Subject: [FFML] [Fanfic][BGC][Final] Shades of Grey pt 1
From: hbias@earthlink.net (Harris Bias)
Date: 7/9/1998, 10:38 PM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

Author's notes:

Unless someone points out a major error of some sort, this is the final
version that will be posted to RAAC in a few days.

This takes place between BGC episodes 2 and 3.

Thanks To D.B. Sommer, Doug Ingebretsen, Micah Potasnik, Jussi Nikander,
Gary Kleppe, and Knight Hawke for their input.

"This" indicates Japanese.
'This' indicates English.
*This* indicates thoughts.
/This/ indicates electronic communications.

====

    ADP officers Debrowski and Larson were having a bad night. First, a
coffee boomer at the donut shop where they were taking a break decided to
start attacking customers. This would not have been much of a bother, given
that the boomer was only armed with a pot of lukewarm coffee, but the
collateral damage caused by the 37 ADPolicemen who happened to be present
forced the shop to close for repairs. Then a haircutting boomer went
berserk. Again, this was not to much of a problem, except that officer
Debrowski had neglected to wear his helmet and now sported an inverse
mohawk. To top it off, somebody had unleashed a Bu-12B in their patrol
area, which it was now laying to waste. No, officers Debrowski and Larson
were not having a good night.
    "Well? What do you think we should do?" Larson asked his partner as the
two cowered, or rather took cover behind their patrol car.
    "Call in an airstrike?"
    "We tried that. It took out the four Firebees in 46 seconds."
    The cyberdroid sprayed their car and the warehouse behind it with
gunfire yet again, causing the officers to wince in dismay.
    "Contact the Knight Sabres?"
    "We don't know how."
    "Pray for divine intervention?"
    "Sounds as good as anything. Our Father who art in Heaven...."

    Fortunately for the policemen, help was about to arrive. Three meters
above the roof of the warehouse a vortex of swirling energies appeared and,
after few moments, disgorged an armored figure and disappeared. The figure,
being currently unable to defy gravity, fell to the roof with a crash that
went unheard over the ruckus being caused by the boomer.
    'Ouch. Shoulda fixed the gravity control systems before coming back.'
    The powersuited man groaned as he pulled himself to his feet.
    'There has got to be a better way to time travel. I feel like I just
fell down the stairwell of the Sears Tower.'
    As he scanned the skyline a realization occurred to him.
    'I don't think we're in Central City anymore, Toto. Where are we?'
    He looked around.
    'Correction: where am I? Looks like Timemaster screwed up royally.'
    Still scanning the skyline, he cued his radio.
    /Graviton to Tarantula./
    Nothing.
    /Graviton to Orion./
    Nothing.
    /Graviton to any Aegis member in range./
    Still nothing.
    'Damn. Timemaster definitely screwed up.'
    Graviton paused.
    'What is that god-awful racket?' He inquired, hearing it for the first
time. A short walk to the edge of the roof provided the answer.
    'Ah. Killer robot rampaging in the streets. Well, we can't have that,
can we?'

    On a nearby rooftop, unnoticed by Graviton, the Knight Sabres were also
assessing the situation.
    "Aw, man. A 12B? Why don't we ever get the easy jobs?" complained Linna.
    "We leave those for the AD Police." replied Sylia.
    "Not that they can handle them." jibed Priss.
    "That's enough of that. Linna-"
    "Sylia, wait. There's somebody else down there." interrupted Nene,
pointing to the black armored man who had just somersaulted down near the
ADP car.
    "Let's see what he does first. Nene, get a read on his suit."

    Debrowski and Larson stared at the figure who towered over them.
Standing over two meters tall he wore thick, glossy black armor whose
featureless, seemingly opaque helmet betrayed no expression.
    'Excuse me, officers, may I borrow your vehicle?' Graviton asked cordially.
    'S-sure.' stammered Larson.
    Graviton reached down and gripped the much abused patrol car by its roof.
    'I suggest you seek alternate cover.' advised Graviton.
    Larson grabbed his partner by the wrist and ran for the warehouse door.
After they were out from behind the car Graviton hoisted it over his head
and shouted at the Bu-12B.
    'Hey! You! With the gatling gun and the attitude problem!'
    The cyberdroid turned to face the one addressing it.
    'Catch!' shouted Graviton as he hurled the car at the robot. The car
crashed into the 12B and sandwiched it against the wall of a nearby
building.

    "An American." Sylia observed. "What's the report on that suit?"
    Nene frowned. "My sensors can't identify half the equipment. Beyond the
basics, he has myomer strength enhancement and a power supply strong enough
to light up MegaTokyo, which is why it's so strong. Some of his electronics
are damaged, but I can't tell what they're supposed to do nor how he's
generating so much power."
    "See if you can figure it out."

    Graviton turned away from the fallen car and made a show of dusting off
his hands.  'Y'know, if this is still the future, then they don't make
killer robots like they used to.' he commented.
    The Bu-12B was only slightly damaged by the car's impact however, and
pushed the car off itself and took aim with its railgun. Graviton, alerted
by the crash of the overturning vehicle snapped his head back towards the
boomer and almost managed to dodge the shell it fired at him. The shot
glanced off the armor protecting his short ribs, causing him to inelegantly
spin around halfway and fall on his face.
    *Damn, that hurt. A few inches to the left and I'd be back in
purgatory.* 'Alright.' growled the hero as he pushed himself off the
ground. 'Maybe they do.'
    Before the boomer could draw a bead on him again the armored hero
charged, leapt over the fallen car and tackled the cyberdroid, slamming
them both into and through the building wall. For a fifteen second eternity
the crash and squeal of tortured metal came from the hole, followed by a
deafening silence. Slowly a dark shape emerged from the hole, and raised
something in its hand, and spoke.
    'Alas, poor robot. I knew him not, Horatio. A machine of infinite
foolishness...'

    "What's he saying?" asked Priss.
    "He's paraphrasing Hamlet. Badly." replied Sylia before turning to Nene.
    "Well, what's the word on our friend's suit?"
    "I still can't figure it out, but all of the damaged circuits and the
power supply seem to have a similar design, but I can't figure out what
they do."
    "Let's go talk to him and see if he won't tell us. Priss, Nene, you
stay here in case he turns hostile. Linna, come with me." With that Sylia
jumped off the roof, followed shortly by Linna.
    Graviton turned to face the newcomers.
    '...And prithee, tell me one thing: what can I do for you ladies?' He
finished pleasantly.
    'Who are you?' Sylia demanded.
    *I've been waiting for a chance to say this...*
    'My power is that which crushes stars and binds worlds together.
Nothing can escape its reach nor stay its hand. I am... Graviton.
Of Aegis. Perhaps you've heard of us?'
    Sylia shook her head, partly in response to his question, partly in
response to his speech.
    'What are you doing here?'
    'Well, I had just arrived in town when I spotted Yorick here,' replied
Graviton, holding up the boomer's head for emphasis, 'causing trouble and
so I took care of him.'
    'So, why did you come here?'
    'Inquisitive, aren't we? I did not come here by choice, and how I got
here is a long story. But first, I have a few questions for you. Who are
you? Where am I? And what year is it?'

                    Polychrome Productions Presents:

                     A Standing On The Ceiling Fic

                            Shades of Grey

                      A story of the Knight Sabres
                            MegaTokyo 2032
                           By G. Harris Bias
                                Part 1
                      Discussions and Accusations

    Before Sylia could respond, however, they were interrupted by the sound
of approaching sirens.
    'Why do they cops always show up *after* the fight?' wondered Graviton.
'Can we talk elsewhere? I don't feel like dealing with the police right
now.'
    Sylia nodded. 'Follow me.' With that she turned and leapt up onto the
roof where Priss and Nene were waiting, with Linna and Graviton arriving a
moment later.
   Back on the street, ADPolice Chief Inspector Leon McNichol surveyed the
scene and shook his head in disbelief. *Decapitation isn't the Knight
Sabres' usual MO. Who did this?* He turned to officers Larson and
Debrowski. "Alright, what happened here?"

    'This should be far enough.' stated Sylia as she motioned for the
armored quintet to stop on a rooftop several streets over from the battle
site.
    /Nene, keep a running translation for Linna and Priss./
    /Right./
    'Now, what are you doing here?'
    'If you would answer my rather simple questions it would make my
explanation much easier. Who? Where? And when?'
    'We are The Knight Sabres. We exist to protect this city, MegaTokyo,
from the ravages of the corporation Genom, and its boomers, like the one
you destroyed.' stated Sylia, opting not to reveal their mercenary
activities.
    'Genom. They would be the owners of that rather Freudian building over
there?' Graviton asked, gesturing to the ziggurat that dominated the
skyline.
    Sylia allowed herself a smile underneath her helmet. 'Yes.'
    'And today's date?'
    'April 7, 2032.'
    '2032.' Graviton shook his head. '2032, we were supposed to wind up in
1995.' He sighed. 'Let me explain. As I mentioned before, I am a member of
Aegis, a hero group operating out of Central City in the 90s. In June of
'95 we learned that the terrorist group DEMON was planning on stealing
several artifacts to open a gate and release an elder god of some sort.
Most of the artifacts were in Europe, but since all of the European supers
were preoccupied we went over to stop them. Unfortunately, we failed to
prevent DEMON from acquiring the artifacts, but we did know where the gate
was and set up an ambush for them there. We managed to defeat them, but in
the course of the battle one of the DEMON mages miscast a spell that
interacted with Comet's armor in such a way as to create an explosion that
punted us a century into the future. After a number of adventures we
managed to convince Timemaster to send us home. It appears, however, that
he botched it.' Graviton looked at Sylia and waited for her reaction.
    'I am... skeptical. Do you have any proof of what you say?'
    'Is Aegis still around? You could get in contact with them. I bet Orion
is still alive.' *It's not like you can kill him...*
    'Neither Aegis nor DEMON exists and as far as I know, never have.'
    'Really? You don't know the part we played in stopping the demonic
invasion in February of '95?' An unpleasant thought was beginning to form
in the back of the hero's mind.
    'Demonic invasion? I am beginning to doubt your sanity.'
    Graviton frowned beneath his helmet. 'Who is the most powerful
superhero in the world?'
    Sylia gestured to her thoroughly confused comrades. 'Look around you.
We are the only "superheroes" this world has ever known.'
    'It would seem that not only have I been misplaced in time and space,
but dimensions as well.'
    'That explanation is only slightly more plausible. Again, do you have
any proof?'
    'Is there someplace we could speak privately?'
    Sylia considered for a moment. /Back to the truck. Mackie, darken the
cab windows. We've got a visitor coming, he seems non-hostile, but be on
your guard./
    /Right, sis./

    'Nice setup you've got here.' said Graviton as he scanned the inside of
the trailer. Graviton sat down, reached up and, with the hiss of
decompressing air, removed his helmet, revealing the face of a youthful
seeming Caucasian man with brown eyes and grey speckled brown hair that
suggested age that his face did not show. 'My name is Dr. Robert Carlson.
Unfortunately, the only proof I can really offer you is,' Rob opened a
compartment in his armor, removed something and offered it to Sylia, 'My
wallet, Ms...?'
    'You may address me as Sabre Prime.' replied Sylia as she accepted the
wallet and opened it.
    'Sabre Prime.' Rob nodded and watched impassively as Sylia went through
his wallet. He didn't really like the idea of somebody pawing through his
wallet, but it seemed the only way to convince Sabre Prime. Besides there
wasn't any really personal in there except...
    Sylia stopped when she came to the yellowing photograph. Four young
men, standing around a fifth older man in a wheelchair. As Sylia examined
it she noticed that one of them was Rob, looking much the same as he did
now save for the grey hair, and that the others were, judging by
appearances, his father and brothers, or perhaps cousins. Flipping past it,
Sylia came to another aged photo, this one of a well-built man in a blue
and white spandex bodysuit and mask, hovering in midair, surrounded by a
blue aura. Next was another old picture depicting two men in similar
bodysuits one in red and yellow, the other in yellow and orange; unlike the
men in the previous photos they were frowning and seemed to be looking for
a fight. Sylia continued her examination of the wallet but found little of
interest: an Illinois driver's license, credit cards all expired in the
late 90's, and other assorted wallet paraphernalia. Sylia, somewhat
satisfied but unconvinced, turned and handed the wallet to Nene.
    /The rest of you head back to base. I'm going to talk to Dr. Carlson
some more. I don't think he's hostile, but I still don't trust him. Nene,
run a check on his cards when you get back./
    /Okay./
    /Mackie did you get that?/
    /Yeah, sis./
    /Wait until we're out of sight again before leaving./
    /Right./
    'Let's continue our discussion outside Dr. Carlson.'
    Rob donned his helmet and stood up. 'As you wish.' He gestured to the
door. 'Ladies first.'
    Sylia opened the hatch without comment and Rob followed her out. The
two then bounded up to the roof of a warehouse and began wandering across
the rooftops of MegaTokyo's Yokohama City district.
    'Tell me,' queried Graviton, 'why do you fight Genom?'
    'Genom seeks to-'
    'No, no. Why do *you* fight Genom?'
    Sylia paused and considered a moment. 'Personal reasons.'
    'Which are?'
    'None of your concern.'
    Graviton looked at Sabre Prime for a long moment before leaping to the
next building. Sylia leapt after him and asked 'What do you intend to do
now that you are here?'
    'Right now I'm trying to figure out who's wearing the white hats and
who's wearing the black. Once-'
    'You may wish to rephrase that.'
    'Err... Yeah, let's try that again. Right now I'm trying to figure out
who the good guy and bad guys are. Once I know I'll right wrongs, fight
injustice, serve the public good and, in my voluminous spare time, try'n
earn an honest living and work on a way to get home.'
    Sylia stopped and considered Graviton for a moment. *If somebody had
told me yesterday that I was going to meet this person I wouldn't have
believed them. I'm still not sure I believe it.* She shook her head and
continued onward.
    'In the short term,' Graviton continued, 'I need a facility were I can
repair my armor, a place to stay, some clothes and a cover story.' He
turned to Sabre Prime. 'Will you help me with those?'
    Sylia folded her arms. 'Why should I?'
    'Do you have gravity manipulation technology?'
    'No.'
    'Would you like some?' offered Graviton.
    'That will not be sufficient.' replied Sylia tersely.
    'I'm sure it would be for them.' Graviton replied, jerking a thumb
northwards, towards Genom Tower.
    'You would help... them?' Sylia asked icily.
    'And why shouldn't I?' Rob calmly stated, unfazed by Sylia's tone.
    'They are evil! They seek-'
    'Really? I haven't seen anything other than a great big tower. Is civil
engineering a dark art?'
    'They built that boomer and set it loose!'
    'I didn't see a Genom logo on it.' said Graviton casually.
    'You weren't looking close enough.' snapped Sylia in response.
    'And even if it was there how do I know that it wasn't you that
unleashed it?' Demanded Graviton, his voice turning cold as he stepped
faceplate to faceplate with Sabre Prime and stared down at her.
    'Are you accusing-'
    'I am *suggesting* that it is possible that you are trying to mislead
me. Sabre Prime in the Warehouse District with the Killer Robot. Time to
start showing your cards.'
    Sylia's reply was cut off before it could begin as a scream pierced the
night air.
    'Hold that thought.' commanded Rob, and bounded off in the direction of
the scream with Sylia following close behind. She caught up with him two
blocks away, where he was peering over the edge of the building down into
an alley in which a large number of leather clad gangers had managed to
trap a young couple and were closing in from both sides.
    'One wonders,' commented Graviton, 'what they are doing in this part of
town at night.'
    Sylia just shrugged.
    'Not that it matters,' stated Graviton as he hopped off the edge of the
roof. *I really need to repair my flight systems.* Rob thought calmly as he
plummeted into the alley. *Oh well, guess we'll do this the hard way.* Rob
grunted as his feet slammed into the pavement, cracking it and forcing him
into a low crouch. *Two innocent bystanders and a dozen punks on each
side.* observed Graviton as he straightened. *No problem, just get the
bystanders out first.*
    Some of the bolder gangers had overcome their shock from Graviton's
arrival and began closing in on the couple, who had been inching away from
the black armored intruder. *Where's Orion when you need him?* thought Rob
idly as he swept the couple off their feet and leapt into the air. Unable
to jump high enough in a single bound, Rob pushed off one wall of the
alley, then the other before making it to the roof, where he landed lightly
next to Sylia. *That worked well, I'll have to remember that.* thought
Graviton as he set down the nearly hysterical couple.
    'Keep an eye on them will you?' said Graviton, 'I have some business to
attend to.' Before Sabre Prime could respond could respond Rob leapt back
into the alley. 'Alright,' challenged Graviton as his second landing
cracked the pavement further, 'Who wants some?'
    A few of the smarter or more cowardly gangers broke and ran, the rest
hesitated, then charged the armored figure who had stolen their prey.
Graviton caught the first punk by the collar, spun, and tossed him at two
of his comrades, sending them down in a heap of tangled limbs. The next
punk hit Graviton in the back of the head with a crowbar and earned a
broken nose for his trouble. Another punk tackled Rob in the back of the
knees, sending him to the ground as the rest of the gang fell upon him. The
mass of leather clad humanity slowly diminished as bodies were tossed out
of the pile to bounce off the alley walls. Two minutes later Graviton stood
up and surveyed the pavement, which was littered with unconscious thugs
amongst the other debris.
    'Well, that was fun,' said Graviton, 'Let's see how our rescuees are.'
Upon arriving on the roof he found Sabre Prime waiting alone for him.
    'Impressive.' She said flatly.
    'I tried not to hurt them too much.' Rob replied. 'What happened to the
almost victims?'
    'I let them down so they could go home.'
    'I don't suppose it occurred to you that they might be attacked again?'
Graviton asked acidly.
    'We have other things to discuss.' Sylia said, her voice hard. 'I have
decided I would rather have you working with me than with Genom. I'm still
not sure whose side you're on though.'
    'I'm one of the Good Guys.' said Graviton. 'Are you?'
    Sylia gave no answer.
                            End Part 1

Disclaimers:

Polychrome Productions is not responsible for hair loss caused by use of
this product.
BubbleGum Crisis is owned by Artmic/Youmex.
Champions is owned by those happenin' folks at HERO Games.
The character Graviton/Robert Carlson is trademark G. Harris Bias
1995-8.
Other Champions characters created variously by HERO Games, its developers
(Hi Scott!), and Don, Mike, Mark, Larry, Tom, Dan, Greg and Cathy of the
UMass Lowell Champions campaign.

G. Harris Bias
hbias@earthlink.net
"That's not a well rounded man. That's a woman."
     -Greg Wooledge.