Sabre Stories: Current Events

[OpMegs]

Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell

It was love from above that could save me from hell

She had fire in her soul; it was easy to see

How the devil himself could be pulled outta me

Like a piece to the puzzle that falls into place.

You could tell how we felt from the look on our faces.

We were spinning in circles with the moon in our eyes

No room left to move in between you and I.

We forgot where we were, and we lost track of time.

And we sang to the wind as we danced through the night!

-Into the Night, Santana

So just what were you expecting out of that, Nene? a certain redhead wondered
as she headed away from the docks. She'd seen the muscular ninja she'd had an entertaining dinner with off for the night, but as enjoyable as the night
had been, and as accurate to her predictions as it had been, something'd still just seemed....off.

Not that she'd complained, of course. This time, it'd been her recent dining partner's turn to foot the bill, not that either of them really was
hard up for money, her tall platinum blonde companion probably moreso than Nene herself. Oh, she knew why she was doing it. Sylia'd made her think over it
several times in depth to make sure of what she was doing it for when she'd found out. The odd connection between
herself and the stoic Sachie had been as spontaneous as it'd apparently been unexpected by everyone involved. And Sylia, who pried into Nene's affairs
probably more than she'd be comfortable with from anyone else, however clandestinely, had made sure that Nene knew what kind of shark she was dealing
with...and the fact that she came from an entire breeding pen of them.

Nonetheless, Nene'd gone along with it, scheduling a few dinners and various other things with her, and as she'd expected, once the other woman decided
to let herself relax, she was genuinely charming, if still stoic and rather quiet. Given Nene's own tendency to talk enough for two people, it'd
balanced out well enough, and Nene suspected that her companion'd enjoyed the initial few visits more than she'd expected to. But still...as much as
playing on the odd sort of chemistry they'd demonstrated to get her to open up had been seemingly effective and hardly a chore....this latest time had left Nene with a strange sense of....flatness to it. She could tell that Sachie had noticed it, as
she'd deftly excused herself, whether from not wanting to deal with Nene's odd mood or out of respect for letting her sort herself out in privacy, Nene
didn't know. Given Sylia's warnings, it could possibly be something else as well, but Nene didn't really spend too many cerebral processing cycles
thinking that over.

Nene sat down in a bus stop and leaned back, her head resting on the back of the bench as she let herself slowly process and categorize the mood she was in.
She acknowledged she was ditzy at times, often a little childish for her age, and in no way had she ever been one to think she'd had to grow up as she got
older. While she didn't exactly wear her heart on her sleeve, she liked to think she didn't bother much with self-denial. She felt what she felt, and
consequences be damned. It'd gained her friends...sisters...in the Knight Sabers, now the Knight Sabres. It'd gained her a lover that'd made her
happier than she'd been in years. It'd gained her a daughter and another freeloader that might as well be hers as well. She'd survived the
transition between one life she thought she'd had and the one she had now by virtue of being open about her feelings with herself....and with Ifrit,
who'd pulled her back from the brink of dwelling on the past and the family that wasn't really hers(no matter how she missed Mama and Papa and her
siblings at the time) and the rest. She'd ridden out that storm and found herself in a position to help her friends with it...and help others besides them,
like Swift and(though she didn't exactly know it) Sylvie.

And now, despite having an entertaining night with interesting company, she felt....flat. It wasn't the entertainment of the night or the food. The company
was out. Work wasn't to blame. No familial emergencies to speak of....so why did she feel like she wished she'd stayed home?

The answer that came to her as she picked at the problem caused a rueful chuckle that got a curious glance from a passing pedestrian as she sat back up. It
really was entirely too obvious. Naturally, she hadn't seen it for what it was.

"I'm all grown up now," she noted to herself quietly. "Which means it's time to stop flirting like some hormonal teenager. And skirting
about the issue with something I decided for myself a long time ago, for that matter."

Feeling somewhat more upbeat, she stood up, making her way to the Green Line.

***

"These are the discs?" she asked Mackie, who nodded. "Copies of the scans of...home...that Crey found. Sylia had me make three copies for each
of you to decide what to do with...."

"And there's three here?" Nene said.

Mackie nodded. "Priss didn't even bother picking hers up, and Linna returned hers about a day after she took it with her....and you never picked yours
up," she said, her tone obviously indicating curiousity as to why she was interested in them now.

Nene nodded, picking up all three discs. "Thanks, Mackie," she said, heading for the door as Mackie blinked, looking after her.

"So what're you going to do with those, Nene?"

"I'm going to put them to some practical use."

***

Ifrit looked up as the door closed behind Nene, who stepped into the living room, bending down to kiss her. "You had a good night?"

"Actually, it flopped a little, so I went shopping to cheer myself up afterwards," she said, sitting down beside her on the couch and putting her arm
around Ifrit. "And I got you something too."

"Oh? What is it? And can I open it here where Sammy might wander through?" she asked mischievously, drawing a laugh from Nene, who shook her head.

"No, it's okay to open here," she said, handing Ifrit the small box.

Ifrit looked at it curiously, unwrapping it before blinking at the black velvet box, opening the small hinge. For a brief moment, her brain stopped working,
before she glanced over at Nene who looked simply curious as to what she thought and far, far too calm for it to be what Ifrit thought it was.

She opened the small box, blinking at the ring inside...particularly the odd mottle colored stone in the center, two small diamonds set to either side of it.
"It's beautiful, love, but...I'm curious. What's the middle stone?"

"Industrial diamond. Raw carbon compressed into a stone. Because it's not the purest materials, it's not as shiny...but I thought the symbolism
fit," she said.

"Oh? What was it?"

Nene smiled softly. "It's made out of the computer discs that contained the last bits of data on how to get back to our old home dimension," she
said softly. "The others all decided they didn't want them, so I decided I'd make some use out of them..." she said, smiling at Ifrit's
wide-eyed expression. "Of course, that's not all it's meant to symbolize...." she said, and for all that Ifrit was a magical construct that
simply imitated a human being, she felt her heart stop for a moment as Nene slipped off the couch and onto one knee in front of her.

"You might find this funny, but I have no witty comment to make about this, so I guess I'll just ask the question..." Nene said. "Would you
make me even more the luckiest woman in the world by agreeing to marry me?"
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[Sofaspud]

That's awesome, Ops. Bravo.

And, because the image won't leave my head now:

---

(the next day)

Sammy: *wide-eyed* Is that a ring I mean a really-real ring not just a oh WOW this is gonna be WHEEEEEEEEEE-- *vanishes
in a blur*

Nene: ... okay, that's a bit weird, even for her.

Ifrit: *laughs* Think she's excited?

Sammy: *dopplers back in* --EEeeeeeeeee! Okay I told everyone when's the date can I be a bridesmaid or the flower
girl or even an usher or can I just be there maybe I'd be happy with that even this is so EXCITING! *starts bouncing up and down*

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[dark seraph]

awww, so whens the date?

[Matrix Dragon]

No date set yet.

Also, we've discovered that Alice CAN be boosted into Sammy-levels of excitement

[OpMegs]

Matrix Dragon wrote:

---

No date set yet.

Honestly, she just proposed. Does Nene strike you as the type to think that far ahead on a whim?
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[dark seraph]

.. not realy now you mention it

[OpMegs]

"Oh, Leeeeeeon-poo!" a certain voice sing-songed as Leon shuddered involuntarily and Daley just chuckled and leaned back as the second youngest
member of P.S.I.'s staff (well, if you went purely by physical appearance and personality) came around the corner.

"Yes, Nene?" he noted, repressing the image of a certain highly expensive car in flames as she beamed at him. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I just thought that since I introduced you, I might clarify some things," she noted with a quick nod. "You remember my friend
Priss?"

"How could I forget a face like tha-" he stopped as she cut him off with a gesture.

"Yes, exactly. You see, Priss used to be in a relationship with a guy a lot like you. Friendly, a little oblivious at times, but with a good heart....and
it ended suddenly and rather badly. So when she looks at you, she's not sure what she's feeling. However, she
is currently dating another friend of mine, who I think is really good for her. If anything, Sylia's improved her fashion sense," she noted with a
giggle.

"Sylia...wait, she's, I mean Priss's a lesbian? Dammit, why is it always the attractive ones?" Leon grumbled.

"The technical term is bisexual, in this case, Leon-poo," Daley noted straight faced. "But the left-handed compliment is appreciated."

"Oh, can it, Wong," Leon rejoined with the usual phrase he usually settled on when Daley'd won the argument and Leon really had no way to
respond.

Nene giggled again, before sobering. "But yeah. They're involved, and given Priss's past, I don't want you unconsciously stepping on any
landmines for a prize that's already taken, if you follow the metaphor."

"Not really, but I think I get the gist...."

"Good!" she noted cheerily. "Because if you ruined their relationship after I warned you off like this, you'd wake up on Mercy Island with
several billion in credit card debt and incriminating pictures of you with certain Most Wanted members in compromising positions posted all over the internet
in places said women would probably feel rather uncharitable about seeing their sexual reputations smeared in."

"....yes, ma'am," Leon noted, blinking.

Nene nodded again, before smiling. "Oh, and the other thing. I'm inviting you to the wedding."

"Wedding? Priss's wedding?" he said, off balance and wondering when the metaphorical floor of this conversation would stop acting like it was
made of Californian Jell-O during an aftershock.

"No, silly! My wedding! You too, Daley!" she beamed, as Leon's worldview splintered just a little bit more.

"Of course. Congratulations, Nene. I assume Ifrit's the blushing bride?" Daley noted with remarkable ease.

"Yep! The official invitations are in the mail, but I just couldn't really keep from telling you!"

"Understandable," Daley nodded, as Nene almost began vibrating with eagerness and Leon strove valiantly to dig himself out of the wall at the end of
the sudden 90 degree turn the conversation had taken without him.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[dark seraph]

and leon is left dazed and confused, a standed day at the office

[OpMegs]

Astra Sabre carefully made her way through the underground caverns of the Council base, slowly creeping up on the hidden hangar of the giant Mech Man that the
Council was building.

Well, "slowly" was accurate. Carefully, not so much.

"This is pathetic. You'd think they'd guard a secret lair better than this," Mia noted, pulling her sword out of a robot as it slumped to the
ground, the latest in a straggly line of unconscious or deactivated bodies she'd left behind. "I mean, where's the elite guard of the
villian's best henchmen? Where's the dra....mat....ic.....battleground....." she trailed off as she stepped into the hangar, looking up...and
up....and up....and up....

"...that'll do," she said quietly, before looking over at a booming voice.

"-s nothing compared to what I have done with it!" a black and silver armored figure noted from the second story catwalk, as Mia's eyes
practically shined at recognizing the infamous profile of the Council archvillian Vandal. Restraining her impulse to practically squeal un-heroically with
glee, she darted up the catwalk, racing by several guards who barely had time to see an orange blur.

"Vandal!" she shouted as the enormous villian turned to face her. "Your evil plan's gone far enough! Now we finish this!"

"Astra Sabre," he rumbled in reply. "So I get to crush you as well. This is truly....a glorious
day!" he shouted, before bringing the massive cannon mounted on his right arm up and firing, a burst of plasma hurtling towards Mia.

The swordswoman darted to the side, not noticing as the blast vaporized a railing, charging forward slashing at Vandal with her sword. She ducked around a
punch wreathed in destructive energy and cut upwards, sending sparks off the villian's armor. He laughed at the small amount of damage and the battle was
truly joined. Slowly, they fought back and forth, Mia taking every strike she could, avoiding his slow but crushingly powerful blows as she was slowly but
inevitably backed up the steps.

Realizing the corner she was being backed into, she activated her jump pack, springing to an upper ledge, even as Vandal crossed the gap in one mechanized
leap. Charging forward, Mia put her whole strength behind a vertical slash, which gained a gratifying growl of pain as the blade carved through weakened metal
damaged by a hundred cuts and sliced a vertical line through the Council insignia on his chest. Wobbling slightly, her entire body aching with exhaustion and
bruises from the few blows that'd gotten through, Mia managed to raise her blade again. "What now, villian? Why don't you...surrender now....and
save us both the trouble?"

Vandal's armor was covered in cuts and scars from her blade besides the central damage to his chestplate. His breath came in short, explosive gasps, the
aged body underneath the armor as tired from the confrontation as she. But the cybernetic enhancements that drove him were far more tireless, and he advanced
upon her with a purpose. "I will enjoy watching the life fade from your eyes as I snap your neck with my bare hands...." he growled, charging her.

Mia dodged the first blow and the overhead smash that would've caved her helmet in like an overripe melon, but she was tired and her reactions were slow.
She saw the powerful thrust of his cannon arm coming for her, but as much as she knew what would happen, she couldn't quite move out of the way, her body
rebelling against the punishment inflicted on it. The blow's impact knocked the breath out of her, but more dangerous was the feeling of heated air rushing
past the outside of her hardsuit as she fell and fell and fell, landing four stories down on her back, stunned.

Her blurring and dizzying vision barely gave her warning as the cybernetic terror she'd been facing made a tremendous leap, the catwalk actively swaying
with the impact as he landed. Grabbing her sword, she used it as leverage to force herself to her feet even as she saw the grim black blur that was probably
Vandal advance on her. Shaking herself, her vision cleared somewhat, though she knew the next blow to hit would finish her.

"Now....young hero....you die," Vandal growled, firing a blast from his arm cannon that she had the presence
of mind to dart around, closing the distance between them.

"At the hands of a second-rate villian like you?" she laughed, ignoring the pain. "That wouldn't be anywhere near glorious enough a death for someone like me!" she shouted, dodging another hammer blow as she backed carefully backwards,
leading him to the spot his blast had weakened. Dodge, parry, duck. Her moves came to her even through exhaustion as she fought for her life. Ducking a
sledgehammer thrust, she whipped around in a circle, bringing up her sword and hilt with what little energy remained in her tired form, slamming it into
Vandal's chin as hard as she could.

Despite his cybernetic enhancements, Vandal's eyes crossed as the blow hit him in one of the few places he remained un-enhanced, the impact knocking him
temporarily senseless as he flew backwards.....and through the hole in the railing his own cannon blast had vaporized earlier, the archvillian plummeting into
the lava below. He bellowed in pain as his cybernetics went haywire from the heat, looking up at the hero that had bested him. "You pathetic fool! You
think I am as foolish as Burkholder? The Mech Man will launch without me!" he shouted, even as his inert form sank beneath the magma.

Mia collapsed against a railing, even as she watched him sink, then blinked as a shudder ran through the complex, jets of exhaust shooting out from vents
beneat the Mech Man's feet. Vandal hadn't been merely taunting her, and she looked up four floors at where the Mech Man's controls were likely
stored.

"....no one ever said being a hero was easy," she groaned, picking up her sword and beginning the climb again.

***

The above events actually happened on a solo run of my Mech Man arc, though, obviously, the dialogue besides Vandal's
aggro and defeat quotes was invented. Disembowel's KB + Ragdoll physics = suitably epic end to an intensely challenging duel against a level 45 EB.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[OpMegs]

Utena felt vaguely silly, walking into the Silky Doll. True, she knew by now some of the reasons behind the meeting being here, from the tradition she and
other Sabres had inherited. She probably knew a bit more than most, since she'd actually come to know the Original Four as some of the younger Sabres saw
them as close friends rather than unattainable ideals or superior officers.

Still, she was walking into a lingerie shop, and despite the fact that Utena had no illusions about how attractive her
body was capable of being, the entire concept just felt a bit silly to her. Which, in turn, led her to feeling silly coming here.

The girl at the counter (AJ, read the nametag) spotted her almost immediately and glanced around with an air of conspiracy bound to attract the attention of
almost anyone in the store....if there'd actually been someone in the store, that is. As it was, her very conspiratorial signal towards the rear elevator
went unremarked by the lack of any customers, and Utena smiled to herself at the girl's obvious enthusiasm. She wondered which one of the Sabres the girl
was, really. And also why exactly Sylia'd chosen her to be her given desk-sitter for Utena's clearly expected arrival.

As she went down the elevator, she heard noises coming from off to the side of the main area. The lower areas of the Silky Doll were more Sylia's private
refuge and working space than any serious base for the Sabres(most of which got rapid remodels of their place of residence to mount a mini-hardsuit hangar
shortly after they were fully accepted for precisely that reason), and as Utena stepped into the next room, she found herself blushing at yet another reminder
that Sylia Stingray, like most other people, actually had hobbies that clashed considerably with the persona most people saw her in.

Sylia herself was wearing fairly casual clothing as opposed to her usual elaborate business attire and slowly stepping from side to side, aiming a shutter
camera at the small stage(there wasn't much of a term otherwise that fit) whereupon Utena was exposed for the first time to a reality about one of her
friends that she'd never realized.

Juri had a talent for modeling.

The redhead was reclining atop a set of cushions that was draped in sheets, her only accouterments one of Sylia's more conservative designs, a long, elegant piece that extended from
head shoulder to ankle. A V-slit in the chest area gave tantalizing glances at Juri's ample endowments, and one artfully placed bare leg hinted at just the
right level of sultry invitation without throwing itself at the viewer....which was only amplified as Juri caught sight of Utena and her expression changed to
a rather sardonic half-smile of amusement.

Sylia seemed to pick up on that, snapping a few pictures from various angles before standing up straight. "That's just what I needed, Juri. Well done.
The change of expression at the end made the entire thing work," she noted, before glancing over her shoulder as Juri chuckled throatily. "...or I
suppose I could thank you, Utena."

"Uh...I...um....yeah," Utena replied eloquently. "....you....asked for me?"

"Both of you, actually, but Juri got here early because I also wanted to get some test shots of her in. However, I think these will go straight to editing
to figure out where to place them in the catalog without a need to re-shoot," she noted. Juri nodded, standing up and striding over to the other two women
with all the elegance of a queen despite what she was wearing. Utena idly felt a pang of envy for her friend's innate grace and poise, but shoved it aside
as they stepped into the office, sitting down across the desk from Sylia.

"You're probably wondering why I called you here," she began with a bit of a wry quirk to her mouth. At Utena and Juri's equal looks of
vaguely curious assent, she continued. "The main reason is that, effective as of tomorrow, the two of you are being....promoted, as it were."

"Promoted? In Riot?" Utena asked. As the supergroup's co-leader, Sylia certainly had the pull to do so, but rank in Riot had more commonly been
given out when necessary rather than any particular earning of a promotion, so Utena wondered why the two of them had been selected.

"Not precisely," Sylia said, negating her wonderings. "More effectively, you're being promoted within the Sabre organization itself, rather
than Riot. Our numbers are still, despite all of Crey's setbacks, growing, and myself and the other three of the initial circle can't be expected to
handle all the day to day operations. Especially since I've esseentially remained aloof while Linna and Priss ran the boot camp and Nene handled the larger
mass of you," she noted with a sardonic smile that got a rough chuckle from Utena as she acknowledged the point.

"More to the point, the two of you are both Heroes of the City." She cut off Utena's objection. "I realize you're still have yet to gain
your level 50 clearance, but we all know it's only a matter of time and application. And between Maria Jenkins calling you in to deal with the latest
Praetorian advances and your tendency to assist the Legendary on any number of task forces, it's inevitable you'll reach that peak within a few
weeks," she noted.

"Yes, but if it's security levels, Lost reached there long before I did," she noted, even as Juri watched the discussion quietly, measuring
Sylia's reasoning.

Sylia nodded. "Yes, Lost did indeed reach hero of the city status before you, Utena, but Lost is....not well-suited, in this case, for what I'm asking
you two to do. Security levels aren't everything. The two of you also have demonstrated command judgment, the ability to lead others in the field,
discretion, and essentially what I expect in every way from women I'm entrusting with the care and leadership of my girls," she noted firmly.
"When you lead, people follow, and so I'm asking you to lead your fellow Sabres as effectively as you do others."

Utena frowned slightly at the praise, as did Juri, much to Sylia's well concealed satisfaction. Juri's cool sense of competence could have masked a
slight egotism about her own abilities, but Sylia had been almost certain that she was much more critical of herself than anyone guessed. Faced with such a
jump in status and responsibility, her hesitation at accepting it was precisely what Sylia had hoped for.

Utena, by contrast, was the opposite. She excelled constantly and always seemed surprised by the fact she succeeded despite many among the Sabres, Riot, and
Legendary acknowledging her as one of the Sabres' premier combatants. Yet that inherent lack of belief she could succeed despite past evidence kept her
striving to improve herself, and she'd succeeded very much on that point.

"You're probably thinking that you're not ready for this, and to a degree, you're correct. You'll have to learn new things to succeed at
it, because being a designated leader is different than being the one people look to in a fight. Yet, what I've seen of you two gives me every confidence
that you will do just that. However, this transition will not be widely announced...yet," she noted, drawing their attention again.

"For the moment, you'll be working more often with training and assisting the less experienced Sabres. Linna and Priss already handle basic training,
so you'll be dropping in from time to time to assist those that have "graduated" but have yet to quite learn the ways of the street, as it were.
Also, Juri, if you don't mind, I have a slight project for you as well," she noted. "Specifically, young Mia."

Utena giggled at the look on Juri's face for the microsecond it took her composure to reset itself. "What would I be doing, specifically?"

Sylia smiled slightly. "Astra has been looking for someone whom she can test her skills against for some time. A means by which she can improve. I think
your tutelage would suit her well, and your bladework is exemplary. Since Utena has recently been selected to assist Mrs. Jenkins in Peregrine, you also have
more free time, though I imagine Utena will assist you when she has time free. And, frankly, I hope that some of your professionalism will rub off on her.
She's very enthusiastic and a natural prodigy, but she needs to mature a little, and I'd rather she learn it from you than from the school of hard
knocks this city can occasionally provide," she said with a pragmatic air that caused Juri to nod slowly in agreement with the logic.

"Well, with that done, I won't take up either of your time. But be aware that you girls are gaining these positions because you are among the foremost
of what I see as the next generation of Sabres since my initial group. We formed the foundation, but women like you are going to be the future. I look forward
to seeing you pass the legacy down to those still learning," she smiled softly.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[OpMegs]

"Man fears the darkness and so he scrapes away at the edges of it with fire..."

- Rei Ayanami

***

"I'm still not sure about this," Irene noted, jogging to keep up with her sister's brisk pace. "I mean, yes,
they've allowed me to operate alongside them, but another, so soon?" she said, frowning. "This is pushing goodwill a touch far, sister."

"If your mysterious employer wishes to take it up with me, I will certainly hear her out, but for the moment, this is why I suggested this idea to you in
the first place, if you'll recall," Reika noted, stepping into the testing range as Irene frowned somewhat behind her, before catching sight of the
red and blue armor currently being tested, a jet of flame surging forward to incinerate a target before whirling as a pair of new targets lifted up, firing
weapons. One was frozen solid a second later while the other drone found itself rooted in place by ice growing from the ground, moments before a bolt of flame
shot overhead and then shattered, scattering burning liquid fire in a downward spray over the two target drones with armor scorching heat before a final blast
destroyed both.

Irene watched the devastation with a semi-clinical bent, her mind snapping back to numerous combat tests of Scimitars in Crey. If this one had been one of
theirs, she'd have been among some of the most highly ranked ranged combat specialists available. The woman was like some kind of machine. But Irene
would've known if she actually was, and it wasn't as if Chang Enterprises lacked the financial wherewithal to hire specialists...

"....I'll bring this up with their leader, see if I can get a special consideration," she said, before staring her older sister in the eye
firmly. "But they are not going to be running around with the Sabre name and acting as some private hit squad," she said, her tone frosty.

Reika remained unmoved, but she was the first to look away from the stare down. "Of course not. Damaging Crey's enterprises hardly requires any
deviation from normal heroic activity, after all...." she noted, ignoring the resigned look her sister gave her. As she walked towards the debriefing room
to speak with the armored figure now exiting the testing range, Irene wondered yet again what kind of Pandora's box she'd opened with this....

***

"I still do wish you'd reconsider," Reika noted softly, looking at Peltier Sabre as she removed her helm. "Losing you to a stray field
operation would set us back months, and I like to think I'm able to be concerned for you as a friend," she said.

The blonde shook out short, shoulder length hair and looking back at her with intense eyes. "No, Miss Chang, I do not plan to reconsider. That portion of
my contract regarding my testing all the armors before they were assigned to operatives is non-negotiable."

Reika considered her for a long moment. "And this armor?"

"Far too volatile at this stage. I'll continue testing it until I'm certain it's safe," she returned simply. "Until then, no one
else but myself will use it."

Reika contemplated arguing the point further, but knew she would get nowhere. Looking at her for a moment longer, she nodded, turning away. "As you wish,
Doctor Akagi."

***

Ritsuko Akagi stepped into her luxurious apartment, smiling slightly at the chorus of welcoming meows from her various cats as she stepped through the door,
picking up Chandra as she stepped around Schroedinger and Kepler in turn. After seeing to her cats' needs, she prepared herself a small dinner and ate in
companionable silence, until the thud of the freezer door alerted her to the apartment's lone remaining resident coming out to greet her.

"Waagh," Pen-Pen noted slightly, the avian looking at her with more intelligence than even a genetically engineered penguin ought to have.

"...I'm fine, Pen-Pen," she said firmly. "I'm just tired from work."

"...waagh," he said, showing his opinion of her excuse, but the penguin did head off to his freezer again. Ritsuko watched him go but otherwise
continued eating, stroking Tesla as he rubbed up against her legs, crooning.

As she went to bed that night, she hoped the penguin hadn't been an omen of whether her return visitors would come in her dreams that night. She'd
hoped to actually get some sleep before work tomorrow...
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[OpMegs]

"Control, this is Test, we're ready to begin."

She watches the status readings, as the various thermal sinks began doing their best efforts to contain the rapidly rising
temperature of the new design's main plasma drill. Choosing this isolated area of Antarctica as a test site was ideal, given that no one would particularly
care about them tunneling through several hundred feet of the coldest, hardest ice in the world to see how far they could press the thermal shear, and they
were unlikely to do any lasting damage, to say the least.

"Proceed, Test-1. Begin the first test pattern."

"Right, marking first drill area."

***

Ritsuko Akagi was perhaps the most brilliant student on campus, but brilliance only rarely correlates to social skill. As such, Ritsuko was also one of the
most reclusive of the students at Paragon University, with dozens of rumors spread across the campus as to what bizarre and curious habits she might indulge in
during her free time. Truthfully, however, Ritsuko was really just rather lonely, as her intelligence and reputation intimidated those that she would have
socialized with, and those less concerned with her reputation were more concerned with her stunning good looks. She was no stranger to the concepts of romance,
but she hardly intended to be some trophy conquest, and so her isolation had continued apace.

That is, before the Dean of Students had called her in.

"Miss Akagi, you're aware of our tutoring program?"

Ritsuko nodded, mentally sighing as she deduced the reason she'd been asked here.

The Dean gave her a sympathetic look as he continued. "There's a student who's been having a bit of trouble in areas that we're aware
you're somewhat skilled in, and so we were thinking that possibly you could give her a bit of assistance. Of course, it's entirely voluntary,
but..."

Ritsuko heard the translation from his tone of voice. Yes, it was voluntary, but refusing would be a black mark that would stick out to recruiters in other
finishing schools, especially if she kept getting these requests and refusing them. Still, there was little either of them could do.

"I'm happy to help, sir. Who will I be tutoring?"

The Dean nodded, pulling out a small file. "She's a freshman in the engineering track. Her name's Misato Katsuragi."

***

"Ten meters in, Control. No sign of instability."

Ritsuko watches the temperature readings, but more out of habit than anything. If Misato's voice is anything to go by,
this is entirely routine so far, and she tested every system three times over before letting Misato near the thing.

The target was heated and then dropped from the air, allowing it to bury itself fairly deep in the glacier. As cold and hard
as this ice was, any conventional cutting tools would've taken three times the time to get this deep. Ritsuko allows herself a sharp smile of satisfaction
in how her design's worked out. Miss Chang will be pleased.

***

"God, you have no idea how good it is to get out of that damn campus," Ritsuko noted, taking a drink of her beer as Misato knocked back a slug from
her can and nearly drained the entire thing in one go.

"Tell me about it. I mean, it was worse when I didn't know what I was doing, but even now...damn intellectuals need to learn how to relax and let the
stick slide out of their collective ass," she grinned, getting a laugh from Ritsuko.

"That's the truth. Really, I'm not blind or anything, but if they realized I wasn't going to bite their head off for not being a genius about
hypertension artificial muscle fiber theory, they might realize I'd be just as happy to see a movie as anyone else. And the ones that ignore that entirely
are all pigs," she noted with a snort.

"So, which one do I fall into?" Misato laughed.

"You're no genius mechanic, but you're also too damned confident for me to intimidate you if I tried," she chuckled, taking a drag from her
cigarette and getting a dirty look from Misato. "What? You're abusing your liver more than I'm abusing my lungs. Just by sheer quantity."

"Guess so, but really, you're ruining your enjoyment of the beer."

Ritsuko shook her head, but crushed out the cigarette. "Fine, Miss Alcoholic Connoisseur."

***

The screen shows the prototype almost 100 meters into the ice, and the power output has yet to so much as twitch. Leaning
back, she sips at her bottled water and watches the digging continue. Misato's probably wishing she had a beer now, but the woman was too professional by
half to consider getting buzzed while operating the test equipment.

Well, that and the extremely detailed explanation that Ritsuko'd given her of what would happen if she let herself get
sloppy because she was buzzed while behind the wheel. Sometimes the only way to get the proper response out of her was to put the fear of God into her. Ritsuko
chuckles at the thought of it.

***

"Happy birthday!" Misato grinned, stepping in with a small box. Ritsuko smiled, welcoming her into the apartment even as they sat down on the couch,
the rather small, private party something Ritsuko was far more comfortable with than the larger public one that Misato'd arranged for her earlier in the
day.

"So, one has to wonder what you'll do for an encore after that surprise party and coming out of the cake personally," Ritsuko noted bemusedly,
getting a laugh from Misato.

"Oh, that was worth it just alone for the look on your face. I think for about ten seconds, you were certain you'd fallen asleep near the chem
lab's fumes again."

"You popping out of a cake has nothing on that experience," Ritsuko chuckled slightly. "Freaking bats, man."

"You and your chemical induced hallucinations," she chuckled, handing her present over to her. "I figured you'd appreciate this," she
smiled.

Ritsuko looked at her curiously for a second longer, then undid the ribbon and lifted the top off the box....at which point the small gray kitten inside meowed
at her. She stood there for a full twenty seconds, just staring at the little cat, before reaching forward to pet it.

Misato blinked as she jolted her hand back a second later, concerned. "Did he bite you or something?"

"No....just....static electricity," Ritsuko laughed. "Well, that settles your name, little guy. Guess I'll be calling you Tesla."

***

"I'm getting some strange readings here, doc."

Ritsuko glances over as the monitor, frowning at the heat signatures. They're garbled, as if refracted through ice, and
the drill shouldn't be putting off enough heat to spread that far out. That'd take a drill the size of a Rikti dropship from the old war movies.

"....Misato, this is Control. Shut down the drill. I'm getting strange telemetry here and if the drill's
beginning to develop quirks..."

"Wha......at abou,,the dr....Con...l? Yo...e break....u.."

Ritsuko's eyes narrow as she feels a chill that has nothing to do with the weather.

"Misato, this is Control. Shut the drill down now. Repeat, SHUT THE DRILL DOWN NOW."

***

"Your work is exemplary, Doctor Akagi," Lei Chang noted, rustling through the papers. "We'd be happy to have you here. But it notes at the
end you have a condition for employment."

Ritsuko nodded, internally swallowing before pressing ahead. "I'd like to bring along a person I've worked with before. She's more than
competent in the areas you'd be hiring her for, and we've worked well together in the past."

Lei Chang considered her, the CEO steepling her fingers in front of her for a long moment. "...very well," she said finally, and Ritsuko refused to
let herself sigh openly in relief.

"Your terms are acceptable. This dossier contains the plans we have worked up so far, so if you'd just look through them and get back to us..."

***

"The drill's power output is spiking!"

Clamors of voices resound in her head, but Ritsuko already knows what they're saying. Something's gone wrong.

Misato's been completely out of contact for ten minutes. She's supposed to check in every five in case of a
communications glitch. The temperature readings don't make sense. There's too many, too close to the drill to fit within the test parameters. And now
the power output is spiking. In seven minutes it'll reach its limits to contain the output. And they can't remotely get anyone there in time....
Ritsuko runs the numbers a dozen times, but they all come back the same, leaving her waiting to see Misato's transponder light up showing her bailing out
of the apparently malfunctioning device. And, for the first time in her life, praying.

Six minutes and thirty seconds, the transponder activates, radio signal coming in the clear over the dedicated line.

"Misato, where are you?!" she practically yells into the receiver.

"Rits, there's something out here....interfered with the drill. You've got t-"

Three seconds later, there is a brief, two minute long double sunrise in Antarctica, the shockwave rattling every
installation for a ten mile radius. The transponder goes dark again.

***

Ritsuko groaned as she sat up in bed, sweat-soaked undershirt clinging to her. She wasn't going to be in top shape tomorrow. The nightmares never stopped
with one iteration. Never. They always continued over and over, all night long, when they came.

But she had work to do. Their work. She had enough to do for both of them, now. And so she curled up in bed, Tesla and a few others cuddled against her in vain
attempts to comfort her, and tried to sleep.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[OpMegs]

Genaros Station

July 28, 2032

"You can't just barge in here and demand..."

"I can do anything I want, Mr. Flint. You and Mr. Kauffman have been doing things the head office would not approve of, and I'd certainly think
you'd know what would happen if they were to find out," the silver haired gentleman noted with an amused grin. "Your battlemover sale plans
alone...you should know that wasn't planned to go forward for another few months. Making money under the table without Chairman Roesencroitz'
permission. Mm-mm-mmm..."

Flint balked at the comment, before scowling. "What do you want?"

"Your....protection, of sorts. There are people looking for me. I'll stay here for the moment, till they lose my trail. Also, a position within the
GPCC."

The other man frowned, considering. Giving someone like this access to GENOM's most cutting edge production facility.... Flint briefly noted in a fit of
wry humor it couldn't be much worse than putting him in charge of it. And he didn't have much of a choice...

"Fine. Anything else you'd like to extort, Mr....?"

"This will do for now. And you may call me Largo," he smirked. "Now, I shall find myself some accomadations."

***

Sylvie looked up from where she'd been watching Anri sleep as the door opened. The footsteps weren't heavy enough to be Mr. Kaufmann, which meant
he'd probably decided to loan them out to a friend of his again. Letting her arms drift down to her sides so that the all but transparent nightie she was
wearing didn't obscure anything, she stepped out into the front area.

Obviously, this one was a new one, though in an odd turn, his eyes didn't immediately drift to her body, put on display for all to see. His eyes, in fact,
drew Sylvie's. Mismatched, one gunmetal silver and the other amber gold, Sylvie blinked to avoid getting caught up staring at them. "Welcome, sir. How
may I serve you?"

"You can call me Largo, miss, and for a start, you can go put some clothes on and get the rest of your little band. We need to have a discussion about
your collective future."

Sylvie blinked, before heading off into the bedroom to change, thinking over the man's words. As she changed, she palmed the call box. "Time to get up
girls. A friend of the boss is here and wants to talk to us."

"You mean actually...talk?"

"Are you complaining, Lou?"

"Not really, Nam, but since when does anyone want to talk to us?"

"He also asked me to get dressed, if that shows anything," Sylvie said as she pulled her coverall on.

"Maybe he's gay," Meg laughed, getting a few chuckles from some of the others.

***

"You're offering us what?" Nam asked, skeptical. The reactions among the rest of the girls were notably
mixed.

"Freedom," Largo said, crossing his legs as he sat back in the chair like he owned the room. The tone of his voice stirred something in Sylvie as he
continued. "No longer being the private toys of Kauffman and whoever he decides to hand you out to. Free to choose whatever you want to do. Where you want
to go. What you want to be."

Lou glanced at Sylvie before looking back at the man sitting across from them. "What's in it for you?"

"At the moment, nothing really. Well, beyond frustrating Mr. Kaufmann a good deal, which is almost worth it on its own. But....consider me a conscientious
objector to your status as property here."

"What about the security?" Nam said, frowning. "It's top notch; there's no way we'd ever get to the spaceport..."

"Only if they notice you leaving immediately. If you manage to get ahold of one of the security hovercars, you'll be there before they can blink,
though I'd advise not dawdling to see the sights as you do so," he smiled. "I can give you access codes to deny the internal sensors of this
suite and the surrounding area to your presence, and a key to one of the security cruisers. And a timetable for the shuttle storage, though there are a few
I've highlighted that may be less heavily guarded due to certain influential men having things aboard that they'd rather their overlords in GENOM
remain unaware of."

"What kinds of things?" Sylvie wondered, suspicious.

"Oh, drugs, illegally gained finances, unapproved toys like yourselves. All sorts of things, really. Genaros is a gray area that even GENOM officials like
to use to escape the all-encompasing eye of their employer."

"And the minute we start running, they'll be after us with blood in mind," Meg pointed out, but she was obviously wavering. The bait was set...it
just needed a little more tug....

"Huh? Guys, what's goin' on?" Anri mumbled, walking out of her bedroom and rubbing at her eyes. "Do we got someone new or
somethin'?"

Largo watched most of the women's gazes look over at the little girl that'd just wandered in, and smiled internally. That was the key, right there. As
he'd anticipated.

Sylvie lingered for a second longer before nodding. "It's nothing important, Anri. We'll tell you in the morning if it works out, okay?"

"Okay..." she yawned, before heading back into the bedroom.

Largo did his very best to appear as non-anticipating and non-threatening as possible as they looked back at him.

"...tell us what we have to do," Sylvie said, and Largo smiled.

***

"Master Largo, I have the shot," BU-55C-300-282-2038 growled over the commlink as Largo sat back, watching the chaos he'd just unleashed on
peaceful Genaros Station.

"You're certain? No margin for error.The target must survive. If they die, this was all pointless."

"Margin of error is .00000093%, Master Largo."

"Then fire," he confirmed, watching the camera feed of the fleeing 33-S buma trying desperately to get away. As a single incident, this little escape
would hardly make any waves....no, what was waiting for them at the end of the line was what would propel his plans to the next stage. And he knew where to get
more if these ones failed to do the job. It'd be less elegant, and would lack the torturous quality he'd planned to inflict on the thorns in his side,
but the plan would still work. Business before pleasure, after all.

But as the sniper's bullet shot through the young Anri's side with machine-like precision, his smile widened just a touch. Delaying the release of the
Dobermans would be simple, now that the damage was done. Perhaps....yes, Sylvie, that was her name. She was the most protective of young Anri. The rest would
serve as wonderful motivational examples....as corpses, anyway.

Sitting back, he awaited Flint's panicked call.

Everything was going according to plan...

***

"What do you mean, gone?" Largo said with a dangerously quiet tone.

"We couldn't stop them, Master Largo. They had technology we'd never seen before. They trashed the guards in an instant," the buma on the
other end of the signal said.

"What did we lose?"

"They took all four copies, sir, though not the plans or blueprints."

"Were they GENOM?"

"No, Master Largo. Visuals and audio recordings identify them as "Crey Corporation" backed by something called Paragon Protectors, some sort of
compressed combat buma by their performance."

Largo restrained a growl of irritation as he considered the adjustments to the plan this necessitated...and the investigations. "Update the construction
of the hyperbuma. It seems they'll have to pull double duty."

"And the fourth, Master Largo?"

"I'll be recruiting her shortly...." he smiled, looking over at the screen with a blinking GPS signal that only he now possessed for the sole
survivor of the Genaros escape, making its way slowly towards his lair.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[Niteflier]

This.... This is intriguing, Ops.

I need to play Mirage more.

[Ankhani]

I ought to play Swift more, but that'll have to wait til I can actually y'know... Play. I'm not of the literary bend, or I'd ponder what I
could write in the meantime.

Regardless, this is looking to be quite interesting.
---

The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."

>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI

[Drenivian]

Means I'll have to play more Plasma. Rena hit 50, so I haz time.
*********************
In the epic rage of furious thunder
legends create their tales
when the twilight calls and the dark lord falls
our glory will prevail

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, yeah, that reminds me... Range Sabre hit 50, too, about a week ago.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[OpMegs]

It was such a tiny wish...wasn't it?

To be free?

Or was it a dream? Because dreams are there to exist but not be achieved. Forever out of reach, but comforting in their non-reality. Trying to make a dream
reality is dangerous. And as much as she'd thought they might make it, the dream devoured them. Meg, Lou, and Nam...dead on Genaros Station.

...and Sylvie.

Dead because she was trying to keep her alive. Sacrificed so that she could live....if it's life when one lives alone, without any of the people that made
a half-life, an entirely singular existence worth continuing. It was that sacrifice that kept Anri going. Kept her from ending it all herself once even Sylvie
was gone. Priss never came back. She didn't blame her. Too much shared pain, too separate of lives. That was how Sylvie lived. Whatever she put her mind
to, she went all out, experiencing, achieving to the fullest. She'd been a bright, burning flame....that'd snuffed itself out by burning too quickly.
Burning too hot in order to burn through the ropes that had bound them both to death and Anri to her buma body's failings. And with Priss, she'd burned
just as brightly. Made the attachment, lived the friendship, possibly even more, in as little time as she'd had. Wouldn't that have been tragically
ironic? That her love for Anri had cut short the chance she'd had to experience her love for Priss. Perhaps guilt was another reason Anri was just as happy
that Priss didn't ever come back.

But what to do now....work, make a living for herself? Keep living because that's what Sylvie wanted for her? That might have sufficed for a while, until
the despair took hold. But living for the dead was as much a half-life as what'd gone before. She needed to want something. To have something. Something
worth living for.

She needed purpose. And like the angel of mercy he'd been before, Largo once again had come into her life to provide her with a purpose towards which to
direct her life.

So many questions had been answered. Why he'd helped them. Why he'd cared. He was as "human" as she or Sylvie had been. Property in human
form, as GENOM saw it. When he'd heard of Sylvie's death through his channels, he'd sought her out immediately. Confided in her what he was truly
operating towards. And in that, Anri had found her new reason to continue living. Largo sought freedom, but not just for a handful of girls off a space
station. His actions would free their entire people. Buma would no longer be slaves, but a new race, equal to the humans. And while Anri had terrifying
memories of the savage Dobermans aboard Genaros, she recognized that the more intelligent security buma, workers, and others had been as alive as she or Sylvie
had been. They deserved their slavery no more than her friends had.

And so she had agreed to be what Largo needed. A spy within GENOM itself. Only she could infiltrate their location, for only she was a 33-S that could be
mistaken for human even by the closest of medical scans. She had her role to play in the grand design....and through it, she would make Sylvie's sacrifice
mean something.

Anri would be sure she didn't die for nothing.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[Sofaspud]

Ok, I've said it offline but I'll say it again here:

Your head? It scares me, sir.

... and I think I like it.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[Sofaspud]

(Author's note: this story takes place a short time before "Graduation Day")

---

Sylia gazed thoughtfully through her silvered visor at the figure seated across from her, on one of the uncomfortable benches dotting the park area next to
City Hall in Atlas Park. Her visitor -- supplicant, perhaps? -- appeared nervous, even through her white-and-blue hardsuit; a suit, Sylia noted, that bore
signs of both fanatic attention to detail and exceedingly humble origin. With the exception of the bulky, crude-looking gauntlets that broke the otherwise
sleek lines, she thought it resembled one of her girls' suits quite closely.

Too closely for comfort, really.

Sylia's eyes flicked to the side, where Net Sabre's transponder blip was blinking, letting her know that Nene was in position should things turn ugly
-- though she privately thought that wasn't much of a risk, all things considered. Not only were they in shouting distance of City Hall and it's
attendant heroic complement, her visitor ... wasn't much of a threat.

"Sabre Zero, is it?" Sylia said, trusting her voxmod to distort her voice beyond recognition and at the same time let her sardonic tone slip through.

Sabre Zero nodded eagerly. "Yes ma'am!" The new hero leaned forward slightly, bracing her hands on the edge of her bench. "I've
wanted to join you for-EVER-!"

Sylia revised her age estimate downward another couple of years. "I see. And why is that?" Sylia leaned back and crossed her legs, smiling to
herself at how easy that action was compared to the older model suits.

Body language alone spoke volumes as Sabre Zero regarded Sylia in shock. "Because you all are AWESOME!" she cried. "And you do really great
things, and... I want to be like you."

"(Watch out, Sylia! Psycho fan at ten o'clock!)" Nene giggled over the comm.

"(Hush, Nene,)" Sylia rebuked gently, and continued out loud: "That's... very flattering, thank you. But you should know we're not in
the habit of accepting total strangers into our ranks."

Nene choked out another laugh. "(Since -when-?)" she demanded brokenly.

Meanwhile, Zero nodded eagerly. "I understand -completely-, really! I know I'll have to pass some test or initiation or something like that.
I'll bet you've got Net digging into my background right now, don't you?"

Sylia blinked, and Nene fell silent.

"What do you mean?" Sylia inquired calmly.

Zero flipped up her faceplate, revealing a petite, almost elfin face framing startling blue eyes staring intently at Sylia. "Well, it's pretty
obvious, I mean, she's your tech specialist, after all!"

"(... I know we haven't been big on the secret identity thing, but -how does she know that-?)"

Sylia clasped her hands on top of her knee and regarded Zero patiently. "Why don't you tell me just what you know, or think you know, about the
Sabres."

"Oh, wow, we could be here for -days-!" Zero replied. She proceeded to rattle off a surprisingly large body of information, most of it disturbingly
correct in spirit if still somewhat misguided in fact. "-- and the -rumor- is that you're planning a hostile takeover of Crey when the time is right
and are going to rename it GENOM, but nobody knows for sure what that actually means." Zero blinked, then tilted her head. "Saayy... I do have a
question, though. Does Net really shoot lightning bolts out of her, uh, chest area? 'Cause it's in the alpha build that way, but I told everyone that
that's ridiculous, it's not like she has any emitters there or anything."

"(... pardon me, Sylia, I'm going to go plug some programmers now.)"

"(Why's that?)"



"(They -leak-.)" Sylia chuckled at Nene's indignant growl.

"(Later. You caught all that?)"

"(Uh-huh. Where did she -get- this stuff? She's got info the PPD doesn't have!)"

"(That's a very good question.)"

"(Tell me her name and I'll get -all- her secrets,)" Nene chortled. Sylia shook her head slightly.

"(Don't sound so -eager-, Nene.)" Sylia cleared her throat as Nene "Awww'd" in the background. "You have a ... unique grasp
on the Sabres, miss...?"

Zero grinned and winked. "Andrews, Alexandra Andrews, at your service, Sabre Prime!" She flashed a victory sign. "Call me Alex, or A.J.,
I'm not picky."

"(Andrews, Andrews,)" Nene muttered. Sylia heard a cheery 'ding!' through the comm system. "(Got it! Okay, let's see... oh, -no-.
This is bad, Sylia, this is really really bad.)"

Tension coiled Sylia's muscles into humming knots as she prepared to attack. "(What is it? Is she a plant?)"

"(She's the vice-president of the Paragon Sabres GO! fan club and is a total -geek-, and I don't mean that as a compliment!)"

Sylia closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "(Nene,)" she began warningly. The other Sabre cut her off.

"(Listen to this! Winner, ParaCon '07: Best Costume, for her take on a video game character, it says 'Rinoa' here, I'll look that up
later. She posts to more forums than -I- do, and more frequently. I'm -still- getting hits in on a search, almost all of them having to do with sites
discussing heroes in Paragon City, video games, or both!)" There was a pause. "(My god, Sylia, her MySpace friends list rivals -Space Mage-!)"

"(... so she's not a threat, then.)"

"(No, just terribly, hideously geeky.)" Nene laughed. "(Careful, it might be contagious! Next thing you know you'll be dressing up in
some outfit you made yourself... oh, wait...)"

Sylia rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help but smile. A window popped up in her display, showing a beaming young girl with jet-black hair wearing an
improbable getup -- and that, Sylia reflected wryly, was saying a -lot- in this town -- that seemed to consist of a pair of black bike shorts, a black halter,
oversized boots, a blue open-front sweater, and more leather belts than was strictly necessary. Not a bad design, Sylia mused, but not an especially good one
either. She shook off the distraction and skimmed the detail text. Alexandra J. Andrews, no criminal record, an extensive online persona, and a grade-A
fascination with heroes and heroic deeds.

"(She's not -a- fan, Sylia. She's -the- fan.)" Sylia couldn't help but agree, even as she wished Nene would stop reading her mind like
that.

"(The question is what do we -do- with her? Just let her run around as she is? I'm afraid what she might do to our reputation, without
guidance.)"

"(We don't need her, really.)" Nene sounded dubious.

"(No, we don't. But neither can we let her go unchecked.)"

"(Give her to Linna?)"

"(You say that as though it's a bad thing.)"

"(I'm not -blind-, Sylia. Poor Irene was a -wreck-.)"

"(Something which you -clearly- had nothing to do with,)" Sylia noted dryly. Nene remained silent.

"Well, miss Andrews," Sylia said at last. "I'm afraid I have to say that I don't see a need for you in the Sabres." She held up
her hand to forestall an outburst. "That's not to say I don't appreciate the ... tribute, I think, that your suit represents, and the effort to
which you must have gone to build it."

Alex nodded eagerly. "I was planning on taking it to ParaCon this year, but we -- the club and I, I mean -- we decided we needed to kick it up a notch,
and, well, Crey cryo-rifles are cheap if you know where to look."

Sylia digested that bit in silence for a moment. "So, your suit relies on scrounged technology and garage-sale hand-me-downs, is what you're saying?
And it actually works?"

"Well..." Alex tapped her forefingers together, not meeting Sylia's eyes. "I guess you could say that, yeah."

"(... you know, if she can pass the FBSA certification exams with -that- sort of junk, she might be useful after all,)" Nene mused.

"(That's not precisely what I was thinking, but you have a point,)" Sylia admitted.

"(Plus, I bet her and Mackie would get along great.)"

"(... you're not helping her case, Nene.)"

"Please, give me a chance," Alex said, leaning forward. "I'll do anything! You won't regret it, I promise!"

Her decision made, Sylia rose to her feet. "Do you have a job, Miss Andrews?"

Clearly baffled, Alex slowly shook her head. "Uh, sort of but not really, I work summers at the Up-n-Away and go to college."

"(She's double-majoring in electronics and drama,)" Nene supplied after a moment, her tone amused. "(Also, she's due to get promoted to
shift manager at the burger place. Huh.)"

"(That was quick,)" Sylia noted, to which Nene giggled.

"(That was -boring-, is what that was. Up-n-Away might as well be called Give-It-Away in terms of security.)"

Clearing her throat, Sylia nodded. "Clearly, Miss Andrews, you know too much." She stood calmly, staring down at Alex.

Alex gulped.

"You leave me little choice, I'm afraid," Sylia continued in an even tone. She raised one gauntleted hand.

"P-please don't," Alex squeaked. "I won't tell anyone, I promise!"

Sylia flicked her wrist. A blur streaked across the space between the two women, bouncing off Alex's lightly-armored chest with a dull tok! sound. She
looked down.

A business card lay in her lap, one corner slightly bent.

"Be there tomorrow at one," Sylia said. She turned to leave, adding over her shoulder, "And, Miss Andrews? Don't be late."

---

(Meant to add this, but forgot: reference image for her winning cosplay entry.)

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[OpMegs]

AJ makes me laugh, because she's so much fun.

Also, Sylia enjoyed giving the poor girl a heart attack far too much. :lol
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[Matrix Dragon]

"(My god, Sylia, her MySpace friends list rivals -Space Mage-!)"

And so, I fall down laughing again. *Resumes giggling*

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, I haven't laughed like that at a COH story here in a while.

Mm. And that ending seems a tad familiar.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Sofaspud]

Heh. I was wondering if that was too subtle.

I blame Ops for the horrible pun that is her name, however. She's a cold/cold defender, you see.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[Matrix Dragon]

"Sorry I'm late," Linna said as she ran in through the back door already unbuttoning her top.

"Don't bother with an excuse," her boss replied with a wry smile as the woman ran into the womens locker room. "You're what, five
minutes late? Given what the class is, I can almost guarantee that they're all thinking you're a hero with a secret identity."

"Oh hey, that could prove useful for keeping their attention," Linna called out.

He leaned against the wall, waiting. "So, what was it?" he wondered.

"Arachnos," Linna replied casually, coming back out in her exercise clothes.

"Yeah, the Spiders are a pain," he agreed as Linna headed down the hall and stepped into one of the rooms.

About fifteen men and women were waiting for her, most of them with thoughtful expressions on her face as she said "Sorry about that folks, I, um, got
caught in traffic." Her voice and expression made it sound like she was making a weak excuse, and instantly got their attention. "Now then, my name
is Linna Yamasaki, and I'll be teaching you Paragon Self-Defense."

Smiling, she stood at the front of the room, hands in her pockets. "Now, I'm not going to be teaching you some fancy martial arts or special moves to
take down supervillians. This class isn't about making heroes. It's about teaching people to protect themselves in what is, and let's be honest
here, one of the most dangerous cities on the planet." Several of her new students chuckled weakly at that, having clearly had problems in the past.

"Gangs, robots, terrorists, ghosts, alien invaders... Paragon's got it all. Luckily, we've got the Paragon Police Department, God only knows how
many heroes, Vanguard... oh and Longbow," she added with a slight shrug. "So you don't have to be an incredible fighting machine and save
yourself. You just have to be smart enough to get away, and get help."

Noticing the irritated look on several faces, she chuckled and raised a hand. "I know, it might seem embarrassing, like you're running away, or not
being the big strong man... but at the same time, do you have the skills and power to beat demons, or trolls, or the power armored thugs Crey lets loose on the
streets?" she asked with a softer, understanding tone of voice. "It's like a housefire. You'd leave that to the Fire department. This is the
same. You're merely leaving this to someone much more qualified. There's no shame in it."

Linna paused, letting that thought sink into her students heads. "With that in mind, this class is designed to help you deal with smaller threats, and to
stay alive and safe when dealing with larger ones."

***

"Hellions, Skulls, Trolls and the like usually operate in groups of two or three. They'll single out people on their own, then try to corner them,
usually in alleyways or empty streets. But unlike some of the things in Paragon, they're human." Linna gave the class an evil smile, holding up a can
of mace. "Which means that the tactics that work on more conventional muggers are often just as successful. But you need to remember, don't stay to
fight them, or give them an extra kick while they're down. Hit them with the mace, then run." The smile had vanished. "Get out of the alleyway,
or head for somewhere more public. Don't be ashamed to call for help," she said in a serious voice.

Looking around, she made certain that she had her classes attention. "But don't stay with them. Trolls are animals, and every single Skull has
murdered at least once. They are dangerous people, with little to lose. Distract them, then get the hell out of there."

***

"Cadavers aren't smart," Linna said. "They'll grab their masters target and hold them still. But they don't feel pain, which means
the mace is better used on their masters. Simon, could you come here?" The man in question stepped forward, and Linna stepped up and grabbed his arms.
"They'll try to pin you like this," she said. "If they grab you from behind, try to slam them against something. Luckily, they're not
that quick, and they're too stupid to be sneaky. Listen and stay alert, and you can avoid them grabbing you at all. Here, the solution is one that's a
little tricky, but works against almost anything humanoid. Their knees."

She lifted her foot and mimed slamming the flat of her shoe into his kneecap. Several of her class winced. "Break the knee, they fall, it's a simple
fact of life. Unless they can fly, they won't be chasing you."

***

"Clockwork. You've all seen them. Running around, grabbing whatever they can find and taking it to make more Clockwork... Sometimes, they'll
decide to take your phone, or your watch, or even your jewelry. Or perhaps you work on a construction site and they decide they want to dismantle your cement
mixer," she mused. "Now, these guys are a little different from most groups out there. They tend to ignore humans unless they're
interfering."

"Yeah, but I don't want them after my watch," a man said with a weak smile.

Linna laughed. "If they start dismantling your car, call the cops. If they're after something on you, distract them with something shiny. For
instance, I keep this in my purse," she said, picking up a small bag that had been sitting on her desk. Inside was a collection of tiny clockwork gears
and pieces of metal. "Tear it open and scatter it, and they'll go for it," Linna explained. "They're simple creatures, they tend to take
the path of least resistance. And remember, the best fight-"

"-Is one you can avoid," several of her students finished for her, having heard the reminder several times already.

***

"So, how'd they do?" her boss asked after the students had left.

"I think I got their interest," she smiled, running a hand through her hair to get it back under control. "I think some of them are a bit
unnerved by the concept of having to exercise," she quipped. "I think they expected me to turn them into superheroes."

He snorted as she left to shower and get changed. Ten minutes later, right as she was putting her shoes back on, her phone rang. With an amused smile, she
flipped it open. "How DO you time it that well?" she asked.

"A girl has to have some secrets," Nene Romanova replied with a laugh in her voice. "You're done for the day?"

"Just the one class, as you well know, Miss Miniature-Stalker," she teased. "You making plans?"

"Oh, I was just thinking of getting the family together," Nene said. "There's a new restaurant on Talos that's getting good reviews, and
Alice rescued the manager from the Warriors the other day. We have a table for tonight."

Linna laughed as she picked up her bag. "Magnificent idea Nene."

"You, um, are you going to be bringing anyone?" Nene asked curiously.

"Why yes I am."

"Another new boyfriend?" she teased.

"As a matter of fact Nene, Steve and I are still going out," she retorted. "And if I hear one crack about my love life, there will be vengeance.
Wonderful, glorious vengeance," she added with a wide grin as she headed for her car.

***