Onward ho!
Hey! Who're you callin' a ho?! ^_^
Ranma 1/2 used without permission
Isn't it always?
If anyone EVER gets permission to use Ranma or any other series, I
think I'd just quit fanfiction again...
Jed M. Bidwell, Idiot At Large, presents:
<snort!> If you say so, buddy...
Well, it was just a thing I put in there...
<cue dramatic drum roll>
And the standard intro music from any 20th Century Fox film. ^_^
Um....
Gotta work on that one.
Looking up, she studied the other pods situated in
neat rows in the center of the chamber. She felt cold, the
air raising goosebumps along her skin as the tile floor
chilled her feet. Rows of sophisticated computer equipment
lined all four walls, monitors flickering as tiny lights
blinked in varying colors all across the machines. Several of
the monitors displayed a flashing word in large red text:
MALFUNCTION.
I hate it when that happens.
Like recently? ^_^
On the top of the capsule was what appeared to be a
fogged glass window. The window covered only a fourth of the
space, wrapping around from one side of the hatch to the
other. Painted on the side was the number "012". Maybe there
was a clue inside? Slowly, she reached ot her left hand to
wipe the mist off the window.
Very nice descriptions, here. Although I'm finding myself unable to
keep images of 'Aliens' out of my head, now... :)
Yet one of several influences...
*cough* Rather uncomfortable, that.
There's a reason for it, tho.
Instinct took over as she vaulted over the capsule
OVER the capsule? I got the impression from the description that
the capsules were upright, and about three meters tall. That's a pretty
spiffy jump... not to mention that most rooms are only 4-5 meters tall
themselves (jump - *clonk* - "oww..." - zzz...).
Sorry. they were horizontal. Shoulda cleared that up.
All Hell Is Breaking Loose(tm).
And copyrighted... ^_^
He reached into the pocket of his coat, pulling out a
small spherical device which he then affixed to the control
panel. Pressing the small button atop the sphere, he stepped
back and looked around for the active unit. The thermal
detonator would explode in ninety seconds, and that didn't
leave him much time.
Especially if he wants to avoid a full-body fourth-degree suntan....
Ouch. THAT would suck...
Clones? This sounds... interesting... :)
Oh, it gets better. ^_^
Now, what I'm curious about is, if she just woke up and can't even
remember her name, how does she know stuff like this?
That's explained in a later chapter, one I've yet to write. Y'see,
she was being programmed with knowledge and other stuff to keep her both
knowledgable and loyal. The bomb was only part of the programs that managed
to take root.
Well, you -did- say Kuno Industries, and if it's anything like their
mansion.... :)
Never seen the place.
Oh boy... I was afraid of this.... :)
Heh heh heh....
(I should note that, for the past 3-4 paragraphs, "Istanbul Not
Constantinople" by They Might Be Giants has been playing on my computer...
it's a very -odd- backdrop for these scenes... :)
?_? You're tellin' me....
Y'know, the description of the guards kinda reminds me of the
faceless baddies out of the old G.I. Joe cartoons....
Or COBRA Commander...
Um, don't you mean 'nothing'? :)
Oops. ^_^
his vision back to low-light. //Looks like it's all clear.\\
Deep inside, however, he knew that it wasn't. Every instinct
he had kept screaming that something was wrong, and he had
always gone by his instincts. Nevertheless, he knew he had
to get out, and this was the shortest path to take. Remaining
in the shadows, he slowly made his way to the exit.
<cue Jaws music>
^_^
//Oh, crap,\\ he thought as a feeling of dread set
in, //Juggernaut!\\ The door opened completely, the enormous
mech lumbering out into the parking garage. It towered over
him, the massive monstrosity measuring well over five meters
in height. Its two legs were backwards-hinged, much the same
way as any four-legged animal, ending in a pair of
three-toed feet. The torso of the giant machine was composed
of sharply-curved metal, bending upward and out to form a
sharp protrusion near the top that somewhat resembled a
head. Each massive arm ended with three pincer-like claws,
capable of rending or crushing nearly anything. But what
concerned him the most was the two fixed 20mm Vulcan guns
mounted on each shoulder that were being trained on him.
"Ohhh, shiiiiiittt....." :)
My sentiments exactly. ^_^
Juggernaut's torso began to rotate towards him,
independent of the legs. He kept moving, knowing that
standing still would mean getting a target lock and something
for Juggernaut to fix its weapons on.
Not to mention that the Vulcan would be fully capable of tearing
-through- a concrete pillar, him, the car in front of him, and most likely
whatever was beyond that as well.
Hmmm..... good point.
Which brings to mind another question: what about the offices below
the garage - you know, the ones that are now *gulp* painted red because of
all the lead flying through them, from the missed shots that hit the floor?
Very thick quadruple reinforced concrete on the floors, actually. ^_^
"WHAT IDIOT ORDERED THAT THING TO FIRE WHILE IT WAS INSIDE?!?!?"
"uh... me, sir..."
BLAM!
"urr...." <thump>
"You're fired."
^_^
The Vulcan guns roared again, hot lead cratering the
concrete and ripping the metal of the myriad vehicles stored
down there. He continued to dodge around, moving faster than
any man had a right to. The garage offered no real shelter
from Juggernaut's onslaught, nor would his armored body
withstand any sort of pounding from it.
Its left arm shot out, a beam of red energy blasting
forth from the center of its hand. The beam lanced the air
that he had occupied not even a second before, lancing
IMO, using variants of 'lance' so closely together doesn't work as
well as other words. I'd replace the second one with 'slicing', myself.
Will fix.
//Damn plasma cannon,\\ he thought as a piece of
flaming shrapnel embedded itself at his feet. Water began to
rain down from the ceiling as the fire suppression systems
engaged. He almost cringed as the water hit and chastised
himself for it. It had been a long time since he'd had to
worry about getting wet. He had to get out, he wouldn't last
much longer against Juggernaut. As he darted between columns
and cars, evading the flak from the mech's guns, he thought
of the rumors surrounding Juggernaut, that there was actually
a human brain in there. Most who knew of the hulking
death-mobile discounted such stories. If they only knew...
... which, of course, suggests that he does. ;)
Oh, yeah...
The fire ceased without any warning, the air getting
quiet save for the sound of cars burning and water soaking
the concrete. Looking around, he saw the Juggernaut's torso
pointed toward a lone patch of light around an elevator door.
the doors opened to reveal a nude red-haired girl staring in
wide-eyed surprise at the monstrous robot.
"It's so... big... oooh..."
SMACK!
Sorry, didn't mean to slip into hentai mode....
You ARE sick, man... ^_^
(of course, I've now got scenes from Tank Girl stuck in my head...)
Never saw that one.
//What the?\\ How did she survive the explosion in
the genesis chamber? He briefly considered moving to
eliminate the clone once and for all, instead choosing to
sieze the chance for escape. He was fast enough to get away
before Juggernaut's targeting systems could lock on, and the
clone wouldn't stand a chance against the hulking killing
machine. He vanished into the night, moving for the tunnel
that led to the streets above. The night wasn't a total
failure, and it was time to leave.
"Let's blow this popsicle stand!"
^_^
The floor began to vibrate slightly in time with the
robot's crushing footfalls as it lumbered after her. Terror
and confusion warred for dominance as she fled from her
robotic adversary. What had she gotten herself into?
Pure and utter hell, m'dear, pure and utter hell. Welcome to the
club!
Heh.
A strange warning sensation overtook her, screaming
for her to dodge. Following the feeling, she sprung to the
right a half second before the twin cannons of the machine's
shoulders roared. She kept running, staying as low as she
could between the cars as bullets shredded their thin metal
frames. Tires popped and glass shattered from the hail of
bullets, the small projectiles hitting with a short zinging sound.
-Small- projectiles? Son, what've you been smokin'? Those puppies
are bigger around than some perfectly healthy -carrots-!
A fact that would make Ryo-Ohki happy. ^_^ Of course, once the
cabbit found it disliked uranium shells....
She ducked and rolled beneath a red truck-type
vehicles, an SUV she realized. Just as she rolled clear, the
sound of something launching came from where the robot stood,
an explosion ripping the air a second later. She hit the
floor again, covering her head as the corpse of what was
once a car flipped into the air to land on another car near
her. The crashing noise nearly deafened her as the bottom
car was mercelissly flattened. Adrenaline racing through her
veins and panic threatening to break loose, she rose to her
feet and continued her flight. She had to get out. Forget
finding out who she was, she needed to get away from that...
whatever it was!
ED-209 AWAITING ORDERS.
Actually, ED-209 was an inspiration behind Juggernaut. The other was
Robocop Mark II from the Robocop II movie. To quote Arthur Edwards,
"I can't believe how close I was on that."
Its chestplate slid open, revealing several
red-tipped cones nestled within the structure. Three of the
cones launched from their bays, arcing toward the running girl.
Mmm... That's definitely a Bad Thing.
A VERY Bad Thing....
Shivering, she looked up to the robot that towered
over her. Her legs felt weak and rubbery when she tried to
move them, desperate to get away. The machine just stood
there, as if it was trying to intimidate her before the end.
Nah. The guys in charge are just archiving GIFs from it's vision
systems - after all, how many wet, naked, busty redheads does your average
guy run across in a lifetime? :)
Hey, this is KUNO Industries, not Happosai, Inc.! ^_^
"P...." it said in a raspy metallic voice,
"p........iiiiii.....ppppiiiiiiiii...."
"What?" What was it trying to say?
"Piiii....ggggg......Piigggg...."
"Pig?" Was this thing trying to insult her? Why was
it calling her a pig?
Um... I've got a baaaaaadddd feeling about thiis....
Oh, you have NO idea....
"It's going nuts!" the tech shouted as his fingers
tapped frantically on the control panel before him. The room
ED-209 General Protection Fault
(A)nnihilate, (R)oast, (I)ncinerate, (F)ail? f
WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME?
Oh, man... that was just.... whoa....
was lined with some of the most sophisticated computer
equipment money could buy, their soft humming noises
providing a subliminal aural backdrop as the technicians
worked furiously at their assigned stations. The monitors
placed before each white-clad scientist displayed various
technical readouts and schematics of the rampaging mech in
the parking garage. A large monitor in the center showed the
view Juggernaut saw, the image jumping wildly with each
self-inflicted blow.
Next on Springer: Cyborgs Who Hate Themselves and the Techs Who Love
Them
That was just wrong, man....
"Increasing barbituate concentration!" the tech at
the far right station shouted.
"Shutting down sub-routines Alpha-four-niner and
Alpha-three-two!" exclaimed another.
"It's not responding!"
"Attempt system shutdown!"
"Negative! Juggernaut's not responding!"
The words 'Juggernaut' and 'not responding' in the same sentence
would tend to indicate, to me at least, that things have gone from SNAFU to
TARFU and proceeding right quickly towards FUBAR....
I know SNAFU and FUBAR, but TARFU?