"Sir, a channel has been opened to Cain Labs," purred Neon Tiger as he turned to face his mentor Vile.

"Good boy, Tigger. Stand by for further instructions."

Phoenix and Violen approached the purple reploid. "Vile. You wanted to see us?"

"Yes. I have a plan that'll ultimately lead to the destruction of X and the return of Sigma. You two'll have to play a crucial part in it."

Just then, Storm Eagle appeared at the door. He folded his formidable wings in order to get through. "Hey, Vile. About that Nullifier and dart gun. Hayatrom said it'll be ready and delivered shortly."

"Good," was Vile's reply. "now Phoenix and Violen. Listed carefully, because I'm only gonna say this once...."

Meanwhile, across the city in a happier environment lay the lab of Dr. Cain. X was here, in the rec room, sipping a WD-40 cooler, and channel surfing. He couldn't have been happier. The Mavericks were contained for a while, relations between humans and reploids were improving, and life was treating him well for once. He didn't have to go out and fight the stray Mavericks that lingered here and there; Zero handled that. X hated fighting; Zero loved it.

A loud crash of the door to the rec room being opened brought X back to life. In the doorway stood a six-foot five male reploid, clad in crimson Titanium-X protective armour and a gilded helmet. From under his helmet, his hair fell down to his knees like a waterfall of gold. It was none other than Zero, champion Maverick Hunter and leader of the #00 class unit of Maverick Hunters. He strode in and removed his helmet. He tossed it over his shoulder. X heard the sound of a muffled thud, and a cat yowling in pain.

"Whoops! Sorry, Tango!" He called to the feline. "Hey, X! You should've gone hunting with me today. I tell ya, there's nothing like the look of terror in a young reploid's eyes when it sees your Arm Cannon levelled towards its face. Hey, gimmie." He grabbed the cooler out of X's hand and took a huge gulp. "Here you go," he said, politely handing the remains of the can to X.

X moved his gaze from the can to Zero. "No thanks. Keep it. You backwashed."

"No, I-" Zero started, when a loud, screeching laugh stopped him. A young human Maverick Huntress with shoulder-length chestnut brown hair tore in. She was Celeste, one of the few human huntresses, and good buddies with Zero and X. Especially Zero.

"Howdy, ya'll!" She cried. She collapsed on the floor in front of the TV. Celeste was about 23 years old, but she looked (and often acted) like she wasn't a day over 19. "Zero, how was hunting?"

Zero glanced down at himself. His Titanium-X armour, which was usually gleaming, was now dull and stained with the circulatory fluids of Mavericks. Zero beamed at Celeste. "Hunting was cool. In a matter of time, I think all the Mavericks will be cleared out of the city. Now X, you don't seem to be watching anything specific. Give the the remote." Zero reached to grab the channel changer from X. X snatched it away, out of his reach.

"Zero, what's the magic word?"

"Give me that now, or I'll disembowel you."

"Alright, here. Don't get your panties into an uproar." X handed the remote to Zero.

"I don't wear panties," Zero declared as he flopped down on the couch, "but you can fantasise about it if you wish. Is there anything good on TV, or do we pay for intergalactic cable for the good of our heath?"

Celeste perked up. "Hey, where's Dr. Cain....?"

X jerked his thumb towards the door. "He's in the lab, working on some sort of new 'Robot Ride' armour. He claims it's more powerful than the Chimera and the Hawk put together. It should be something to see. In fact, he mentioned it was very nearly done."