"Shit!" one of the techs shouted.
"Do something, you morons!" shouted the man standing
Ah, yet another member of the school of thought which proclaims
that, when someone is doing something wrong, and you yell at them, they will
respond by doing it right....
in the center of the room. He wore a uniform similar to the
soldiers patrolling the lab facilities below, his purple
instead of black. The arm and shin guards were white, a white
half-plate over his chest instead of the silver torso plate
of the guards. His white hair was styled in a crew cut,
intense silver eyes set above a short nose and almost blocky jaw.
"We're trying, sir!" the technician on the far left
exclaimed. "Initiating Emergency Manual Override!" On
Juggernaut's display, a series of long code strings scrolled
across its field of vision. The image stopped jumping as
control of its body was taken from the rampaging mech.
"Manual Override activated," he said with no small
amount of relief in his voice.
... and no small amount of *ahem* in his pants.
"Good," the man in the center said, "now take it back
to the repair bay and shut the damn thing down."
"Yes, sir," the tech replied as he typed in comands
to Juggernaut. The display shifted as Juggernaut turned
toward the door from which it had entered.
"Kazuya," came a smooth voice over the communications
channel. The voice was calm and quiet, but still sent
shivers up the man's spine.
"Y-yes, sir?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Come to my office," the voice said, "I wish to speak
with you."
"Yes, sir," he said, his face going pale. Shoving
aside his dread, Security Chief Kazuya Nikoman turned
smartly on his heel and left the Control Room, one of many in
the Kuno Industries complex.
=====================================
"You wished to see me, sir?" Kazuya said after
entering the luxurious office. The room was nearly the size
of a penthouse apartment, a thick red carpet covering the
floor from wall to wall. Works of art, some priceless, hung
on the walls alongside shelves of books made of rare camphor
wood. A modern art statue, which to him resembled a pile of
junk, rested on the far wall adjacent to the enormous window
overlooking the dark Tokyo skyline.
Directly before him rested an antique American desk,
its dark polish gleaming faintly in the soft light of the
office. Behind it sat a man who looked to be in his mid
twenties, neatly groomed black hair resting over violet eyes
that held an intimidating, almost disturbing, intensity. His
pressed white suit was as immaculate as the office, with a
single black rose in the lapel.
A white suit? Ew... white is -so- out this season!
"I did," Wataru Kuno said. "I want to hear your
report, and it had better be good."
"S-sir," Kazuya began, "at 2200 hours, an intruder
was detected in block seven of the Research and Development
Wing. Though the intruder was using thermoptic camouflage,
motion detectors were able to pick him up."
Question: is this intended to be a crossover/fusion with Ghost in
the Shell?
Question2: Can someone explain to me just -where- the term
'thermoptic' came from?
"In other words you got lucky," Wataru said.
<snarf!>
<snip>
The air was warm at least, so she wouldn't have to
worry about freezing out wherever she was. Her feet throbbed
I'd revise this sentence. While I was able to understand it, it was
a bit off-putting.
Suggest: so she wouldn't have to worry about freezing in this place.
from slapping against the hard and uneven pavement, her
present unclothed state making the sidewalks inaccessible to
her. Why couldn't she have woken up in some clothes?
Because it would make things WAAAAY too easy. :)
A soft noise from behind brought her quickly around,
eyes scanning the darkness intently. Every nerve in her body
kept shouting that she wasn't alone, and had best be ready to fight.
"Well, what do we have here?" a mocking voice said
from the shadows. From the darkness stepped three men, their
pale skin stretched over thin, almost emaciated bodies. The
first was a little taller than her, spiked hair sticking out
in all directions and in several colors. Second was no
larger than the first, his head covered in obscene tattoos.
The last actually looked a little healthier than the other
two, though not by much. Their ragged clothes hung off their
bony frames, an unpleasant odor wafting off of them.
Ah. THOSE types. :)
"Looks like some bitch out for a little fun," the
second one said, eyes lingering on her breasts and the patch
of red hair between her legs.
"Got a name, beaver treat?" the third asked. The girl
<blink> Okay. He deserves whatever she can dish out. Idiot...
didn't answer, the feel of their eyes on her body nearly
sickening her.
"Looks like the silent type," the second chortled,
"but I bet she can scream with the..."
... best of you?
Before he could finish, her fist slammed into the
bridge of his nose. Blood gushed from his face as he fell
backward, a low moan slipping from his pale lips.
"I'll take that fight outta you, cunt!" the first
shouted, lunging forward in a shoulder tackle. She came
around with flowing grace, a roundhouse kick connecting
solidly with the side of his head. She felt the bones of his
skull crack under the force of her kick as he spun around
like a limp scarecrow before hitting the ground with his partner.
Without pausing, she leapt up and over the third punk
who had attempted to grab her from behind. A savage haymaker
punch sent him crumpling to the pavement like a sack of
flour. She looked at the three unconscious men with a snort
of disgust. They weren't even a good warmup.
//How did I do that?"\\ she asked herself. During the
Well, you punched one, kicked the other, and hammered the third.
Any more questions?
;)
battle, short as it was, the moves had come to her easily.
It was as if they were second nature to her. But where had
she learned them? And why did she enjoy it so much?
She'd have to answer those questions later. At the
moment, the more pressing problem was clothing. She couldn't
stick to these filthy alleys forever any more than she could
walk the main streets stark naked.
Walking over to one of the unconscious men, she
reached down to pull of his dingy shirt. It smelled awful,
like vomit and alcohol, but it was all that was available.
*gulp* Eeewww....
=====================================
She awoke in another alley, sunlight glaring into her
sleepy eyes. Squinting, she rose to her feet as she tried to
ignore the smell of the clothes she had stolen. Didn't those
guys ever bathe?
The girl still had no idea where she was. The city,
whatever it was called, was built almost like a maze. At
least she was far away from where she had started, and that
huge robot that had called her a pig. Something about it had
seemed disturbingly familiar, though she couldn't place it
for the life of her.
Uh, yeah. *scratches head* Was it calling her a pig, or calling
itself a pig?
If it is who I think it is, then 'Juggernaut' is rather
appropriate... *snicker*
The alley was cleaner than the one she had found her
present attire in. Trash cans lined one wall, not a speck of
garbage or graffitti anywhere on the brick surfaces. She
stretched her muscles, workng out the kinks placed there by
sleeping on the pavement. Her stomach rumbled inistently,
reminding her that she hadn't eaten she she had awoken in
that strange room.
She searched the pockets of the black denim jeans she
wore, finding nothing but holes. No money at all. How would
she get food? Yet another question she didn't have an answer
for. Tired and irritable, sleeping on the streets really
didn't do much for one's disposition, she left the alley in
search of some sort of food.
The middle part of the sentence needs to be separated differently,
OR the last sentence needs to be rewritten. Two possibilities:
Tired and irritable - sleeping on the streets really didn't do much
for ones disposition - she left the alley in search of some sort of food.
Tired and irritable from sleeping on the streets, she left the alley
in search of some sort of food.
<snip>
"Hey, don't blow a gasket, Keiichi," came a voice
from behind her. She looked back to see a man in a faded
green shirt and blue jeans approaching. His red hair fell to
his shoulders, an athletic build showing beneath his
clothes. Smiling green eyes matched his grin, passing over
her once before returning to the man he called Keiichi. He
stopped beside her, pulling a few yen from his pocket. "This
oughtta cover it."
Keiichi took the money from the man, placing it in
his apron. "Good. Now get her out of here, Irish."
Irish?
<blink blink>
-Irish-?
*snicker*
"No problem," Irish said, motioning for her to walk
with him. She did, eating the apple with gusto.
"Hey, slow down there," he said, "you wanna choke?"
She continued scarfing the fruit until only the core was
left, which she threw into the nearest trash bin.
Hmm.... I dunno. If she was -that- hungry, wouldn't she eat that
too? It -is- edible (and pretty tasty, IMO - just spit out the seeds).
"Thanks, Irish," she said, almost as an afterthought.
"Irish is just what he calls me," he said, "name's
Sean." She remained silent, wondering just what to say. How
could she admit to a total stranger that she didn't even
know her own name?
"Why?" she asked.
"Probably 'cause I'm from Ireland," Sean replied with a laugh.
*slap* Duh.
"That makes sense," she said uncertainly. Was Ireland
close by?
"You okay?" he asked, concern in his eyes and voice.
"Yeah," she said, though it was a lie. "Why'd you
help me back there?"
"Well, I..."
"... really like your body, and I figured -"
WHAM! CRUNCH! BAM! SQUELCH...
"... ow... medic..."
"Hey!" a man shouted from behind them. They turned
around to see three men in dark suits approaching fast.
Sean's eyes narrowed slightly as he saw the man in the lead.
Sean knew him as Ryo, a stooge for Kuno Industries and
asshole in general. "We've been looking for that girl."
"Why?" Sean asked as she tensed beside him. If Kuno
Industries was after her, then he definitely wanted to get
involved. The others would want to hear about this too.
Others? Interesting...
"She stole something of minor value from us last
night," Ryo said, "some papers. We only want them back."
"Hey, I didn't steal nothin'!" she shouted back.
"Don't bother denying it," Ryo replied as the other
two joined him.
"She said she didn't steal anything," Sean snarled,
"now blow off."
"Don't interfere with us, gaijin," the one on the left said.
"Just turn around and walk away," the one onthe right added.
"I don't think so, son," Sean replied, balling his
fists. Of all the places he'd want to throw down with
someone from Kuno Industries, a public street in broad
daylight wasn't very high on the list. However, you couldn't
always choose your battles. One took them as they came.
The one on the right stepped toward the girl,
reaching out for her. Before Sean could react, she lunged
forward with an uppercut that sent the black-clad stooge back
nearly to the fruit stand.
//What the..?\\ It looked like the girl could take
care of herself. Ryo stepped back in surprise as his lackey
charged Sean. Before the stooge's fist could connect, she was
between them landing punches on the Kuno Industries spook
with inhuman speed. He hit the sidewalk gasping for air, a
knee to the head sending him down for the count.
"You want some next, jerk?" she asked menacingly,
taking a step toward him.
"This is not over," Ryo growled as he turned to
leave. He vanished into the assembled crowd, who had been
whispering in fear and amazement.
"Damn, girl," Sean said as he stepped up beside her,
"where'd ya learn that?"
"Around," she said vaguely. "We're even now."
"Huh?" he asked, soon realizing what she was talking
about. "Oh. Well, I can do better than that, girl."
Oh, really. Uh huh. Whatever you say... :)
<snip>
The woman was oddly familiar, a mane of lavender hair
spilling down her back with strands of grey and two small
balls on heach side of her head. The face showed few signs of
age, very fine lines at the edges of her eyes the extent of
it. Her face was strong and, at the time, shocked. A name
came to the girl as she looked at the older woman, a name
that was as hauntingly familiar as the woman before her.
"Shampoo...?" she asked, uncertain of what she was feeling.
"This... this can't be..." Shampoo said in a weak
voice, "Ran...ma? Ranma, is that... you?"
Oh. Shit.
Oh, this can't be good.
Well, that's it for this one! I have more ideas for
this, a LOT more, but I felt this was getting a bit long so
I cut it off here. Next chapter, look for X when he meets
what may be Ranma, and find out about what Kuno Industries is about.
Looking forward to it!
C&C? I prefer public on this piece, but I'll take private too.
Gotcha covered. :)
Jed
Brian Payne
sofaspud@ior.com
brianp@nhspokane.com
Silver bells... silver bells... it's fanfic time, at the Couch...
http://www.ior.com/~sofaspud (new domain coming soon!)