BGC used without permission
X-Men used without permission
=================================================
"You've done well, Nene," Sylia said as she examined the data the latter
had gleaned from the ADPolice's forensic data. Unfortunately, it merely
confirmed everything she had surmised up to that point.
"That's all the ADP has on it so far."
"Who's running the investigation?"
"Leon and Daley," Nene replied with a wink. "Seems we always get those two,
doesn't it?"
"Must be fate," Sylia deadpanned as she saved the file. "I'll contact the
others with this. Let me know if ADPolice discovers anything new."
"OK!"
Sylia terminated the connection, Nene's cheerful visage vanishing into
blackness. She leaned back in her chair with a tired groan, turning her head
toward the window. The sun was rapidly retreating below the skyline, myriads
of neon signs fighting to pick up the slack that earth's star now gave. Her
eyes locked on the immense form of GENOM Tower, looming above the city as a
giant would over a tiny hamlet about to be crushed. What were they up to in
there?
The commline called for attention, drawing her toward its blinking lights
that indicated another call coming in. The number listed was false, as she
knew it would be. Sylia was only surprised that he had come through so quickly.
"Sorry I don't have time for a face to face," Fargo's voice said over the
line. The screen remained blank, the man never liked to display visual when
contacting her over the phone. "I am a busy man."
"Perfectly all right," she replied. "What have you learned?"
"That our friends at GENOM may not be involved after all. Or, at least not
to the extent one might expect."
"Go on." This could be interesting...
"GENOM is not currently developing electromagnetic weaponry. They were at
one point, but abandoned the research after numerous difficulties adapting
Boomers to carry them. It seems that the cyberdroids would get fried before
their targets would."
"But that doesn't mean they couldn't adapt such a weapon for human use."
"They tried that as well," Fargo said. "They were unable to miniaturize it
to the point where a human soldier could carry it. They were too bulky to be
made part of a Boomer's onboard weapons systems as well."
"I see. If GENOM has not developed such a weapon, then who has?"
"Unfortunately, I don't know. I do know, however, that last night's
incident was not the first time a Boomer had been destroyed in such a way."
"I take it, then, that our mystery person has been operating outside of
Mega-Tokyo?" She surely would have heard of another such indicent within the
city before now.
"Actually, the very first attacks occurred in Europe, the Netherlands, to
be exact, just north of Austria."
"So, they've been working their way here." Why is that, I wonder?
"Exactly. Other such attacks have been reported in Turkey, Ukraine, the
Czech Republic, Iraq, Bosnia, and other such hot spots in that part of the
world. Nobody has any clues as to who is responsible."
"Impressive. To think that someone can pull off so many attacks and still
remain unseen. This may be the work of a powerful organization indeed."
"The last was in Lopnor, China, at the site of a secret nuclear weapons
testing facility. After that, the attacks stopped until last night."
"Anything else, then?" Fargo had given her much to think about. The man was
definitely worth the exorbitant price he demanded.
"Listen, Sylia, be careful."
"Of course," she replied. Why would he express concern all of a sudden?
"Some unconfirmed reports state that the attacks weren't on individual
combat Boomers. They were centered on entire battallions, and were
completely successful."
"I'll keep that in mind. Your fee will be deposited within the hour."
"Until next time," Fargo said, cutting the connection on his end.
Sylia heaved a weary sigh before reaching over to re-activate the comm once
again. She had enough now to call in the other Sabers. Perhaps their input
could shed more light on the situation.
=========================================================
"C'mon, Yuka, you're gonna love it."
"Hiroshi, I don't know about this..."
"About what? I've got protection, if that's what you're worried about."
"It's not that," Yuka said, turning toward the passenger window. All around
was darkness of night, the lamps this close to the old ruins working only
sporadically. "It's..."
"This place? No problem! We'll just go somewhere else."
"Thanks. I'd like that."
"Okay then, we'll just... WHAT THE FUCK!?!"
"Hiroshi, what... Oh, my GOD!"
==========================================================
The roar of the V-12 engine filled Priss' ears as the garish lights of
Mega-Tokyo passed by in a blur. The thrum of the screaming power plant
between her legs travelled throughout her being, an almost euphoric
sensation settling over her as she expertly weaved the souped-up motorcycle
through the early night traffic. Riding was one of the few things that could
soothe her angry heart. The thrill of teasing death on two wheels was far
more exhilarating than standing before a thundering crowd, shouting her rage
through hammering music and bold lyrics. This was the true Priss, not hiding
behind a blonde fright wig and a skimpy costume.
She loved performing, of course, but it lacked the certain rush that riding
granted. Priss cherished the unique form of adrenaline that charged through
her veins as the machine beneath her screamed its rage in echo to her own.
Yet, there was another side to Priscilla S. Asagiri. One she showed only to
few others, one she rarely felt the courage to release. It was this part of
the woman that drove her on this night on an errand that not even her fellow
Knight Sabers knew about.
Priss eased the bike off the lower deck of Highway 31, slowing only
slightly for the off-ramp that led to the main streets. Here, she had to
ride with a touch more sanity, the streets far too choked to allow for
highway speeds. She hated riding out here, but it was the shortest way.
Twenty more minutes of riding brought Priss into one of the less populated
sectors of the city. The air was quieter here, though not necessarily
cleaner. Leaving behind the noise of Mega-Tokyo was far easier than leaving
the pollution.
Finally! she thought as the headlamp washed across the front gate of the
small orphanage. Priss cut the engine, setting the kickstand in one fluid
motion before dismounting. She hated these places, and hated the fact that
Sho had to live here.
Some nights, all alone in her trailer, she would wonder what it would have
been like to adopt him. She could make do, she had been living on her own
for as long as she could remember. Making room for him wouldn't be all that
hard.
Yet then reality would re-assert itself. There was no way she would involve
Sho in anything dealing with her life as a Knight Saber. Priss didn't want
him dragged into her blood-soaked and violent world. She could no more do
that to him than she could quit the team. Much as she disliked it, the
orphanage was the best place for him. God help the little guy...
The door opened on the second chime, revealing the woman who ran the place
beyond. Her eyes widened slightly at Priss, then settled with the rest of
her face into a warm and inviting smile.
"Priss, good to see you again."
"Same here. Say, is Sho around? I promised him I'd stop by today. Sorry I'm
so late, but..."
"Oh, dear. I don't know how to say this."
"What? What happened?!" Priss felt a knot of cold dread settle in her
stomach as she took in the sudden downtrodden look in the other's eyes.
"What happened to Sho, damnit!?"
"Priss, please! Let go!"
She released her grip, unaware that she had even grabbed the other woman.
Her heat seemed to beat in her ears, cold fear racing in her nerves. What
had happened to Sho?
"Sho... ran away a few days ago. We contacted the police, but..."
"He what?!"
"Lately, he had been having difficulties with the other children here..."
"I'm gonna find him!" Priss exclaimed as she turned for her bike.
"Priss, the police are looking..."
"AND NOT VERY GODDAMNED HARD! YOU REALLY THINK THEY GIVE A RAT-FUCK ABOUT
ONE LITTLE BOY LOST IN THIS CITY?!" Without another word, Priss leapt atop
her motorcycle, kicking it to life and screaming into the night.
Sho... please... be okay. Priss desperately repeated that small prayer as
she guided the machine into traffic. She had to find him. There was no way
in hell she would let him grow up on the streets. Sho deserved much better
than that.
Priss finally noticed the blinking light on her bracelet and muttered a
curse. Oh, why now of all times?
==========================================================
"Well, Priss is late again," Linna said as she stretched on Sylia's leather
sofa.
"Wonder where she is?"
"I just got a message from her, actually," Sylia said, taking a seat across
from Linna, Nene, and Mackie. "She told me that there was no way she could
make it in tonight. Something has come up."
"Like what?" Mackie asked irritably.
"I just bet it's a guy," Linna said with a wink. "It's about time, too."
"Priss? In love? No way!" Nene exclaimed, fighting down a fit of the giggles.
"In any event, we have no choice but to begin without her." Sylia
straightened in her chair as the others came to attention. She took a small
sip of Earl Grey from the dainty porcelian cup before speaking again.
"Nene managed to provide the data from the ADP's forensic investigation on
the Boomer. As we suspected, whatever was responsible was electromagnetic in
nature."
"It's systems were completely polarized," Nene added. "Data retrieval was
impossible."
"I thought a Boomer's neural systems and memory were sheilded against EM
pulses."
"Enough of it can punch through any amount of sheilding, Mackie," Sylia
replied. "Also, two ADP gyrocopters were following the Boomer along Highway
47. They suddenly vanished from radar. The pilots survived the ejection,
claiming that all the equipment on their 'copters suddenly went haywire."
"So whoever's behind this didn't want an audience," Linna said.
"Wait a second. So, whoever is responsible only disables the ADPolice
choppers, and flattens the Boomer? Wouldn't have been safer to just take out
the pilots, too?"
"I don't know why the pilots were spared, Mackie. I do know, however, that
this is not the first such incidence."
"You're kidding," Nene said. "If there had been another, we would have
known about it!"
"These attacks on Boomers first started in Europe, moving steadily eastward
to the Chinese coastline. A few months later, they started again here."
"So, these people decided to take a break. But we still don't know who they
are, or what they want."
"True, Linna. All we can do is keep sharp. We can expect another attack at
any time."
The ADP scanner in the corner suddenly came to life as Sylia finished her
last sentence. Mackie rose from his seat in a rush, moving over to the
chirping instrument panel.
"Looks like the ADP's gonna get a little busy tonight," he said as he
placed one of the headphones to his ear.
"What is it, Mackie?"
His eyes widened slightly, casting a nervous glance at Sylia before
returning to the panel.
"Mackie?"
"Our mystery men have struck again," Mackie said.
"Where?"
======================================================
Yuka looked down at the corpse of what was at one time her latest
boyfriend, a steaming heap of blood and ruined flesh that had once been a
man. Her back pressed against the wall, as if she could just pass through
and disappear. Yuka's heart hammered in her chest, morbid horror forcing her
eyes to remain open when she desperately wanted to close them from the sight.
Atop what was left of Hiroshi's car stood a hulking shadow, its weight
having crushed in the roof. It stood almost in contemplation of Hiroshi's
corpse, studying what it had done for future reference.
It turned, red eyes glaring directly down at her. Yuka fought to scream, to
run, to do at least something, yet her body failed to respond to her mind's
panicked commands.
The sound of metal thunder slammed in her ears as it stepped to the
pavement, one monstrous hand outstretched to claim her along with Hiroshi.
Pathetic mewling noises escaped her clinched throat as the Boomer drew ever
nearer, its hand filling her vision as it moved to encirle her head.
Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, the thrid, stood watch as the rogue Boomer sought to
claim antoher victim, and felt the hatred well up within him once again.
Reason was washed away on a tide of righteous rage as he rememebred how once
another Boomer had done the same to his mother as she screamed in helpless
terror.
There is no safe haven, boy, his grandfather's voice said in his mind.
There is no land of peace. Only hatred and greed, where life has no value
and money is worshipped as a god...
He couldn't have saved his family then, but he could at least save one
person now.
Yuka heard the metallic scream, her eyes snapping open. She hadn't realized
they had been shut. For a moment, she wasn't sure of what she was seeing,
gaze drawn to the spectacle before her.
The Boomer hung suspended in midair, back severealy arched with an inhuman
shout bursting from whatever kind of mouth it had. Its body trembled
violently, as if it were struggling against the invisible force holding it.
Yuka felt a strange tugging at her wrist. She looked down just in time to
see her watch snap off her arm, shooting through the air to attach to the
struggling cyberdroid with a tiny plunk. Her earrings were next, ripping
from her ears as other jewelry flew from her body to land on the Boomer.
As if it had been hit with an unseen fist, it flew out of the narrow alley
in which she and Hiroshi had parked. Yuka's head swiveled on its own to
follow the cyberdroid's path as it slammed into the face of a building
across the street. Masonry, damaged by the great Kanto quake, crumbled as it
smashed through.
"W..wha..."
"RUN!" screamed a voice from above. "YOU RUN NOW! GO!"
Yuka was only too happy to comply, legs suddenly pushing her up and
carrying her out into the alley. She kept running, blind terror forcing her
to keep moving even as the heels snapped clear of her shoes and the sounds
of warfare loomed from behind.
Erik saw the Boomer rise from the rubble of the decrepit building's
entrance, grey dust coating its once green armor. It was of a type he had
never seen before, limbs bulky and cumbersome. It head was a rectangular
piece of metal, several optical sensors dotting the surface. It wasn't a
combat Boomer, he knew that much. Perhaps it was a construction model. It
wasn't unfeasable that the city was finally getting around to renovating the
uninhabitable sectors like this one.
Its sensor antennae began probing his forcefield, unsure of the new threat
that faced it. Erik grinned ferally as he focused his power on the smashed
car below. He felt it rise from the pavement, responding to his commands
without hesitation as he sent it rocketing forward.
The Boomer noticed it as well, but far too late to dodge. Its lumbering
body type would never have been able to evade a projectile coming in that
fast. The car rammed into its midsection, plowing the cyberdroid farther
into the building before a deafening explosion shattered the night. The
glare of the fire was masked by the rising plume of dust from the crumbling
building. Tons of concrete and steel rained down on its head, and Erik
laughed. He was carried away on a tide of hate, the sanguine lust for the
Boomer's life driving him onward.
What am I doing?
The thought ended his high as he finally heard the screams. There were...
people down there? Oh, what had he done? Erik looked down as several of the
homeless scrambled away from the destruction, terror plain in their hurried
movements.
I have to stop this, he thought as the light blinded him. He cursed
vehemently as he crushed the aerodyne's searchlights. He then siezed the
flying machine, sending tendrils of magnetic energy into the its systems. No
sense in taking any risks. The engine stopped with a horrid thump as he
fried every system he could find. These things weren't very well sheilded,
were they? He then set it down, gently, on the pavement below. No sense in
risking any more lives tonight. He nearly turned away when the cyberdroid
rose again.
The Boomer pushed its way out from beneath the rubble, its armor dented and
torn. Sparks shot out from its exposed and damaged circuitry, wires and
strips of charred and twisted metal dangling from hundreds of wounds.
The damn thing is still alive? Magnus thought with surprise. Well, he could
fix that.
The Boomer was suddenly jerked into the air as he centered his power on the
rampaging machine. There was no time for finnesse, he only needed to finish
this thing off.
Aerial Patrolman Clancy Ricks shook his vision clear as he righted himself
within the cockpit of the ADP aerodyne. A quick check showed that every
system within the machine was totally shot. Whatever else, this bird
wouldn't fly again anytime soon...
"What the hell?"
He stared in stunned amazement as a Boomer hung in the air, arms and legs
outstretched as if it was being stretched on the rack. For a brief moment,
Clancy wondered if he was in fact hallucinating. A few seconds, however,
proved that he was not.
He couldn't hear what was going on outside, but could see it easily.
Showers of sparks began to rain from the Boomer's joints as its arms and
legs were pulled apart. Clancy could only stare in awe and fear as the
cyberdroid was dismembered, the severed parts falling to the ground in a heap.
"Dispatch, come in, dispatch!" he shouted into his comm. The reply was
silence, not even static on the line. "Dispatch, where the hell are you!"
=================================================
"Let's go, Sylia!" Nene exclaimed.
"No. I will not risk facing whoever this is without all of us here."
"But..."
"No, Nene. I won't take any chances."
"Okay," Nene said in a defeated voice.
"Tomorrow..."
"I know. Get what the ADP discover about this Boomer."
"Twice in two nights," Linna said. "Our men sure are impatient."
Who are you? Sylia thought. Are you our enemy?
"ADPolice are already there," Mackie said from his station. "There'd be no
point in showing up, anyway."
"Thank you, Mackie."
=================================================
Priss pulled up to her trailer, the terror that Sho might be hurt somewhere
still gnawing away at her guts. How long had she searched? six hours? Seven?
All that time scouring the streets of Mega Tokyo, and not a single sign of him.
C'mon, Sho, she thought. Where are you? Priss knew how easily a kid could
vanish into the darkness. She almost had, herself, when she was younger. The
police wouldn't expend any real effort to find him. They knew how it was as
well as anyone else. In their eyes, he was probably dead already.
Priss dismounted her bike, legs numb from so much time spent on the
machine. The sun would rise soon, and she could barely keep her eyes open.
She wouldn't be worth anything to Sho if she fell asleep on her bike and
crashed. If there was one thing the woman had taught her, it was when to
back off and rest a bit. Not that it made her feel any better.
Several times, Priss had come close to tears at the thought of him out
there. He was probably all alone, hungry, scared out of his wits. The
streets could be a rough place for a boy his age...
Huh? Priss examined the door to her home, and noticed that the lock had
been busted. Someone had been in there! Fear and exhaustion was replaced by
anger as she drew her small Member II pistol and slapped it together. Oh,
this night was getting better and better...
Priss waited for a few seconds, hoping to find some sign that a person was
still in there. Time seemed to lose all cohesion as she listened, gun held
up and ready.
There! A slight thumping noise from inside! Looked like she still had some
company. She took a deep breath before kicking in the door.
Brilliant light flooded the cramped interior of the trailer once Priss hit
the switch, weapon sweeping the room. Her eyes locked on a target, a shout
bursting from her lips that whoever it was had best not move.
"PRISS! DON'T SHOOT!"
That voice... was it...
"Sho?"
"It's me, Priss! Please don't shoot!"
Her eyes adjusted to the sudden light, the sight of a little boy in blue
jeans and a red shirt greeting her. He looked filthy and worn, terrified
eyes staring back at her.
"SHO!"
"PRISS!"
Priss rushed forward, tossing the gun aside as she scooped the boy up in
her arms. She held him as tight as she could, relief washing over her again
and again as she felt him near her.
"Sho..." she said, voice cracking from tears that fough to shed themselves.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." he said into the crook of her neck. The skin there felt wet as
tears fell freely from his own eyes. "I'm sorry I scared you. I... I didn't
know where else to go."
"It's all right, Sho." Priss released him, and her heart twinged at the
sight of tears in his innocent eyes. "How did you find this place, anyway?"
"I... I saw your name on the side. I just thought that maybe I could find
you here."
"Well, you certainly thought right. Do you know how worried I've been?" Sho
looked up at her, confusion evident in his stare. "I stopped at the
orphanage a few hours ago, and they told me you'd run away. I've been
looking for you for hours, now!"
"I'm sorry," he replied in a tight voice. "But... I had to go."
"Why?"
"The other kids were being mean to me..."
"Aw, that's no reason to run away," Priss replied in her gentlest voice.
"They were scared of me, too."
"What?"
"They were scared. Because I can... do things."
"What kind of things?" Priss asked, fear reasserting itself.
"Things that they can't. Things that scare me, too..."
"Oh..." She felt at a loss for words. What was he talking about? What could
he do that would scare the other kids, and even Sho himself?
"lately, he's been having difficulties with the other
children..." the voice of the administrator said in her mind. Suddenly,
Priss realized the fearful tone that had been in her voice. What had she
been talking about?
"Priss, you won't take me back, will you?" Sho asked in a trembling tone.
"I didn't like it the first time, and now..."
"Hey, hey..." His chest began to hitch, sobs lurking just beneath the
surface. Priss knew that she should take him back to the orphanage. It was
the best place for him, after all. But seeing him there, so alone and
vulnerable, practically begging her not to, she found that she couldn't.
"Priss... please..."
"I won't, Sho." The boy's eyes instantly perked up, tears shimmering in
their blue depths.
"Really?"
"Really. But let's get some sleep, huh? It's really late. I'll make up a
bed for you."
"Okay. Thank you, Priss."
"No problem, Sho."
==============================================================
"Oh, my God!"
Logan scarcely heard the ring announcer as he downed yet another shot of
straight bourbon. The smoke assaulted his nostrils, as did the stench of
human sweat and blood. He felt the animalistic anger swell in his breast as
the two cleaners dragged out yet another broken body.
Deep within, Logan felt the old killer instinct fighting to be free. The
red anger screamed for him to unleash his claws and shred all who entered
the ring against him.
He restrained it with an effort, and booze. It took a lot more than the
next man for him to get drunk. Sometimes he hated that. Logan may not have
had many memories, but he did know that liquor helped stay the nightmares.
"Eight men in one night! Who can posssibly bring this beast down?!"
Logan wanted to tear into the fat bastard that ran this bar. He even
smelled like a greasy, pompous ass.
"I'll fight him!" Oh, someone new?
Logan downed another shot, straight up, and waited.
"Listen, don't hit him in the nuts," The barkeep said to the hulking mass
of muscle that stood in the cage.
"I thought you said anything goes!"
"Anything goes, but he'll take it personal."
"Whatever," the bald man replied before charging Logan and dealing a brutal
kick to the kidneys.
Logan collapsed to his knees, hate tinging his vision red as another blow
fell on his neck. he then felt a pair of calloused hands grab him at the
shoulders and fling him across the cage.
He picked himself up from the concrete floor of the cage. The delicious
battle lust sang in his veins as the other's fist saidled toward his head.
With a savage grin, Logan unleashed a punch of his own that met the bald
man's fist straight on.
The sound of an agonized scream filled his ears as he felt bone crush to
powder through his skin. Another blow landed, then another, and once more as
Logan let himself be carried on a wave of feral delight.
Logan managed to restrain himself once more once the realization that his
latest foe was unconscious pierced his brain. He stepped back reluctantly as
the bald man fell to the floor in a pool of his own blood.
"The winner, and new king of the cage..." the barkeep announced to the
screaming fans, "the Wolverine!"
=============================================================
Priss awoke as the first rays of the sun began to peek through the
dirt-caked windows of the trailer she called home. While her eyes adjusted
to the light, her brain began to take stock of something sharing the small
space of her bed with her.
She cast a bleary gaze down at the form, finding Sho curled up above the
sheets next to her. His small form was barely on the bed, shivering beneath
the dirty clothes he still wore.
Priss allowed a small smile to crease her lips before she gently moved
over. Her back pressed against the corrugated metal wall, the cool sensation
awakening her slightly more before Sho snuggled in closer. So, he was awake
after all.
"I'm scared, Priss."
"It's okay, kid. I'll make room."
"Thank you."
Priss lay her head down in the crook of her arm, a strange warmth filling
her chest and bringing a larger smile to her face. Was this... what it was
like to be a mother?
Whatever the answer, Priss drifted back into the arms of slumber before she
could find it.
======================================================
Well, that's another chapter down! I'm trying to develop the characters of
both BGC and X-Men, and I hope I'm doing it right. I always thought that
Priss had a more tender side, but I only saw it in the original series when
Sho put in an appearance. I just hope she's not too out of character here.
There is a reason Sho is in here, and I think you've figured it out.
BTW, I know the Logan scene was pretty much ported from the movie. Hey, I
thought that seeing Logan kick the shit out of that Steve Austin wannabe in
the cage was one of the best parts. It was worthy of inclusion. ^_^
Thanks for reading!
Knight Writer.