Edward Becerra wrote:
Everyone else has been posting teasers for upcoming fics.. so I
decided to join in. This is a little something that I've been working on
with the help of Skyknight, Barry Cadwegan, Jeanne Hedge, Twister, and a
great many others, all of whom I owe a great deal.
The tentative working title for this one comes from the work "The
Art of War" by Sun Tzu.
So.. here's a little bit of "In Dangerous Ground".
Hope you like it.
Ed.
"Dreamers may die, but the dream is eternal..."
First off, my congratulations Mr. Becerra. If the fic itself is even half
as good as this teaser was, it will be an excellent way to fill up some more
of my hard drive. Now on to the details!
<Snip>
"Minerva, get me a scan of that thing. I wanna see if there is any way I
can take it out without trashing half the city in the process. Neither Sylia
nor the cops were very happy with me after the debacle at Gemon Plaza."
She folded her arms in front of herself, and tossed her head, blinking
loudly. "Your wish is my command, oh master."
*Never should have let her watch those `I Dream of Jeannie' re-runs.
<sigh> Ah, well...* he thought. A hologram of the stolen suit shimmered
into existance atop the counter to the sound of a ringing bell. He raised
an eyebrow. "Practicing the special effects again, Min?"
Please wait while we attempt to reload the backup copy of The
Apprentice's personality matrix, which crashed due to severe television
flashbacks... we thank you for you patience.
*In the Background*
<First Voice> Lock it down! I said Lock it DOWN!
<Second Voice> To late! He's already started down memory association
paths!
<First Voice> How many and which shows?
<Second Voice> Two. First reads as... Hawaii Five-O! Second is... oh
Eris protect us!
<First Voice> Report! What's the second show!
<Second Voice> Magnum P.I., sir.
<First Voice> We're dead.
<Snip>
He laughed. "Then let's get dangerous, girl."
Minerva made a rude noise. "Who elected _you_ Darkwing Duck?"
"What, you need to be elected?"
*Snicker*
Must... remain... in control!
*Snicker*
Leon swore as a crackling bolt of electrical energy struck the vehicle he
was sheltering behind. "Why do _we_ get all the maniacs in Mega-Tokyo?"
Maybe because the Chief blames his developing ulcer on you, Leon?
Daley shrugged. "Just lucky, I guess." He turned, and waved a RPG team
forward. "Try and nail that thing in the legs. HQ wants us to take it in as
undamaged as possible."
The officer carrying the rocket grenade launcher crawled forward and
looked at him as if he were crazy. "Right. Someone's driving a 10 ton war
machine around the city on a joyride, and we're supposed to take it back
intact?"
"Those are the orders from the top," winced Daley. "We're expendable.
The armor isn't."
The RPG team leader laughed bitterly. "That lets us know where we stand,
eh?" He nodded to the rest of his team, and they dashed forward. They
managed to get off three shots at the four meter tall battlesuit before it
noticed them and fired back. The two rounds that did strike the suit didn't
do any apparent damage, and _did_ serve to draw the suit's fire.
ADP: Already Dead Police
-or-
Always Disposable Patsies
"Daley, if we don't stop that thing soon, it's going to turn us into
sushi. It's going down, and if the Chief doesn't like that, that's _his_
problem. OUR problem is getting out of this mess alive. Preferably with the
same number of limbs we started out with!" Leon risked reaching into the
patrol car and groping for the three shot railgun he kept in the trunk.
"Oy! Hey, Leon! Daley! How's it hanging, guys?"
Bochinski and Wadderson, sheltering behind an armored car, groaned. They
both recognized the voice. Bochinski popped his head up over the car for a
second and took a look. Then he dropped down and glanced at his partner.
Wadderson noted the look on his face and she winced. "It's him, isn't it?"
Bochinski simply dropped his face into his hands. "It is."
You know things have gotten strange when the KS, or even the Crystal
Knight have become not only more accepted, but also more acceptable to your
developing ulcers and views on reality then something else.
The terrorist piloting the suit turned towards the voice, and stopped in
surprise at the unarmed man in black casually strolling down the street
towards him.
Leon and Daley, meanwhile, rolled their eyes. "It just got worse,"
muttered Leon.
"At least it's not Godzilla," said Daley brightly. "We can be grateful
for that!"
Leon gave him a long-suffering stare. "You wouldn't happen to be on any
special anti-psychotic medications that I need to know about, are you?"
*Stronger snickers; only bitting on a fist prevents all out laughter*
<Snipsky>
He gaped at the unusual shape. Metallic, it was propelled by a pair of
triangular catapillar treads with a trailing tail-wheel providing balance. A
hinged, tubular body supported a pair of skeletal arms and a head shaped
much like a large cigar box. Large eyes, shaded and protected by delicate
seeming metal leaves, looked out over a row of small red lights that
resembled a mouth. A laser was mounted over one shoulder, and a bulky
launcher over the other. He would have been tempted to laugh at its
appearance, if it weren't for the air of determination that surrounded it.
Daley, on the other hand, _had_ seen the movie and despite the
seriousness of the situation was desperately trying to resist a severe fit
of giggles.
Johnny Five, you're using Johnny Five....
Take a deep breath. Hold it. Let it out slowly. Relax. Now again....
<Snip>
Daley sighed enviously. "I wonder how he manages that. It's certainly a
classy exit."
For some reason this seems entirely in character for Daley.
<Snip>
"THAT'S.." The Chief paused for a moment, almost strangling on his anger.
Then he visibly calmed himself, running his fingers through his new-grown
hair. "Look. I can accept that you felt that you were unable to take him
prisoner, given that he's some sort of super-powered freak. But you didn't
even make an attempt! The news reporters are already commenting that the
ADPolice seems to be actively _co-operating_ with the Vigilante!"
Just tell him the truth, Leon. If you'd tried to capture him all
you would have done is waste the taxpayer's money. Which would have meant
that the 'honorable' members of parliment would have less to line their
own pockets with. After all the ADP has to seem *halfway* effect to the
public, so you can't really take the money out of their budget.
<Snip>
The Chief took a swig of antacid from a silver hip flask. "You'll
understand when you see it," he gritted out. "Better you than me."
Wonder when he got that? When he got put in charge of the ADP, when
Leon joined the ADP, when the KS showed up, when the Crystal Knight
showed up....
<Snip>
She gave him a firm look. "You have to be honest with yourself here,
lover. The odds that this mess can be laid to Genom's doorstep are slim.
We've got a _new_ problem."
So a new player in the game, eh? Mysterious, resourceful, nasty
and curious about Megatokyo's preternatural beings. Interesting.
<Snip>
The blond ADP office carefully traced the lettering on the side of the
object with a finger. "Property of Warner Bros. Studios, Prop. Dept." And
below that -- "Mnfctrd Acme Anvils, Lmtd., Acme Inc."
"Anvils," Leon moaned. "My god, we're living in a cartoon."
You, sir, are evil. No, let me rephrase that: You, sir, are
Eeevvvillll!
I'd shake your hand, if it were possible!
Also, since Barry's apparently got dibs on piano's and you've already
gotten the anvil market sowed shut I'd like to put my name in the hat for..
The Martian Ray-gun!!
*Fades out to the sound of Maniacal Laughter #13 (The Emperor Palpatine
& Kodachi duet)*
Maker of sub-par fanfics to make fics like this one seem even better!
--
The Apprentice:
Student of the Dark Side. Keeper of the Vlad `Assassins are People
Too!' Taltos shrine. Wage slave at the J-C Corporation.
Darkness is the true state of the Universe. It existed before the Light
came. It will exist after the Light is gone.