to do upon touchdown. As the phone rang, waiting to be picked up, the spy let out a sigh, trying to get some of the negativity out of him so that he could more easily concentrate on his assignment.\n\n\"Is that you, 0011T?\" a voice on the other end asked once the ringing stopped.\n\n\"Yes. I've touched down. Didn't have to steal the plane. One of the pilots had a brother in this town and was willing to help put the evil son-of-a-bitch who did this down in any way he could. And I don't think I was seen on my way down, or else I would be under attack by now.\"\n\n\"Well, you know your orders already. You're to find whoever is responsible for the damage, interrogate him to find out who his leader is, then dispose of both the attacker and his leader, putting this terrorist regime to rest before it has a chance to launch another attack on another city somewhere else.\"\n\n\"Affirmative.\"\n\n\"Also, if you're able to, we need you to somehow deactivate the robot used in the attack and bring it in. We heard reports of it being shot with high explosive shells from a tank and walking away from it with only a couple of dents. This thing is light-years away from any research anybody has ever conducted, and we want to know what makes it tick. Ok?\"\n\n\"Only if you agree never to say 'light-years away' from anything again unless you mean a measurement of distance, not time.\"\n\n\"What?\" the voice questioned, somewhat annoyed by the comment.\n\n\"A light-year is a measurement of distance, not time. A lot of people make that mistake, but I still find it inexcusable. If you're gonna say anything about time, you should say eons or millennium.\"\n\n\"Are you done with the lesson, teacher? Or do I have to remind you that as you're sitting there giving me shit about using a word wrong that there is an evil bastard killing innocents and destroying towns.\"\n\nThat statement burned Eleventy's very soul. He hadn't forgotten. Seeing the bodies that lay around him as a fault of his own actions was a constant reminder about how he could've done more and how they needed not to die on that day, and that he started neglecting the survivors again so that he could correct somebody about improper grammar instead of saving them.\n\n\"No... you don't. Sorry. I'll save the lecture for when I get back then.\"\n\n\"Good, now get to it.\"\n\n\"Also, I'm going to maintain all forms of silence, both radio and phone, for 48 hours. If you don't hear from me within that window, I'm dead and you should send another team in to dispatch my murderer.\"\n\n\"Understood. Oh... and good luck... Billy.\"\n\n\"It's 0011T. And thank you.\"\n\nThe plat pressed a button and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He had no idea where to start looking for the terrorist, especially amongst the piles of rubble and corpses, but a safe bet would be that if he saw destruction, the evil bastard was not there. He started to walk the streets of the city, looking for parts of it that were untouched by the chaos around it, knowing that would be one of the areas that his foe would strike next.\n\nMeanwhile, a few blocks away, the alien mastermind behind all the destruction sat in the same room he had run to when the military first showed up, looking at his mechanical fighter. He grinned with delight knowing that nothing the Earth could cook up could do no worse than denting his creation, which amused him more knowing that this particular model was mass produced to be cannon fodder against other planets. This soldier wasn't very durable against many of the weapons the rest of the galaxy had, and thousands of them would be needed to assist a takeover, yet these Earthlings couldn't even destroy ONE of them. He knew this was going to be easy, but he didn't realize just how easy it was going to be until he saw his robot in action.\n\n\"I tell ya, I really picked the right planet to take over while on vacation, my little creation. These Earthlings are so primitive, it's almost embarrassing. Yet they believe themselves top being in existence. If only they knew that outside their solar system laid planets with much more advanced beings, both physically and technologically. If these Earthlings had any idea, they would just blow their own planet up and save the warrior planets the trouble of having to do it.\"\n\nThe machine just stood there silently, listening as his master started his monologue. The mechanical Syptaluptians were not given any form of vocal expression. Soldiers designed to be destroyed and used as distractions did not need to speak. It was at that moment that Tilrodius remembered he was talking to one instead of one of his fellow Syptaluptians.\n\n\"Oh... that's right. I'm pretty much talking to a wall. You can't talk back, not that I want you to anyway. Thought it would be nice to hear somebody else who was enjoying my work. Oh well, I'm having fun and that's the point of a vacation, is it not? Well, maybe too much fun. I did blow through this town rather quickly. Oh well, lesson learned. Now that I know the Earthlings won't put up any fight, I can take my time and savor their agony as they learn their place in the universe. We should probably move on to a new city though. This one is in ruins already, and anybody who didn't hide in the initial attack is dead.\"\n\nTilrodius knew not how wrong he was, as the assassin sent in to take care of him was carefully walking down the streets of the destroyed city. The platypus looked around, trying to find any sign of the attacker in the one small area that had not been ravaged, but to no avail. Just as Eleventy was about to give up hope, he looked to the sky for some inspiration, and out of the corner of his eye saw a figure in a building. This was a fortunate turn of events to say the least for the spy, but he didn't let himself forget that the figure is only half of the equation. Eleventy still had to keep an eye out for the metal accomplice, and try to shut it down if at all possible. Getting sloppy and careless now would mean certain death, if all the bodies laying around him were any indication. With cautious approach, the spy walked to the doors of the building and stepped inside, preparing himself for the climb up to the top floor.\n\nBack up in the room where he was resting, Tilrodius got a sudden strange feeling about him. He was thankful for his Syptaluptian senses, which allowed him to hear and smell far greater than your average Earthling, and then his body tingled whenever anybody made any movements within a certain range. He recognized his early warning self-defense system and suddenly chuckled to his robot.\n\n\"So, somebody still lives and is brave enough to try and take me on? I guess them watching me take out their army wasn't enough to show how foolish an endeavor this is. Machine... go stand guard outside. Kill any Earthling that comes up those stairs. I think I'm gonna lay down for a nap.\"\n\nThe alien laid himself down on a ramshackle couch that was resting in the room, waiting for his robot to take it's leave before closing his eyes. Without a thought for itself, the machine walked into the hall and simply stood there, keeping lookout for the intruder his master was worried about.\n\nThe stairs were no challenge for the fit and agile spy as he made his ascension. As he neared the top of the flight, Eleventy spotted a figure outside one of the doors. He crouched down and peeked over the final set of stairs at the mysterious being, trying to figure everything out, which didn't take long. The shiny complexion and the absent look showed the beast for what it was right away.\n\n[i]Shit... it's the robot. It's standing guard! So shutting it down is no longer optional. I don't think I can sneak around it without having to scale up the building, and I don't have time to do that. Shit!!!![/i]\n\nWhile the spy was lost in his train of thought, the Syptaluptian robot had seen the intruder. His blank gaze had fixated on the stranger as his processor tried to determine if the being was friend or foe. Unable to speak, the metal guard pointed to Eleventy and gestured for him to approach. Without any choice in the matter, the assassin finished climbing the stairs and walked to the machine. The agent couldn't help but think of how much trouble he was in, when all of a sudden the robot stepped aside, allowing entry. Confused, Eleventy walked past the guard into the room, where he quickly noticed the terrorist at rest. The plat noticed right away that the town's assailant and himself shared a similar appearance, but quickly shrugged it off, trying not to let trivial things distract him. As he slowly tip-toed up to the slumbering terrorist, Eleventy almost laughed out loud at how easy everything truly was.\n\n[i]If only every mission were THIS simple...[/i]\n\nThe plat took his eyes off his target as he set the bag he'd been carrying down long enough to grab his most trusted gun, a Colt Commander. In the time it took for him to reach inside to grab the firearm and turn back to his target, the terrorist had disappeared, moved from the position that Eleventy had assumed he was sleeping. Before he could even get another breath out, he felt a great force collide with the back of his head and the room grow instantly dark. Standing over the now unconscious assassin, Tilrodius, his arm held in the air where it made contact with the intruder, looked down and grinned. It amused him how easily the foolish being had dropped his guard. Knowing he may not get a second chance, the alien grabbed the Earthling's bag, dumping the items onto the floor, and tossing whatever he couldn't use out the window. From all of the possessions brought in, Tilrodius decided to keep some rope the intruder had brought with him, and scrapped everything else. Grabbing the remote from his pocket, the alien had summoned his metal minion back into the room to assist him with some new fun. If there was anything that General Milana enjoyed better than causing death, it was torture and interrogation, and he was about to get his fill of it off the brave soul. He had commanded his robot to sit their newest foe onto a chair that was in the room and hold him long enough so that Tilrodius could tie him up with his own rope. Once secured, the Syptaluptian general decided to take a good look at the foolish Earthling. He walked around to the front of the chair, and was shocked by the sight, the assassin looked like one of his own race. Unable to bear the mystery any longer, Tilrodius slapped the Earthling awake. As the intruder winced and grimaced, the Syptaluptian invader grinned at how much fun he was actually having. With how easily the insects died earlier, he didn't get a decent chance to enjoy his time. Now, however, he could take nice and slow and squeeze every scream and plea for mercy out of the assassin. The Earthling quickly stopped wincing and looked at his captor.\n\n\"Good. You're awake,\" Tilrodius started the interrogation bluntly. \"I gotta thank you for bringing this rope with you. When I left my home it never occurred to me that I might need some sort of containment measure.\"\n\n\"Yeah yeah... bite me...\" the spy answered in disgust at the terrorist's mocking words.\n\n\"Ew... no. You... insects... taste horrible. And there is not enough preparation or additives in existance to make you taste any better. Besides, I just had a snack and I'd like to keep it down.\"\n\n\"Are you done yet? My time is important to me and I'd like to get this little interrogation over with so I can get back to killing you.\"\n\n\"It seems this insect has the ability to tell jokes. You? Kill me? Do you realize how insignificant you are?\"\n\n\"No, but I imagine you're going to tell me,\" Eleventy said bluntly with a half chuckle. His plan was working almost too perfectly, as if the villain that had him tied up had never seen a film before. The overly cliched mistake that every villain in almost every movie ever made was being made here and now: the monologue. Whenever a villain gets the upper-hand in every Hollywood classic, he starts this speech, which is a little too well rehearsed and prepared for an on the spot monologue, which gives the hero enough time to recover from an injury or to find something he can use to defeat the bad guy. Here, Eleventy was hoping to trick the terrorist into the monologue so that he had enough time to use one of his short but sharp claws to cut through the ropes.\n\n\"I could, but that's just wasted breath. Besides, this isn't about me or how little of a challenge you provide. This is about you. I killed every Earthling here. So that means you came from somewhere else. Where?\"\n\n\"I was sent in to stop you. You said Earthling? Do you feel you don't belong here just because your a platypus?\"\n\n\"A... platypus?\" Tilrodius asked, confused by the word. \"What is that?\"\n\n\"What you are, and what I am. Did you hit your head as a child or something?\" the spy replied with a laugh.\n\n\"Foolish Earthling. I am no platypus. I don't know how there came to be beings that look like our mighty race, but I assure you, the only thing we share is the similarity in looks.\"\n\n\"YOUR race?\"\n\n\"Yes. While you do look like us, your ignorance of us is not surprising. You Earthlings care not to explore what lies beyond your own galaxy. Nor do I blame you. If you knew what lay out beyond your little backwater planet, you'd surrender yourselves as slaves to any one of our races immediately.\"\n\n\"So... you're trying to say you're an alien?\" the spy asked with raised eyebrow, his claw behind him swiping furiously at the ropes that bound him.\n\n\"Alien to your planet, yes. But to me, you Earthlings are the 'aliens'. I prefer foriegn race. But I digress. I am not from this little rock, to which I am glad. I come from the planet Syptalupt, home of technologies and fighters far superior to anything you have here on this mud-ball.\"\n\n\"Fuck you asshole. This is my home you're talking about. And if you're so advanced, how did I walk right past your guard robot?\" Eleventy snapped back at the foreign intruder.\n\n\"Ah yes... my minion. He is not without flaw, as it seems. It undoubtedly mistook you for one of my subordinates.\"\n\nWith those words, Eleventy couldn't help but grin. Now he knew the robot was no threat. If it came down to a mano-a-mano fight, the spy liked his chances against the alien. Capturing the metal menace was made that much easier, as well, since he wouldn't have to fight it or have to shut it down, that it would just follow him wherever he went without question. The plan started to come together in his mind, and just in time too as the ropes were starting to part and he could feel the amount of fiber between him and his claw getting smaller. It was only a matter of moments now before Eleventy could launch his attack on Tilrodius. The only thing missing from his perfect plan, however, was whether to capture the alien for investigation and studies, or to just kill him and send any buddies he had back on his home planet a message not to try anything on Earth ever again. Just as he was about to make his decision, TIlrodius threw a monkey wrench into the situation when he pulled out his remote for the robot.\n\n\"What is that?\" the bound spy questioned.\n\n\"This? This is your demise. One press of this button and your existence is nothing but a memory. This has been fun, but you've got no information that I can use. I was going to torture you, but it seems to me that the longer you live, the more trouble you're going to be. I'll just have to find your superiors and take my time with them.\"\n\nThis was it! It was now or never for Earth's last hope. Realizing he wasn't going to get any more time, Eleventy tried to force his arms apart. The rope holding him prisoner stretched for a moment, and when the spy thought it wasn't enough, the ropes snapped and freed the trapped soul. Without hesitation or second though, the platypus jumped from the chair and tackled his captor, pinning him to the ground and knocking the remote controller out of his paw. The two started rolling around the floor, trying to get an advantage over the other with their weight as their fists were sent time after time into one another. The blows were exchanged evenly as the two foes pummeled each other relentlessly, trying to beat a submission out of one another. Just as Eleventy finally got Tilrodius pinned and unable to move him off, the alien intruder threw his leg up into the middle of the Earthling's back and knocked him forward. The two quickly scrambled up to their feet, standing and staring at one another, trying to figure out a way to victory. They were so evenly matched that the brawl seemed like it would last indefinitely. Tilrodius quickly came to this realization and decided to turn the tide in his favor. The alien reached behind his back to the .45 caliber revolver he had hanging by the belt of his clothes and pulled it to in front of him, bringing it to his eye level to aim down the sights on the top instantly. He grinned as he had the annoying Earthling pinned behind the barrel of the weapon.\n\n\"You're a pretty good fighter for an inferior Earthling.\"\n\n\"What're you doing with a gun?\" Eleventy asked with a disgusted snarl.\n\n\"This thing? Well, you see, I'm on vacation. So I'm enjoying myself.\"\n\n\"I mean why not any of your own weapons?\"\n\n\"What do you think that minion standing there is? Ah, but enough cat and mouse with these questions. To answer your question, it's research. To see what your weapons are capable of. I gotta say, for savages, you've developed some pretty nice kids' toys here.\"\n\nThe spy shook his head in frustration and disgust, unable to believe that he was about to be shot to death and upset about it at the same time. While he shook his head, Eleventy noticed that he was just a few steps from the remote control that was dropped by Tilrodius during the fight. This was going to be the ultimate test of the spy's will to survive now. He had to dive for the remote and hit the button to command it while avoiding the alien's shots. If he moved too slow, he was going to be killed, and if he moved too fast, Tilrodius would surely notice the ultimate objective. The pressure weighed heavily on the spy as he tried to figure out the most opportune time to dive.\n\n\"So if we're so much inferior to you, as you say we are, why are you even bothering with us? Why not just leave us alone?\"\n\n\"Simply, I'm on vacation. There's no backup coming. As far as they know, I'm relaxing on Vamulia's beaches. But that's boring. Let me tell you, being a warrior, there is no bigger thrill than conquest and murder. So I decided to take this planet over on my own and enjoy myself instead of sitting somewhere bored.\"\n\n\"Well, there's one thing you failed to think of,\" Eleventy retorted.\n\n\"Oh? And what's that?\"\n\nThat was the moment. It was now or never. Eleventy was going to use this one second's lapse in focus from Tilrodius to make his move.\n\n\"That I'd be the one to kill you.\"\n\nWith every ounce of will in him, the assassin dove from his feet toward the plastic remote laying just a few feet away from both himself and the alien foe. Tilrodius, caught off guard and not expecting this sudden move, quickly fired the gun he was holding. The shot was true, but Tilrodius' aim was not as his target had moved and the trigger was pulled on reflex. What should have been a fatal shot just seconds ago was just a simple grazing of the Earthling's abdomen. The spy winced in pain as he landed to the ground, reaching out and grabbing the plastic rectangle he was aiming to snag. Without hesitation, he pressed the button and looked at the robot.\n\n\"KILL TILRODIUS!\"\n\nTilrodius' eyes widened in fear as he looked to his minion. He hadn't expected the insect to be smart enough to use his weapon against him.\n\n\"Don't listen to him! He's an Earthling! I'm your master! I'm Syptaluptian! KILL HIM!\"\n\nThe mechanical monster wasn't listening though. While he did listen to verbal commands, those made with the remote were a higher priority in his programming, which meant that he was under Eleventy's control. The metal menace slowly approached his former commander, his blank stare and lifeless eyes fixated on the now terrified Syptaluptian. Without any way to shut it down nor any weapons that can damage it, Tilrodius was at the mercy of his former minion, awaiting whatever fate was coming. Deciding not to let his last moments be him cowering, he decided to use the time, and his last breath, to issue a threat to his foe.\n\n\"You may kill me, but there will be more coming. I will be avenged by my people, and you will rue the day you messed with Sypalupt.\"\n\n\"Don't worry. If, or when, they come, we'll be ready. Your people will not take the life of another one of ours, mark my words.\"\n\nWith the last threats made to one another, the robot, still under the command of Eleventy, threw the side of his metal hand across the neck of Tilrodius. The force was just great enough to break the alien's neck, his limp body falling to the floor lifelessly. Once his mission was complete, the robot stood still again, feeling nothing of the murder he'd just committed. Eleventy collapsed to the floor, exhausted by the day and relieved to still be alive. He wanted to celebrate his victory, but he couldn't. Not only was his mission not over as long as the robot was not in GRA custody, but he would never let himself forgive himself for the lives lost in the days prior. Had he not been so selfish, thousands of innocent lives would not have been lost to the maniacal alien and his weapons. The only thing he can do is to try and learn to cope with the pain of their loss. After taking a few moments to regroup, the spy, using the remote, made the alien machine follow him to the streets outside where he collected his supplies. Once everything was gathered back up, including his Colt Commander, he dialed his phone to HQ requesting pick up. In the weeks of aftermath following the attack, the robot was studied carefully by GRA scientists, who determined they were unable to reproduce the machine, but would still be able to control it with the remote, making it a valuable ally and weapon for any and all platypus members of the organization. As for the cleanup of the attack, the incident was deemed a terrorist action and that the military had killed the mastermind. The GRA and Eleventy were erased from the records of Tilrodius' invasion, as well as the fact that the intruder was an alien. The Syptalupts, never knowing where Tilrodius had disappeared to while on leave, never sought his revenge on Earth. As far as they knew, Tilrodius had gone AWOL and was to be executed if ever found. The Earth would know peace for many years to come.\n\nBilly was happy with his entry into the competition. After saving it and proofreading it for any typing and grammatical errors, the plat printed the story out onto paper and tucked it aside his computer for safe keeping until the following morning. Realizing it was late, Billy walked back to his room after powering down his machine and crawled into bed, letting himself fall into slumber. The next morning, after going through his daily weekday routine of getting ready for school, he grabbed his story and walked out the door. The plat dropped his entry off at the newspaper building before going to school, and it was everything he could do to wait to hear the results. A week had passed before he heard any more of it. They published the results in the paper, which he made sure to buy that day to see if he had one. It wasn't much of a surprised to him, but he was still disappointed when his entry didn't win. Billy didn't let that get him down though. He enjoyed writing the story, and had found a new hobby to pursue. He hoped that one day, he would make a story that everybody would love and want to read.", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
The Battle For Earth


Once again, we check in on our platypus friend, known to all as Billy Plats, as he enjoys a weekend off.  He finished all his homework early, nobody is expected to drop by, and he has no other previous engagements that he is unaware of.  It's just him and free time for two days.  He decided he was gonna use this time to start a new hobby.  He had heard through a radio advertisement about a writing contest being sponsored by the local newspaper.  The entries were to be short stories, and the one deemed best written by the editor of the paper would win one thousand dollars and a spot on the paper for the next year.  Billy figured this competition to be a way to start a possible new hobby, if nothing else and he didn't win the money and the job.  Friday at school, he couldn't help but to think of the different ways he could make an interesting story, and his schoolwork suffered due to it.  Being a student getting great grades, he wasn't worried how badly his GPA would suffer for this one day of distraction.  He spent the day dreaming up many possible stories, but one kept coming back to him time and time again.  The plat decided that would be the one to write and enter.  He even made himself a schedule, working all weekend on it, stopping only to sleep, snacking and eating as he wrote.  Billy was ready to pour his heart and soul into the work he was about to do.

The process started Saturday.  Billy had set his alarm for early in the morning, right as the sun was rising and showering the town with the golden glow of sunshine.  As the clock clamored, the loud buzzing echoing through the room, Billy tossed the covers off him.  He quickly shut the alarm off, drawing the room into dead silence, as he dashed out of the bedroom to his computer he kept in the living room.  The plat was so excited that he hadn't even bothered to get dressed, not that he needed to as he wasn't expecting any visitors for the weekend.  He sat himself down in the cheap leather chair he got on clearance from the local office supply store, booted up the computer, and simply relaxed.  Billy wanted nothing to be forced, for everything to feel natural and to flow from his mind through his fingers onto the screen.  After a deep breath, the plat put his fingers to his keys and started clicking away, tapping on the keys with furious strokes, and the words started to form what he was seeing in his mind.

It was a typical day in town, much like every other city.  Birds were chirping, everybody was bustling about their daily lives, and nobody really had a care in the world, not that they would need one.  They just went about their business, honking at each other when traffic slowed, ignoring one another, and just being the natural society of isolated loners that it typically was.  Even when a mysterious figure who cloaked and masked himself stood in their presence did they not deviate from this course.  Only when the stranger pulled out a .45 caliber revolver and shoot somebody at random did they take notice, and then they scurried about as they tried to save their lives.  This made the unknown assailant chuckle with delight, knowing that they were acting like the insects he found them to be.  The being undressed his disguise and revealed himself.  Brown short fur, with black paws and a black bill.  He looked normal, even though it was a weird normal, except for his eyes.  Every inch of his eyes, the pupil to the iris, was black as night, and the only way you knew who or what he was looking at was if he told you, not that he would waste his breath finding you so much more insignificant.  His name was Tilrodius Milana, general of the intergalactic army of the planet of Sypalupt, and he was on vacation.  He decided to visit the puny planet of Earth for a little rest and relaxation, not that it would be very restful or relaxing for the planet he was visiting.  Tilrodius looked at the body he had just slain and simply chuckled to himself.

If this is the best that these insects can muster, this will be a very fun shore leave.

Little did the alien visitor know, but there was one who would be called upon to stop him.  A platypus, also brown in fur, that goes by his code name of 0011T, said aloud to be Double Oh Eleventy.  His general field of work was espionage, but was able to handle himself in combat.  With sharp wits and careful eye, however, he rarely needed to defend himself on his missions.  The organization he worked for, the Global Reconnaissance Alliance, short-named GRA by many, was perhaps the most secretive yet the most lucrative collection of spies and thieves gathered from around the world, and 0011T was the top of the class.  He himself was on shore leave, taking some time to himself after a successful mission of gathering some intel on the location of one of the world's most dangerous terrorists, when the call came in on his phone, which woke him from a nap he was taking on a white sandy beach in southern Australia.  Grumbling loudly, the plat grabbed his phone and turned it on.

"Hello?"

"Billy?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Don't call me that.  My name is Double Oh Eleventy now.  Names can be traced.  Aliases are nigh impossible to trace.  Don't ever call me again using my real name."

"Ok.  Sorry.  But wait!  This is important!"

"Important enough to interrupt my long overdue vacation?" Eleventy asked, heavy frustration on his voice.

"Yes.  One of our thieves was in a town in North America when he witnessed something horrible.  Somebody started opening fire on civilians about 20 minutes ago."

"I'm sorry... do I look like the police to you?"

"Just listen!  The being wasn't normal.  He spoke in a weird language and had discolored eyes.  We don't know who he's working for, but the police have come to us asking for help."

"And that's when you call me, huh?  Get your top dog off vacation to infiltrate a new terrorist regime?"

"We don't have that kind of time.  We need you to move fast.  We need you to find out where they call headquarters, find out who's calling the shots, and take him out."

The agent laughed at what he assumed was a joke.  "That's rich.  You want me to go from espionage to wet work?"

"You are the one who's most highly trained for this mission.  If anybody can pull this off, it's you."

"Wait... you're not joking?  You want me to be an assassin?"

"You can say no if you want.  We'll just tell them to use soldiers."

"Then do that.  I'm on vacation."

The plat then clicked a button on his phone and tossed it down the beach, not wanting to be disturbed again on his time off.  He knew that the world would still be there tomorrow and that the soldiers of North America could handle anything that one random terrorist could handle.  Little did he know at the time how wrong he was, for in the town under attack, the populace was at Tilrodius' mercy, and he was showing none.  If anybody so much as crossed eyes with the alien, he would pull the trigger on his Earth weapon and put a bullet right between the eyes of the unlucky victim.  He wanted to have fun in his slaughter, but was a little disappointed in how easy it was to destroy the inferior race.  It would take a few hours of chaos before he would get his first real sign of a counter-attack from the Earthlings.  After only amassing a body count of 50 within four hours, mostly from finding the exercise a tad boring after the first 10 defenseless souls, he heard a thunderous roar and the ground beneath his feet tremble.  He turned around to find the military of North America marching and rolling up on him in giant metal monstrosities, tanks and trucks and all sorts of metal weapons between them and him.  The sight only made Tilrodius chuckle.

"So... the insects have metal toys?  I guess it's time to show them MY toys."

He pulled a small plastic device from his pocket, rectangular in shape with one circle on top of the rectangle.  With the device firmly in his paw and the button under his thumb, Tilrodius pressed down and almost broke out in hysterical laughter, unable to wait to see the unholy anarchy he was about to unleash onto the inferior planet.  The soldiers paused in their tracks, waiting to see what weapon the attacker was unleashing.  After a minute or so of waiting and wondering, they started their march again, unphased by the terrorist's display.  Their advance was halted when one of their tanks suddenly exploded in a giant ball of flame and fragments of metal.  Everybody stopped in their tracks and looked upon the spot where their weapon once was, trying to figure out what happened, when a figure emerged from the flame.  The being climbed down from the wreckage, and away from the bright light of the pyre, and that's when everybody could get a good look at him.  The creature looked like the terrorist in every way, except it glistened in the sun as the rays bounced off it's metal body.

"Now... my little robot slave.  Destroy them all.  Try not to get too much blood on you.  Don't need you rusting on me.  I doubt Earth has the materials to repair you."

The alien chuckled as he walked away from the battle, heading into a building down the street where he had set up his home away from home, leaving his minion to fight the army.  Tilrodius, once inside, watched on from a window as his robot quickly took action, punching holes through soldiers as they fired upon him to no avail.  Whatever material that couldn't be found on Earth the robot was made of, the massive hail of bullets being fired at it didn't so much as dent it, bouncing off as if they were shooting spitballs at it.  The mechanical monster, unphased by such a weak attack, just started walking to the next soldier, much to the dismay of his owner, Tilrodius.  The alien snarled as he watched his creation toying with the insects.  As amusing as it was for him to do it, watching it was as much boring to him.  He pulled the remote out of his pocket and flipped it over.  On the back was a speaker system so that he could issue commands to the metal Syptaluptian warrior.

"DO NOT TOY WITH THEM!  Destroy them!  We must make an example of them here and now.  If we let them live too long, this planet might get the idea to come back and try again."

The robot stopped in his tracks only long enough to hear the command in his head from his master, and then resumed terrorizing the poor souls in front of him.  He no longer walked from soldier to soldier, but instead ran.  The soldiers, much to their dismay, could not outrun the monstrosity.  Whatever metal he was made out of, he was faster than even the trucks they drove to the battle in, which was made obviously clear when one of the soldiers started driving away and was quickly cut off by the robot.  Holding the truck in place, the mechanical soldier started churning some gears until he turned his right arm into what looked to be a cannon.  The Earth's army stood in awe, some of them in disbelief, as they watched their foe shoot a missle straight from his transformed arm into the engine of the truck, blowing it into scrap metal.  Whether it was from desperation, or just trying to prolong the inevitable, a few of the remaining soldiers jumped into the only other tank they had brought and started to organize a last ditch effort attack on the alien machine.  The turret spun around to target the robot in dizzying speed as they readied an explosive round.  All the hopes and prayers of the soldiers, and the Earth itself, rested on the shell they were about to fire.  With a few presses of buttons and a yank on a lever, the shell was shot, the round hitting the monster dead on, engulfing him in a massive fireball as debris flew in all directions from the spot.  The military, victorious at last, celebrated being able to survive such a terrible onslaught as a few of the soldiers started to gather up the dead and a few others started to mourn the loss of their friends.  As they finally started to relax, the fire in the distance burning the evil robot, they could hear some feint grinding.  Without warning, another missile flew from the fireball and collided with the tank, the detonation strong enough to blast a hole in the thick armor and leaving the troops inside exposed.  That's when they could see something emerge from the fire, yet again, and all their hopes sank as most of them fell in submission to their fate.  The monster had not been destroyed.  The robot walked forth from the flame, with only a few dents in him from the explosive shell, and was otherwise no worse for wear.  The Earthlings looked at one another, tears in their eyes as they knew they were going to die and could not change it, and one decided to say one final prayer aloud for their group.

"God, save our souls.  Deliver us unto heaven.  And after we are gone from this Earth, please smite this unholy beast."

Meanwhile, back on the sandy beaches of Australia, the GRA agent, oblivious to the new turn of events, is coming back up onto the shore from a relaxing dip in the ocean.  As he stepped onto the white sand, he could hear some feint music.  Curious, he followed the sound to the source, and groaned when he found it.  It was the phone he had thrown away earlier, and it was ringing again.  Eleventy didn't know whether to answer or to chuck the thing into the ocean to silence it for good.  He was on vacation and he didn't want to be disturbed.  He was certain he made that clear the first time, but with the phone ringing again, he figured he would have to answer and make sure they KNOW not to bother him again.  Reluctantly, the platypus turned the phone on and pressed it lightly to his head.

"What?!?  I'm still on vacation!"

"It's gotten worse!" the voice on the other end replied in panicked tone.

"What's gotten worse?"

"The terrorist!  He's built a robot that can't be destroyed!  He used it to annihilate the army that was sent in to capture or kill the terrorist.  There's nothing left of them."

Stunned and dismayed, the agent couldn't say anything.  He felt remorse, having let those troops die when he could've taken action in the first place and all of their deaths could've been avoided.  He closed his eyes, dropped is head, grit his teeth, and realized what needed to be done to prevent any more unnecessary deaths.  Opening his eyes slowly in revelation, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Very well.  My vacation is over."

"Damn right it is!  Now, as soon as you get back in..."

"I'm not coming in.  I'm going straight to North America."

"Ok... I know you're our best agent, but you're not even thinking this through anymore.  You need weapons, transportation, backup..."

"You know I keep a nine mil on me at all times just in case I need to actually defend myself.  I can steal a plane, and I'm not taking any backup.  It'll be easier for me to sneak in, and keep everybody else safe, if it's just me entering the hot-zone.  The last thing we need is to throw more innocent bodies at this guy's feet.  I'll HALO jump in and make contact once I touch the ground.  Well, better get to it."

It was at that point, back in the real world outside of the computer and Billy's imagination, that an alarm the platypus set for himself started to ring.  It was amazing how much time Billy was able to chew up typing his entry, and the buzzing clock was proof.  He set the alarm for himself so he could get away from his work and get to bed at a reasonable time so he wasn't up all night typing.  The plat rolled his head, stretching out his neck, and then glanced over his document, proofreading and checking it while it was still fresh.  As he skimmed, he really started to enjoy the building tension as the coming showdown of his Halloween costume aliases: Tilrodius, the Syptaluptian alien, and 0011T Billy Plats, the secret agent.  Feeling satisfied, the platypus stood up from his computer, saving his work and shutting the machine down, and staggering to his bedroom.  The glorious thing about not getting dressed in the morning was that he wouldn't have to get undressed at night, that he could just crawl into bed and let himself pass out, which is exactly what happened.  As soon as the plat's head touched the pillow, the lights were out and weren't coming back on until the next morning.  When the sun rose the next morning, Billy was wide awake when the rays hit his face.  He was anxious and eager to finish the story, not only as the writer but from watching it go on in his mind.  He threw the covers off him and climbed out of bed, quickly walking out of his room and back to his computer, repeating the same process as yesterday.  As soon as the computer was ready, Billy started reading the last few lines of what he'd written the night before to get the story fresh in his mind once again.  Once ready, the plat put his webbed fingers to the keys and began to let the story flow once more.

The city was ravaged.  Buildings with holes and flames along the sides, bits of metal strewn about the streets, and dead bodies as far as the eye could see.  Whoever this terrorist was, he wasn't pulling any stops.  Eleventy almost couldn't bear the sight of it.  He had seen some serious stuff in his line of work, but this was inhumane.  To slaughter these poor souls without even giving it a second thought was just unforgivable.  Which made him feel all that much worse, knowing that if he hadn't been so selfish about his vacation, he could've prevented some of these deaths.  He looked away and tried to choke down any regrets and remorse he had for the time being.  The time for that would come when the mastermind behind this evil plot was either in custody or not breathing.  Once refocused on the task at hand, he grabbed his phone out of the bag he was carrying, as his sneaking suit was skin tight and had no pockets.  He turned the device on on and dialed the number to contact his headquarters, like he'd promised to do upon touchdown.  As the phone rang, waiting to be picked up, the spy let out a sigh, trying to get some of the negativity out of him so that he could more easily concentrate on his assignment.

"Is that you, 0011T?" a voice on the other end asked once the ringing stopped.

"Yes.  I've touched down.  Didn't have to steal the plane.  One of the pilots had a brother in this town and was willing to help put the evil son-of-a-bitch who did this down in any way he could.  And I don't think I was seen on my way down, or else I would be under attack by now."

"Well, you know your orders already.  You're to find whoever is responsible for the damage, interrogate him to find out who his leader is, then dispose of both the attacker and his leader, putting this terrorist regime to rest before it has a chance to launch another attack on another city somewhere else."

"Affirmative."

"Also, if you're able to, we need you to somehow deactivate the robot used in the attack and bring it in.  We heard reports of it being shot with high explosive shells from a tank and walking away from it with only a couple of dents.  This thing is light-years away from any research anybody has ever conducted, and we want to know what makes it tick.  Ok?"

"Only if you agree never to say 'light-years away' from anything again unless you mean a measurement of distance, not time."

"What?" the voice questioned, somewhat annoyed by the comment.

"A light-year is a measurement of distance, not time.  A lot of people make that mistake, but I still find it inexcusable.  If you're gonna say anything about time, you should say eons or millennium."

"Are you done with the lesson, teacher?  Or do I have to remind you that as you're sitting there giving me shit about using a word wrong that there is an evil bastard killing innocents and destroying towns."

That statement burned Eleventy's very soul.  He hadn't forgotten.  Seeing the bodies that lay around him as a fault of his own actions was a constant reminder about how he could've done more and how they needed not to die on that day, and that he started neglecting the survivors again so that he could correct somebody about improper grammar instead of saving them.

"No... you don't.  Sorry.  I'll save the lecture for when I get back then."

"Good, now get to it."

"Also, I'm going to maintain all forms of silence, both radio and phone, for 48 hours.  If you don't hear from me within that window, I'm dead and you should send another team in to dispatch my murderer."

"Understood.  Oh... and good luck... Billy."

"It's 0011T.  And thank you."

The plat pressed a button and shoved his phone back into his pocket.  He had no idea where to start looking for the terrorist, especially amongst the piles of rubble and corpses, but a safe bet would be that if he saw destruction, the evil bastard was not there.  He started to walk the streets of the city, looking for parts of it that were untouched by the chaos around it, knowing that would be one of the areas that his foe would strike next.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, the alien mastermind behind all the destruction sat in the same room he had run to when the military first showed up, looking at his mechanical fighter.  He grinned with delight knowing that nothing the Earth could cook up could do no worse than denting his creation, which amused him more knowing that this particular model was mass produced to be cannon fodder against other planets.  This soldier wasn't very durable against many of the weapons the rest of the galaxy had, and thousands of them would be needed to assist a takeover, yet these Earthlings couldn't even destroy ONE of them.  He knew this was going to be easy, but he didn't realize just how easy it was going to be until he saw his robot in action.

"I tell ya, I really picked the right planet to take over while on vacation, my little creation.  These Earthlings are so primitive, it's almost embarrassing.  Yet they believe themselves top being in existence.  If only they knew that outside their solar system laid planets with much more advanced beings, both physically and technologically.  If these Earthlings had any idea, they would just blow their own planet up and save the warrior planets the trouble of having to do it."

The machine just stood there silently, listening as his master started his monologue.  The mechanical Syptaluptians were not given any form of vocal expression.  Soldiers designed to be destroyed and used as distractions did not need to speak.  It was at that moment that Tilrodius remembered he was talking to one instead of one of his fellow Syptaluptians.

"Oh... that's right.  I'm pretty much talking to a wall.  You can't talk back, not that I want you to anyway.  Thought it would be nice to hear somebody else who was enjoying my work.  Oh well, I'm having fun and that's the point of a vacation, is it not?  Well, maybe too much fun.  I did blow through this town rather quickly.  Oh well, lesson learned.  Now that I know the Earthlings won't put up any fight, I can take my time and savor their agony as they learn their place in the universe.  We should probably move on to a new city though.  This one is in ruins already, and anybody who didn't hide in the initial attack is dead."

Tilrodius knew not how wrong he was, as the assassin sent in to take care of him was carefully walking down the streets of the destroyed city.  The platypus looked around, trying to find any sign of the attacker in the one small area that had not been ravaged, but to no avail.  Just as Eleventy was about to give up hope, he looked to the sky for some inspiration, and out of the corner of his eye saw a figure in a building.  This was a fortunate turn of events to say the least for the spy, but he didn't let himself forget  that the figure is only half of the equation.  Eleventy still had to keep an eye out for the metal accomplice, and try to shut it down if at all possible.  Getting sloppy and careless now would mean certain death, if all the bodies laying around him were any indication.  With cautious approach, the spy walked to the doors of the building and stepped inside, preparing himself for the climb up to the top floor.

Back up in the room where he was resting, Tilrodius got a sudden strange feeling about him.  He was thankful for his Syptaluptian senses, which allowed him to hear and smell far greater than your average Earthling, and then his body tingled whenever anybody made any movements within a certain range.  He recognized his early warning self-defense system and suddenly chuckled to his robot.

"So, somebody still lives and is brave enough to try and take me on?  I guess them watching me take out their army wasn't enough to show how foolish an endeavor this is.  Machine... go stand guard outside.  Kill any Earthling that comes up those stairs.  I think I'm gonna lay down for a nap."

The alien laid himself down on a ramshackle couch that was resting in the room, waiting for his robot to take it's leave before closing his eyes.  Without a thought for itself, the machine walked into the hall and simply stood there, keeping lookout for the intruder his master was worried about.

The stairs were no challenge for the fit and agile spy as he made his ascension.  As he neared the top of the flight, Eleventy spotted a figure outside one of the doors.  He crouched down and peeked over the final set of stairs at the mysterious being, trying to figure everything out, which didn't take long.  The shiny complexion and the absent look showed the beast for what it was right away.

Shit... it's the robot.  It's standing guard!  So shutting it down is no longer optional.  I don't think I can sneak around it without having to scale up the building, and I don't have time to do that.  Shit!!!!

While the spy was lost in his train of thought, the Syptaluptian robot had seen the intruder.  His blank gaze had fixated on the stranger as his processor tried to determine if the being was friend or foe.  Unable to speak, the metal guard pointed to Eleventy and gestured for him to approach.  Without any choice in the matter, the assassin finished climbing the stairs and walked to the machine.  The agent couldn't help but think of how much trouble he was in, when all of a sudden the robot stepped aside, allowing entry.  Confused, Eleventy walked past the guard into the room, where he quickly noticed the terrorist at rest.  The plat noticed right away that the town's assailant and himself shared a similar appearance, but quickly shrugged it off, trying not to let trivial things distract him.  As he slowly tip-toed up to the slumbering terrorist, Eleventy almost laughed out loud at how easy everything truly was.

If only every mission were THIS simple...

The plat took his eyes off his target as he set the bag he'd been carrying down long enough to grab his most trusted gun, a Colt Commander.  In the time it took for him to reach inside to grab the firearm and turn back to his target, the terrorist had disappeared, moved from the position that Eleventy had assumed he was sleeping.  Before he could even get another breath out, he felt a great force collide with the back of his head and the room grow instantly dark.  Standing over the now unconscious assassin, Tilrodius, his arm held in the air where it made contact with the intruder, looked down and grinned.  It amused him how easily the foolish being had dropped his guard.  Knowing he may not get a second chance, the alien grabbed the Earthling's bag, dumping the items onto the floor, and tossing whatever he couldn't use out the window.  From all of the possessions brought in, Tilrodius decided to keep some rope the intruder had brought with him, and scrapped everything else.  Grabbing the remote from his pocket, the alien had summoned his metal minion back into the room to assist him with some new fun.  If there was anything that General Milana enjoyed better than causing death, it was torture and interrogation, and he was about to get his fill of it off the brave soul.  He had commanded his robot to sit their newest foe onto a chair that was in the room and hold him long enough so that Tilrodius could tie him up with his own rope.  Once secured, the Syptaluptian general decided to take a good look at the foolish Earthling.  He walked around to the front of the chair, and was shocked by the sight, the assassin looked like one of his own race.  Unable to bear the mystery any longer, Tilrodius slapped the Earthling awake.  As the intruder winced and grimaced, the Syptaluptian invader grinned at how much fun he was actually having.  With how easily the insects died earlier, he didn't get a decent chance to enjoy his time.  Now, however, he could take nice and slow and squeeze every scream and plea for mercy out of the assassin.  The Earthling quickly stopped wincing and looked at his captor.

"Good.  You're awake," Tilrodius started the interrogation bluntly.  "I gotta thank you for bringing this rope with you.  When I left my home it never occurred to me that I might need some sort of containment measure."

"Yeah yeah... bite me..." the spy answered in disgust at the terrorist's mocking words.

"Ew... no.  You... insects... taste horrible.  And there is not enough preparation or additives in existance to make you taste any better.  Besides, I just had a snack and I'd like to keep it down."

"Are you done yet?  My time is important to me and I'd like to get this little interrogation over with so I can get back to killing you."

"It seems this insect has the ability to tell jokes.  You?  Kill me?  Do you realize how insignificant you are?"

"No, but I imagine you're going to tell me," Eleventy said bluntly with a half chuckle.  His plan was working almost too perfectly, as if the villain that had him tied up had never seen a film before.  The overly cliched mistake that every villain in almost every movie ever made was being made here and now: the monologue.  Whenever a villain gets the upper-hand in every Hollywood classic, he starts this speech, which is a little too well rehearsed and prepared for an on the spot monologue, which gives the hero enough time to recover from an injury or to find something he can use to defeat the bad guy.  Here, Eleventy was hoping to trick the terrorist into the monologue so that he had enough time to use one of his short but sharp claws to cut through the ropes.

"I could, but that's just wasted breath.  Besides, this isn't about me or how little of a challenge you provide.  This is about you.  I killed every Earthling here.  So that means you came from somewhere else.  Where?"

"I was sent in to stop you.  You said Earthling?  Do you feel you don't belong here just because your a platypus?"

"A... platypus?" Tilrodius asked, confused by the word.  "What is that?"

"What you are, and what I am.  Did you hit your head as a child or something?" the spy replied with a laugh.

"Foolish Earthling.  I am no platypus.  I don't know how there came to be beings that look like our mighty race, but I assure you, the only thing we share is the similarity in looks."

"YOUR race?"

"Yes.  While you do look like us, your ignorance of us is not surprising.  You Earthlings care not to explore what lies beyond your own galaxy.  Nor do I blame you.  If you knew what lay out beyond your little backwater planet, you'd surrender yourselves as slaves to any one of our races immediately."

"So... you're trying to say you're an alien?" the spy asked with raised eyebrow, his claw behind him swiping furiously at the ropes that bound him.

"Alien to your planet, yes.  But to me, you Earthlings are the 'aliens'.  I prefer foriegn race.  But I digress.  I am not from this little rock, to which I am glad.  I come from the planet Syptalupt, home of technologies and fighters far superior to anything you have here on this mud-ball."

"Fuck you asshole.  This is my home you're talking about.  And if you're so advanced, how did I walk right past your guard robot?" Eleventy snapped back at the foreign intruder.

"Ah yes... my minion.  He is not without flaw, as it seems.  It undoubtedly mistook you for one of my subordinates."

With those words, Eleventy couldn't help but grin.  Now he knew the robot was no threat.  If it came down to a mano-a-mano fight, the spy liked his chances against the alien.  Capturing the metal menace was made that much easier, as well, since he wouldn't have to fight it or have to shut it down, that it would just follow him wherever he went without question.  The plan started to come together in his mind, and just in time too as the ropes were starting to part and he could feel the amount of fiber between him and his claw getting smaller.  It was only a matter of moments now before Eleventy could launch his attack on Tilrodius.  The only thing missing from his perfect plan, however, was whether to capture the alien for investigation and studies, or to just kill him and send any buddies he had back on his home planet a message not to try anything on Earth ever again.  Just as he was about to make his decision, TIlrodius threw a monkey wrench into the situation when he pulled out his remote for the robot.

"What is that?" the bound spy questioned.

"This?  This is your demise.  One press of this button and your existence is nothing but a memory.  This has been fun, but you've got no information that I can use.  I was going to torture you, but it seems to me that the longer you live, the more trouble you're going to be.  I'll just have to find your superiors and take my time with them."

This was it!  It was now or never for Earth's last hope.  Realizing he wasn't going to get any more time, Eleventy tried to force his arms apart.  The rope holding him prisoner stretched for a moment, and when the spy thought it wasn't enough, the ropes snapped and freed the trapped soul.  Without hesitation or second though, the platypus jumped from the chair and tackled his captor, pinning him to the ground and knocking the remote controller out of his paw.  The two started rolling around the floor, trying to get an advantage over the other with their weight as their fists were sent time after time into one another.  The blows were exchanged evenly as the two foes pummeled each other relentlessly, trying to beat a submission out of one another.  Just as Eleventy finally got Tilrodius pinned and unable to move him off, the alien intruder threw his leg up into the middle of the Earthling's back and knocked him forward.  The two quickly scrambled up to their feet, standing and staring at one another, trying to figure out a way to victory.  They were so evenly matched that the brawl seemed like it would last indefinitely.  Tilrodius quickly came to this realization and decided to turn the tide in his favor.  The alien reached behind his back to the .45 caliber revolver he had hanging by the belt of his clothes and pulled it to in front of him, bringing it to his eye level to aim down the sights on the top instantly.  He grinned as he had the annoying Earthling pinned behind the barrel of the weapon.

"You're a pretty good fighter for an inferior Earthling."

"What're you doing with a gun?" Eleventy asked with a disgusted snarl.

"This thing?  Well, you see, I'm on vacation.  So I'm enjoying myself."

"I mean why not any of your own weapons?"

"What do you think that minion standing there is?  Ah, but enough cat and mouse with these questions.  To answer your question, it's research.  To see what your weapons are capable of.  I gotta say, for savages, you've developed some pretty nice kids' toys here."

The spy shook his head in frustration and disgust, unable to believe that he was about to be shot to death and upset about it at the same time.  While he shook his head, Eleventy noticed that he was just a few steps from the remote control that was dropped by Tilrodius during the fight.  This was going to be the ultimate test of the spy's will to survive now.  He had to dive for the remote and hit the button to command it while avoiding the alien's shots.  If he moved too slow, he was going to be killed, and if he moved too fast, Tilrodius would surely notice the ultimate objective.  The pressure weighed heavily on the spy as he tried to figure out the most opportune time to dive.

"So if we're so much inferior to you, as you say we are, why are you even bothering with us?  Why not just leave us alone?"

"Simply, I'm on vacation.  There's no backup coming.  As far as they know, I'm relaxing on Vamulia's beaches.  But that's boring.  Let me tell you, being a warrior, there is no bigger thrill than conquest and murder.  So I decided to take this planet over on my own and enjoy myself instead of sitting somewhere bored."

"Well, there's one thing you failed to think of," Eleventy retorted.

"Oh?  And what's that?"

That was the moment.  It was now or never.  Eleventy was going to use this one second's lapse in focus from Tilrodius to make his move.

"That I'd be the one to kill you."

With every ounce of will in him, the assassin dove from his feet toward the plastic remote laying just a few feet away from both himself and the alien foe.  Tilrodius, caught off guard and not expecting this sudden move, quickly fired the gun he was holding.  The shot was true, but Tilrodius' aim was not as his target had moved and the trigger was pulled on reflex.  What should have been a fatal shot just seconds ago was just a simple grazing of the Earthling's abdomen.  The spy winced in pain as he landed to the ground, reaching out and grabbing the plastic rectangle he was aiming to snag.  Without hesitation, he pressed the button and looked at the robot.

"KILL TILRODIUS!"

Tilrodius' eyes widened in fear as he looked to his minion.  He hadn't expected the insect to be smart enough to use his weapon against him.

"Don't listen to him!  He's an Earthling!  I'm your master!  I'm Syptaluptian!  KILL HIM!"

The mechanical monster wasn't listening though.  While he did listen to verbal commands, those made with the remote were a higher priority in his programming, which meant that he was under Eleventy's control.  The metal menace slowly approached his former commander, his blank stare and lifeless eyes fixated on the now terrified Syptaluptian.  Without any way to shut it down nor any weapons that can damage it, Tilrodius was at the mercy of his former minion, awaiting whatever fate was coming.  Deciding not to let his last moments be him cowering, he decided to use the time, and his last breath, to issue a threat to his foe.

"You may kill me, but there will be more coming.  I will be avenged by my people, and you will rue the day you messed with Sypalupt."

"Don't worry.  If, or when, they come, we'll be ready.  Your people will not take the life of another one of ours, mark my words."

With the last threats made to one another, the robot, still under the command of Eleventy, threw the side of his metal hand across the neck of Tilrodius.  The force was just great enough to break the alien's neck, his limp body falling to the floor lifelessly.  Once his mission was complete, the robot stood still again, feeling nothing of the murder he'd just committed.  Eleventy collapsed to the floor, exhausted by the day and relieved to still be alive.  He wanted to celebrate his victory, but he couldn't.  Not only was his mission not over as long as the robot was not in GRA custody, but he would never let himself forgive himself for the lives lost in the days prior.  Had he not been so selfish, thousands of innocent lives would not have been lost to the maniacal alien and his weapons.  The only thing he can do is to try and learn to cope with the pain of their loss.  After taking a few moments to regroup, the spy, using the remote, made the alien machine follow him to the streets outside where he collected his supplies.  Once everything was gathered back up, including his Colt Commander, he dialed his phone to HQ requesting pick up.  In the weeks of aftermath following the attack, the robot was studied carefully by GRA scientists, who determined they were unable to reproduce the machine, but would still be able to control it with the remote, making it a valuable ally and weapon for any and all platypus members of the organization.  As for the cleanup of the attack, the incident was deemed a terrorist action and that the military had killed the mastermind.  The GRA and Eleventy were erased from the records of Tilrodius' invasion, as well as the fact that the intruder was an alien.  The Syptalupts, never knowing where Tilrodius had disappeared to while on leave, never sought his revenge on Earth.  As far as they knew, Tilrodius had gone AWOL and was to be executed if ever found.  The Earth would know peace for many years to come.

Billy was happy with his entry into the competition.  After saving it and proofreading it for any typing and grammatical errors, the plat printed the story out onto paper and tucked it aside his computer for safe keeping until the following morning.  Realizing it was late, Billy walked back to his room after powering down his machine and crawled into bed, letting himself fall into slumber.  The next morning, after going through his daily weekday routine of getting ready for school, he grabbed his story and walked out the door.  The plat dropped his entry off at the newspaper building before going to school, and it was everything he could do to wait to hear the results.  A week had passed before he heard any more of it.  They published the results in the paper, which he made sure to buy that day to see if he had one.  It wasn't much of a surprised to him, but he was still disappointed when his entry didn't win.  Billy didn't let that get him down though.  He enjoyed writing the story, and had found a new hobby to pursue.  He hoped that one day, he would make a story that everybody would love and want to read.", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Battle For Earth", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "text/rtf", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "5", "name": "Strong Violence", "description": "Strong violence, blood, serious injury or death", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "11", "views": "96" }