If no one comments on this, I'm a-post'n it. ;)
Chapter Seventeen 
----------------- 

     Twister stopped and studied the motorbike he had created before getting
onto it. It still amused him at times that he had exactly duplicated Priss'
bike to create the deep blue, with purple lines, colored motorcycle.
     He held up his helmet and saw himself in the black, slightly reflective
visor. It was the same face he had seen yesterday and when he thought back to
when he had first looked at his altered face, after his first battle with
Malkon, he remembered that it had been the same then too. Sighing, Twister
put the helmet on and mounted his bike. 
     A lifetime of over thirty thousand years. I still can't really believe
that, he thought, even knowing that I _do_ look the same as I did two years
ago. I guess I would have realized it myself eventually. He shook his head.
Hard to swallow that tidbit of info, isn't it, Twister? Very hard... oh,
heck! Twister irritably kicked life into the machine and revved the engine,
the sound echoing in the huge cavern.
     Enough brooding on what's already been done. Time to ride.
     With that he teleported for the streets. 

     "Leon! Leon! Pick up your mike! Answer me!"
     Surprised, Leon glanced down at the new car's police radio which was
issuing Potter's excited voice. He had gone out to get a feel for the new car
that he had taken from the ADPolice garage. Unfortunately, the Chief had
decreed that Leon would be on his own while Daley stayed on regular patrol.
It was too bad; the car was a dream as far as he was concerned.
     He picked up the mike. "Keep your cool, Potter. What's got you all
excited?"
     "He's been spotted! In the downtown area no less!" There was no need to
say who.
     "Must be feeling social," Leon quipped.
     Potter wasn't listening. "All units are converging on his location. The
overconfident bastard's trapped himself. We've got him for sure!"
     "Does this mean I don't get to keep the car?"
     Now the other was angry. "Just be there. The location's on your
vid-map." If one could imagine the sound of a mike hanging up over the radio
Leon heard Potter manage it.
     He shook his head. "I don't know who to feel more sorry for: Potter, or
the Bullet." Leon sighed and turned on his police lights. 
     "Oh, well. Let's see who wins." 

     SSCCCRRREEEECCCHHH!!!!
     Twister didn't even have time to wince as he was far too occupied doing
a hard right into a busy street. Meanwhile, the police vehicle that had been
insanely too close on his tail couldn't quite make the same maneuver and
crashed into a store display window.
     He hadn't gone another block when another police cruiser appeared behind
him.
     Argh! What IS this? Bite the Bullet day??? Methinks someone in ADPolice
is a little ticked off me. Better get to the more deserted section of the
city as I don't like doing damage to downtown... He made another turn and the
cruiser followed. A quick look back confirmed something. Those are NOT
standard THP or ADP equipment. Too agile by half; I'm gonna have trouble with
these things. Did ADPolice win the funding lottery or something?
     A slow smile grew on his face as he weaved through traffic.
     Then again, they must be feeling pretty confident with their new toys,
Twister thought and suddenly felt very mischievous. Guess I'm going to have
to frustrate them a little to burst their bubble. Heh, heh, heh. 

     "Keep on him! Don't lose him!" Potter clenched his hands in front of him
as his driver strained to keep up with the blue motorcycle. "Your ass is
MINE, asshole!" he crowed to the helmeted figure in front of them.
     "I think he's heading to a more deserted part of the city," his driver
managed to say through his intense concentration of keeping up with their
agile target.
     "Perfect! We can box him in more easily!"
     They barely kept up with the more maneuverable cyclist as he turned left
down one street then right down another. Potter shouted commands over the
radio to try to surround the target but the streets and the speeds they were
going made it difficult to do so.
     Suddenly, they turned into a miraculously clear, broken-down street.
Luck seemed to be smiling on Potter as there was another two cruisers at the
opposite end of the road, bearing down on the Bullet.
     "We've got him now! There's only an alley left for him and it's a dead
end!"
     "He's not slowing down," the driver said, a little concerned.
     "He knows he's trapped."
     Then the blue bike put on a burst of speed and accelerated until it was
almost midway between Potter and the other two cars. At that point the Bullet
did a hard turn into the narrow one-car wide alley, the police cruisers
closing in.
     "I wish I could see his face when he realizes it's a dead end. WHAT THE
HELL?!?!?" Potter screamed in disbelief at what he saw next.
     The Blue Bullet roared out of the alley that was far too narrow for such
a large bike to turn around in, and with almost no loss of speed as when he
had roared into it. This startled all three drivers of the police vehicles
enough to forget to brake in time as he zoomed around the car that had been
chasing him. Potter's driver reacted first, braking hard and the car started
turning, blocking the road. The other two cars smashed into it, rendering all
three immobile.
     Both Potter and his driver panted as adrenaline coursed through their
systems.
     "Impossible," Potter muttered, recovering. "Impossible, and it was!" He
straightened as he reached out for the CB's mike and turned in on. "All
units! The fugitive has disabled three more units and is still on the loose!
Capture at all costs! I repeat..."
     His driver wearily leaned on the steering wheel.
     This is going to be a long day...,he thought, mentally sighing as he
listened to his superior rant to the CB. 

     Twister grinned inside the helmet. THAT was the TTA manoeuvre, guys;
Teleport Turn-Around. Another police cruiser screeched its tires as it turned
to follow him. He groaned as he accelerated.
     "Here we go again," he muttered to himself, disgusted. "Hmm. I wonder if
any of them have seen Tron. I bet I can do a REAL good imitation of a
lightcycle. Like...instant ninety degree turns coming up?"
     His grin appeared once more.
     This night might turn out to be a good one after all. 

     Sylia sat down in front of the radio equipment she used to contact Nene
at work. Mackie had whispered that the red-head needed to tell her something
badly so she had quietly left the store to go to the communications room to
find out what was the matter.
     I wonder what it is... she thought as she pressed a button and put on a
headset. "Nene? Are you there?"
     "Sylia, you finally made it." Nene's voice was full of relief and
concern.
     "What is it?"
     "ADPolice are after the Blue Bullet!" Nene said in a frantic whisper.
     So much for Twister getting some air, Sylia thought. "What did he do?"
     "Nothing! Some lieutenant I don't know apparently got permission to
apprehend him. I didn't know about it until the Bullet was spotted and
everyone went into a frenzy!" Nene's voice turned amused. "He's wrecked at
least five of those new cars trying to avoid being caught and causing no end
of confusion. He's feeling tricky I guess. No one's been hurt, aside from
wounded pride, that is. What?! Hey!!"
     Sylia didn't like the tone of concern that had appeared in Nene's voice.
"What is it?"
     "A Boomer just showed up! It's blocking ADPolice efforts to catch the
Bullet. And another one just appeared!"
     "Nene, you said 'new' cars. What 'new' cars?"
     "I'm not sure. Somebody whispered that Genom..." Nene trailed off as a
dawning suspicion grew. "You don't think Genom is after Dar..."
     "No," Sylia interrupted, mind racing. "But they may suspect he's the
Knight. Keep tabs on events. I'll see if I can get the others."
     "Okay. Hm? Oh, Lisa! Nothing, just muttering to myself. Yes, that
lieutenant's voice IS funny." Nene's transmission ended rather quickly.
     Sylia frowned. What is Genom up to this time? she wondered as she
activated the beepers on Priss and Linna's watches. Mackie is making the fine
adjustments on the new suits but that won't be done for a few hours so we'll
use the old ones one last time.

     Meanwhile, Twister was wondering where his imposed playmates had gone
to.
     Odd, they were everywhere a few minutes ago, now...nothing?
     "I don't like this at all..." he muttered aloud, turning his head left
and right and looking for trouble.
     Then a STRONG feeling to brake sharply and turn lanced through his mind
and he acted on this impulse without delay. A good thing to do; a blue plasma
blast lanced into the street where he would have been if he hadn't turned.
Still, the resulting explosion of exploding street jarred him enough that he
had to wrestle with his bike to get it under control. Looking behind, he saw
the Boomer that had attacked him leap off the building roof from where it had
fired, land, and after turning its' flight vents on, begin chasing him.
     Twister immediately started swerving to avoid giving the Boomer a chance
to lock on to him. He wasn't happy with the way things were going.
     "First brand-new ADPolice pursuit vehicles, now Boomers?! Okay, the
former I would've thought harmless, but BOTH?? Hmmm...gee, I wonder who could
be behind this. G...E...N...O...M...and Genom is it's name-o," he
sarcastically sang to himself. A second Boomer smashed through a wall in the
street ahead and began flying his way. When he turned into another street,
the two followed him as a group, firing randomly to keep him occupied.
     Yikes! he thought as he dodged the Boomer strikes. And all I wanted was
some air! Sheesh!
     Twister shifted the bike slightly to avoid the rain of bullets one
Boomer shot at him, and immediately did so again when the second Boomer did
the same a half-second later. Turning sharply, the Bullet went into an alley.
The Boomers tried to fit into the passage but were thrown out of the way when
the blue motorcycle returned at full speed, doing a wheelie, knocking them
out of the way and turning back onto the street.
     One Boomer had gotten tossed into a building while the other tumbled
momentarily in mid-flight before righting itself. With grinding snarls the
two powerful androids started up the pursuit again.
     When a particle bolt flashed by him, Twister almost sighed; he'd hoped
that trick had taken them off his tail. No such luck.
     He continued to try losing the two as the skies grew darker, without
success. The only times it seemed he could was when ADPolice showed up.
Unfortunately, the Boomers managed to keep them away and still keep up with
the speedy Bullet.
     It was odd that more ADPolice hadn't shown up. Must be more than just
these two then, he thought, and...whoa!! Twister screeched to a stop just in
time; the street he had turned into was blocked off by an impressive amount
of debris that was far too high to jump over. The Boomers that had been
chasing him landed in the intersection where he had turned off, trapping him.
     Uh, oh. Trouble... It wasn't the Boomers that worried him; he could
handle them with psionics if he had no choice. Somehow, though, he felt that
there was more than just Boomers involved here.
     "So, Crystal Knight, here you are at last," a familiar voice that he
recognized called out. Madagan's. Somehow he wasn't surprised. Twister
quickly turned his head to where the voice had come from and then he WAS
surprised. Surprised at what he saw...and sensed.
       Whatever Madagan was wearing reminded him of a scuba diver's suit,
remotely. The shiny black material of her suit hung close to her trim figure
and bright yellow lines traced across the black stuff in a suspiciously
orderly and meaningful pattern. Her face was partially uncovered, the eyes
being protected by some reflective, silvery substance formed into a visor.
The suit covered the back of her neck, forehead, and around her face while
allowing her hair to escape freely. There was a lot of the yellow lines in
the headband and some kind of equipment on her back. What worried him was
that he couldn't find out what it was. Something was blocking him somehow and
that wasn't a very good sign as he figured Madagan wasn't...shouldn't have
been strong enough to do that.
     "Ah... Me? The Crystal Knight?" Twister laughed half-heartedly. "You
must have the wrong guy."
     Madagan smiled in self-satisfied amusement. "After I felt you trying to
find out about my new suit and blocking your attempt? I don't think so."
     Insert head and kick thoroughly to correct brain, Twister mentally
cursed, then gave up the pretence as he turned on his bike to face his female
adversary. "Oh, okay. I am. What's your beef that Genom sics ADPolice and
Boomers on me anyhow? And how did you block my scan?" he added curiously.
     "The first is simple enough. We want," she pointed at the blue-clad
biker, "YOU. Although my new-found psi powers have impressed researchers in
Genom with the sheer potential of my abilities, we know your natural power
exceeds my own by a great amount. That is why when you next appeared in your
other persona we arranged things so that you would eventually be forced here.
It was an impressive effort of planning."
     "For some reason I'm not flattered," he commented as he rested one elbow
on his bike. She ignored him.
     "To accomplish this, and answering your second question, I'm using the
fruits of labour from a largely ignored section of Genom. This suit was
available and pre-made. With it, I..."
     Two explosions originating from where the Boomers had been standing
guard interrupted Madagan and she looked away from Twister to see what had
happened. He too looked, and smiled at what he saw.
     The Boomers were down with large, smoking holes in their bodies.
Standing over them were Priss and Linna in their hardsuits, made even more
impressive by the motoroids surrounding their armoured bodies, the large
hand-held cannons smoking. Sylia, in hardsuit only, stood in the middle of
the street while the other two flanked her.
     "You up there, I suggest you leave. Now," Sylia called out, Linna and
Priss raising their motoroid's weapons to punctuate that command.
     Anger clearly shown on her face, Madagan started to shout, but then
calmed down mysteriously, and smiled. "With it, I was about to say, I can
do...THIS!" Her suit's yellow lines pulsed and glowed as a wave of
telekinetic force lashed out at the four in the street.
     Twister lost ground as he wasn't prepared for the unexpected strength of
Madagan's attack. Still, he protected himself and his bike as they both slid
backward, carving gouges in the street as he struggled to stay upright.
However, the three Knight Sabers didn't have his psionic advantages and
received the full force of the blast. In only her suit, Sylia was thrown
violently down the street and luckily didn't hit anything, rolling when she
hit pavement. Linna and Priss, in the heavier motoroids, were thrown with
less force, but impacted with the buildings on either side of the street.
     Unlike Twister's usual psi-force blasts, which were only air
telekinetically accelerated, Madagan's blast was pure psi-force. More
efficient, he guessed, as it didn't have to waste energy moving air and make
it move through air resistance. He'd have to learn how to do that. 
     Later. He was a little busy now.
     Madagan threw back her head and laughed mockingly at those below her.
"This suit was designed for the express purpose of testing the idea of
amplifying human thought waves for use in remote control operations AND
seeing if true mind-over-matter powers were possible. The woman being tested
happened to be my size and since I could already move things with my mind,
the researchers, once they were told of my new abilities, were most
interested in what would happen. You've felt the results for yourselves. It
amplified my telekinetic powers.." She glanced up at the darkening sky, then
focused her attention on Twister. "It's getting late, Knight. Come with me or
else I'll 'play' with the Knight Sabers till they fall apart."
     The Bullet's black visor just continued to stare in the purple-haired
Genom psionist. Priss' swearing could be heard in the background as she and
Linna began moving again. Sylia was nowhere to be seen. 

     "Damn, damn, damn, DAMN!!!" Priss swore angrily as she struggled to get
the motoroid out of the rubble and standing once more. Whatever had hit her
had NOT behaved like a normal blast; she'd been hurt inside the suit more
than she figured she should've been, as if it had passed _through_ her
protective armour somewhat. The same with her equipment as well, the circuits
must have been jolted something fierce as her motoroid's movements were
sluggish.
     "Priss, are you alright?" Linna called over their private radio link
sounding concerned and not so hot herself.
     "Just a lot of damn bruises, and what the FUCK hit us?!?"
     Sylia's welcome voice spoke up. "I suspect it was some form of psionic
attack, likely telekinesis." Her tone turned arch. "Our friend, Twister at
the moment, seems to have neglected to mention Miss Madagan's new talents."
     "No shit," Priss replied, heaps of sarcasm in her voice. "Where are you
anyway?"
     "Trying to find a better angle and... I've just noticed that there are
several more Boomers hiding in the area," Sylia reported offhandedly.
     "Oh, perfect." At least her cannon was undamaged. She also noticed that
Twister hadn't moved or answered the Genom witch yet, the latter was getting
impatient at this silent treatment.
     "Well? Do I have to prove that I can?" she heard the waiting Madagan say
as the black and yellow suited woman slowly stepped down the slope of the
pile of rubble. Twister, alias the Bullet at the moment, still hadn't said a
word making Priss wonder what her friend was doing. Giving the rest of them
time? It wasn't needed as her systems were as recovered as they were going to
get.
     Wait a minute.
     "Hey, Linna, is it just me or is the witch coming too close to Twister
for comfort?" Priss queried.
     "What are you talking about, Priss?" was Linna's distracted reply.
     "Don't you think she would want to stay a certain distance away?"
     True enough, as Priss had pointed out, Madagan hadn't stopped advancing
on the Bullet. She was off the rubble and on the level street. What could be
seen of her face suggested a person utterly fascinated with something: the
Bullet, or rather, his visor.
       "Must be doing something. Right, Linna?" No response from her friend
came, puzzling Priss. "Linna? Hey! LINNA!!"
     Her shout got the green-suited Knight Saber to wake from the trance she
had started falling into. Linna shook her helmeted head to wake up a bit
more. "Huh? What was that, Priss?"
     "I SAID Twister must be doing something psionic, and you were falling
for it too so WAKE UP!!" Priss cranked up the volume to emphasize her last
words.
     "OW! Not so loud!" Linna complained, snapping fully out of it.
     "Priss, Linna, get ready," Sylia's voice cut in. "I think someone's been
monitoring the area because the Boomers I see may be getting ready to move.
I'll take care of them, but there will likely be more."
     Sylia's words turned prophetic as three Boomers leaped over the pile to
land behind Madagan. Four more, two for each side of the street, crashed
through the walls of the constraining buildings. These four advanced on the
Bullet's seated figure, apparently intent on grabbing him.
     "I don't think so, assholes! Come on, Linna!" Priss shouted and she
fired her motoroid's hand cannon a split-second ahead of Linna's. Two of the
Boomers around Twister were hit dead-on, rendering them dysfunctional. "Two
down, five to go!" Priss crowed, but then saw the angry figure glowing yellow
in front of the Bullet. The noise of the Boomers and their cannons had shaken
Madagan out of whatever Twister had tried on her and she did NOT look very
happy.
     "Oh, fuck," Priss swore with a sinking feeling. 
     That sentiment was echoed by Twister as he regarded Madagan's glowing
form. The addition of the Boomers wasn't helping his situation any, though
the destruction of two helped.
     "You bastard...." Madagan ground out the word through clenched teeth.
"What the HELL did you try to do to me?!?" Her fingers flexed and unflexed
angrily.
     Twister dismounted off his bike, and while the Boomers tensed around
him, they didn't do anything. "I have a trick I use to get people to avoid
noticing me. I just tried the opposite, focusing on my eyes, hoping it would
work so that I could get close enough to you to disable your suit.
Unfortunately, you were distracted." He shrugged. "C'est la vie." Using his
telekinesis he pushed his bike forcefully away from the soon-to-likely-be
combat zone.
     Madagan was livid. "How DARE you take this...ME!...LIGHTLY!!"
     "Shouldn't I? Trust me, I've faced worse," Twister replied in an
offhandish manner, "though not as fashionable. What is that style anyway?
Early deep-sea?" he mockingly added. To himself he prayed that pissing her
off would do more damage to the Boomers than to himself when they inevitably
fought. He braced himself as he felt THREAT coming like it was digging him in
the ribs.
     "DAMN YOU!!" Madagan screamed furiously and her suit glowed brightly.
The area around the Bullet seemed to explode as a three-story column of fire
erupted from the street. Both he and the two Boomers vanished in the flames.
     A Boomer behind Madagan protested at this. "But we were instructed to
capture him at all costs! This...squark!" Madagan had moved her anger onto
the doomed Boomer and it was quickly compacted into a volleyball.
     She quickly re-focused her attention as her recently acquired powers
screamed danger; this was precognition though the scientists at Genom hadn't
known about it. Once she realized she had it, Madagan decided it was a good
thing to keep silent about. At Genom it was always wise to keep a few aces up
your sleeve. The two Knight Sabers hadn't taken the apparent roasting of
their friend too well; Linna was rushing at the ready Boomers while Priss
fired the motoroid gun again... at the Genom exec. The glowing projectile
tore though the air towards its target but never reached its prey. Psi power
stopped its flight and quickly reversed it. Fortunately for Priss, Madagan
was still new to her powers and the singer was able to frantically dodge her
own weapon's projectile. Linna, much to her dismay, suddenly found herself
unable to move herself when the amplified psionist turned her attention on
the green Knight Saber.
     Madagan smiled unpleasantly at the fly she had just caught. "You should
really find out more about what you attack, insect. It may be more than you
can handle. Like finding that your heart has stopped." And with her TK, she
reached out...
     Linna gasped from the sudden pain in her chest. It HURT!
     Then, from the smoking crater the pillar of fire left, a roar came
amidst a sudden swirl of furious air.
     "HURRICANE BLAST!!"
     A horizontal torrent of atmosphere punched a hole through the smoke,
gained strength as it tore up distance and street before it reached a
surprised Madagan, hurling her backwards to crash into the pile of rubble.
Smoke rising from him, the Blue Bullet walked out of the smoke.
     "I don't mind if you hurt me, well, actually I DO mind, but if you hurt
my friends, you face me and my wrath next. DON'T think that unimportant," he
emphasized grimly to the stunned Madagan, then turned to Linna. "You okay?"
     "Yes," Linna sighed with relief; when Twister had knocked out the cause
of the pain her heart had begun beating again. "That scared me, though."
     "I don't doubt."
     Priss flew the short distance to stand beside him. "Linna's okay, but
what about you?" Linna caught the faint concerned tone in Priss' voice and
actually looked at Twister's state. His biking outfit was singed all over and
charred over the worse parts. The helmet, only slightly sooty, was the most
intact article on his person. She didn't say anything but wondered how close
he had come to being barbecued.
     Twister brushed ash off an arm. "Let's just say I'm not keen on
repeating the experience and I feel like calling it a night. I'll take on my
oh-so-humble-pie psycho-psi-sister if you want the leftover Boomers." He
indicated the two remaining androids protecting the almost recovered Madagan,
who didn't look too happy.
     "Gladly, but can you take her?" Priss asked.
     "Nothing's ever really certain buuuut...maybe."
     "You're a help."
     "You aim at Boomers and I aim to please," he chuckled a little and Priss
could practically feel his grin, hidden as it currently was. "Ah, round two
approaches."
     Indeed it was, for Madagan was walking towards the three with the two
remaining Boomers flanking her, strangely calm after being blasted hard into
the pile of rubble. Still mad, Twister suspected, but in control.
     "So, you finally decided to take this seriously, have you?" the purple-
haired woman said. "Good."
     "Look, I'm not coming with you to Genom, Madagan. Just go home. Please?"
     "I can't do that. Either you come with me, or die."
     "The latter's more attractive than the former but I'm taking option
three: kick your butt. Now THAT'S an amusing image." He looked over at Priss.
"Don't you agree?" The singer in her hardsuit snorted loudly in agreement.
Madagan frowned.
     "Very well! Then die!" Madagan started glowing again.
     Twister got ready.  

Chapter Eighteen 
----------------- 

     The scene was certainly odd; three against three but of a radical
assortment of beings. On one side were two females in advanced combat suits
with support mechs overtop who stood on either side of a male psionist whose
features were hidden by a slightly charred motorcycle getup. The other group
consisted of two androids of considerable destructive power who flanked a
female psionist with boosted powers. Not a sight you normally see, even in
Mega-Tokyo.
     Madagan stretched out her arms and her suit glowed once more, the
Boomers crouched, preparing to attack. For a moment nothing happened, making
Twister and the others wondering what Madagan was up to. They didn't wonder
long. Suddenly, yellow lightning erupted out of the ground in front of the
Genom exec, the deadly energy arced upwards then flashed down at the spot
where the startled Twister stood.
     "OH SHIT!!" he shouted, and frantically leaped high and backwards,
narrowly avoiding the electron stream that blasted his former position. His
feet prickled as they had been closest to the near-hit.
     The two remaining Boomers ignored him as the two Knight Sabers were
higher priority targets in their programming. Both managed to get Priss and
Linna to the far sides of the street by tackling each one-to-one with their
back jet-packs on full power, the purpose to get the two out of the way and
not interfere with their Mistress. However, with both Sabers in their
motoroids the androids were not going to last very long unless they were VERY
lucky.
     Madagan, on the other hand, never got a chance to launch another
lightning attack as Twister, eyes glowing blue through the helmet's visor and
aura glowing brightly around himself, moved with TK-enhanced speed towards
her. She barely managed to get arms and power ready to meet him and their
hands clasped together with a small thunderclap. Blue and yellow psionic
energies crackled and discharged between the two.
     "Nice trick you started out with. Ripped electrons from the ground? Not
bad after such a short time psi-active," Twister managed to comment after
they had struggled for a few seconds. Madagan's suit made her formidable, and
he couldn't drag this on very long.
     Unfortunately, Twister had finally finished his new Crystal Knight suit,
casting the spell upon the completed diamond armour early in the morning.
Because of that powerful finishing spell, he was still tired and his
available energy was fairly low. During the day he hadn't visibly shown this,
even though Anri had asked if Darlene had lost some weight when they had
opened the store. The purple-haired Genom exec couldn't have picked a better
time, as he was tired and hadn't put on the amulet that was the armor.
     Madagan smiled, though with a bit of strain since she was in the middle
of a fight. "I didn't need much time to learn enough to face you with this
suit. My mind was already well trained and disciplined to handle my new
abilities. You certainly don't seem much more experienced," she observed with
a little contempt.
     "Hey, I've never had anybody to teach me," Twister defended himself
indignantly. "And when I've fought I don't make much use of psi unless I have
to."
     "Then you are a fool."
     "Or maybe I just like to fight fair. You needed that psi-amp on your
back to fight me on even footing so don't complain...wimp."
     Her lips compressed in anger. Madagan was about to push harder when he
beat her to it in a strange manner. Instead of attacking her, Twister yanked
his hands from Madagan's, surprising and unbalancing her, and directed the
forces he had used, and was a little unsure of himself, towards the female
executive to the ground below her feet.
     Road exploded, flinging him backwards and Madagan high into the air.
Disoriented, even as she protected herself instinctively, she flew through
the air.
     And was intercepted in mid-arc by another flying figure that swung a
blade at her semi-helpless form: Sylia in her hardsuit. Back after finally
finishing off the Boomers she had found. The leader of the Knight Sabers
quite deliberately launched her blade into the equipment on Madagan's back.
If she had attempted to strike the psionist herself the attempt would have
failed because of Madagan's precognition, but as this did not endanger her
life the attack worked. Sparks and minor electrical discharges appeared
around the blade as Sylia pulled it out of the now-dark suit. Madagan
screamed in rage as she sensed her advantage taken away. The white-suited
Knight Saber attempted to catch her but missed as Madagan had stopped flying
through the air and was now hovering.
     A little surprised Sylia landed as Madagan shouted angrily, "LET ME
DOWN!!"
     "Certainly," Twister said, picking himself off the ground, revealing to
all that he was the one supporting Madagan. Priss and Linna relaxed and
dropped the weapons that they had been aiming at the furious Genom exec. "But
don't expect a warm welcome. Oh yes, I destroyed the devices spying on us
when your new Boomers appeared. Surprised you missed it," he said, adding
insult to injury.
     Madagan's face paled as she realized that she was in a terribly bad
position to be demanding anything. When she reached ground, she wasn't
released from the hold the Blue Bullet had on her and could feel she wasn't
going to be able to free herself. She was not strong enough now without the
suit.
     "What do we do with her?" Linna's chill voice frightened her. She had
not been nice with the green Knight Saber.
     "Want me to make the call?" the Bullet inquired of the white-suited
Saber.
     "As long as you do it quick."
     "Gotcha." He walked up to the standing, immobile Madagan and sighed.
     "Are you going to kill me?" Whatever he did she was determined to not
show fear. Nevertheless, when he shook his helmeted head she relaxed
slightly.
     "No. I haven't killed a human being and even after you tried to do kill
me it wouldn't be right. Besides, Genom might be less interested in me if
you're still around to satisfy their curiosity in psi."
     "Is that wise?" Sylia said, concerned. "Genom seems to have done quite
a bit of research already, she may accelerate that."
     "Oh, I'll put them in reverse." His slightly mischievous tone raised her
eyebrows. Then he turned away from the helpless Madagan, which seemed odd to
the captive, before he continued. "And as for you, Madagan, I have to take
away your toy."
     This confused her. "What?" Then she heard ripping sounds, and felt...
     Twister heard a very startled, outraged, feminine scream behind him as
he used his TK and had to grin. He then brought the outfit and equipment he
had taken off Madagan in front of himself and wadded it into a fairly tight
ball. "Could you take this stuff, Sabers?"
     "Oh, gladly," Linna's mirthful voice replied and the green motoroid with
her inside picked it up. Priss was howling with laughter.
     "You...you...you..." he heard Madagan sputter behind him.
     "I'm sure you'll find something to cover yourself before a Genom crew
gets here, Madagan. Me, I've got some things to settle with ADPolice
tonight."
     "I'll make you suffer for this," was her coldly furious reply.
     "Advice: Don't try." He waved behind himself as he walked away for his
bike. "Ta."
     The Knight Sabers walked away with him. "That was a...practical way of
getting her suit," Sylia remarked dryly.
     "It was perfect!" Priss chortled.
     "It WAS the fastest way." Twister shrugged, unrepentant.
     "And so modest, Bullet," Priss teased. "Turning away like that from an
attractive woman."
     Twister reached his bike, managed it up, and got on before answering the
singer. "If you think of her like that maybe I could find a bow and gift wrap
her for you. For those cold, lonely nights in bed, of course," he added
helpfully as Priss sputtered indignantly.
     "She's holding a very big gun, Bullet, you'd better go quickly," Linna
laughed.
     "Right." He revved the engine. "I'll release Madagan now so you'd better
go. Oh yeah, whatever you hear from my next encounter with ADPolice: don't
believe it. I'm going to play escape artist, but not let ADPolice in on it.
Especially if they try the same thing on me as they did to the Griffin. In
fact, I'm counting on it. Oh, don't forget, Priss," he added, "if Madagan
tries again: maybe next time, oh mighty amazon. And if you spank her she may
actually behave. Or if you prefer, she'll spank you." Seeing the blue
motoroid cannon begin rising he quickly waved to them and tore off down the
street.
     "He's going to pay for that," Priss ominously said.
     "Time to go back to base," Sylia ordered, ignoring Linna's laughter,
"and we'd better move quickly."
     Slightly surprised, Priss and Linna looked at each other, then both
turned to their friend and leader. "Why, Sylia?" Linna spoke for both.
     "Something else may come up tonight and we'd best be ready," Sylia
replied mysteriously and all the way back home that was all either of them
could get out of her. 

     "You want to WHAT?!?" Leon stared at the radio incredulously.
     "You heard me! If it worked that time then it'll work now! What's wrong
with that!?" Potter demanded. "We'll heard him onto that street and block the
entrance with patrol cars. The armoured tank you used last time is already in
position at the end. I don't want anymore comments from you, Leon. Just. Be.
There." And with that, he cut the transmission.
     "Idiot!" Leon swore furiously. His car was already approaching the spot
Potter wanted him to be and the jerk hadn't even bothered checking. They had
temporarily lost the Bullet but suspected he was headed towards the street
Potter expected him to take. Leon, however, had almost lost all the humour he
had felt at the beginning of this fiasco. The amount of cars taken out or
damaged so far was worse than the Griffin affair; a testament to the skill of
the Bullet and the overzealous actions of Potter. Those Boomers turning up
hadn't helped, but they had vanished as mysteriously as they had appeared.
Strange that.
     Just then, something in his rear view mirror caught his attention,
something fast. Before he had a chance to recognize it, it had gone into the
next lane and slowed down enough to stay parallel to him. The Blue Bullet!
And he was jauntily waving at Leon.
     Cheeky bugger, to do that, was his amused thought. The silver windows
that reflected lasers made his grin impossible for the biker to see. He
almost didn't turn on the radio to report this, but duty compelled him. "Hey,
Potter. The target is keeping parallel to me and appears to be having a fun
time."
     "What?! The better not be a joke, Leon!" said Potter angrily.
     "No joke. I'm turning onto the street you wanted and he's staying right
with me. Maybe he wants to surrender."
     "That's impossible!"
     "I'm going to check it out. See ya." He reached for the turn off switch.
     "Wait! Don't you..." Potter voice died with pleasing suddenness.
     Leon slowly applied the brake and the Bullet decelerated to match. They
quickly came to a stop as Leon guessed that his companion was staying with
him. The Bullet, a few meters ahead and watching him, made no move. Sighing,
Leon checked his gun, just in case, and opened the door to get out, standing
behind it. For some reason the Bullet looked surprised, at least that what
Leon thought from the body language.
     "Leon...McNichol. This is a surprise," spoke the Bullet.
     In his turn, Leon was amazed the biker knew him, or a least well enough
to recognize him on sight. "You know who I..."
     "I have my methods," interrupted the blue biker. "Doesn't matter. I'm
glad it's you with whom I speak with last."
     "Last?" echoed Leon, a sense of dread coming over him. He began lifting
his revolver which was hidden from the Bullet's sight behind the car door.
     "Yes." The Bullet dismounted and faced Leon. "You see, when I heard
about the Griffin I felt a great sense of wanting to be as famous as that car
of the night. And so, I built this bike with all of my hidden talents and
love to achieve the same blaze of glory. Tonight," he added dramatically,
"will be my final and greatest performance."
     This guy is NUTS! thought Leon incredulously and acted. He whipped his
gun up and assumed a firing position behind the car door. "Your act's been
cancelled, buddy, so just stay where you are. Besides, you'd never get past
the tank at the barricade up ahead."
     The Bullet acted like he was happy about that. "Really? Could you tell
them to leave the area then?" Swiftly, the Bullet re-mounted.
     "Stop where you are or I'll shoot!" Leon ordered.
     Turning to talk to him, the Bullet added, "I'm going to make quite a
bang. Bye-bye." Then he pushed an empty hand at Leon.
     A stunning force knocked the gun out of Leon's hands as he himself was
knocked over. As he recovered he heard two sounds, the Bullet driving off and
more ADPolice cars finally reaching his position from the same direction he
and the Bullet had come from. What the hell did he hit me with? Shaking his
head, Leon stood, recovering his gun in the process, to greet the arriving
police vehicles. Then he turned on his radio again.
     "Potter, he's coming your way and I think you'd better get out. Now."
     "Don't you dare turn off your receiver again and what the hell are you
talking about?!" demanded Potter.
     "He may have a bomb."
     "And he TOLD you this? Are you a complete idiot??" Potter demanded.
"It's an obvious ploy so he can escape."
     "Dammit, Potter! This guy is crazy! He told me all..." Leon stopped when
another voice cut in.
     "This is chopper three and I have a visual on the target. He's going
around 225 km/h and climbing. Around mid-way point. Wait...something is..."
the pilot paused, then grew confused, "What the hell is going on?!"
     "Get the visual!" Leon heard Potter demand. There was a few moments of
silence as Potter's team at the blockade looked at the feed they were
getting. Then...
     "He's on fire??" an officer Leon didn't know said disbelievingly.
     "BLUE flames?!" another cried.
     "Dear GOD, it's getting bigger!!"
     "He's not burning! It's fake!" Potter shouted angrily.
     "The road's MELTING BEHIND HIM, Potter!" the first officer retorted.
     "I can't even see him anymore!!"
     On fire? Leon wondered. Melting?
     "This is chopper three! I can't keep up!" The pilot's voice was
beginning to reveal his panic. "Whatever it is, I recommend YOU GET OUT OF
THERE!!"
     "GET OUT, POTTER!!" Leon yelled.
     "EVERYBODY, EVACUATE!!!" Potter's scream blasted the speaker; Leon hoped
it was in time.
     Thirty seconds later, Leon saw a blue glow, then a dazzling white light
where he imagined the barricade had been. 

     Twister appeared in his hanger-sized room about three feet above the
ground, the engine of the bike roaring before quickly dying.
     I hope that worked, he thought. He let the bike down to the ground and
got off, sighing with relief. Would have been interesting if someone had
stuck around, good thing nobody did. Somehow, I doubt ADPolice will think the
Blue Bullet survived. Twister stretched, then headed to his computer area,
remembering why he had done it and how.
     He couldn't use his Blue Bullet persona anymore. Events tonight had
shown that all too well and he had built the bike to relax, not to be the
object of a manhunt.
     Spoilsports.
     He heaved a sigh. God, he was tired.
     He had used the one enchantment that he had recently put on his bike.
Something he had dreamed up while finishing his new armour. As he had
accelerated past 220, the spell had started absorbing the engine's heat to
form a type of fireball around him and the bike, storing the energy.
Increased by his own TK, done by trying to heat up his own engine, the
fireball had gotten hot enough to melt through almost any obstacle. When he
had teleported, just as the front tire was about at the point where the tank
wall had melted away, all that was released, mostly straight up and down.
Mostly.
     Must've left a pretty big hole, he mentally chuckled while walking into
his computer room. Then he noticed something on his screen, and swore.
     He had 'visited' ADPolice by computer a few days ago and had set up a
flag that his supercomputer could monitor safely.
     The flag had activated exactly one minute ago.
     Arrgggghhh!! Did he HAVE to attack right NOW?!?! Damn. Twister took off
his helmet and then lifted something unseen but felt off of the table the
terminal rested on. His fingers traced the invisible object, contemplated the
other two events that had already happened that night, and sighed wryly.
     Third time's the charm. But for whom?
     And here he had hoped he could munch on something before this.  

Chapter Nineteen 
---------------   

Ten minutes before- 

     "Sylia!" Nene cried sobbingly into the vid-phone she immediately used
when she saw no one was finally around and the elegant leader of the Knight
Sabers answered.
     Sylia was a little startled at Nene's tearful state. "Nene, what...?"
     "Darlene's dead!" the young red-head cried, using Twister's female name
as she usually did. "I just heard a few minutes ago! Some kind of explosion
and there's nothing left! Nothing!"
     Sylia sighed, she should have called earlier. "No, Nene."
     "N-no?" Nene blinked her teary eyes in confusion.
     "Aside from the fact that our friend can be...elsewhere when desired, I
believe whatever has you so upset was planned for ADPolice benefit."
     "Elsewhere...? Oh! I forgot!" Nene's face reddened with embarrassment.
"But why do it at all??" she demanded, wiping tears off her face angrily.
     "My guess would be to make it seem as if the 'Bullet' was killed. And
succeeded, I assume, by your reaction," Sylia concluded wryly. "I doubt there
will be much of an investigation and/or search for him now."
     "Could've told ME before doing it," Nene mumbled, slightly annoyed.
     "Well, he did say he was planning something after the battle."
     "Battle? WHAT battle?!" Nene was beginning to feel like she was missing
a lot tonight.
     Smiling slightly, Sylia shook her head. "Best not to say anything now.
I'll fill you in later."
     Despite her impatience, Nene released her breath in a faintly annoyed
"Alright." Then she heard a boom and felt the floor shake; something normally
not done by floors as a rule. "What was that?!" she exclaimed, looking
around.
     "What's happening, Nene?" Sylia asked, concern on her face.
     "Don't know! Gonna check it out." Nene reached to hang up the phone.
     "Ne..." was all Sylia got out before the connection died. Quickly, she
stood up and hurried out of the room to get the others ready as Priss and
Linna had stayed at Sylia's request. The new suits were ready, and it was
time to use them.
     It looked like what she had suspected was happening now, at ADPolice
headquarters.

     The black Boomer with several spikes on its shoulder pads that was now
guarding the roof of ADPolice headquarters saw the two police helicopters
approaching. Its AI designated them as hostile and to be destroyed; the
Boomer's creator did not wish anybody else landing on the roof. The target
lock for the two airborne vehicles was swiftly made and the mouth laser began
glowing blue, about to fire.
     It fired... and missed.
     Reason?
     Something unseen had hit the cyberdroid in the torso just in time,
making it stagger backwards before steadying itself. The two choppers thought
the missed beam was a warning shot and were turned away by a concerned Daley
who had seen it. With the choppers out of the way that left the Boomer's full
attention for whatever had hit it.
     "Well, FANCY meeting you here, Mr. Spikey Boomer!" something said to the
android.
     Someone black and armoured appeared near the edge of the roof;
apparently the one who had hit it. The Boomer's ID software came up with a
match: the Crystal Knight. However, some changes in the Knight's armour had
given a few microseconds difficulty in making his identity known to the
biotechnical terror. 
     Most areas of the black inflexible plate potions of the armour now had
faint silvery designs, very visible against the light absorbing armour. The
visor was still undecorated, but now the lower portion of the helmet covering
the lower face was pushed outward slightly. This was not the only addition.
There were two raised strips on the chestplate running diagonally from around
the shoulder areas to the bottom of the rib cage where the diaphragm was;
they weren't very thick and did not join. The only other major change to the
slightly different armour were additional rounded and streamlined forearm
projections that tapered off into the armour near the elbow and contained
large holes on the other higher end near the hands, obviously some kind of
new weaponry. 
     Despite the difference, the Boomer had recognized its new opponent.
However, the Knight's arrival had been prepared for by its Master and it was
programmed to wait. This was not what the Knight expected, and after ten
seconds of nothing happening, tried goading it.
     "Hel-LO! Ah...yo? Machine o' death and mayhem?" Nothing. "Pardon me, but
you attack ADPolice choppers and ignore me? Yaright. Blow a circuit?"
Something occurred to the dark armoured figure, and he slowly said, "Or...
are... you... waiting... for..."
     "HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! So! You finally realized I expected you, Crystal
Knight!" shouted a voice from the previously ignored chopper on the roof,
confident in its superiority.
     The Knight turned to face Dr. Miriam. "Oh yeah, I'm just thrilled to
meet a mad scientist and his Boomer Babies. I don't suppose you care to
surrender?" He said this in a manner that showed he didn't think that very
likely. Twister saw the fury grow on the mad doctor's face and got ready for
him to order the Boomer to attack.
     The doctor had other ideas. "They are not BABIES!! They are my
MASTERPIECES to destroy the Knight Sabers! YOU are not fit to face them and,"
he reached one hand into the helicopter and made a sudden movement, "if the
information I received is correct, you will be of much better use to me as
valuable research material." He laughed a little maniacally.
     "What the heck are you... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" White-hot
railroad spikes lanced into Twister's brain for an instant, making the rest
of the world forgotten in the moment of pure white agony. It vanished even as
he raised his hands to his head, but the after-effects left him reeling and
he staggered, almost going unconscious from the sudden lack of pain. 

     Elsewhere, on route to Genom tower, a seething Madagan, wearing a large
coat to cover her, suddenly widened her eyes in shock, then doubled over when
the pain registered.
     Fortunately, being less sensitive she felt the pain less. Even still,
her driver and bodyguard Boomers reacted with concern, but she waved them off
thinking it was a result of her earlier battle.
     Not so. 

     "Wonderful! So you DO have mental powers!" Miriam gloated as he saw the
Crystal Knight recover slightly from what he had done.
     "What...the HECK...was that?!" Twister managed through his headache, he
tried to Heal it but whatever had happened seemed to have somehow inhibited
his psionic powers temporarily. He realized that this was a Very Bad Thing.
     "I'm told it was an experimental device operating on the theory that it
would disrupt a person's psi ability if they had any. Since each human being
has an unique personal 'wavelength' it has to cycle through a broad range."
Dr. Miriam smiled unpleasantly. "It seems you're very gifted. All the
better."
     The Knight shook his head and took a deep breath to steady himself.
"Yeah, right!" He leaped for the chopper to destroy the device.
     It was a measure of how rattled Twister was to have neglected to
consider the very dangerous Boomer still on the roof. When it leaped to
prevent him from harming the doctor, he was still unable to use his psionics
and his attempt to do so allowed the Boomer to launch a fist that landed on
his torso. The Knight flew back to the edge of the roof, landing hard.
     Groaning, and with one hand over his stomach, Twister got on his knees
to try to get up. He relied a lot on speed to avoid damage from Boomers, and
when unable to avoid getting hit resorting to psi. He wasn't feeling very
fast at the moment, was currently without psi, and this one had hit HARD.
Luckily the new suit had a weak force field around it; along with a bunch of
other options. He cupped his right hand as the Boomer advanced on him and
softly said, "C-Sphere."
     Stored energy in his suit created a restraining globe of force, within
which air was superheated into plasma that strained to escape from the
constraining sphere. It left a faint comet-like trail when Twister threw it
hard at the enemy machine.
     Not being a rocket, beam weapon, or something else familiar to the
Boomer the machine hesitated briefly, allowing the potent ball of energy to
hit and explode with a fiery blast. It threw the android violently back with
its front armour melted slightly, unfortunately with no real damage.
     "Tit for tat," Twister chuckled nonetheless. Suddenly, the pain came
again. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" he screamed.
     "For doing that to my creation I'm overjoyed the machine's cycle has
come back to your wavelength again!" Dr. Miriam angrily shook his fist at the
black crystalline-armoured annoyance.
     The doctor would soon be his own audience as Twister didn't think he was
going to be able to keep himself conscious. He had been tired to begin with
and this hadn't helped. Whatever that thing was doing, the effect seemed to
have doubled because of the previous time. This was comprehended through a
foggy maze of pain, as well as the fact that the Boomer would be able to have
him for lunch now that he was in no way able to fight. Twister couldn't be
captured by this madman, who knew what he would do to him? But escape seemed
difficult now.
     One chance. And it promised to be painful.
     "Once more, with feeling," he groggily whispered. "C-Sphere." The ball
formed as the angry Boomer rushed at him once more, but he didn't throw it at
the android. He threw it to the ground in front of himself.
     Two feet away.
     The blast blew him backwards and beyond the edge of the roof.
     This has definitely not been a good night for me, was Twister's last
fleeting thought before darkness rushed in. 
     Dr. Miriam wasn't angry; his Boomer hadn't been damaged enough to matter
and the Crystal Knight's last move was that of a desperate man. The Knight
Sabers were his real objective tonight anyway, the Knight he could deal with
later.
     "Forget him," he commanded his Boomer, his masterpiece. "Go into the
building and destroy everything until the Knight Sabers arrive."
     As the cyberdroid started towards the door, Dr. Miriam returned to his
helicopter to continue monitoring the progress of the building.
     "Soon, Knight Sabers. Soon you will be no more, proving my greatness!"
he laughed insanely.
     A half hour later, all four Boomers were destroyed.
     So much for greatness.  

     Mackie left to get the van ready, thrilled by the action but also
relieved it was over. The rest of the Sabers would have left with him except
that Priss insisted she had seen the Crystal Knight.
     The young man considered the mech he had built himself and decided it
needed a lot more work, maybe even a complete redesign. It wasn't because of
poor efficiency.
     It just didn't look cool enough for him now.

Chapter Twenty 
-------------- 

     "I told you I thought it was him! Hey, sleepy head," called a voice that
penetrated the darkness of oblivion. "Hey! Wake up! C'mon, you dope!"
     Recognition flared. So did pain. "Shut up and let me die in peace,
Priss," Twister groaned without opening his eyes. He felt bruised and tired.
The bruises he tried to Heal, and thankfully it worked. Whatever the crazy
doctor had used didn't last long.
     "He's alive," Linna sighed with relief.
     A hard blow to the stomach surprised him, producing a grunt, and a
startled Twister opened his eyes. All the Knight Sabers in new-looking suits
were standing around him, or rather around the Twister-shaped hole he was
currently lying in. The pink hardsuit had been the one to stomp on his lower
torso and the foot still rested there.
     "What was that for?" Twister demanded, beginning to try to rise from the
hole. Nene moved her foot away as he slowly got up.
     "Not warning me beforehand about what you did with ADPolice! I was
worried!" Nene angrily told him. "And for worrying me AGAIN when I saw you
here!"
     "What happened?" inquired Sylia.
     "Crazy doctor used some strange device on me that disabled my psionics
and it knocked me almost into unconsciousness.  I blew myself off the roof to
escape." Twister levered himself out of his hole and tried using his powers
again when his head pulsed with pain from a killer headache. He sagged a
little in relief when he found he was able to Heal a second time and the
killer headache disappeared.
     "BLEW YOURSELF OFF?!?!" chorused Nene, Linna, and Priss incredulously.
     "Even Priss isn't that dumb!" said a startled Nene.
     "HEY!!"
     Hiding her amusement as Nene and Priss started arguing, Sylia asked,
"How did you slow your fall and survive if you couldn't use psionics?"
     "Air brakes, heh heh heh," Twister said in an Ernest sort of way, and
chuckled at the assorted groans. "Added feature of the new suit, just in
case. I'm not fond of falling."
     "Nice. Getting decorative?" Linna said, pointing at the designs on the
black plate.
     "It needed it. You four have upgraded as well I see." 
     "What else does it do?" asked Priss, curiously.
     "Later. Where's that doctor?"
     "ADPolice caught him. They'll be here soon," said Sylia.
     Twister straightened at the news. "I'm going to destroy that thing he
had and ask where he got it from. Thanks for worrying about me, but I'd
better hurry. See you later!" Before anyone could protest, he vanished.
     "Chee! Thinks he can do everything," Priss grumbled.
     Sylia shook her head. "It's best he does it now before ADPolice get
their hands on that device."
     "How's that headache you got, Sylia?" Linna queried.
     "Fine. We'd better go; it's been a busy night." Sylia turned and started
walking away. The rest followed, except for one.
     Linna turned when she noticed.
     "Priss?" 

     With a grin on his face, Daley watched the helicopter belonging to the
terrorist who had taken over ADPolice headquarters land on the street. When
the blades had stopped moving the door opened and a cheerful Leon holding the
collar of a sullen Dr. Miriam stepped down the stairs with the prisoner.
     "So, finally decided to join us, eh, Leon?" Daley cheerily said.
     "You could say that. Been a busy night for both of us." Leon grinned.
     "Well, you got my character; how did you handle yours?"
     Leon shrugged. "Not mine. Potter's. And that didn't go as well as this
did."
     "Now THAT'S debatable. Headquarters is a mess right now," Daley ruefully
said, then added, "I did hear some reports. Did the guy really kill himself?"
     Leon nodded. "Looks like it. I talked to him before he did it and he
sounded like a real loon. Took out a large chunk of bridge doing it." He
shook his head at the waste. Then he spotted Lisa, the captain's niece,
passing by, looking slightly distracted. "Hey, Lisa!"
     Lisa had been deep in her own thoughts, thinking about what had happened
in the building with her and Nene, who was a Knight Saber! Surprised at
hearding her name called, Lisa looked up and saw the trio over by the
chopper, then looked down at the camera in her hands and smiled. She raised
it into position and took a picture while the two ADPolicemen posed. Lisa
lowered it to say, "Thanks!", but she noticed the three were all staring at
something behind her. Whirling around, she saw the object of their
attentions.
     Walking in a straight line towards the chopper, through startled people
that avoided him, was the Crystal Knight. Despite the change of the new
armour compared to the old, he was quickly recognized by Lisa. ADPolice did
too, but those gathered around weren't sure of what to do as the reason for
the Knight's visit was unknown. He stopped right beside Lisa and looked down
at her.
     "Hello again," he greeted her. "As you can see, I'm wearing my armour
this time."
     "So it WAS you!" Lisa gasped, remembering when they had literally bumped
into each other on that roof. "What are you doing here?"
     His answer was directed at the frowning captive. "To get a few answers
out of Dr. Miriam here."
     "Hold it!" Leon called out before the doctor could speak. "He's a
prisoner of ADPolice and, despite the help you've given in the past, you're
still a vigilante."
     "Oh, come off it, Leon," the Knight said, disgusted. "All I need are a
few answers and something in that aircraft of his," the Knight calmly said.
     "Why don't you use your psi-powers or are they still unavailable?" Dr.
Miriam queried maliciously.
     Blinking, Leon and Daley looked down at their captive in confusion.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Leon demanded.
     "Shut up, Miriam," the Knight demanded and one of his characteristic
crystal swords appeared in a hand. He advanced.
     "Stop right there, Knight," Leon commanded the black plated and silvery
design-covered figure. "He's still our prisoner."
     Meanwhile, Miriam was unimpressed with the Knight's display. "Looks like
you've recovered if you're using telekinesis. What will you use next?
Telepathy?" Suddenly, he smiled unpleasantly. "I see no need to continue this
idiotic farce anymore." 
     Puzzled and confused at the confidence in Miriam's voice, Twister
hesitated, wondering what was going on with the doctor's attitude change.
     The answer came terribly quickly.
     Lancing pain erupted in his mind for the third time that night and his
sword shattered into vanishing motes of sparkling dust. "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"
he screamed, falling to his knees and hands. Everyone except Miriam was
shocked at the agony the scream described even with the distortion the suit
normally applied to his voice. Dazed, Twister heard Leon react.
     "What the hell?" Leon said, surprised at what had happened.
Instinctively he realized the cause and shook his captive. "What did you do,
asshole?"
     For an answer, Miriam moved his arms surprisingly quickly and grabbed
Leon and Daley. Then, with strength that was definitely NOT normal, he hurled
them both away, sprawling, in different directions.
     Someone in the crowd of police cried out, "Android!!" Weapons were
raised.
       "Stop!!" The android of Dr. Miriam commanded. "Fire and I will trigger
the explosives hidden in the helicopter and destroy most of the surrounding
area, including yourselves." Understandably, the police hesitated, making the
doppleganger grin as it walked over to the gasping Knight.
     So much for staying true with the anime version, Twister berated
himself, mostly for not scanning with his senses and discovering about the
fake.
     "That you were fooled by my deception is no surprise," the mechanical
clone gloated, then frowned. "But that was not my goal. Those new suits were
an unknown. An unknown I shall be ready for next time." Something landing
behind it made it turn around, and then glare at the new arrival with
simulated hate.
     It was a blue hardsuit. No surprise there.
     "Hey, you damn machine, how about taking me on?" Priss taunted, one arm
raised in firing position.
     "And can you be sure I can't detonate the copter before you destroy me?"
the android of Miriam retorted.
     The blue suited Knight Saber hesitated.
     Twister had seen enough. If the cycle on the damned machine was still
running he would be hit hard again and likely fall unconscious. The head. The
head had to be completely destroyed and the android was not likely to be
armoured. His armour's other weapons were still mostly untried and the way he
was feeling he doubted he could aim them properly. Suit - out. Psi - out. But
there WAS one thing he could use...
     "Well? What will you do? Or should I detonate it right now?" the android
mocked.
     "Bastard machine..." Priss' arm wavered, then firmed for some unknown
reason. When she spoke next, it sounded like she was smiling as she said,
"You know what I'll do?" 
     The android's brows furrowed; this was strange behaviour for a human.
     "I think I'll watch."
     "What?!?"
     "MOUKO TAKABISHA!!!" cried the Crystal Knight from behind the android
and before the machine could do anything the ki power Twister had gathered
between his hands was unleashed in as powerful a blast was he could make it
at the moment, aimed right at the copy's head and upper body. The force of
the almost point-blank ki blast slammed into the android and the metal head
was blown apart into a million pieces, thrown up into the sky along with most
of the upper torso. Headless, what was left of the body fell to the ground.
     Priss lowered her arm and watched Twister sigh with relief. "Was that
another one of those weird moves?"
     "Yeah," he tiredly answered, standing up slowly. "As much ki as I could
manage that quickly and narrowly anyhow." He'd have to thank Ranma again for
teaching that move to him.
     "I like it."
     The Knight snorted audibly in amusement. "Surprise there. You'd better
get going," he added seeing the police force around them start to lose their
hesitation. "And thanks; I owe you one."
     "And you sound like you're dead on your feet," she retorted. "Don't
worry, I'll collect eventually," Priss answered him in a devilish tone.
"Maybe when I get you back for those comments earlier." And then she
activated her jumping jets, swiftly leaping away.
     "Oh, joy," Twister muttered. "Why do I feel this sinking sensation?"
     "Hey, Knight!"
     Startled, the armoured psionist looked at the helicopter and saw Leon
waving at him. Remembering about the device that had disabled him, he rapidly
strode over to the ADPolice officer. Twister noticed some people moving
around inside the chopper that must have ran inside right after the Miriam
android was destroyed.
     Leon saw his glance and nodded inside. "Bomb squad. That thing was right
about the explosives."
     "Great. Thought that it was going to blow it up anyway so I took it
out." The Knight shrugged. "Sorry, us vigilantes can be mean." He tried
Healing the headache he had and got a faint response, lessening the pain
slightly. It appeared the device's effects didn't last very long past one of
its cycles.
     The lieutenant gave him a wry look. "I noticed. You do realize that the
only reason I'm not ordering your arrest right now is that I don't think I
could stop you from getting away. True?" He chuckled at the Knight's helmet
looking innocently up at the sky. "I'll let somebody else tackle that job,
thank you very much."
     "Hey, Leon," Daley called from inside the copter. "I think I've got some
really strange piece of equipment here. We had to disconnect it before we
could get to the explosives."
     A strong sense of danger began building in Twister halfway through
Daley's message. "Oh, SHOOT!!" Twister cried, and before anybody could stop
him, rushed inside the helicopter and came out immediately with a large metal
box that had a few lights, displays, and wires hanging from it. With all his
might and recovering telekinetic power he threw the box into the air. He
stood rigid as he kept accelerating the box upwards with his mind as much as
he could until....
     BOOOOOOM!!!
     A large explosion safely far above them marked the end of the device
that had given him so much trouble.
     "I'm getting REALLY annoyed at this Miriam character," Daley stated as
he looked up at the fading explosion from the door of the helicopter.
     "Better make sure of the android's body as well," said the Knight and he
turned to the remains. Holding his two hands together straight out in front
of him and all fingers pointing at the target, Twister said, "Laser Lance."
     Ten small laser beams leaped from each of the black fingertips and
merged into a powerful, single one where a glowing torus had appeared a
hand's span from the closest fingertip. With deliberate precision, Twister
sliced apart the lifeless form of the android into harmless chunks of metal.
He noticed his armour beginning to get heavier so he was relieved that he had
finished in time and stopped the beam; the armour started losing weight again
as it gathered ambient light to recover from the power loss.
     "New armour's more powerful I see," Leon commented, a tinge of envy and
frustration in his voice.
     "Yeah, and I'd better get cloaking. Good-bye." With that last word, the
Knight vanished, startling many ADPolice who had been watching him. "Oh,
yeah," his disembodied voice called. "Thanks, guys! And I won't destroy your
pictures, Lisa," the Knight added with a chuckle, making the young
photographer start, then flush with embarrassment. The young girl thought
that it was lucky that she was leaving tomorrow or else she'd REALLY work on
finding out who the KNIGHT was!
     "Why is it that everybody else in this crazy city has better equipment
than us?" Leon asked the empty air.
     "They don't have to worry about boards and politicians," Daley answered
with a sigh, coming up beside him.
     Leon echoed him and leaned on the helicopter. "I wish we had better
stuff."
     "Be careful what you wish for, Leon," whispered the Knight's voice,
right by his ear.
     "HOLY!!" The ADPolice lieutenant jerked away, caught totally off-guard
and surprising Daley.
     "Leon?!? What's wrong??"
     "He... I..." Leon waved haltingly at empty air for a few seconds before
sighing in defeat. "Never mind. Let's get this mess cleaned up."
     "Riiight." Daley still looked at his partner strangely as he walked
away.
     Levitating ten feet above Leon, Twister quietly laughed.
     Only one thing left to do today, then I think I'll collapse into sleep.
What a day. He sighed. I never even got a spare moment to think about what
Sylia told me. Tomorrow then; I'm too wasted now.
     He teleported home for some much needed sleep. 

     Doctor Miriam angrily slammed his fist on the monitor screen that had
been receiving his duplicate's visual transmissions and cracked it slightly.
     "No!! How could they have ALL been defeated?!?" he demanded.
     Yanda calmly looked at him. "It appeared that the Knight Sabers suits
had been upgraded since the last time you collected data on them. You did not
account for that, and so they were destroyed. You had better luck with the
Knight but he was the one who destroyed your copy with one of his UPGRADED
suit's weapons."
     Still furious, Miriam could not deny the ring of truth in her words. She
was right, he'd neglected the possibility of upgrades and that had been the
flaw in his plan. He was suddenly glad the woman had insisted on moving out
of his factory and moving to a safer locale; it HAD been his face on the
double and no doubt ADPolice, and worse, Genom, would be looking for him. But
even with his current safety, he was dissatisfied.
     "Where did you get that device that took care of the Knight's psi
power?" he asked, that had been the lure Yanda had used to get him to accept
substituting a double for him. The possibilities for such power was ENORMOUS!
IF he could use them himself, which the woman had hinted at.
     "An... old friend of my master's made it," Yanda replied.
     "Master?? So you are not alone; I thought not," Miriam smirked
knowingly, he had scanned the woman and knew her to be a Boomer, albeit of an
unusual design. That made him sure that there was someone else behind the
scene. "I agreed to help you if my plan failed. What will I be doing?"
     "WE," she emphasized, "will continue on a similar track to your plan but
with some... changes which will necessitate some research before we act. Most
of the technology we possess but there are flaws that need to be corrected."
     "And that is why you contacted me?" Miriam felt pleased that his
greatness was recognized by this mysterious Boomer.
     "After we discovered your... activities with the Knight Sabers I did
some checking and found you quite acceptable."
     "WHAT are we going to DO?? Destroy the Knight Sabers and the Crystal
Knight? And WHO is your 'master'?" Miriam demanded.
     "Not destroy, exactly," Yanda answered him, wearing an unreadable smile.
"Especially not the Knight, who's strength in psi would be most valuable if
controlled...somehow." Miriam frowned from the, yet another, hint from the
woman offerings. "As for my master..." She stood up abruptly and, surprised
at the action, Miriam echoed her. "We will meet him now." She turned for the
door as it opened and stepped out of the room, a curious Miriam following
after. Yanda smiled as he caught up with her.
     "I think you'll be quite...surprised."




| Twister (also known as Darren Steffler ;)
| 		     e-mail at twister@tendo-dojo.ranma.net
| Big Heapum Fan of: Ranma 1/2, Bubblegum Crisis, Dirty Pair, Gundam, and
| 		     the rest of the known anime universe.