Stormwalker <stormwalker@airmail.net> presents...
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 2014, Height 5'8", Hair: Brown,
Eyes: Green"
"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, tough."
"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 someone 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 new 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
****************
--
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Stormwalker
<stormwalker@airmail.net> and
<stormer@utdallas.edu>
Computer Science student and Anime fanfic writer (sometimes, anyway)
Storm Warnings -
http://web2.airmail.net/a0011387/
"As a matter of fact, I do think I'm Batman, Miss Asagiri."
- Batman, "BGC/Batman : Darkest Knights" (draft)
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