09_BD_WOASS_Ch_05_EX.txt
2007-06-11 - continuity edit and comma stomping
2007-06-08 - finished first draft(!!!) This is more writing than I've done at a whack in a year or more
2007-06-07 - finished Leon's report, much note/planning adjustment, added ghost scene because the newsfax was too short
2007-06-06 - finished fashionable heroine
2007-06-05 - finished sleepover/shower, working on fashionable heroine incident
2007-06-04 - finished Nene/mom sex talk
2:20 AM 6/20/2003 - preliminary notes
Dead... She'd died, and so CLOSE to winning freedom for all of them! It was so very frustrating, she could scream if she'd had any breath left. The timeless, drifting feeling changed somehow, and she opened her eyes to find herself in a swirling mist, faint shapes visible through it... Concentrating, they became clearer, almost as if she was there again, and she saw that she'd moved from where she'd died... She wasn't the only one, and it was still going on. She could see it as if a double image formed, a more solid version of the ghostly victims joining her ever so briefly in the mist, then whisking away, and she wondered why she had not.
There was a sudden scream, and she spun in surprise. It was hard to tell with the blank, black sky and shifting mist, but there was something just as dark moving not far away, mainly visible as it blocked the sight of the thrashing, screaming man she'd heard. Should she help? Could she help? Was there anything she could use as a weapon?
There was a weight in her hand, even though she knew it had been empty just a moment ago. She looked down, only to find herself holding a softly glowing, crystalline sword. *Well that's really weird,* she thought, *I've never even seen a sword in person before...* It felt right in her hands, though, as she took a few hesitant swings.
*Sometimes, you just have to go with it and see what Fate has in the shop,* she decided with a shrug, then set herself and charged at the... thing. It was black and sprouted too many teeth, claws, and tentacles for real comfort, and from the tearing sounds and the way the screaming had stopped it was probably too late for the guy it had attacked, but at least she could keep it from finding anyone else. After that... Well, maybe she could keep an eye on her friends, if she was some kind of ghost now.
---=- + -=---
FASHIONABLE HERO?
Mystery Woman Ends Buma Rampage!
By Ara Dokoda
Three security-type buma attacked Highway Six on Thursday evening, disrupting rush hour traffic and bringing that section of the city to a standstill, but miraculously causing no loss of life. A pair of Genom guard buma in a company car were near the origin of the incident and battled heroically to protect nearby humans, but further investigation has revealed a third party involved in the battle.
Just as the bodyguard units were being overwhelmed, dressed in the hottest fashion page styles, a heroine appeared! Landing out of the sky without engines or an aerodyne, the mysterious figure's haute couture was recognized by fashion correspondent Ororo Nandeska who happened to be on the scene, a body glove and tabard straight off the Parisian catwalks.
No society flower this, however, to the amazement of motorists trapped by the disruption she quickly disposed of the attackers. Could this be the mysterious Bakemono Burglar, or perhaps a hero from some distant manga come to defend the Earth from him? Martial arts student Midori described--
The flimsy newsfax blew away as another group of fire and rescue vehicles roared by, sirens blaring, drawn from an outlying ward to help with the massive destruction in the city's heart.
Bewilderbeast Studios Present
BUBBLEGUM DISASTER
Season One
WISHES ON A SHOOTING STAR
A work of BGC fan fiction by ClassicDrogn
Chapter Five EX
Cover blown anyway, Priss carried Nam with her when she left, Sylvie's body cradled carefully in the motoslave's other arm. She'd flown to one of the warehouses Sylia owned, just long enough to get out of the hardsuit, lay her former lover out on an emergency cot, and turn the air conditioning all the way up, before continuing on to deliver the data disk, the deathly ill Nam clinging weakly behind her on the transformed motoslave. She'd helped the purple-irised sexaroid up the stairs to the loft the buma shared, only to be bowled over as she opened the door by a bawling little blonde.
"Cynthia!?" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here? Everyone was worried about you!" It was unlikely the former buma even heard, the only even partly distinguishable words, muffled further by the musician's shoulder, were her own name and Sylvie's.
Huddled on a futon near the television, Hotaru and Yuki snuggled in one arm and the other still extended where Cynthia had fled from her side, Anri sniffled and said, "Don't be angry with her, Asagiri-san, we talked her into it, to keep our secret."
"You don't know how much Sylvie wanted to tell you once she connected you and Cynthia's 'Priss-onee,' but she just couldn't, for our sake," Nam agreed. "If things hadn't gone out of control, she'd have been back with you by tomorrow and all of us would leave, far from anywhere they were looking for us." The speedster's voice burbled in her throat by the end of the explanation, and she coughed uncontrollably, spraying flecks of dark blood on her covering hand.
Tinkling voices raised in alarm, the two fae buma jumped down from Anri's arm, metallic wings unfolding to catch the fall and carry them to the doorway. They each grabbed one of her hands, tugging worriedly toward her own futon. Anri too stood and came to help the pallid, sweating sexaroid in and down to rest.
Wails fading at last, Cynthia pulled Priss inside as well, still tearful eyes and red cheeks turning to her in a shaky but still recognizable attempt at Sylvie's 'serious' expression. "I'm very sorry, Priss-onee, I tried to help Sylvie-nee, but... But she was too far awaaay!" Collapsing against her first friend's legs again, the small girl relapsed into tears. The chestnut haired Saber gathered her up in her arms and held her close.
---=- + -=---
Not having wanted to draw out the time between realizing how much fun motorcycles were and going shopping for one, Nene hadn't stopped in at her parents' Miribile home the night before - she'd kind of resolved to expand her time less earlier yesterday evening, when she realized how much she was changing while her friends stayed the same living twenty four hours per day instead of a week's worth, but that had been the immediate deciding factor.
She'd spent much of the day looking at various new and customized models with Nam before settling on a Raven Custom, the same base model as the last two the Doctor had tricked out for Priss before her current bike, but with a newer tuning process that should make it a close rival for the scratch built job she had now - the one that had been used on Nam's own ride. For that matter, Dr. Raven was a much more skilled mechanic than the guy who'd set up the other girl's cycle, and would undoubtedly wrangle even better performance.
After the night they'd just had, though, she didn't know what to think of it all, so when Hiryuko stepped out of a portal as they laid the still unconscious Linna in an infirmary bed, her bruises already beginning to purple, Nene decided to bake two cakes in one oven and sat down for a talk with her mom.
Her friend came first of course, so she put speculation about the sexaroid and what she'd really wanted on hold to ask if there had been some connection between the dancer's terrifying transformation and the supernatural world her family was so intertwined with.
"Nothing we could find had any unusual mystical significance," the elder redhead replied, "and believe me, we looked. No spells, no demons, we even checked for the were-curse and shapechanger-type vampirism, nothing. Her spiritual signature didn't change so much as intensify." Seeing her daughter's quizzical look, Hiryuko explained further. "She accessed a buttload more ki, of course, but that was more of a secondary effect - it's as if she went into a trance and her most primal self was brought out, so deep that her rational mind was completely suppressed, and she didn't know you as her friends." Shaking her head, the older woman concluded, "Whatever it was, that giant transformation is part of her natural being, not something imposed from outside."
"But, wait," the pink Saber protested, "if it was just like going into a trance, could it have been intentional? Obviously it didn't quite work if it was, Linna wouldn't just fight indiscriminately like that, but it was pretty scary when the DD transformed the way Priss's Guardian thingie did. I mean, considering what it did to Mason, and all."
"I don't think so, and as for the DD, she wasn't even lookin' at it, Kireiko. As soon as the moon appeared from the clouds, it fascinated her," Hiryuko explained, using her daughter's birth name instead of the nickname she'd adopted to join the AD Police. "That was why we checked for werewolf and vampirism - werewolves transform under a full moon, and Mideon vampires can stand the sun, transform themselves, and are also influenced by the moon. Neither of those would explain having a tail, anyway - most likely, she's got some spirit ancestry herself, maybe Sun Wu Kung, the Monkey king - It was a long time ago now, but he did set up a kingdom here in the Mortal Realm, after the adventure that inspired the story of The Journey to the West."
"Maybe that's why it only happened after her tail showed up," the (still, if barely) youngest Saber guessed. "But then why didn't it happen when we were sparring, or at least when that soul eater attacked in Miribile?"
Her mother shrugged. "Dunno, maybe it takes some time, or only works at night, or it is the moon after all. Once she wakes up, why not ask, though I'd've thought she'd mention it by now, knowing about us."
Nene hummed thoughtfully, and decided to wait until they could talk to her friend about it. That left Nam, Sylvie, and their whole situation, and she explained meeting them, the cycle ride, and the day out she'd had with the sweet-tempered woman who had turned out to be one of the rogue sexaroids, and who was probably the Bakemono Bandit as well.
"I suppose it's only natural if she's totally hot and has a nice personality considering what she was made for," she recapped, "but I really had fun shopping with her today, and I think she did too. We were going to get together again after my shift tomorrow - today, I guess - but now I don't know how to feel about it. What do you think, Mom?"
The older redhead sniggered and sang, "Sounds like my Ne-ne-ko-chan has a cru-ush!"
A portal formed behind the incandescently blushing teen, and Tora Kagami stepped through just as she sputtered, "MOM! I do _not_ have a crush on her! I'm just not sure if she was really my friend or wanted something else, you know, the whole sexaroid thing!" He froze, pale as a ghost, except for a face blue with shock.
An evil glint in her eye, Hiryuko stated seriously, "It's all right, dear, this is the twenty first century after all. No matter what personal choices you make, we'll still love you and support you, ne anata?"
Sweat drops pouring down the back of his head, Tora made an inarticulate sort of "kack-kack" sound.
Realizing that he was behind her and what her last sentence probably sounded like, Nene eeped, her blush, impossibly, deepened, and she hunkered down as if trying to sink into the ground.
Grinning now, the devil in the shape of her mother continued, "Your friends will be all right with it too, they were fine with Priss and Nam's friend Sylvie, after all. It's good to have the support of your friends, ne a-na-taaa?"
Eyes blank, her father gagged and stammered a few more times, them managed to squeak out, "O-of course, dear... I just remembered... something ... I need to do... somewhere. Right, seeya!" After a couple of tries, he managed to get another portal open, and fled into it posthaste.
The older woman collapsed back in her chair, cackling like a hyena. She was still rubbing her eyes and giggly by the time her daughter recovered enough to squeal, "I cannot BELIEVE you just did that! How am I ever going to look at Daddy again!?"
Forcing down another fit, Hiryuko retorted, "Eh, 's good for 'im. Anyway, I assume you meant the Bakemono Burglar situation by 'the whole sexaroid thing?'"
"YES! That!" Nene snapped. "Not some ... some perverted innuendo, ero-mama!"
Finally having suppressed her mirth, the still young looking Kagami matron replied seriously. "I was just teasing, but I also meant it - it would be all right, even if it meant you'd have to adopt. Don't think you can get out of giving me grandchildren that easily, little missy."
"MOM!"
"Seriously, you're eighteen now, sweetie, and I'm glad you decided to wait, but isn't it about time you started dating?" Her mother leaned forward, and finished off her cooling cup of tea. "I think you should go ahead and give her a chance, and time will tell. There's no magic answer to making friends, even if you literally make them like a golem, or more importantly, a buma, the friends part is still up to you."
---=- + -=---
Once everything had settled down, Cynthia used her healing ability again on Nam. The sexaroid had visibly relaxed and regained color as the lambent blue-green glow of magic played around her, falling asleep at last as the worst of the damage was reversed. Cynthia was too exhausted herself to finish it entirely, but at least now it could safely keep until morning - even with her apparently limitless source of magical energy, the concentration to use it was wearing on the child.
"What will you do now?" Anri asked quietly, after disposing of the tissues she'd used to wipe Nam's forehead. She glanced over to the little blonde before returning Priss's serious look.
Still kneeling on the other side of the futon, sleepy child curled in her lap, the Saber frowned in thought, then replied, "I don't want to take her on my bike, especially this tired, better to just let her sleep as she's been here." Uncharacteristically hesitant, she bit her lips before continuing, "If it's not troublesome, I'll stay here with her. In the morning we can call for a car, and maybe see if Nam's bike is still salvageable after crashing it into the quake zone and that fight. The Akimotos will be overjoyed to see her again, and Sy- uh, Cecilia can easily do whatever is involved with that data disk for you. Then, I don't know then. A funeral, I guess." Downcast, she muttered to herself, "Another funeral..."
"It's no trouble, but the only futon left is..." Anri trailed off, knowing Sylvie and Priss had shared a bed a few times in the past weeks but unsure how the singer would feel about it now that her partner had passed.
"I think that's probably the only way I'm gonna get to sleep at all tonight," the chestnut haired woman replied, giving the sexaroid a haunted look. Forcing a smile, she changed topics. "Is there a shower in this place, though? I'm kinda rank, after that fight."
There was, and as she washed Priss sang Konya wa Hurricane, about half tempo and double heart, to the ghost of memories. It was still a pain how the water kept getting in her eyes, but somehow it wasn't quite so totally devastating, at least until she was done and it was time to face that empty bed.
Though she couldn't quite make out the words, Anri too was comforted by the musician's low, gentle voice, lulled to a semi-doze where she lay, Cynthia curled into her side.
And finally, outside but heedless of the rain, a dark-haired figure listened with senses beyond the human. Its eyes flashed pale red as it turned back to the street watchfully.
---=- + -=---
Though she'd sent Mackie off to get some sleep, Sylia stayed at her unconscious subordinate's bedside, wondering if she'd ever manage to get back to a life where she felt a comfortable level of control. She'd be the first to admit she was far from perfect or all-knowing, but it had been nice when she could make a plan and have a reasonable chance of pulling it off without the interference of kami, demons, or were-kaiju. 'Sometimes the only thing to control is yourself, and let matters happen as they must;' it was all very well for Kami-sama to say it, but look where it had gotten him!
Shaking her head, she sighed and brushed a stubborn spike back from Linna's brow. The last time she'd seen the brunette in here - something all too frequent lately, she could have been competing with Priss - was only a week before, when a buma had tried to gut her without even the benefit of a hardsuit's protection. That had been the night she'd worn the date outfit Sylia had gotten for her, fortunately, and the bulletproof nanoweave had stopped the worst damage, but even her remarkably tough muscles and flesh had torn slightly at the impact point, and needed a few stitches to close. If it hadn't been for her own recent enhancements she might not have been able to get a needle through, and she'd broken three doing it. New, monofilament reinforced titanium needles were available now, but at least this time the dancer's wounds were limited to bruising and abrasions from the rubble that had all but buried her when she changed back from a giant ape... And if that wasn't the least effective reassurance the Saber leader had ever heard, she didn't know what was.
Linna had gone to meet her date that night, a little late perhaps but not much. She hadn't counted on a traffic jam on the way into the city, though, and even more unexpected was the blast of an explosion somewhere up ahead where traffic was stopped. Seconds later the searing needle of a laser speared the police aerodyne flying in from the south, and she decided to investigate.
Thinking quickly, the Sabers' melee specialist pulled off a bandanna and tied it over her face, then eased her car into the break down lane - fortunately she'd been traveling next to it, and had left herself some space before the car ahead. Tripping the emergency beacon in her wristwatch and leaving the car's blinkers on, she stepped out onto the tarmac. Ignoring the gawking salaryman in the mid-life-crisismobile behind her, she gathered herself, crouched, and leapt up to the overhead light poles, bouncing from one to the next as she went to check things out.
Arriving, she quickly assessed the situation, still crouched on a nearby pole. The engine compartment of a slick black sedan had been crushed into the road by some massive impact, and a gout of smoke rose from the wrecked frame of a BU-55B security buma nearby, probably the source of the explosion earlier. A second security-type was being torn apart by three of its military cousins not far away, one holding each arm while the last twisted its head off from behind. On the ground where she'd fallen after being tossed into a second car, a whimpering woman in a ruined suit scrabbled blindly with one good arm, ineffectually trying to get away while blood gushed where bones had poked out of broken limbs.
Linna felt a hot ball of rage explode in her gut, sweeping away the last of her wariness like dust in the shockwave of a bomb, at the sight of another obvious buma assassination. Her battle aura flared to life, flickering to her awakened senses in the physical manifestation of her emotions, though the untrained would see a shimmer like a heat mirage at best. A metallic squeal marked an imprint forming in the aluminum lamp post as her hand clenched unconsciously, and then she was flying through the air, stylish white boots each slamming into a buma's head, just too late to save the beleaguered bodyguard.
Thrown off balance by her attack, the 55C that had ripped off its head staggered back, while her other target was knocked off its feet, getting tangled in its victim's inert legs as it fell. The other attacker managed to stay clear, only to fall under a relentless series of hammer-blows from fists and feet, armor cratering as a tiny burst of ki was released at each impact. It staggered back a step, two, then toppled as a Dragon Stomp shattered its left knee joint, all but snapping the leg right off with its force.
Crashing back to the road, the combat buma calculated, then braced its arms and sealed its optics to use the laser mounted in its mouth. The dim outline of the unexpected enemy extended an arm in a hopeless attempt to shield itself, and it felt a cruel satisfaction at turning the tables on such a powerful opponent - amazingly so, for a model with such a comprehensive human disguise. A glow of plasma formed in the outstretched palm, some kind of hidden weapon array, but the laser was already charged and the firing relay tripped just as the target cried out-
Linna released the ki blast with an explosive kiyai, a basic ball of superheated air compressed in a bubble of energy. It impacted just as the first glimmer of preignition light leaked out of the buma's mouth laser, blowing away the focussing array and the fat fiber optic lightpipe that came from the actual emitter, deep in the chest. Undirected, the laser blast vaporized the buma's own neck and head, leaving the brunette Saber victorious but panting from exertion, regretting the energy expended even as the finishing attack landed.
She had to fight smarter. The impact bursts had been effective, if not as much as her hardsuit's knuckle bombers, but between them and the ill-advised fireball she'd used more than half of the energy boost gained by her spiking anger, and the other two buma were back on their feet, moving to set her up for a crossfire. The two-way pager watch had stopped buzzing on her wrist, so she knew at least that it had been noticed and backup was probably on its way, but one way or another this would almost certainly be over by the time anyone could arrive.
It was the difference between sparring and combat that had set her up for a problem - Hiryuko had told her time and again how inefficient a simple fireball was compared to beam style attacks, let alone advanced manipulations like the Kagami woman's Gamera Bombs or Tora's cold-ki techniques, but when she could always just jump back and call up more power it hadn't seemed like such a problem. Now, having jumped into battle fueled by unthinking anger and without properly powering up first, then foolishly squandering the energy she did have with that same anger, Linna was at a disadvantage - the more so in fact, for having taken one of the attackers out so quickly, as the remaining pair would be taking her seriously now - rarely the case with combat models, she'd found, unless they had a level of experience uncommon this far from the active sector of the Polar War. It was due to the pack-animal instincts instilled in them, and the far greater than human strength packed into their cybernetic bodies.
There was no time to contemplate abstracts, though, the 55C that had decapitated the bodyguard had taken the time to crush its skull before moving to deal with her, but now it had set itself and opened the chest plates over its heat projector, probably expecting her to dodge away into the third's attack. That tactic might have worked if Linna wasn't well aware of the weakness the array's focussing lenses presented, if someone was quick enough to take advantage.
That, the tailed woman certainly was. She formed a microburst just over the knuckles of her first and second fingers again and skipped in close, slamming it home and producing a shockwave of ki that crushed through the thinner, inner armor as well as spreading to shatter the lenses, damaging the buma's power supply. Fortunately it was not equipped with its own fusion core like the Superbuma, as some 55Cs had begun to be refitted with to allow unlimited use of their energy weapons, instead relying on a superconductor storage ring, but the liberated current was still enough to arc and energize enough plasma for a secondary explosion that ripped apart the unit's chest and pelted the vigilante with enough shrapnel to make her bless Sylia again for providing the bulletproof outfit.
Even with that protection she'd been a hair too slow this time, the skin of her face and upper body reddened from the instant's exposure to the weapon's effect, her left arm and fist blistering painfully under the tight-fitting body suit and glove.
Flinching back, she was blindsided by the last of the buma, and then it was Linna's turn to go sprawling. Kicking off as she hit, the martial artist tucked into a roll and then sprang back to her feet. The buma had apparently learned from its fellows' fates, pressing a physical attack rather than trying to use its more exotic weapons. She changed styles, deflecting the attacks with gentle seeming, circular moves that had all the inevitability of a river flowing to the sea, rather than the direct, power moves of the first stage of the fight. She wasn't as skilled in Tai Chi as Karate, but the defense it allowed was excellent, and its internal focus would allow raising her ki again without having to break contact and power up directly.
That wasn't to say she abandoned the attack entirely, of course - no defense can last forever, and a buma wasn't going to tire before she would even if it did. Brushing its arms aside as the cyberdroid tried to capture her in a crushing bear hug, the brunette snapped up one leg, launching a kick that lifted the heavy combat machine off its feet. Pressing the attack in hopes of regaining the initiative Linna rechambered the leg and jumped after it, a second kick knocking the buma sideways to crash against the wrecked car, the Knight Saber catching herself with a crouched touchdown on the hood of another stopped vehicle, immediately kicking off again to keep up the pressure.
Staggered but not stunned, the buma ripped the open car door out of its frame, making her dip into the Kagami aerial techniques to spin her body out of the way and push off from the flying debris, deflecting herself higher into the air, coming in from the higher angle with her hands curled like a stooping hawk's talons to dig into the enemy's shoulders at the collarbone, or in this case the analogous joint in the buma's armor.
Fingers reinforced by her own life energy dug into the seam in the armor, and the buma roared in frustration and pain as Linna used her momentum to spin around their common center of mass and the pivot point of the car's roof and throw it again, this time crashing into the cement retaining wall on the side of the highway. Overstress indicators flared in its neural net, warning of spinal damage at the small of its back where the edge of the wall had hit, and the combat buma wobbled on unsteady feet as it struggled to stand again.
Buoyed by the obvious signs of damage the martial artist hopped down from her landing place on the ever more damaged sedan, and was unprepared for the seemingly punch-drunk enemy to counterattack, its arm spearing out with a clawed hand to gut her. Linna rolled with the attack as best she could but was still doubled over by pain and the sheer force, egg rolling somewhat clumsily away and clutching her abdomen. Fortunately the attack didn't seem to have penetrated, but she could still feel the hot, slick sensation of flowing blood inside her body glove, and knew she'd need to finish the fight quickly. Fortunately the buma had knocked itself off its own feet with the move, teetering precariously over the side of the elevated highway, a forty foot drop from the upper deck to the ground level street below.
Bracing itself against the wall with its arms, the mechanoid targeted the troublesome enemy that had appeared and started the charge cycle for its mouth laser, calculating that her reduced mobility and battle damage would prevent the kind of counters previously used against ranged attacks. This would definitely be a combat log worth reviewing at the maintenance depot, it mused in the seconds before the weapon was ready to fire, preferably with a level three lubricant and wear replacement in progress and a cool nutrient shake.
It fired but was unprepared for the speed Linna used to zigzag around the beam, her stomach burning as the stress tore the damaged tissues further but will unshaken as she moved in for the finishing blow, a ki-infused uppercut topped with another knuckle bomb which blew the 55C's head off before it could even open its optic shields.
Leaning over the mechanical corpse, arms braced against the cracked but still relatively whole retaining wall, the victorious Knight Saber breathed shallowly, trying to avoid further strain on her abused stomach. Gathering herself after a moment, she again pressed one hand against the wound before hopping carefully up onto the barrier and jogging back to where she'd left her car, since she could hear more aerodynes approaching. Hopefully it was far enough from the front of the traffic jam that no one would have connected her with anything out of the ordinary, or taken notice of her license plate number... If nothing else, she'd be able to use the cell phone in her purse when she got back to it, and get in touch with Sylia or Nene to have them do their computer hoodoo and remove any connections to her that a search for the number might turn up.
They'd done that, a different number being entered into the record systems as being registered to Linna Yamazaki, and the next day she'd reported her plate stolen, as sometimes happened when criminals or simple joyriders wanted to disguise a similarly colored car. A small administrative fee later and she had a third, legitimate new number and plates, and then it was all over but the healing - gratifyingly rapid - and the lectures from Sylia and Hiryuko, which were dishearteningly long.
Now her team mate, her friend was lying in that bed again, apparently in considerably better shape but presenting an even bigger mystery than how she'd suddenly grown - or perhaps regenerated, since she remembered having one as a child - an agile, furry monkey-like tail in the wake of the Griffon incident. They'd been unable to find any documented incidence of a human with such a fully developed prehensile member, nor even any animal analogues of the large ductless gland that ran most of its length, and seemed to have a direct connection to the optic nerves of all things.
Feeling herself nodding off, Sylia shook her head, a few silver-blue locks bobbing where they'd slipped free of the bun she wore under her armor helmet. Every scan she could run said Linna was simply in a deep but normal sleep, and the circling swarm of unanswered questions would keep until morning at least... Maybe afternoon, with how late it had gotten and how exhausted she felt.
---=- + -=---
It was around mid-morning before Leon was dug out of the rubble, the PMB having lost power when the gas turbine in the rear wheel folded on its back was damaged. Even at that, he counted himself lucky - the sturdy mecha and body armor had prevented any major injuries, all he'd suffered were sprains and joint stress when falling wreckage of the wall he'd been tossed into battered him around like a rag doll. Despite his energetic protests the rescue workers still bundled him off to the mobile hospital that had been set up, but with all the serious injuries they had to deal with, he'd done nothing but wait and grumble in frustration since the triage medic determined he had a heart beat, normal body temperature, and no abnormal swelling or bleeding wounds, then handed him a granola bar and waved him at the steel chairs where those who weren't in immediate danger were waiting for someone to have time for a more detailed examination.
He'd tried to leave once, actually, but the THP motorcycle officer who was handling security wouldn't allow it - apparently this was a special area set up for people who'd been buried, and everyone had to have a detailed check for internal injuries before they could go. Neither Leon's higher rank nor the fact that he'd been buried in a mecha that kept anything from hitting his torso impressed the cycle cop, the Inspector was a patient who'd been buried, he would wait quietly and get checked out or they'd sedate him.
His relief was considerable, then, when Daley appeared, dirt-smeared and more rumpled than he'd ever seen his dapper partner, but with orders from way up the political totem pole to collect him and get a report. Though, he did wonder, "How'd you get get here so fast, anyway? I'd have thought you'd still be floating around in space."
Brushing back dust-clogged red hair with one hand, the other Inspector said, "When the explosions started I used police authority to hold a shuttle that was about to launch and get a seat. I was worried about my cute partner," he joked with a tired grin. Seeing that Leon was in no mood for humor, he continued, "They pretty much grabbed me at the spaceport lobby and sent me to help out - when you were found they called for the ADP to see if it was dangerous to leave it there while looking for more survivors, and I happened to be nearby. I pulled the recorder's disk and played the video feed to see if it had anything important. When the chief heard you'd been on the scene, he sent me to get a report on what happened after the unit shut down, and I keep getting called with orders from higher up the food chain saying to hurry up about it. I'm just wondering -"
The chirp of the police-band cell in his suit pocket cut Daley off, and he answered with another wry grin to Leon, who was starting to be amused in spite of himself. "Inspector Wong ... Yes, sir. I've got him right here actually ... Absolutely, sir, I'll make sure to route a copy to your office ... I'm on it." Closing the phone and jerking his head toward the cruiser he'd arrived in, the redhead confided, "That was Defense Minister Callahan, calling from the emergency Diet session - this is serious, Leon."
Arriving at the car, he retrieved a standard tablet PC from the seat and woke it up, opening a file to take notes in and starting the audio recorder. "This is Inspector Daley Wong, AD Police, interviewing Inspector Leon McNichol, also AD Police, recovered from the scene of the incident in a prototype police motorcycle battloid. As the logs from the unit have already been retrieved, could you start from when it shut down?"
SERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
For the next 72 hours, Itachi intoned, I will slap you with this trout. - Spying no Jutsu, chapter 3
"In the futuristic taco bell of the year 20XX, justice wears an aluminum sombrero!"hemlock-martini
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
2007-06-11 - continuity edit and comma stomping
2007-06-08 - finished first draft(!!!) This is more writing than I've done at a whack in a year or more
2007-06-07 - finished Leon's report, much note/planning adjustment, added ghost scene because the newsfax was too short
2007-06-06 - finished fashionable heroine
2007-06-05 - finished sleepover/shower, working on fashionable heroine incident
2007-06-04 - finished Nene/mom sex talk
2:20 AM 6/20/2003 - preliminary notes
Dead... She'd died, and so CLOSE to winning freedom for all of them! It was so very frustrating, she could scream if she'd had any breath left. The timeless, drifting feeling changed somehow, and she opened her eyes to find herself in a swirling mist, faint shapes visible through it... Concentrating, they became clearer, almost as if she was there again, and she saw that she'd moved from where she'd died... She wasn't the only one, and it was still going on. She could see it as if a double image formed, a more solid version of the ghostly victims joining her ever so briefly in the mist, then whisking away, and she wondered why she had not.
There was a sudden scream, and she spun in surprise. It was hard to tell with the blank, black sky and shifting mist, but there was something just as dark moving not far away, mainly visible as it blocked the sight of the thrashing, screaming man she'd heard. Should she help? Could she help? Was there anything she could use as a weapon?
There was a weight in her hand, even though she knew it had been empty just a moment ago. She looked down, only to find herself holding a softly glowing, crystalline sword. *Well that's really weird,* she thought, *I've never even seen a sword in person before...* It felt right in her hands, though, as she took a few hesitant swings.
*Sometimes, you just have to go with it and see what Fate has in the shop,* she decided with a shrug, then set herself and charged at the... thing. It was black and sprouted too many teeth, claws, and tentacles for real comfort, and from the tearing sounds and the way the screaming had stopped it was probably too late for the guy it had attacked, but at least she could keep it from finding anyone else. After that... Well, maybe she could keep an eye on her friends, if she was some kind of ghost now.
---=- + -=---
FASHIONABLE HERO?
Mystery Woman Ends Buma Rampage!
By Ara Dokoda
Three security-type buma attacked Highway Six on Thursday evening, disrupting rush hour traffic and bringing that section of the city to a standstill, but miraculously causing no loss of life. A pair of Genom guard buma in a company car were near the origin of the incident and battled heroically to protect nearby humans, but further investigation has revealed a third party involved in the battle.
Just as the bodyguard units were being overwhelmed, dressed in the hottest fashion page styles, a heroine appeared! Landing out of the sky without engines or an aerodyne, the mysterious figure's haute couture was recognized by fashion correspondent Ororo Nandeska who happened to be on the scene, a body glove and tabard straight off the Parisian catwalks.
No society flower this, however, to the amazement of motorists trapped by the disruption she quickly disposed of the attackers. Could this be the mysterious Bakemono Burglar, or perhaps a hero from some distant manga come to defend the Earth from him? Martial arts student Midori described--
The flimsy newsfax blew away as another group of fire and rescue vehicles roared by, sirens blaring, drawn from an outlying ward to help with the massive destruction in the city's heart.
Bewilderbeast Studios Present
BUBBLEGUM DISASTER
Season One
WISHES ON A SHOOTING STAR
A work of BGC fan fiction by ClassicDrogn
Chapter Five EX
Cover blown anyway, Priss carried Nam with her when she left, Sylvie's body cradled carefully in the motoslave's other arm. She'd flown to one of the warehouses Sylia owned, just long enough to get out of the hardsuit, lay her former lover out on an emergency cot, and turn the air conditioning all the way up, before continuing on to deliver the data disk, the deathly ill Nam clinging weakly behind her on the transformed motoslave. She'd helped the purple-irised sexaroid up the stairs to the loft the buma shared, only to be bowled over as she opened the door by a bawling little blonde.
"Cynthia!?" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here? Everyone was worried about you!" It was unlikely the former buma even heard, the only even partly distinguishable words, muffled further by the musician's shoulder, were her own name and Sylvie's.
Huddled on a futon near the television, Hotaru and Yuki snuggled in one arm and the other still extended where Cynthia had fled from her side, Anri sniffled and said, "Don't be angry with her, Asagiri-san, we talked her into it, to keep our secret."
"You don't know how much Sylvie wanted to tell you once she connected you and Cynthia's 'Priss-onee,' but she just couldn't, for our sake," Nam agreed. "If things hadn't gone out of control, she'd have been back with you by tomorrow and all of us would leave, far from anywhere they were looking for us." The speedster's voice burbled in her throat by the end of the explanation, and she coughed uncontrollably, spraying flecks of dark blood on her covering hand.
Tinkling voices raised in alarm, the two fae buma jumped down from Anri's arm, metallic wings unfolding to catch the fall and carry them to the doorway. They each grabbed one of her hands, tugging worriedly toward her own futon. Anri too stood and came to help the pallid, sweating sexaroid in and down to rest.
Wails fading at last, Cynthia pulled Priss inside as well, still tearful eyes and red cheeks turning to her in a shaky but still recognizable attempt at Sylvie's 'serious' expression. "I'm very sorry, Priss-onee, I tried to help Sylvie-nee, but... But she was too far awaaay!" Collapsing against her first friend's legs again, the small girl relapsed into tears. The chestnut haired Saber gathered her up in her arms and held her close.
---=- + -=---
Not having wanted to draw out the time between realizing how much fun motorcycles were and going shopping for one, Nene hadn't stopped in at her parents' Miribile home the night before - she'd kind of resolved to expand her time less earlier yesterday evening, when she realized how much she was changing while her friends stayed the same living twenty four hours per day instead of a week's worth, but that had been the immediate deciding factor.
She'd spent much of the day looking at various new and customized models with Nam before settling on a Raven Custom, the same base model as the last two the Doctor had tricked out for Priss before her current bike, but with a newer tuning process that should make it a close rival for the scratch built job she had now - the one that had been used on Nam's own ride. For that matter, Dr. Raven was a much more skilled mechanic than the guy who'd set up the other girl's cycle, and would undoubtedly wrangle even better performance.
After the night they'd just had, though, she didn't know what to think of it all, so when Hiryuko stepped out of a portal as they laid the still unconscious Linna in an infirmary bed, her bruises already beginning to purple, Nene decided to bake two cakes in one oven and sat down for a talk with her mom.
Her friend came first of course, so she put speculation about the sexaroid and what she'd really wanted on hold to ask if there had been some connection between the dancer's terrifying transformation and the supernatural world her family was so intertwined with.
"Nothing we could find had any unusual mystical significance," the elder redhead replied, "and believe me, we looked. No spells, no demons, we even checked for the were-curse and shapechanger-type vampirism, nothing. Her spiritual signature didn't change so much as intensify." Seeing her daughter's quizzical look, Hiryuko explained further. "She accessed a buttload more ki, of course, but that was more of a secondary effect - it's as if she went into a trance and her most primal self was brought out, so deep that her rational mind was completely suppressed, and she didn't know you as her friends." Shaking her head, the older woman concluded, "Whatever it was, that giant transformation is part of her natural being, not something imposed from outside."
"But, wait," the pink Saber protested, "if it was just like going into a trance, could it have been intentional? Obviously it didn't quite work if it was, Linna wouldn't just fight indiscriminately like that, but it was pretty scary when the DD transformed the way Priss's Guardian thingie did. I mean, considering what it did to Mason, and all."
"I don't think so, and as for the DD, she wasn't even lookin' at it, Kireiko. As soon as the moon appeared from the clouds, it fascinated her," Hiryuko explained, using her daughter's birth name instead of the nickname she'd adopted to join the AD Police. "That was why we checked for werewolf and vampirism - werewolves transform under a full moon, and Mideon vampires can stand the sun, transform themselves, and are also influenced by the moon. Neither of those would explain having a tail, anyway - most likely, she's got some spirit ancestry herself, maybe Sun Wu Kung, the Monkey king - It was a long time ago now, but he did set up a kingdom here in the Mortal Realm, after the adventure that inspired the story of The Journey to the West."
"Maybe that's why it only happened after her tail showed up," the (still, if barely) youngest Saber guessed. "But then why didn't it happen when we were sparring, or at least when that soul eater attacked in Miribile?"
Her mother shrugged. "Dunno, maybe it takes some time, or only works at night, or it is the moon after all. Once she wakes up, why not ask, though I'd've thought she'd mention it by now, knowing about us."
Nene hummed thoughtfully, and decided to wait until they could talk to her friend about it. That left Nam, Sylvie, and their whole situation, and she explained meeting them, the cycle ride, and the day out she'd had with the sweet-tempered woman who had turned out to be one of the rogue sexaroids, and who was probably the Bakemono Bandit as well.
"I suppose it's only natural if she's totally hot and has a nice personality considering what she was made for," she recapped, "but I really had fun shopping with her today, and I think she did too. We were going to get together again after my shift tomorrow - today, I guess - but now I don't know how to feel about it. What do you think, Mom?"
The older redhead sniggered and sang, "Sounds like my Ne-ne-ko-chan has a cru-ush!"
A portal formed behind the incandescently blushing teen, and Tora Kagami stepped through just as she sputtered, "MOM! I do _not_ have a crush on her! I'm just not sure if she was really my friend or wanted something else, you know, the whole sexaroid thing!" He froze, pale as a ghost, except for a face blue with shock.
An evil glint in her eye, Hiryuko stated seriously, "It's all right, dear, this is the twenty first century after all. No matter what personal choices you make, we'll still love you and support you, ne anata?"
Sweat drops pouring down the back of his head, Tora made an inarticulate sort of "kack-kack" sound.
Realizing that he was behind her and what her last sentence probably sounded like, Nene eeped, her blush, impossibly, deepened, and she hunkered down as if trying to sink into the ground.
Grinning now, the devil in the shape of her mother continued, "Your friends will be all right with it too, they were fine with Priss and Nam's friend Sylvie, after all. It's good to have the support of your friends, ne a-na-taaa?"
Eyes blank, her father gagged and stammered a few more times, them managed to squeak out, "O-of course, dear... I just remembered... something ... I need to do... somewhere. Right, seeya!" After a couple of tries, he managed to get another portal open, and fled into it posthaste.
The older woman collapsed back in her chair, cackling like a hyena. She was still rubbing her eyes and giggly by the time her daughter recovered enough to squeal, "I cannot BELIEVE you just did that! How am I ever going to look at Daddy again!?"
Forcing down another fit, Hiryuko retorted, "Eh, 's good for 'im. Anyway, I assume you meant the Bakemono Burglar situation by 'the whole sexaroid thing?'"
"YES! That!" Nene snapped. "Not some ... some perverted innuendo, ero-mama!"
Finally having suppressed her mirth, the still young looking Kagami matron replied seriously. "I was just teasing, but I also meant it - it would be all right, even if it meant you'd have to adopt. Don't think you can get out of giving me grandchildren that easily, little missy."
"MOM!"
"Seriously, you're eighteen now, sweetie, and I'm glad you decided to wait, but isn't it about time you started dating?" Her mother leaned forward, and finished off her cooling cup of tea. "I think you should go ahead and give her a chance, and time will tell. There's no magic answer to making friends, even if you literally make them like a golem, or more importantly, a buma, the friends part is still up to you."
---=- + -=---
Once everything had settled down, Cynthia used her healing ability again on Nam. The sexaroid had visibly relaxed and regained color as the lambent blue-green glow of magic played around her, falling asleep at last as the worst of the damage was reversed. Cynthia was too exhausted herself to finish it entirely, but at least now it could safely keep until morning - even with her apparently limitless source of magical energy, the concentration to use it was wearing on the child.
"What will you do now?" Anri asked quietly, after disposing of the tissues she'd used to wipe Nam's forehead. She glanced over to the little blonde before returning Priss's serious look.
Still kneeling on the other side of the futon, sleepy child curled in her lap, the Saber frowned in thought, then replied, "I don't want to take her on my bike, especially this tired, better to just let her sleep as she's been here." Uncharacteristically hesitant, she bit her lips before continuing, "If it's not troublesome, I'll stay here with her. In the morning we can call for a car, and maybe see if Nam's bike is still salvageable after crashing it into the quake zone and that fight. The Akimotos will be overjoyed to see her again, and Sy- uh, Cecilia can easily do whatever is involved with that data disk for you. Then, I don't know then. A funeral, I guess." Downcast, she muttered to herself, "Another funeral..."
"It's no trouble, but the only futon left is..." Anri trailed off, knowing Sylvie and Priss had shared a bed a few times in the past weeks but unsure how the singer would feel about it now that her partner had passed.
"I think that's probably the only way I'm gonna get to sleep at all tonight," the chestnut haired woman replied, giving the sexaroid a haunted look. Forcing a smile, she changed topics. "Is there a shower in this place, though? I'm kinda rank, after that fight."
There was, and as she washed Priss sang Konya wa Hurricane, about half tempo and double heart, to the ghost of memories. It was still a pain how the water kept getting in her eyes, but somehow it wasn't quite so totally devastating, at least until she was done and it was time to face that empty bed.
Though she couldn't quite make out the words, Anri too was comforted by the musician's low, gentle voice, lulled to a semi-doze where she lay, Cynthia curled into her side.
And finally, outside but heedless of the rain, a dark-haired figure listened with senses beyond the human. Its eyes flashed pale red as it turned back to the street watchfully.
---=- + -=---
Though she'd sent Mackie off to get some sleep, Sylia stayed at her unconscious subordinate's bedside, wondering if she'd ever manage to get back to a life where she felt a comfortable level of control. She'd be the first to admit she was far from perfect or all-knowing, but it had been nice when she could make a plan and have a reasonable chance of pulling it off without the interference of kami, demons, or were-kaiju. 'Sometimes the only thing to control is yourself, and let matters happen as they must;' it was all very well for Kami-sama to say it, but look where it had gotten him!
Shaking her head, she sighed and brushed a stubborn spike back from Linna's brow. The last time she'd seen the brunette in here - something all too frequent lately, she could have been competing with Priss - was only a week before, when a buma had tried to gut her without even the benefit of a hardsuit's protection. That had been the night she'd worn the date outfit Sylia had gotten for her, fortunately, and the bulletproof nanoweave had stopped the worst damage, but even her remarkably tough muscles and flesh had torn slightly at the impact point, and needed a few stitches to close. If it hadn't been for her own recent enhancements she might not have been able to get a needle through, and she'd broken three doing it. New, monofilament reinforced titanium needles were available now, but at least this time the dancer's wounds were limited to bruising and abrasions from the rubble that had all but buried her when she changed back from a giant ape... And if that wasn't the least effective reassurance the Saber leader had ever heard, she didn't know what was.
Linna had gone to meet her date that night, a little late perhaps but not much. She hadn't counted on a traffic jam on the way into the city, though, and even more unexpected was the blast of an explosion somewhere up ahead where traffic was stopped. Seconds later the searing needle of a laser speared the police aerodyne flying in from the south, and she decided to investigate.
Thinking quickly, the Sabers' melee specialist pulled off a bandanna and tied it over her face, then eased her car into the break down lane - fortunately she'd been traveling next to it, and had left herself some space before the car ahead. Tripping the emergency beacon in her wristwatch and leaving the car's blinkers on, she stepped out onto the tarmac. Ignoring the gawking salaryman in the mid-life-crisismobile behind her, she gathered herself, crouched, and leapt up to the overhead light poles, bouncing from one to the next as she went to check things out.
Arriving, she quickly assessed the situation, still crouched on a nearby pole. The engine compartment of a slick black sedan had been crushed into the road by some massive impact, and a gout of smoke rose from the wrecked frame of a BU-55B security buma nearby, probably the source of the explosion earlier. A second security-type was being torn apart by three of its military cousins not far away, one holding each arm while the last twisted its head off from behind. On the ground where she'd fallen after being tossed into a second car, a whimpering woman in a ruined suit scrabbled blindly with one good arm, ineffectually trying to get away while blood gushed where bones had poked out of broken limbs.
Linna felt a hot ball of rage explode in her gut, sweeping away the last of her wariness like dust in the shockwave of a bomb, at the sight of another obvious buma assassination. Her battle aura flared to life, flickering to her awakened senses in the physical manifestation of her emotions, though the untrained would see a shimmer like a heat mirage at best. A metallic squeal marked an imprint forming in the aluminum lamp post as her hand clenched unconsciously, and then she was flying through the air, stylish white boots each slamming into a buma's head, just too late to save the beleaguered bodyguard.
Thrown off balance by her attack, the 55C that had ripped off its head staggered back, while her other target was knocked off its feet, getting tangled in its victim's inert legs as it fell. The other attacker managed to stay clear, only to fall under a relentless series of hammer-blows from fists and feet, armor cratering as a tiny burst of ki was released at each impact. It staggered back a step, two, then toppled as a Dragon Stomp shattered its left knee joint, all but snapping the leg right off with its force.
Crashing back to the road, the combat buma calculated, then braced its arms and sealed its optics to use the laser mounted in its mouth. The dim outline of the unexpected enemy extended an arm in a hopeless attempt to shield itself, and it felt a cruel satisfaction at turning the tables on such a powerful opponent - amazingly so, for a model with such a comprehensive human disguise. A glow of plasma formed in the outstretched palm, some kind of hidden weapon array, but the laser was already charged and the firing relay tripped just as the target cried out-
Linna released the ki blast with an explosive kiyai, a basic ball of superheated air compressed in a bubble of energy. It impacted just as the first glimmer of preignition light leaked out of the buma's mouth laser, blowing away the focussing array and the fat fiber optic lightpipe that came from the actual emitter, deep in the chest. Undirected, the laser blast vaporized the buma's own neck and head, leaving the brunette Saber victorious but panting from exertion, regretting the energy expended even as the finishing attack landed.
She had to fight smarter. The impact bursts had been effective, if not as much as her hardsuit's knuckle bombers, but between them and the ill-advised fireball she'd used more than half of the energy boost gained by her spiking anger, and the other two buma were back on their feet, moving to set her up for a crossfire. The two-way pager watch had stopped buzzing on her wrist, so she knew at least that it had been noticed and backup was probably on its way, but one way or another this would almost certainly be over by the time anyone could arrive.
It was the difference between sparring and combat that had set her up for a problem - Hiryuko had told her time and again how inefficient a simple fireball was compared to beam style attacks, let alone advanced manipulations like the Kagami woman's Gamera Bombs or Tora's cold-ki techniques, but when she could always just jump back and call up more power it hadn't seemed like such a problem. Now, having jumped into battle fueled by unthinking anger and without properly powering up first, then foolishly squandering the energy she did have with that same anger, Linna was at a disadvantage - the more so in fact, for having taken one of the attackers out so quickly, as the remaining pair would be taking her seriously now - rarely the case with combat models, she'd found, unless they had a level of experience uncommon this far from the active sector of the Polar War. It was due to the pack-animal instincts instilled in them, and the far greater than human strength packed into their cybernetic bodies.
There was no time to contemplate abstracts, though, the 55C that had decapitated the bodyguard had taken the time to crush its skull before moving to deal with her, but now it had set itself and opened the chest plates over its heat projector, probably expecting her to dodge away into the third's attack. That tactic might have worked if Linna wasn't well aware of the weakness the array's focussing lenses presented, if someone was quick enough to take advantage.
That, the tailed woman certainly was. She formed a microburst just over the knuckles of her first and second fingers again and skipped in close, slamming it home and producing a shockwave of ki that crushed through the thinner, inner armor as well as spreading to shatter the lenses, damaging the buma's power supply. Fortunately it was not equipped with its own fusion core like the Superbuma, as some 55Cs had begun to be refitted with to allow unlimited use of their energy weapons, instead relying on a superconductor storage ring, but the liberated current was still enough to arc and energize enough plasma for a secondary explosion that ripped apart the unit's chest and pelted the vigilante with enough shrapnel to make her bless Sylia again for providing the bulletproof outfit.
Even with that protection she'd been a hair too slow this time, the skin of her face and upper body reddened from the instant's exposure to the weapon's effect, her left arm and fist blistering painfully under the tight-fitting body suit and glove.
Flinching back, she was blindsided by the last of the buma, and then it was Linna's turn to go sprawling. Kicking off as she hit, the martial artist tucked into a roll and then sprang back to her feet. The buma had apparently learned from its fellows' fates, pressing a physical attack rather than trying to use its more exotic weapons. She changed styles, deflecting the attacks with gentle seeming, circular moves that had all the inevitability of a river flowing to the sea, rather than the direct, power moves of the first stage of the fight. She wasn't as skilled in Tai Chi as Karate, but the defense it allowed was excellent, and its internal focus would allow raising her ki again without having to break contact and power up directly.
That wasn't to say she abandoned the attack entirely, of course - no defense can last forever, and a buma wasn't going to tire before she would even if it did. Brushing its arms aside as the cyberdroid tried to capture her in a crushing bear hug, the brunette snapped up one leg, launching a kick that lifted the heavy combat machine off its feet. Pressing the attack in hopes of regaining the initiative Linna rechambered the leg and jumped after it, a second kick knocking the buma sideways to crash against the wrecked car, the Knight Saber catching herself with a crouched touchdown on the hood of another stopped vehicle, immediately kicking off again to keep up the pressure.
Staggered but not stunned, the buma ripped the open car door out of its frame, making her dip into the Kagami aerial techniques to spin her body out of the way and push off from the flying debris, deflecting herself higher into the air, coming in from the higher angle with her hands curled like a stooping hawk's talons to dig into the enemy's shoulders at the collarbone, or in this case the analogous joint in the buma's armor.
Fingers reinforced by her own life energy dug into the seam in the armor, and the buma roared in frustration and pain as Linna used her momentum to spin around their common center of mass and the pivot point of the car's roof and throw it again, this time crashing into the cement retaining wall on the side of the highway. Overstress indicators flared in its neural net, warning of spinal damage at the small of its back where the edge of the wall had hit, and the combat buma wobbled on unsteady feet as it struggled to stand again.
Buoyed by the obvious signs of damage the martial artist hopped down from her landing place on the ever more damaged sedan, and was unprepared for the seemingly punch-drunk enemy to counterattack, its arm spearing out with a clawed hand to gut her. Linna rolled with the attack as best she could but was still doubled over by pain and the sheer force, egg rolling somewhat clumsily away and clutching her abdomen. Fortunately the attack didn't seem to have penetrated, but she could still feel the hot, slick sensation of flowing blood inside her body glove, and knew she'd need to finish the fight quickly. Fortunately the buma had knocked itself off its own feet with the move, teetering precariously over the side of the elevated highway, a forty foot drop from the upper deck to the ground level street below.
Bracing itself against the wall with its arms, the mechanoid targeted the troublesome enemy that had appeared and started the charge cycle for its mouth laser, calculating that her reduced mobility and battle damage would prevent the kind of counters previously used against ranged attacks. This would definitely be a combat log worth reviewing at the maintenance depot, it mused in the seconds before the weapon was ready to fire, preferably with a level three lubricant and wear replacement in progress and a cool nutrient shake.
It fired but was unprepared for the speed Linna used to zigzag around the beam, her stomach burning as the stress tore the damaged tissues further but will unshaken as she moved in for the finishing blow, a ki-infused uppercut topped with another knuckle bomb which blew the 55C's head off before it could even open its optic shields.
Leaning over the mechanical corpse, arms braced against the cracked but still relatively whole retaining wall, the victorious Knight Saber breathed shallowly, trying to avoid further strain on her abused stomach. Gathering herself after a moment, she again pressed one hand against the wound before hopping carefully up onto the barrier and jogging back to where she'd left her car, since she could hear more aerodynes approaching. Hopefully it was far enough from the front of the traffic jam that no one would have connected her with anything out of the ordinary, or taken notice of her license plate number... If nothing else, she'd be able to use the cell phone in her purse when she got back to it, and get in touch with Sylia or Nene to have them do their computer hoodoo and remove any connections to her that a search for the number might turn up.
They'd done that, a different number being entered into the record systems as being registered to Linna Yamazaki, and the next day she'd reported her plate stolen, as sometimes happened when criminals or simple joyriders wanted to disguise a similarly colored car. A small administrative fee later and she had a third, legitimate new number and plates, and then it was all over but the healing - gratifyingly rapid - and the lectures from Sylia and Hiryuko, which were dishearteningly long.
Now her team mate, her friend was lying in that bed again, apparently in considerably better shape but presenting an even bigger mystery than how she'd suddenly grown - or perhaps regenerated, since she remembered having one as a child - an agile, furry monkey-like tail in the wake of the Griffon incident. They'd been unable to find any documented incidence of a human with such a fully developed prehensile member, nor even any animal analogues of the large ductless gland that ran most of its length, and seemed to have a direct connection to the optic nerves of all things.
Feeling herself nodding off, Sylia shook her head, a few silver-blue locks bobbing where they'd slipped free of the bun she wore under her armor helmet. Every scan she could run said Linna was simply in a deep but normal sleep, and the circling swarm of unanswered questions would keep until morning at least... Maybe afternoon, with how late it had gotten and how exhausted she felt.
---=- + -=---
It was around mid-morning before Leon was dug out of the rubble, the PMB having lost power when the gas turbine in the rear wheel folded on its back was damaged. Even at that, he counted himself lucky - the sturdy mecha and body armor had prevented any major injuries, all he'd suffered were sprains and joint stress when falling wreckage of the wall he'd been tossed into battered him around like a rag doll. Despite his energetic protests the rescue workers still bundled him off to the mobile hospital that had been set up, but with all the serious injuries they had to deal with, he'd done nothing but wait and grumble in frustration since the triage medic determined he had a heart beat, normal body temperature, and no abnormal swelling or bleeding wounds, then handed him a granola bar and waved him at the steel chairs where those who weren't in immediate danger were waiting for someone to have time for a more detailed examination.
He'd tried to leave once, actually, but the THP motorcycle officer who was handling security wouldn't allow it - apparently this was a special area set up for people who'd been buried, and everyone had to have a detailed check for internal injuries before they could go. Neither Leon's higher rank nor the fact that he'd been buried in a mecha that kept anything from hitting his torso impressed the cycle cop, the Inspector was a patient who'd been buried, he would wait quietly and get checked out or they'd sedate him.
His relief was considerable, then, when Daley appeared, dirt-smeared and more rumpled than he'd ever seen his dapper partner, but with orders from way up the political totem pole to collect him and get a report. Though, he did wonder, "How'd you get get here so fast, anyway? I'd have thought you'd still be floating around in space."
Brushing back dust-clogged red hair with one hand, the other Inspector said, "When the explosions started I used police authority to hold a shuttle that was about to launch and get a seat. I was worried about my cute partner," he joked with a tired grin. Seeing that Leon was in no mood for humor, he continued, "They pretty much grabbed me at the spaceport lobby and sent me to help out - when you were found they called for the ADP to see if it was dangerous to leave it there while looking for more survivors, and I happened to be nearby. I pulled the recorder's disk and played the video feed to see if it had anything important. When the chief heard you'd been on the scene, he sent me to get a report on what happened after the unit shut down, and I keep getting called with orders from higher up the food chain saying to hurry up about it. I'm just wondering -"
The chirp of the police-band cell in his suit pocket cut Daley off, and he answered with another wry grin to Leon, who was starting to be amused in spite of himself. "Inspector Wong ... Yes, sir. I've got him right here actually ... Absolutely, sir, I'll make sure to route a copy to your office ... I'm on it." Closing the phone and jerking his head toward the cruiser he'd arrived in, the redhead confided, "That was Defense Minister Callahan, calling from the emergency Diet session - this is serious, Leon."
Arriving at the car, he retrieved a standard tablet PC from the seat and woke it up, opening a file to take notes in and starting the audio recorder. "This is Inspector Daley Wong, AD Police, interviewing Inspector Leon McNichol, also AD Police, recovered from the scene of the incident in a prototype police motorcycle battloid. As the logs from the unit have already been retrieved, could you start from when it shut down?"
SERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
For the next 72 hours, Itachi intoned, I will slap you with this trout. - Spying no Jutsu, chapter 3
"In the futuristic taco bell of the year 20XX, justice wears an aluminum sombrero!"hemlock-martini
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"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows