Bubblegum Collision

   A Bubblegum Crisis fanfiction by Douglas A. Reeves

Part Two - Midnight Ride

     "Nene!" Leon called, smiling.  "Nice to see you back!"
     "Thanks," she answered, "It's good to be back."
     "How's that arm holding up?  I understand you had a fight with some
stairs."
     Nene had to smile slightly at that -- Sylia had set that story up nicely
for her.  "Oh, it's doing better."  Flexing her cybernetic fingers, she again
marveled at just how natural it felt.  "I should be able to get the cast off in a
few days."
     "Great!  See you around!"
     "Bye" she said, waving to him as he left.  As she entered the tower, she
couldn't help but think, "It IS good to be back.  In spite of her frustration with
the AD Police at times, she really did like her job, and she had been anxious to
return to it.
     The first hour or so of her day was occupied with answering people's
questions, and by the time she actually got to doing any work she was feeling
even more cheerful than usual.  Settling down with a stack of paperwork that
had piled up in her absence, she set to work.
     By the time she had done, it was getting late.  Weariness crept over her,
but she knew she had one last thing to do before she went home.  Walking into
the computer room, she sat down at the terminal and typed in the command to
access a file.
     "NAME:" flashed onto the computer screen, and Nene began to tap out
the letters.
     S-t-e-v-e-n-s-o-n-,- -C-h-r-i-s-t-i-n-e-ENTER
     "Stevenson, Christine.  Majority owner of Stevenson Incorporated.
Estimated net worth of 15 billion dollars American.  Citizen of the United
States, but resides in Megatokyo for much of the year.
     "Date of birth: 14 April 2012, Height 5'8", Hair: Blond, Eyes: Blue"    
"No criminal record."
     Nene's mood darkened as she read the file, and she could feel the anger
building up inside her.  The fact that there were no comments on the file at all,
even regarding the incident at her mansion, served to irritate her even further. 
Clearing the file, she shut down the terminal and left, seeking solace in the
night.
                   * * * * * * * * *
     "Nothing at all?" Sylia asked.
     "Nothing.  No record, not even a statement regarding the fighting at her
estate the other day."  Nene scowled.  The mere mention of this woman's name
had brought a violent hatred bubbling to the surface, a fury so strong that it
frightened Nene herself.
     "Odd... I'll have to see what I can come up with on my own, then."
Seeing the change that had come over Nene, Sylia added, "I'm sorry.  I
shouldn't have asked you to do this."
Nene sighed, "We do what we have to," and left.
     Once she was gone, Sylia slumped into a chair and wept.
                   * * * * * * * * *
     Looking over the shattered battlesuit, Christine said, "There's no way we
can repair this... we'll have to build a new one."
     "What about the backup?" Doctor Boston asked.
     "It's a good backup, but not good enough for a primary... I wouldn't
want to go out in it."
     "Well, at least she is exercising some concern for her own safety" he
thought, then responded, "Well, what do you have in mind for the new one?"
     "First of all, we need a projectile weapon of some sort.  I had no idea
that armor existed with that kind of energy-reflective properties."
     "What kind?"
     "The Knight Saber that I hit with the pulse cannon... I hit her dead on
and her armor wasn't even scratched."
     "You might also consider some sort of melee weapon, if you are
looking for physical damage."
     "That thought had occurred to me also," she said, then stopped and
looked at him oddly.  "I thought you wanted me out of this."
     "I do... but I can't stop you.  Maybe I can at least keep you alive."    
     "All right," she said, suddenly looking to change the subject, "Come
on... we have work to do."
                   * * * * * * * * *
     "Sylia?"
     "Come in," she answered quietly, and the door opened to reveal Priss
and Linna.
     "Sylia, we need to talk." Linna said softly.
     "About?" she asked, struggling to regain her composure.
     "About you," came the response, from Priss this time.  She had a look
in her eyes that Sylia had never seen before.  "What's happened has happened...
but you have to face up to it."
     Sylia nodded, "I know."  Looking up at her friends... no, her family, she
realized that they still believed in her, even when she couldn't believe in
herself.
     Priss extended her hand, and Sylia took it.  Pulling her to her feet, Priss
said, "We need you, Sylia.  You're the one who makes this all happen."
                   * * * * * * * * *
     Days passed, and Christine smiled as she observed the new battlesuit in
construction.  The early stages of the building proceeded quickly, as the frame
and power system of the armor were largely similar to those of the damaged
one, but when the time came to install the weaponry, the process slowed to a
meticulous crawl.  The weaponry was carefully thought out, the energy web
remained, as did the missile system, but the pulse cannon was dropped in favor
of a hypervelocity razor-disc system in the right gauntlet.  As before, twin
lasers were mounted on her left forearm for defensive purposes.
     Other modifications had been made as well.  A new, more powerful
flight rig had been installed, taking advantage of the power savings from the
removal of the pulse cannon, and the joint structure was altered to further
protect her.  As the systems took shape, Christine found herself thrilled at the
prospect of returning to battle, and she began to make plans.
                   * * * * * * * * *
     "So, how does that arm feel?" Sylia asked, smiling, as she laid the
pieces of Nene's cast aside.
     "Wonderful, thank you.  I didn't expect it would heal this quickly,"
Nene answered, tentatively moving her arm about and rotating the wrist."    
     "Well, thank the doctor, not me... my medical abilities are rather
limited."  Sylia's eyes flickered as she said it, feeling a twinge of guilt for
putting Nene in this situation.  It did not go unnoticed.
     "Sylia... this isn't your fault... i-it's... my fault." her voice cracked, then
hardened as she added, "and hers."
     "Oh, Nene," Sylia fought back tears as she was reminded of the anger
that so tortured her young friend.  No matter what Nene said, Sylia would
always believe that it was in part her fault, and with that thought came pain
that overwhelmed her cold facade.  "I'm so sorry..."
     Nene's anger evaporated as quickly as it had come on.  "I'll be all right,
Sylia," she comforted, putting her arms around her.  Over the time they had
been together, Sylia had become like family to her, like an older sister or even
a second mother, and she loved her dearly.  Even so, she had never realized
just how much Sylia cared for her and felt responsible for her... and it touched
her heart to see it.
                   * * * * * * * * *
     "So.  What have we learned?" Sylia asked.
     "That a certain Christine Stevenson is a bitch?" Nene tossed in, the
hatred quite apparent in her voice.
     "Besides that."
     "That Genom is looking for new ways to get rid of us," Priss
commented, "and that other people out there have tech that can match our
hardsuits."
     "Which we therefore need to improve," Linna added.
     "Agreed, but we lack the means," was Sylia's response.  "Our hardsuits
suffer from a single major weakness, and that is in the area of power
production.   The systems which comprise the suits have a very high energy
demand, and the space restrictions make that demand very difficult to satisfy.
There is however, a potential solution."
     "And that is?" asked Linna.
     "Genom is, according to rumor, working on a new power reactor for
their next generation of boomer."
     "Are you suggesting we go and take it?" The question came from Priss
this time, and Sylia could detect a hint of hope in her tone.
     "Indeed.  If we do this, it will put us at war with Genom.  Are we
ready for that?"
     "I am ready," Nene volunteered.  "We've played nice with them for too
long."
     Priss agreed, but her expression registered only surprise - surprise that
such a strong statement would come from Nene.  Still, it was the same
argument she had been making for as long as she could remember, and her
opinions had not changed.  "I am ready."
     "They have gone too far," Linna agreed.  "It is time we took action."    
     "Very well," Sylia rounded out the discussion.  "Our midnight ride
begins."
                   * * * * * * * * *
     The storm that raged over head paled in comparison to the one in
Nene's heart.  At the first sight of the Genom research and development
facility, a swell of anger rose up from within her like she had never known.
Ultimately, Genom was to blame for all her suffering, and she would make
them hurt for it.
     Less than a meter to her right, Sylia's thoughts were more
tactically-oriented.  Get in, get the device, get out.  Quick, simple, and with a
minimum of noise - the sort of plan that works, which left her with one
question.  Why did she doubt it would happen that way?
     Priss certainly had different ideas.  She had been spoiling for this fight
for a long time, and now she was ready to dish out the damage.  The mission
objective was first, certainly, but if she happened to destroy half of the facility
along the way, so be it.
     Then, there was Linna.  So much had changed for her over the years,
and it all seemed to come to a close on this night.  She had joined the Knight
Sabers for the money and a chance to show off.  Then, Genom killed Irene,
and made it personal.  She'd finally started to get over that, and then they hired
that... mercenary... who hurt Nene, and the anger flared all over again.  Not
fiery like Nene's or Priss's, Linna's anger burned long and deep, and icy cold. 
Tonight she would get some payback.
     Nene's voice cut through the silence.  "One kilometer to target; Enemy
is engaging defenses."
     "Defensive strength?" Sylia asked, trying to ignore the chill in Nene's
once-cheerful voice.
     "Weak at the gate... two twelve-B's and some sort of mobile gun."
     "Right.  Mackie, as soon as we're clear make sure you're well away
from that gun."
     "Right, Sis."
     Looking at Nene to her left, and knowing Linna and Priss were inside
the truck, Sylia called out once again.  "Knight Sabers, go!"  With that, the
side panels opened, and Linna and Priss shot forward and away on their
motoslaves.  Firing her jump unit, Sylia leapt forward and looked left to make
sure Nene had followed.  As soon as they were away, Mackie slammed on the
truck's brakes and swung off down a side street.
     "Here we go!" Priss shouted as the boomers themselves came into view. 
Pressing a button on the motoslave's control panel, she launched two missiles
from the right side.  The target boomer dodged the attacks easily, having
anticipated them, but in doing so he failed to notice as she vaulted off the
motoroid and into the air.  Underneath her, the machine transformed and
pressed the attack, giving her time to line up her shot.  A single round from
her arm cannon disabled the boomer, and she dropped to the ground beside its
smoking hulk.
     Linna had just blown right by the boomer on her side, going for the
gun.  She could see the weapon come to bear on her, and just as it fired she
abandoned the motoslave for the air.  Falling on its side, it skidded underneath
the cannon's fire while Linna sailed neatly over, above the weapon's limited
vertical tracking range.  Dropping to her knees beside the mammoth gun's
barrel, she neatly sliced off the front with her whips.  The operator, realizing
that he could no longer safely fire, throttled up the minitank's engine in an
attempt to run her down, but she neatly sidestepped, driving the Knuckle
Bomber into the vehicle's side.  Sparks flew, then the whole machine went up
in a massive fireball that she had to jump back to evade.
     Behind her, the other boomer had its hands full, too.  Nene had
hammered it with a continuous stream of fire from her arm laser, then ducked
when it attempted to shoot back.  As it tracked he movement, a sudden white
blur was followed by a brilliant flash as Sylia severed its cannon with her
sword.  Before it could even turn to face her, she had struck again, this time
planting the blade deep in the boomer's back.  Still not quite beaten, it flipped
forward, throwing Sylia over its head, but the move put it on the ground too,
and Nene finished it off with her cannon, point blank to its head.    
     Stepping back as the cyberdroid's body sprayed hydraulic fluid
everywhere, Nene savored the satisfaction of the victory.  Never before had she
been truly aggressive in a fight, and it was an odd feeling to her, but the
adrenaline rush of battle had just intensified her anger, and she wanted more.    
     "Here's the front door," Priss called to the others.  "It's going to take a
lot of firepower to crack it, though."
     "Allow me," Nene answered, a little smugly, touching her palm to the
door.  The electronics in her suit whistled and beeped as they deciphered the
entry code, then with a wave of her hand the door slid open.
     "Good work, Nene.  This place is sure to be trapped, so be careful,"
Sylia cautioned.
     "I'll see what I can do about that, too."  Nene's sensors weren't
calibrated for that sort of work, but she could pick out the electronic signatures
of targeting devices, one at a time.  It took a couple of minutes, but she was
able to map out the entry hall's defenses.
     "This place is WEIRD..." Linna said nervously, looking around.  "I've
never seen so much machinery before."
     "We should take it apart," Priss commented.  "There are things here that
should never see the light of -" An explosion far above cut her off.
     Instinctively she raised her cannon arm, but then realized that the sound
had come from several floors up.
     Apparently agrees with you," Linna noted dryly as she looked around
for threats.
     "It's HER!" Nene shouted. "She's here!"
     We've got to get to that reactor before she tears the place apart... go!"
Sylia ordered.  Gripped by a new sense of urgency, the Knight Sabers sprang
into action.  "Priss, you take the point.  Linna, guard the rear... Nene, have you
locked in on that reactor yet?"
     "Working on it... got it!"  Third floor, west wing!"
     "Let's go!" Priss shouted, aiming at a weak spot in the ceiling.  Firing
her cannon, she blasted a hole through to the next level, then stepped out of the
way as debris rained down around her.  The automated fire-suppression
systems activated, spraying the hallway with water, and more importantly
triggering the alarms.
     Priss was the first to jump up to the next floor, and she indicated to the
others that it was clear.  Nene followed first, then Sylia, and finally Linna
leaped through and they ran through the twisting corridors toward the west
wing.  Suddenly, they skidded to a stop, where a seemingly important hallway
terminated with a blank wall.  "Oh, hell!" Priss shouted as she blasted through
the wall.
     "She's headed this way, too," Nene said.  "And she's wrecking
everything in her path."  Indeed, the building was wracked with the tremors of
multiple explosions, and the sounds of destruction seemed to be getting louder.  
     "Move!" Sylia ordered.  Stepping over the debris of the destroyed wall,
they found themselves in another westward corridor.  Sprinting toward their
objective, they listened as Nene gave directions.  "Ok, I've tapped in to their
system.  We still need to go up one floor before we enter the wing... you can't
go up once you're in."
     "Easily accomplished," Priss said, blasting through another ceiling.
Leaping upward, she heard a shout behind her.
     "YOU?"
     Whirling, she found herself face-to-face with Christine.  "What the hell
are you doing here?" asked the mercenary, taking aim with her right arm.
     "I might ask you the same question," Priss countered angrily.  As she
spoke, Linna came up through the floor as well and assumed a fighting stance.  
     "This doesn't involve you, Sabers."
     "Oh, doesn't it?" Nene challenged as she too entered the room, her voice
trembling with rage.
     Christine realized that she was outnumbered.  The possibility of fighting
them occurred to her, but reason dismissed it immediately.  "My fight is with
Genom."
     "Maybe mine is with you," Nene's voice grew cold.
     "No, Nene." Sylia's hand rested on her shoulder.  "No personal
vengeance; you know the Code."  Looking up, she faced Christine, "Do not
interfere, mercenary.  I do not want to fight you again."
     "I have my business here as well... and you will not hold me back from
it."
     "Try us," Priss challenged.  Christine only fumed.  She knew she could
not win, but to be taunted by the one who had injured her...
     "Wait." Sylia's commanding voice cut through the tension.  "We only
want the reactor.  Once we have it, you may have your way with this place."    
     "Very well," Christine acquiesced.  The reactor would have been nice,
but it was in truth no better than her own, and certainly not worth fighting for.
"Go on your way."
     "As if we needed your leave," Priss said as she walked away, still
keeping an eye on Christine as the others continued down the corridor.     
     "Are you looking for a fight, Saber?"
     "Maybe."
     "Be careful what you wish for." Christine said threateningly
     "Right," Priss answered with a dismissive laugh.
     Down the hall, Nene was working her magic again.  "This place has the
oddest security I've ever seen.  The other halls were not well secured at all, but
this is going to be tough to crack."
     About that time, Priss caught up to them, standing back as a rear guard.
"I don't trust her."
     "Neither do I," answered Sylia."
     "Got it," Nene interrupted.  "We have four minutes."
     "Before?" Priss inquired as the doors parted before them.  The rooms
inside were almost totally dark, with only the light of the computer consoles to
illuminate them.
     "You don't want to know."
     "It is enough," Sylia said.  "Go."
                   * * * * * * * * *
     Back down at the other end of the hall, Christine was searching for the
complex's computer core.  Without the benefit of Nene's remote access it was a
difficult task, but eventually she found it.  Tapping into the system, she started
downloading the core.  As she scanned the data she accessed, a feeling of
horror swept over her.  Sprinting to the intercom system, she shouted, "Get
out! This entire building is a trap!  Get out now!"
     Hearing the desperation in her voice, Sylia snapped, "Locate her,
Nene!"
     "She's... in the computer core, Sylia."
     "Abort mission... let's go!"
     "You sure?" Priss asked, "We went to a lot of trouble for this."
     "I'm sure.  Now go!"  Shoving the other Knight Sabers back out into
the main hallway, she ran after them.  Just as she stepped across the doorway,
a resounding explosion tore through the west wing, shredding the floors upon
which they had just been standing.
     "Damn!  I knew this was too easy," Priss shouted as they ran from the
blast.
                   * * * * * * * * *
     Taking a second to check the quickest way out, Christine fled the
computer core.  As she ran through the hallways, she found herself wondering
why she had saved the Knight Sabers.  "The enemy of my enemy..." she
whispered to herself, rounding a corner and running headlong into a pair of
boomers.
     "Thirty-four CX!  I thought those were still in development!" she
thought as she instinctively raised her left arm and fired.  The energy web
surrounded one of them, and as it struggled to free itself she dodged the other's
attack.  Using her flight jets to leap over the still active boomer, she spun and
brought up the missile system.  Targeting one on each, she fired her two
missiles and watched with satisfaction as the prototypes boomers exploded.      
                   * * * * * * * * *
     "Boomers around the corner, Sylia... new type." Nene warned.  "Three
of them."
     "Priss, take point."
     "Got it."  Bursting around the corner, Priss fired several shots from her
arm cannon.  Armor piercing shells ripped into the first two boomers, striking
one on the shoulder and the other on the hip.  The second boomer's leg
buckled, and she finished it off with two flechettes to the back of its head.
     While the boomers were occupied with Priss, the others came around
the corner as well.  Linna immediately took to the air, though her vertical
space was limited, and went straight to the Knuckle Bomber.  Unsure of the
knew boomers' weaknesses, she chose to attack the head, but it dodged and she
struck its shoulder instead.  Flame burst from the joint, and the arm was
severed, but the cyberdroid's other hand caught her while still in the air. 
Thrown against the wall by the backhand blow, she fell to the floor.     
     "Linna!" Nene cried and charged the boomer, who now stood over her
friend.  Driving her right hand into the mess of wires that had been the
34-CX's shoulder, she fired t he cannon.  Too intent on finishing Linna, the
boomer was caught off guard, and the laser decimated its internal systems.  It
collapsed in a heap.
     Priss was still fighting with the first boomer she attacked, so Sylia went
after the other one.  Extending the sword, she slashed for its head, but it
evaded the blow.  On the backswing she clipped its shoulder, but it grabbed
her swordarm and threw her into Priss.  As the two of them scrambled to get
up, their respective targets closed in.
     "Get UP, Linna!" Nene cried, hauling her to her feet.  Linna's mind was
still a bit hazy from hitting the wall, but she immediately realized the danger
and swung into action.  The nearest boomer had just drawn a blade of its own
and had Sylia backed against the wall, so she chose to attack it first.  Leaping
in front of the boomer, she used her smartmetal "whips" to neatly slice off the
boomer's knife-arm, then began to drive him backwards with her arm cannon. 
Nene came in from behind, striking the cyberdroid in the back, and it fell to
the combined assault.
     Back on her feet, Priss was taking no quarter.  Using her hardsuit's
strength enhancement, she was delivering punishing blows with her hands and
feet, pushing her adversary backward until it was pinned to the wall, then
riddling it with flechettes.  Hydraulic fluid and flame poured from gashes all
along the boomer's body, and it collapsed in a heap.
     "Sylia, this whole building is about to go up, and quick.  We need to be
moving!" Nene alerted.
     "Then let's go up.  Priss?"
                   * * * * * * * * *
     "Less than a minute later, they were standing on the roof of the research
facility.  Looking around, they could see the flames which were consuming the
building, burning from west to east.  A small explosion flared a few meters to
their right, and Christine emerged from the resulting gap in the roof.  Walking
over to face Sylia, she said.  "We're even.  I tried to kill you, and that was
business.  I just saved you all.  Don't forget it."  With that said, she flew off
into the night.
     "I think we need to get the hell out of here ourselves," Priss suggested.  
     "Yes, let's go home." Sylia agreed wearily.

****************
END PART TWO
****************