Twister Argh! I decided to post these first two chapters of my third fanfic in order to GET MY BUTT IN GEAR! I'm being far too lazy....:) (I've had a few problems but I won't bother you with them.) The BGC and Ranma is copyrighted. (Not by me ^_^ but I just wanted to put it in.) And without further ado... ------------------------------------------------------------------ Twisted Path - Another Bubble Started. A Story Inspired by Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 and the Bubblegum Crisis. by Darren Steffler This story is the third in the story of Twister, the young man changed by a force outside the universes. In the last story, Twister was helping to renew a spell keeping an evil spirit chained under a massive stone. However, once the new crystal was finished, the old crystal collapsed in an implosion by the will of the bound spirit. Twister, the professor of magic, Miyabi, and the mage of the village of the Amazons, Perfume, managed to prevent the spirit's escape. In revenge, the evil one caused the energy of the old corrupted crystal to envelop Twister to throw Twister uncontrollably out of the universe. Twister's thoughts became chaotic as a result but still managed to overthrow the spirit's control over the energy and give it the only clear destination she had at the moment as the process could not be stopped. Twister vanished from the Ranma universe in a mind-jarring thrust into the Void and began the journey to the destination she had given. And now the third story of Twister begins.... Chapter One ----------- The city of Mega-Tokyo at night was a swarm of bright lights swimming in an ocean of shadows. Advertiser's billboards lit up the sides of buildings and neon signs glowed softly to attract customers. The monolithic Genom tower loomed over it all like a mountain of steely power. In an area where shadows were thicker than light, a lone neon sign hung on a building where people occasionally went in and out. Music from it drifted outside to softly lighten the street beyond. With the name 'Hot Legs', one couldn't immediately tell that this was a club with live bands playing inside, but one didn't need to with the music escaping into the streets. After the songs had stopped for a time, two figures emerged from the entrance to the club. They walked out together to stop underneath the light from a street lamp. Under the light, one could see that the two were both female. One had bright red hair and looked to be younger than her friend, whose hair was black. Both were good looking, though the red headed one looked cuter, but one could tell that they looked sightly worried about something. The red haired one sighed. "Priss doesn't seem to have gotten over her friend's death yet, has she, Linna?" She was dressed in a cute looking skirt and blouse with a stylish jacket overtop. "Well, _I_ don't blame her, Nene. I bet that creep Mason was involved in _my_ friend's death as well. I'm not sorry Sylia had to kill him," Linna stated firmly. She herself wore pants with suspenders and a pink, striped, business-like shirt with a tie as she stood beside the smaller Nene. Nene shuddered as she remembered the scene from a few days ago; Sylia with her blade embedded in the Genom executive's neck. "I know that it was necessary...but I still didn't like it." Her friend and fellow Knight Saber softened a bit at Nene's reply. "He deserved it, Nene, but you're right. We didn't really have a choice though." Trying to change topics, Linna started talking about something else. "Priss still has a few more songs to do so I guess we should leave now. I need to check out the stock market information before going to sleep tonight anyway." Nene made a face. "You and your big money ideas, Linna!" she huffed. "You never succeed at it and you still keep on trying. You're money crazed," Nene concluded, crossing her arms with a firm expression. Linna angrily turned to face her friend. "I don't see _you_ getting rich or succeeding at ADPolice, Little Miss Cyberpunk!" she retorted. Nene turned her head away and looked down an alley across the street. "That's beside the point and stop calling me that! _I'm_ not the one who..." Nene stopped suddenly as she saw something really strange happen in the alley she was looking at. Purple flames had appeared out of nowhere and were climbing higher into the sky than she was tall. No apparent source seemed to be feeding the odd flames as they illuminated the alley with their purple light. Of course, the flames were behind several bags of garbage that were sitting near the alley entrance. Nothing of where the blaze was centered at could be seen. Linna was waiting for Nene to continue, but saw the purple light reflected from Nene's body and that her friend was staring at something. Quickly, she turned her head to look, but the flames had disappeared as suddenly as they had came. This made Linna curious. "What were you looking at, Nene?" Looking puzzled, Nene shook her head, "I don't know. Something just happened in that alley I was looking at." After checking the street for traffic, Nene started walking quickly towards the alley. "Let's go see!" "Nene! We didn't know what's _in_ there!" Linna cried with a little panic as she walked reluctantly after Nene. She paused at the alley entrance and grimaced at the garbage piled up in the space between buildings. *Great. I'll have to follow her and my clothes will need to be dry cleaned.* When Linna heard Nene gasp and call to her to come in, she sighed and went to see what Nene had found. Moving carefully around the refuse, Linna warily came to where her friend was and looked down. She was surprised at what she saw lying at her feet. It was a young woman, maybe eighteen or so, with hair as red as Nene's. She looked a little shorter than Nene but looked, as Linna glanced briefly across the body, more...developed than her friend standing beside her. The clothing she wore didn't match the current fashions and the material from which it was made looked unusual but pleasing to the eye. The strange girl was breathing so she was alive. A sudden thought struck Linna and she bent down to carefully check a limp arm with her hand. Linna thought out loud as she inspected the arm. "Doesn't feel like a boomer," she muttered. "Seems like she has awfully firm muscles though." She looked up at a wide-eyed Nene. "So what do we do _now_?" Nene was indignant. "We help her of course! Let's get her out of here and try to wake her up." Grabbing one of the unconscious girl's arms, Nene managed to get it over her shoulders. "Help me, Linna!" Sighing, and resigned to having her clothes stained, Linna helped Nene bring the girl out of the alley and drop her gently down against a brick wall just outside the alley entrance. Nene knelt by the still out girl and tried shaking and slapping the girl gently to wake her up. Linna bent her knees and watched Nene attempt to wake the stranger. It seemed to be working for the girl was starting to groan softly. Suddenly, a loud noise behind them on the street startled Nene and Linna. They both stood up and whirled to face the source. A group of about ten Outrider motorcyclists had stopped on the street beside them and were grinning at Nene and Linna. The person who appeared to be the leader, stopped his engine, got off his bike, and casually walked over to stand brazenly in front of a nervous Nene and a neutral Linna. He had a lean and well muscled body, bleached hair, and had apparently lost his arms sometime in the past. What now replaced them were powerful-looking, robotic versions of the lost limbs. "Having a problem with your companion, girls?" the leader said as he grinned at the two. The stranger's groans and unconscious movements apparently made her seem to be drunk to the bikers. Linna spoke quickly before Nene could utter a reply, guessing correctly what the group thought about the girl they had found. "She's just had a bit too much to drink, that's all. We'll be okay. No need to be concerned. Really." The leader didn't move and just smiled at her. "Well, since you don't need our _help_. Why don't we keep you three...company," he leered at them. His biking buddies laughed roughly at that and the they got off their bikes to form a wide half-circle around the girls. "Let's show 'em a _real_ good time, Steelfist!" one Outrider shouted. The leader, Steelfist, laughed out loud and smiled broadly at the two girls standing in front of him. "Shall we dance?" His leer was now directed at Linna. "I could show you so _much_ fun tonight." Linna was a careful sort usually, but this crude and offensive Outrider had gotten her angry. She realized that if she could take out the leader then the rest would likely freeze long enough for her, Nene, and the girl, to get away. Smiling back at Steelfist, Linna said, "Not in a million years, _JERK_!" At the last word, she launched a punch towards his diaphragm to knock the breath out of him. Unfortunately, Steelfist had been prepared for something like this and a robotic arm swiftly grabbed her hand to stop the punch. Holding her fist tightly in his larger hand, he lifted her hand above her head just high enough so that she had no solid footing. Linna tried punching and kicking Steelfist, but she couldn't get much leverage without solid footing and so he calmly deflected each attack. Soon, Linna was panting tiredly and Steelfist was just amused. "You're good. I guess I should be _extra_ special to you." His gang hooted and laughed in anticipation. Nene finally spoke up in an attempt to sound authoritive. "Stop this! I'm an ADPolice officer!" she cried out. *Oh, _that_ will strike fear into their hearts, Nene,* Linna sarcastically thought as she panted for breath. The gang members took one look at Nene defiantly looking at them from her short stature and laughed long and hard. "We're soooo scared!" one of them chuckled loudly as Nene turned red with embarrassment. Now Linna spoke. "Just leave us alone!" Steelfist slapped her hard enough to put stars in her field of vision. "Now that's not being very _hospitable_. Is it, boys?" He smirked. A blur shot out from around Nene and punched a surprised Steelfist hard where Linna had been attempting to hit before. His breath exploded out of his mouth as he unconsciously released Linna's hand from his grip. Linna started to fall but was supported by someone beside her. She looked up and saw with a quite a bit of surprise that it was that strange girl she and Nene had found. The girl walked Linna back to an equally surprised Nene and gently let Linna get back on her own feet before turning to face the recovering gang leader. Steelfist had finally gotten his breath back and was not amused anymore. His gang was no longer laughing at the moment either, but they recognized that their leader wasn't done yet. Glowering angrily at the young woman who was now calmly regarding him, Steelfist spat out, "So. One of you wants to play _rough_ I see. I guess I'll have to teach this _bitch_ a lesson!" Unafraid, the unknown girl grinned. "Teach what? Stupidity 101?" She glanced at the other gang members. "I see you brought the rest of the class along too." Behind her, a shaken Linna and a wide-eyed Nene wondered why this strange girl was trying to get her opponents angry. The gang was muttering angrily as Steelfist's face turned an interesting shade of red. Bellowing angrily, he lunged at the stranger with arms extended to grab her. The stranger had other plans. She gracefully jumped up just enough to avoid the grasping hands and stepped on Steelfist's head as she flipped over to land behind him. He stopped his rush and turned around to face the stranger again. "Sorry to step all over you like that," she chuckled. Realizing that pure anger would not work in this situation, the gang leader cautiously advanced towards the strange girl until they were a few feet apart. Then he struck swiftly with all the speed his robotic arms could muster. To little effect. Every swing he made, the young woman merely dodged out of the way with centimeters to millimeters of space to spare. "Breezy tonight, isn't it?" she calmly replied to Steelfist's frustrated, sweaty face. Nene whispered to Linna, "Are you _sure_ she wasn't a boomer?" "Of course I am!" Linna whispered back. "She just knows martial arts like me. I can tell." After watching the fight a bit more, Linna added, "She's _extremely_ good though. I wonder where she learned how to do that..." Soon, Steelfist stopped his attack, panting heavily. He hadn't touched the girl once and she was still calmly standing before him, smiling slightly. He caught his breath as his wary gang watched from the sidelines and exploded all his angry frustration out in two words. "You _slut_!" The smile faded from the stranger's face and was replaced by a sudden burst of white-hot rage. Steelfist noticed this and stretched out to grab her, hoping the anger the girl was showing would distract her long enough to grab her. Then it would all be over. It was over all right, but not for the girl. In a blur, one of the girl's shoed feet came up and hit the elbow of Steelfist's grasping right arm. And kept going until it had completely severed the biometallic arm at the joint. The resulting feedback from the shattered arm caused Steelfist to scream in agony and then faint, unconscious, to the ground. The rest of the gang looked on in shock as their mighty leader fell to the ground, defeated. "Pick him up and _leave_," ground out the stranger who had accomplished the deed. The gang quickly picked up the fallen man, got on their motorcycles and left, not wishing to take on someone who easily took out Steelfist. The stranger gazed in the direction they left in. "I guess they should call him 'SteelStump' now." She sighed tiredly as the anger fled as fast as it had came. The young woman walked back to the other two standing on the street. "Are you okay?" she asked Linna with some concern. "I'm fine. I was just shaken, that's all." Linna looked curiously at the person who had asked the question. "Who _are_ you anyway?" Hearing that, the stranger rubbed the back of her neck in slight confusion. "Um... I was sorta hoping _you_ could tell _me_." Chapter Two ----------- Two startled faces stared at the stranger, making her uncomfortable. "You don't _know_?" Linna exclaimed in disbelief. The questioned shrugged her shoulders. "I can't remember much. It's all a jumble. The only thing I recall clearly is waking up over there," she nodded at the spot where Nene and Linna had placed her previously, "and seeing you in trouble. I didn't like what was going on so I butted in. Sorry about interrupting your fight there." "No trouble," Linna thoughtfully replied while rubbing the sore hand that had been held by Steelfist. "How did you do that anyway?" The stranger sighed. "I'm not really sure. Just something that happened instinctively when I attacked that guy." "I thought you were _great_!" Nene enthused and Linna rolled her eyes. "What you did was incredible! Better than Linna and I _know_ she's good." The stranger was a little taken aback at Nene's energetic response. "Ah...thanks. Who are _you_?" "I'm Nene and this is my friend Linna." Nene frowned thoughtfully as she looked at the stranger. "Are you _sure_ you can't remember your name? Maybe you should give yourself another one until you do." The stranger smiled thankfully at Nene. "Good idea. It would be bad if you could only say 'Hey you!' to me." She concentrated a bit as she thought about the problem of a name. *Hmmm... What should I call myself? Brittany? Nah. Gloria? Phtt. Dar...Darlene? That sounds faintly familiar for some reason.* Thinking a bit more, she finally came up with a last name. "How about Darlene Stefanson?" "Good. Great. That'll do." Linna looked nervously at both ends of the street. "Maybe we'd better get moving...in case those Outriders come again. I don't relish another encounter with those creeps." The other two agreed and they walked towards Linna's van that was parked close by, but was oh so far away a mere ten minutes ago. Linna paused before opening the door. "Do you remember where you live?" The now _Darlene_ shook her head. "Nope." Thoughtfully, she added, "Come to think of it, I feel like I'm new around here for some reason." "Great," Linna sighed as she opened the van. "She can stay with _me_, Linna! I don't mind. I can use the computers at work to find out who Darlene really is too." Greatful, Darlene smiled warmly at Nene. "Thank you, Nene." Though, as she wrapped a seatbelt around herself, Darlene had the oddest feeling that Nene wouldn't get anywhere with her computers. While Linna started up the van, she remarked, "We almost thought you were a Boomer when you were fighting that creep." "What's a Boomer?" Darlene inquired. The shocked silence she got as a reply told her that she apparently had a lot to remember. Linna dropped Darlene and Nene off in front of Nene's place before going off to _her_ own home after saying thanks again to Darlene. They watched Linna drive off before going inside, Nene leading the way as she opened the door with her key. As she stopped to take of her shoes, Nene realized what a mess she had left everything in today. She had slept in that morning and after work Nene had barely had time to change before going out with Linna. The result of both hastily done maneuvers had left things in a considerable disarray. Feeling a little embarrassed, Nene welcomed her guest in. "Um...sorry about the mess. I didn't have a chance to clean up today." Darlene smiled at her host. "It's not that bad." Her stomach growled and now it was _her_ turn to be embarrassed as Nene giggled at the sound. "Oops." "I'll get something from the fridge for you." Smiling, Nene walked into the kitchen and pulled out a cake that had one slice already taken out of it. "I shouldn't eat this anyway, but," she sighed, "I can never resist." Grinning, Darlene watched Nene slice a piece out of the cake. "You don't hear any complaints from _me_ right now." She pinched her waist and blinked in surprise. "I think I could _use_ a few pounds actually. I wonder why I have zero fat practically. That's not healthy." Looking envious, Nene gave Darlene the slice. "Lucky you. Enjoy!" The speed Darlene finished off the piece astonished Nene. "You _must_ have been hungry." Staring at the now-empty plate, Darlene had to agree. "That felt _so_ good though," she said and sighed in contentment at her silent stomach. Nene smiled inwardly. *I've found someone with the same liking for sweets as me! I don't feel as bad now.* Looking around the apartment, Darlene spied something in a corner that caught her eye. "That your system? Looks nice." "You know computers?" Frowning, Darlene struggled to remember. "A little...at least I think I do. Though I don't remember seeing anything like that system before. Hmm..." With growing interest, she examined the computer setup in the corner. Nene was even happier now. *She likes computers too!* she thought before asking Darlene, "Want me to show you it?" "Sure! This should be fun," replied a grinning Darlene. Much later, Darlene found herself getting ready to take a shower. She smiled as she undressed at the thought of Nene's enthusiastic coaching. To both their surprise, Darlene had picked up the lingo rapidly and had only made a few mistakes on her first try. A little later, in a moment of worry, Darlene had depressed herself by thinking out loud that if Nene couldn't find out who she was then she would likely have trouble living in Mega-Tokyo since she wasn't a citizen. Nene had replied confidently that it wouldn't be a problem. She had raised a questioning eyebrows at that comment, but Nene had merely smiled mysteriously and didn't go into any detail. *By the way she handles that system of hers, I wouldn't be surprised if she was an expert in many things on the computer. And maybe some of those things not quite so legal. Oh well, I guess I don't have much choice.* As she undressed, Darlene was puzzled at the undergarments she wore, or rather, the _lack_ of undergarments in regards to her upper torso. The boxers she wore under her pants confused her even more. *The lack of a bra I might be able to understand, but these...? Maybe I was a tomboy of sorts. Ah heck, I'll puzzle it out later. Right now, a nice hot shower should do wonders.* Darlene walked into the shower and turned on the cold water first so she wouldn't burn herself. Quickly, she turned on the hot water to dispell the chill of the shower. Luckily, she got a nice temperature first try. Suddenly, the shower seemed smaller and Darlene felt...odd. Looking down, he realized _why_ and memory roared in to fill his shocked mind as his mind's perfect memory in this form re-established itself. "GAAAHHHHH!" Nene blinked and turned her head at the sound of the shower-muffled shout. She walked quickly over to the bathroom door and shouted just loud enough to be heard inside. "Darlene? Are you all right?" There was some barely audible movement inside and Nene heard a startled gasp as the sounds from the shower changed subtly. She was getting concerned now. "Darlene! What's wrong?" "N-nothing!" Darlene's voice cried out and Nene sighed with relief. "J-just h-having trouble w-with the h-hot and c-c-cold water! I t-think I have i-it now!" "Ok! Take as long as you want!" Nene said loudly before walking away from the door. She shook her head as she did so, recalling briefly what she had thought she had heard. *She sounded like a man the first time.* Nene sighed as she contemplated that. *If I'm hearing things like that, then maybe I should really start looking for a boyfriend. Could it be withdrawal symptoms?* She giggled at that last thought, amused by the absurdity of it as Nene went back to what she had been doing before. *Whew!* By adjusting the water controls, Darlene returned the freezing shower to a nice warm temperature, which triggered the change to male form again. *_Jeez_ that was close!!* Darlene, who remembered being Twister now, thought. Much less frantically than a minute ago as well. *But thank deities for perfect memory! Now _how_ did I get into the Bubblegum Crisis universe?* Thinking back to that attempt of the evil spirit to chuck him into a place where he would never come back, Twister recalled what he had done in his confused state of mind in order to change destinations. He groaned mentally, but agreed that, in the state of mind he had been in at the time, it was the only thing possible then. *I just _had_ to have a scene from the BGC as the only stable thing in my mind.* Twister sighed in resignation. *Great. Pure luck that I wound up being near Nene and Linna. I'll have to see if I can get enough power in order to get back. That means money since I don't want to eat Nene out of house and home.* He smiled at how cute Nene could be. *I have to find a way to get money..._and_ a place to experiment.* Twister realized as he had never done something like crossing universes by means of the void before. *Necessity is the mother of invention,* he sighed mentally. *Yes, I'll definitely need a place to experiment in case my first try flunks out.* He closed his eyes in contemplation. *Correction, make that _only_ and very, very, _very_ carefully done try. I do _not_ want to wind up somewhere _totally_ unfamiliar to me.* Twister shook his head. *This could take a while.* After using some cold water to change back to being female, Darlene exited the bathroom to see Nene preparing a mattress on the floor for her. Looking up, Nene frowned thoughtfully at Darlene. "Hmm. I guess you'll need some clothes and stuff." Smiling now, Nene added, "I have a friend who could help you with _some_ of that problem." Darlene tried not to wince as she knew Nene likely meant Sylia and that Sylia owned...a lingerie store. She realized that she was not likely to be able to avoid shopping for ladies clothing with Nene and Darlene _needed_ Nene to show her around. *Just perfect,* Darlene sighed mentally. *Oh well, I guess I don't have much choice. Hmm. I have a feeling I'm going to be thinking that phrase a lot.* Not wanting to have Nene foot a large bill, Darlene pulled out a small object from an inner pocket and lobbed it over to a surprised Nene, who luckily grabbed it. "I found that and a few others like it in a pocket of mine. Do you think it's worth much?" To herself, she added, *Good thing I decided to always carry spares in case I need them. Which is definitely the case here.* Nene's eyes widened as she looked at the clear crystal she had caught. "I think this is a _diamond_!" Looking up at Darlene with wide eyes, she asked, "You said you have more?" Darlene tossed the other three, larger, diamonds to her. Nene's eyes widened even more as she looked at the sparkling gems in her hand. "Well, since you mentioned buying clothes... Do you think _those_ will cover it?" Darlene queried, a smirk threatening to break out on her face. Startled, Nene smiled at her. "I can afford it, Darlene. Besides, I feel I owe you for saving us from those Outriders. _These_," she held out the diamonds, "I can get Linna to sell if you want. For extra money." Wistfully, she looked down at the diamonds in her palm. "These would look very pretty on rings." To herself, Nene thought, *Or maybe Sylia would be able to get a better price for these...* Kicking herself mentally, Darlene remembered what Nene _did_. *Stupid! She's a Knight Saber! I _don't_ think that pays minimum wage. Of course she can afford it! But then, I shouldn't know that so it's all right. Still... I do think I need more money than what _those_ will get. How can I...* An idea suddenly flashed in her mind and she began to smile. *Now _there's_ a thought. If it works, and I think it will since I think I have better control now, then I'd better not tell Nabiki about this. Ever. And in truth I don't think I can do it for long without becoming noticed, but I should have enough for something else I have in mind.* Casually, Darlene asked Nene, "I think I faintly remember being very good at guessing the stock market and I played it as a game once. Do you think I could get Linna to use the money from those," Darlene pointed at the diamonds, "to use in the stock market?" Making a face, Nene objected to this plan. "Linna and now you too? She always loses money from that stupid market!" Raising an eyebrow, Darlene chuckled. "Hmm... Maybe I'll have more luck than her." Nene looked dubiously at her. *And a certain psionic power that I have should do wonders as well.* The next week was fun, Twister had to admit. Nene was a fun companion to shop with, never mind that they were shopping for women's clothing. She also got quite a bit of money from those diamonds, which 'Darlene' promptly gave to Linna with some directions on what to do with it. What Nene and Darlene really laughed at was the fact that, when Linna started following Darlene's directions for using the money made from the diamond's sale, Darlene was _making_ money on the stock market, while Linna lost it. This frustrated Linna to no end, but she followed her own instincts stubbornly. Fortunately, the frustration was softened by the fact that, as Darlene's agent, Linna was getting 10% of the money Darlene made. Twister's idea for the stock market had worked. In male form, when Nene was at work, Twister would get a stock market listing for the day and managed to successfully get an idea of _which_ stocks were going up or down by means of his precognitive power. He had never used it before like this because he had had no need to and it was cheating in a way. Scratch that, cheating _period_. It could also land him in a heap of trouble if done too long. At the end of the week, Nene had kept true to her word and they had gone to Sylia's to get some...things. Darlene had an uncontrollable blush all through the time that they were there. Sylia found this very amusing when Nene introduced her to Darlene. Sylia was a very pleasant person to talk to. Intelligent, subtle, and _very_ perceptive, which gave Darlene a challenge as she hid the fact that her memory had returned. She was pleased that Darlene had saved Linna and Nene, but also curious as to _how_ she had managed it. Dodging Sylia's questions was difficult, but Darlene managed to come out okay, which intrigued Sylia even more. Mackie had been at the cash register all the while, watching with interest as this girl, who looked about the same age as Nene, avoided most of his sister's questions with some skill. When she and Nene came up to purchase the items they had selected, he smiled at a blushing-renewed Darlene since she seemed to be close to his age. Darlene had noticed his interest and nervously avoided eye contact. She was embarrassed enough as it was. Later that day, a smiling Nene and a disgruntled Linna decided to bring Darlene to 'Hot Lips' to meet Priss. Some of the songs Priss sang that night were familiar to Darlene as they had been on the animated tapes of this universe she had watched a long time ago. However, with _Priss_ actually singing them and seeing her _live_ on stage, Darlene _really_ enjoyed the performance. She shouted along with Nene, Linna, and the rest of the crowded place. They waited until Priss was done for the night before meeting up with her. When Nene burst out who Darlene was, Priss grinned. "So. _You're_ the one who broke those fake arms of that asshole Steelfist who was lording over everyone around here. Couldn't stand the bastard when he was in here once." She slapped Darlene hard on the back, surprising Darlene and causing her to stagger a bit. Priss snorted. "Hasn't been out and around since it got out that such a small, _cute_ girl beat him." Regaining her balance, Darlene arched an eyebrow at the taller woman standing beside her. "That hard to believe, huh?" Smiling sweetly, Darlene had a challenging look in her eyes as she caught Priss's attention. "Care to arm-wrestle with this small, cute girl?" Surprised, Priss looked down at Darlene and smirked. "You sure about that?" Darlene waved at an empty table with chairs. "Why not? It should prove a point." She sat down and placed her right arm into position. Sitting opposite Darlene and mirroring positions, Priss grasped the empty hand and got ready. Darlene mentally chuckled. *Priss, I've fought guys, in the last universe I was in, who go through walls and trees and can still stand. You think you're gonna win?* *I don't think so.* "What point is that?" Priss replied confidently. "That looks aren't everything. Go!" Automatically, Priss had started the contest, but only gained a little ground before stopping suddenly. Surprised at the strong resistance, Priss increased the pressure. Darlene matched it, brought their hands back into starting position, and slowly, but inevitably, dragged a going all out Priss towards the table's surface on her side until they touched it and stopped. Priss held her sore arm and glared at Darlene, who was stretching her arm and smiling cheerfully, while Nene and Linna stifled laughter. The tired singer transfered her glare to her two fellow Knight Sabers and threw up her hands. "Fine! I guess I deserved that for underestimating my opponent." Darlene got up and extended a hand for Priss. "No hard feelings?" "Hah!" Priss grabbed the hand and shook it vigorously. "Anyone who can beat _me_ and friends with _those_ two is a friend to me too." She glared again at a chuckling Linna. "Will you _stop_ that?" With a mischievous glint in her eye, Darlene winked at Priss before turning to Linna. "By the way, Linna... How am I doing so far anyway?" Linna's laugh stopped abruptly and was replaced with a rather sour face that surprised Priss. "I'm not sure, I stopped checking after the second day and just let my program decide the best way to follow your suggestions." She pulled out her ever-present computer to check the market reports. Now _Priss_ began to laugh. "You're doing better than _Linna_ is and you just _got_ here??" The laughter was becoming uncontrollable and threatening to bring Nene and Darlene along with it as well. "All _right_ already! It's not _that_ funny!" Linna shouted as she was almost finished with computing the total amount Darlene had now. "Okay Darlene, what you've got is...is..." Her mouth hung open in shock as she registered what was on her screen. Curiously, Darlene came over to look at the display Linna was staring at. "How much _is_ it, Linna? It can't be _that_ much can..." She blinked at the amount printed on the screen. "Hm. A little more than I thought." Looking at the screen again, she amended, "Make that a _lot_ more. Guess I'd better quit while I'm ahead then. My luck can't hold out for too long." Dazed, Linna asked her, "You're quitting?" "Uh huh. I'm stopping while I'm ahead. Beats me how I did it though..." Yaright. Sighing with satisfaction, Darlene went on. "I think I'll try opening up a business somewhere. I'm getting bored even though the computer Nene has is interesting." Smiling at Nene, she added, "I've had a great time with you, Nene, but I _do_ want to have a home of my own. I've been crowding you too much for the last few days anyway." To herself Darlene added, *And I can stop avoiding looking at you undressing for bed every night. Bloody well nerve wrecking.* "No you haven't!" Nene cried out and then smiled. "I can understand how you feel though. I'll miss those delicious breakfasts you made though," she sighed sorrowfully. "That's Nene for you, stomach first as always," Priss commented, sourly amused. Nene looked outraged as the other three girls laughed. "This is odd." Mackie looked over at where his sister was working. Sylia was intently staring at a bio-readout display and it was a measure of her puzzlement that she had actually spoken what was on her mind aloud. "What's up, sis?" With a frown, Sylia sat up straight in her chair and continued to look at the screen as she answered Mackie. "Remember those hidden sensors we installed in the store after that combat boomer destroyed the front?" Without waiting for a reply, Sylia continued, "I used them for a quick scan on that new friend of Linna and Nene's." Mackie blinked. "Why did you do that?" "Earlier this week Nene gave me some diamonds to sell that her new friend apparently had on her person." Sylia nodded at Mackie's surprise. "Not exactly something one would expect to have someone carrying around. But when checking to make sure that they were real diamonds, I found out that they were much more than that." Sylia paused. "They were as free of impurities as I have ever seen or heard about." Considering that, Mackie queried, "Man-made?" "Likely. I bought them myself as I could definitely use such material for our own personal use." Growing concern was beginning to form on Mackie's face. "But...if they were _made_ then...could that Darlene be a boomer? To use as a trap?" Sylia sighed. "That was my first thought and hence the use of the scanners. However," Sylia glanced at the readouts again, "she is not a boomer." "Then what...?" "The bio-readings are...odd to say the least. She _is_ human, I think, but it looks as if she has been...altered somehow. I couldn't get much with the scanners in the store." "Altered? What do you think it means, sis?" "I'm not sure, Mackie. I don't think she is a threat, but I think we shouldn't avoid the possibility that she might _be_ one." Sylia reached out and turned off the puzzling display of readings. "I don't _think_ she is, but I'll make a few descret inquiries to see if anything _is_ going on. Time will tell." Mackie nodded. "Ok, sis." *Yes, time always tells us all,* Sylia thought. *Eventually.* Chapter Three ------------- It took a week of searching and Nene giving some secondhand advice from Sylia, but eventually Twister finally found a nice looking store for sale. The primary reason for choosing it was the large living area on the second floor. Nene and Linna helped move the clothes she had bought to the new place and went with her to buy some furniture for the place. As for the store itself, it was largely empty with bare shelving but that didn't worry Twister much, especially with such a _large_ metal scrap yard relatively close by for material to TK into various stuff. He had also bought some common items from dealers to fill the racks when the store was ready. Twister, as Darlene, had gone directly to Sylia for advice and information on how get all the financial dealing done and Sylia, grateful for the chance to study Darlene and her intentions more closely, seemed more than happy to help. Various other details dealing with the store occupied Twister's time and it was almost Christmas by the time he was done. However, the store wasn't the only thing Twister worked on. A secret place was needed for experimenting with various spells. Quickly eliminating the city to hide anything, Twister decided to _make_ a place to work in just outside city limits and _deep_ underground. Tunneling with TK and teleporting the rock to scattered regions took a lot of energy. It was good practice for Twister tried freezing and heating the rock rapidly to dig, as well as cutting with TK. He also used the Dragonsword to cut through rock; to see if it was any better or not. It had been with him when he had arrived but Twister hadn't thought much of the, then, knife-sized sword before he got his memory back. He hadn't any occasion before to use it but this task seemed to fit the bill. It _was_ pretty darn sharp for even an iron golem had been cut to pieces by it. Stone was easier. Soon, he had a hole suitably deep enough to start. *Whew! This is _work_ even without using hands!* Twister stood at the bottom of the shaft he had spent hours digging. It was damp, but not so much as to trigger the change. He had packed the earth and rock of the tunnel to prevent water seepage and the local rock was fairly dry so water wasn't a problem. When packing hadn't worked he had managed to melt the rock to keep the tunnel intact. Light was provided by a flashlight in his right hand. *Though, I'd better seal the opening so that rain can't fill it up later,* he mused. *Fortunately, I have means to make what I want without spending days on it. Besides, I haven't used any magic since I got here.* With that thought, Twister pulled out a thermos from the packback he had brought for this purpose and used the water carried within to change into female form. *I don't need a very large place maybe a room or two...* Visualizing what she wanted, Darlene cast her spell. "Earth and stone now give me space, A place to work, a place to pace, Compress together, enhance it's strength, Walls standing firm to hold it's length." Darlene held her hands on the cool walls of the tunnel as the spell was performed. Purple light spread from where her hands were in contact and soon the entire bottom of the shaft glowed with a bright violet color. Darlene poured a fair bit of power into the spell to make sure it did the job. She wasn't sure how much was needed but better safe than sorry. When she stopped, Darlene stepped back into the center of the circular floor and looked at the glowing walls carefully. Sure enough, the floor she was standing on was smooth now, instead of merely being a roughly level surface. The beginnings of a ceiling were starting to show as the walls of the shaft slowly moved away from her in all directions. *Great! And the rock is being compressed _into_ the floor, walls, and ceiling so it will have all the strength it needs and I won't have to worry about it collapsing.* Darlene yawned suddenly and looked at her watch. *Jeez but it's late. Guess I'll seal up the tunnel and leave. Better open it before coming back though or I might be sucking vacuum due to the compressing rock and all that new empty space.* Darlene got the other thermos from her pack, changed back into male form, and teleported to the surface to seal the entrance. If Twister had stayed a few minutes longer he would have seen the bright purple glow begin to pulse rapidly. And increasingly chaotic. Two days passed before Twister was free enough from getting the store set up to return to see how the spell had worked. It wasn't anything that vital so he was in no rush. Appearing in a sheltered area, Twister eventually walked over to the spot where he had sealed the entrance to the tunnel. *Time to pop the cork. Still...I guess there shouldn't be _that_ much difference in air pressure. After all, the area I visualized wasn't that large and there should be lots of air in the long tunnel I made. Oh, well.* Concentrating, Twister focused on the stone blocking the entrance and used his TK to unseal it and then teleported it a short dista.... WWWHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!!! "WHAT THE HECK?!" Twister shouted in his startlement as a massive suction threatened to drag him into the dark pit he had uncovered. He was pulled forwards a few feet before he used his psionic powers to stay put and not fall into the tunnel. Slowly, the rush of air abated and then quickly died, leaving Twister very much surprised. *I didn't think _that_ much air would be sucked in. That was over two minutes at least! Must've _really_ misjudged the air needed. I'd better go down now and take a look.* With that last thought, he teleported to the spot he had last been standing in the tunnel. It was totally dark, but Twister was ready for he had enchanted a diamond he had made to produce a very bright light. It was much more powerful than the flashlight he had used before and less bulky. He got a shock when the light from the gem, when pulled out of it's cover, illuminated the surrounding area. "What the...?" Twister whispered in amazement. "This...can't be right." Instead of the normal sized, square room of about fifteen feet or so he had visualized while casting the spell, there was a slightly oval room about twenty feet wide and thirty feet long. Also, on _three_ walls there were seemingly passageways to _hallways_! He had only imagined _one_ for an extra room! Numbly, Twister walked towards one of the walls where an arch-like opening seemed to beckon. As he traveled along the long passageway, he noticed that a purple light flickered at the end. *The spell's still going?!? Oh, FARK!* Twister burst into a run and quickly came upon a sight that further shocked his stunned mind. "Holy...." He was in another chamber, but the previous one was tiny compared to the vast, empty space that the spell had opened in the rock. Twister numbly guessed it to be the size of an aircraft hangar for really, really, _really_ big planes. *Good thing I dug deep. The walls must be stronger than frigging _battle armor_ if all that rock was compressed into them. And the spell...* The mentioned spell was no longer the nice, tame purple glow that had been his last memory of it. The far wall looked like what the surface of the sun must look like, if it were possible to get that close, to see with the naked eye. With a purple light filter, that is. Fiery tendrels snaked out of the blazing sheet of sickly-looking, violet fire, only to dive back into the mystical inferno. This was _not_ good. *How the heck can I stop the spell if I don't know what went wrong for _this_?!* Twister cautiously moved towards the still far away wall. *None of my spells ever did anything like _this_, especially when I thought it would be a fairly simple task. What happened to it?* He was three-quarters of the way to the flame wall, still wondering what to do, when suddenly one of the purple tendrels leaped straight _at_ Twister. Reflexively, he flung up a hand to ward of the flame since he was still too stunned to do anything else. The flame disappeared into his palm. With no effect. Twister almost kicked himself. *Argh. It's _magic_. It only _looks_ like real fire and I'm immune to magic now.* An idea started to form in his mind. *And the flame disappeared when it touched me...* He began to smile. *What about the whole shabang? Let's find out.* Just in case, Twister removed his shirt before advancing for the wall with his arms stretched out ahead of him. One tendril, and then more, started flying towards him, only to be vanish into his arms. Finally, he reached the wall and placed his palms upon the inferno. It was like an oil fire in reverse at that point. The flames on the wall, akin to the air above when Twister had unplugged the entrance to the tunnel, rushed into his hands as if they were a vacuum for magic. Which, in a way, Twister supposed he was to this out of control spell. All the flames were soon gone and the only light was that of the gem. Not feeling safe yet, Twister began to run towards the enormous chamber's entrance. There _had_ been two other hallways in the main room. Whereas the first tunnel had led to one massive room, the other two had made many smaller ones. They had even connected at some points. Some rooms had had the spell still going and some not. Regardless, he had stopped counting rooms at fifteen and had hurried the pace at that point. After finding, and disposing of, all the remains of his chaotic spell, Twister returned to the first room he had appeared in. *Whew, all gone! But what made it do all this?* He stared at the still brightly glowing light in his hands. *I did this recently after the first spell so why is this gem working just fine? Maybe...because I _enchanted_ the rock? So this spell is _tied_ to the rock, whereas the other wasn't? If that's the case...then the first light spell I learned should prove my theory.* Getting a thermos, Twister changed and cast the spell which formed a ball of light. Several minutes went by before the globe of light above Darlene's head started to pulsate. *Uh oh.* Darlene quickly changed back with the other thermos and stuck a hand into the beginning to flame light. It vanished into Twister's hand. He pondered this. *So I can _enchant_ things only. Otherwise, the spell goes haywire. I'll have to find out why...but not right now.* Finally, Twister mentally went over all the rooms he had accidentally created. He was shocked at the _size_ of the place. *Gah! Overkill city! I don't think I needed quite _that_ much room. I'll have to map it all later to figure out what to do with it. Just great.* He sighed ruefully. *At least I can enchant something so it can avoid detection. Whoopie. Oh, well, I have _lots_ of room to play with now.* Twister used his female form to conceal the now-extensive system of rooms because if anyone were to search, the huge, hollowed out areas would surely be detected. When done, the spell made the newly created complex look only like solid rock from would-be sensors outside. Hopefully. It was also time for Darlene's new store to open for business, which was fitting in a way. As a celebration idea, Twister made dragon statues to sell in the arts store like the ones he had made a long, at least it seemed long to Twister, time ago. The new friends Darlene had made were invited to the quiet opening. "I can't _wait_ to see Darlene's store! She's kept it such a surprise. Aren't _you_ excited Priss?" Nene exclaimed enthusiastically at a bored Priss. They were both in Linna's van as Linna drove them to the new store. "Yeah, yeah, Nene." Priss turned her head to the window. "It's just some boring art all the same." Linna spoke up before Nene could respond to Priss's comment. "We're here." She stopped the car and they walked out to the front of the store. The store's name was 'Flights of Fantasy'. A sampling of the store's merchandise was displayed in the front windows but you could not see inside the store itself. Priss gave a bored look at the stuff displayed in front as Linna and Nene looked excitedly at the various items shown. The singer had seen all this sort of stuff before when she was younger and a little more interested in this sort of thing. One thing displayed, however, caught her eye and her boredom dissipated as she walked closer to the glass barrier to look closer at it. It was a small but incredibly detailed statue, about a foot high, of a Western style dragon that looked ready to attack an invisible enemy. That such a vivid impression was given surprised Priss as she studied the statue. Nene and Linna noted their companion's interest with some amazement, Priss didn't usually like 'artsy stuff' as she called it. They came over to look at what Priss found so compelling and were also surprised at the statue's detail. "Oh, wow! It almost looks alive!" Nene breathed in wonder. "Must be expensive," Linna commented as she silently agreed with Nene. "I wonder where Darlene found _that_. Never seen that sort of thing before. Must be new." Tearing away her eyes from the statue, Priss offhandedly said, "I'm impressed with it. I doubt she has more than one though." She strode towards the store's entrance and walked in through the door. Nene and Linna walking quickly behind her to keep up. After they entered, the two behind were startled when Priss exclaimed something and quickly backed up into them . Looking around Priss, the two started instinctively backing up as well. The store had a cave-like appearance now since Twister had decided that plain walls and shelfs weren't likely to be very interesting for customers. What he had done was use psionics to carefully coat metal around and on the holding racks, walls, and ceiling. Small, colored crystals decorated the shaped metal. They were embedded in it in colorful swirls around the store's interior by ways that caught the eye. The light from the store's ceiling lamps reflected colorfully in the crystals. Twister had made the store's slightly darkened interior itself a piece of artwork in itself. _That_, however, was not what had badly shaken Priss when she entered. In the middle of the store, staring right at the entrance, was a _much_ larger dragon than the one displayed outside. It was another Western style dragon and as incredibly detailed as the other, but the sheer size, about seven feet tall and _much_ larger lengthwise, heightened the impression that this was _not_ something you wanted to mess with. The look the eyes gave as they stared at the entrance was one of challenge at the puny mortal beings who dared invade it's lair. The view of wickedly sharp talons and the deep red, powerful body increased the effect further. "Ah! You came!" cried a voice from behind the drake statue. Darlene stepped around the statue and chuckled at their expressions. "I see you've met Charcoal here." She patted the statue's side. "Great burglar deterrent, don't you think?" "Good God, Darlene! _Customer_ deterrent I would think as well!" Linna shakily said as Nene peeked around her friend's back to peek warily again at the statue. "Oh, come on! He's harmless!" Darlene chuckled and waved them in. "He's a lot less scary from inside the store. Take a look around." Priss, mad at herself for reacting the way she had, boldly walked into the store and took a look. The feeling the dragon _knew_ where she was when she looked at the immobile head unnerved her a bit, but she wouldn't let that bother her. *It's just a statue, Priss. Get a grip.* She distracted herself by looking at the store itself and when she got a good look she was impressed by the sight. Moving quickly into the store and not looking at the dragon in the center, Nene started looking at all the items for sale and was surprised at what she found on one wall. "Linna! She's got _lots_ of those dragons." Curious, Linna joined her friend and saw that Nene was correct. An entire wall was used to contain a whole variety of those wonderfully detailed dragons. They ranged in size from an inch to two feet high and were all different. Colors and attitudes varied from one dragon to the next. Half of them were Oriental and half Western style dragons. Nene found a silver colored Western dragon, wings spread, that looked somehow looked mischievous as it cautiously looked behind itself while holding a small crystal in it's forepaws. *This one's so cute!* As she admired the half-foot statue, she glanced at the price and smiled with delight. It wasn't too expensive. Nene called out to Darlene. "I'll get this one, Darlene!" "Okay. It's yours." When Nene blinked in confusion, Darlene smiled. "I can afford to give a few away to friends, I should think. You too, Linna and Priss." The overjoyed, enthusiastic hug she got from Nene staggered her a bit. "Thank you, Darlene!" "Really? Hmm..." Linna looked over the dragons with more interest as Priss strolled over to look them over as well. The dragon Linna picked was an Oriental, aquamarine dragon. It was curled up around its horde of treasure and looked quite smug. *Must be envisioning herself in the future,* Darlene thought amusedly. Priss didn't seem to want anything until one particular dragon caught her eye. It was the same style as the giant dragon in the center of the store, but instead of looking menencing it had the look of a defiant fighter as it prepared itself for combat against any opponent. Priss immediately chose that one. *Hm. Should've known that one would appeal to Priss.* The sound of a door opening and a gasp caused Darlene to look at the new arrival, which happened to be Sylia. *Gah. If he affects _Sylia_ that much maybe I should turn Charcoal around. Definitely made him a bit too menencing looking.* Sylia was not affected for long, however, and chuckled softly at herself as she walked over to where the others were standing with their dragons. "That's a bit of a shock when you walk in," Sylia said as she smiled a little ruefully. "Well, it will definitely wake up the shopping drone," Darlene chuckled. She waved at the dragon assortment on the wall. "Want one? On the house, though I think I'd better stop that soon or I won't have many left." Raising an amused eyebrow, Sylia scanned the statues. "These are very good. Excellent in fact. Where did you get them?" She selected a pale blue, Oriental dragon that had calm, wise eyes that seemed full of intelligence. "Very detailed for the price." "Well, I had to guess the price." Darlene smiled, she had prepared a story since she knew that _someone_ would ask about the dragons. "The person who approached me to sell their work didn't have much of an idea either. So I told them I would guess at a price to sell the lot." She chuckled. "If you four's reactions are any guess I may have to raise the price soon." "Did they give a name?" Darlene shrugged. "They said they preferred to remain anonymous, but I believe they signed the dragons with a small tornado image." The four new owners checked and saw the signature on each dragon. "Hmm..." Sylia didn't like the mystery apparently, but accepted Darlene's story. For now. She smiled and looked around. "You've done a wonderful job of decorating your store. How did you manage all this?" "It's a secret." Darlene smiled mischievously at Sylia, trying to look cute to get Sylia off the questions. "I'm sure _you_ have one or two secrets yourself, Sylia. Life wouldn't be fun if we didn't have secrets." The four Knight Sabers had tensed up unconsciously, but relaxed quickly when Darlene blinked in surprise at the reaction her comment had caused. *Yeesh. Lighten up about that,* Darlene thought. "Yes, I guess you're right, Darlene. We _all_ do." Sylia smiled mysteriously. "I have to get back soon. Good luck with your store." Darlene missed Sylia's hint."Thank _you_ for the help you gave _me_, Sylia! Bye!" The remaining friends said their good-byes as Sylia walked out with an arch look at the guardian dragon as she left. Turning to the others, Darlene smiled. "Well, now that you've seen the store and since I haven't any customers yet, I'd like to invite you all for dinner if you don't have to go anywhere soon." No one said nay and Nene had an expectant look on her face since she had had meals made by Darlene before. After a satisfied Nene, Linna, and Priss left, Darlene chuckled as she sat on a white couch and watched the television. The room she sat in only had a few pieces of furniture and several of the dragon statues for decor. The doorbell would ring if anyone came into the store, but since she had just opened and hadn't advertised she wasn't expecting anyone today. *Finally got this place done.* Darlene sighed with satisfaction. *If the dragons sell as well here as they did in the other universe then I should be having a lot of business soon. Might want to make something different for variety later. Maybe.* Picking up a plate with a slice of cake, she began munching on the heavily frosted piece as she watched the TV. Nene was a bad influence but Darlene could always use the energy. *That underground workplace I created took up a lot of power to finish even though it did get out of hand. The store was a lot of work too. Guess I can start looking for a spell to get me back soon...once I figure out how to get my normal spells working properly again. I still have to find out why they aren't...* The television started blaring out the, news interrupting Darlene's train of thought. "ADPolice stopped a rampaging Boomer last night after it ran through the busy shopping district causing twenty-one people to become wounded and ten dead. Seven ADPolice officers were killed in the process." Several shots of the wounded and killed flashed before Darlene's eyes on the screen. A girl who looked remarkably like Nabiki was one of the dead. Eyes mercifully closed. Darlene stopped eating the piece of cake at that point. The metal fork she was using slowly became warped and bent as her hand tightened it's grip on the utensil. She shook her head. *That's not Nabiki. This is a whole different universe.* Unwillingly, Darlene looked at the scene of destruction shown on the television again. *But what if she too had someone... Damn Boomer. No... Damn Genom.* The true story behind the creation of the Boomer's was known to Darlene. She had been planning on leaving before she accidently changed something that caused her friends, the Knight Sabers, to _lose_ in a battle. However, the story on the news was jolting. This wasn't some fantasy universe. This was a real world with _real_ people and the Boomers were killing people. And Darlene had the power to help. Darlene sighed softly as she stared at the screen. *I think I may stick around a little longer than I thought.* That decided, she focused on the problem of _how_ to do it. *First problem: I'll likely need to access computers of all _sorts_ of restricted info to really get anywhere. The Knight Sabers have Nene to help them, but I...* Darlene thought about the problem. *When I fought that dragon mind-to-mind, I enhanced my mind so that it _became_ a _very_ powerful computer in essence. What _else_ is a brain? Also, if I can go mind-to-mind with a dragon, can I do so with a computer? With precognitive power as well I'd be almost unbeatable at guessing passwords and sensing detection. As if they could track me.* Darlene smiled at the idea. *It might work. After all, AI's are artificial minds and that's good. Other _human_ minds don't exactly appeal to me.* *But for the rampaging Boomers, I think I'll have to do something special. After all, I miss my practice sessions with Ranma.* Slowly, Darlene smiled and narrowed her eyes as an idea came. *Genom, you may think the Knight Sabers are nothing, but a _Twister_ is another thing entirely...* Darlene grinned at the image that thought produced. *Head for the storm shelters!* Chapter Four ------------ Inspector Leon McNickel was enjoying a nice quiet night in his squad car when ADPolice headquarters radioed him. His partner Daley was busy somewhere else right now so he was alone in the car. *Damn. So much for a calm evening.* With a sigh, Leon picked up the mike and inquired what was up. Apparently, another renagade Boomer, *What else,* Leon thought with a snort, had appeared near his position and he was requested to go aid the other officers on the scene. He signaled his confirmation and accelerated to get there as fast as possible. As he dodged traffic, Leon frowned. *Another Boomer. Damn. Double damn. We lose too many men to these things and the civilians...* His mind stopped that thought as he spotted ADPolice cars barricading the road up ahead. Driving up, he opened his window and flashed his ID to an inquiring officer. Leon was brief. "Where?" The officer nodded his head towards the barricade. "It's headed this way, sir. Fortunately, the street it's using is pretty deserted and people are staying away from it. It should be here any minute." Leon nodded, stepped out of the car to stand, and waited for the Boomer to appear. He didn't have to wait long. Running faster than a normal human, the blue Boomer quickly came into sight. The ADPolice barricade, which had police officers all training their machine guns at the out-of-control 55-C class Boomer, caused the humanoid robot to stop once it noticed the obstruction. Despite the destruction it had caused, one had to marvel at what man's technology had created. Bio-technic in nature, the Boomer moved smoothly and quick, belying it's bulky, armour-plated form. Even more marvelous was the AI that lived within the red-eyed, skull face. It had been a goal long sought after by scientists, made possible by the late Dr. Stingray. And then stolen by Genom for the power it promised. Rather than attack, the Boomer just stood there in front of the police line of fire with an air of amusement about it. The police opened up their weapons without any prompting. To wait for an order was not wise when dealing with these machines of mayhem. Leon was not happy with the results of the storm of bullets hitting the Boomer, but not surprised either. *Damn it! The bullets are denting it's armour, but it just reforms the slight damage done to it. Bastard machine _knew_ this wouldn't hurt it. We need heavier weapons!* The police line soon ran out of ammunition and the Boomer was unharmed. Unfortunately, it seemed to have become bored and decided to send some of it's _own_ fire back. Chest plates opened upwards on the Boomer, revealing the multiple array of lens for its heat weapon that was aimed at the frantically reloading men. "Move out of it's line of fire!" Leon shouted, knowing sickly that the men in the police barricade wouldn't have the time to move. The Boomer's weapon started to glow as Leon forced himself to watch what would happen. However, just before the weapon fired, a black figure interposed itself between the shooting Boomer and the police. The intense heat hit the unknown form, and either disappeared or was reflected off the intruder. The police officers who had seen sudden death approaching watched in amazement and relief as this happened with no harm to the being standing in front of them. "What the...?" Happy that men hadn't died, Leon was amazed at this new addition to the battle. For a brief moment he had thought that it was a Knight Saber but once he got a good look he didn't know _what_ it was. The figure wore armour, but was of a completely different type from the Knight Sabers' hardsuits. The black portions that covered the non-flexible parts of the body looked...crystalline, but no crystal-type material _Leon_ knew could withstand a Boomer weapon like it had. The movable portions were covered in a fine, flexible mesh that shimmered like quicksilver in the squad cars light. The heat weapon the Boomer had fired had likely been absorbed by the dark material while the shimmery mesh reflected and dispersed the heat back at the Boomer harmlessly. Covering the head was a helmet that brought to mind ancient styles of knight armour, but was made of the same absorbing black material as the rest with sharp looking, wing-like projections for ears and a narrow visor for eyes. The visor was just as black as the rest of the helmet. *Who, or _what_, the hell is that? It just saved some butts but can it handle the Boomer?* Leon wondered. Said android wasn't taking the dramatic failure of it's weapon too well however, and it roared at the interloper. The Boomer leaped high into the air so it could land and crush the strange-looking figure. What it didn't count on was it's target jumping up just as high and meeting it in mid-air. With a kick that left a large foot mark in it's chest armour, the Boomer went flying in the opposite direction and crashed heavily to the ground as the black and silver stranger landed gracefully on the ground. As the Boomer angrily started getting up, an odd blue glow coalesced into a shining, crystal sword in one of the armoured stranger's hands. "How did he do _that_?" one of the startled officers blurted out. Narrowing his eyes, Leon also wondered at the sword. *That thing better be more than an ordinary sword or this guy isn't going to last long.* Irritably, Leon scanned the skies. "Where are the copters?" he muttered as his eyes returned to watch the fight. Running, the stranger approached the almost standing Boomer at a speed equal to the surprised and angry machine with sword ready to swing at the side. The Boomer lifted a hand to grab the sword when the unknown person swung the sword swiftly at it. It got a shock when the sword continued through the grasping palm, roughly down it's arm, and finished it's passage by exiting behind the Boomer's shoulder. A fascinating, cross section was formed for examination of the interior make-up of a Boomer's right arm as half of the limb dropped to the ground. Leon whistled. *That thing's _sharp_ to go through Boomer armour like that. Must be like the green Knight Saber's ribbons.* Furious now, the Boomer decided to end the fight by using the laser beam weapon in it's mouth. After carefully dodging the dangerous sword, the Boomer leaped backwards from the stranger and opened it's mouth to fire the weapon causing the mussel of the weapon projected out. As a blue glow started in the barrel, the crystalline stranger, after apparently deciding something, hefted his sword with the right hand and threw the sword powerfully at the about to fire weapon. The blade impaled the laser cannon and continued through the Boomer's head until the hilt of the sword stopped it from continuing. Energy discharged wildly and uncontrolled around the sword as the it dissolved into black dust, no longer needed. It had accomplished it's mission of destruction. Badly disoriented and in critical condition due to the overloading feedback of the cannon, the Boomer wavered unsteadily in the middle of the street. The stranger raised it's right fist high. After a second, energy began crackling around it in electric discharges. The armoured knight ran towards the injured Boomer and hit the machine hard in the lower torso with the crackling fist. A flash of light and a huge boom echoed down the street as the Boomer was ripped in half explosively at the torso, due to the fist punching through it's armour and the force around the fist expending itself inside. "Jesus," a person said as the police watched the finishing touch on the Boomer silently. The being who accomplished this feat hopped up onto a second story building roof and quickly disappeared. The police choppers finally arrived on the scene, but found no trace of the strange person who had handled a Boomer as easily as the Knight Sabers. Leaning on his patrol car, Leon smiled at the remains of the destroyed Boomer. *Well, well, well. Looks like someone has decided to help the Knight Sabers to destroy rampaging Boomer's. Arrived just in time too.* Thoughtfully, Leon wondered at the abilities of the new appearance. *Odd though. Didn't look like anything _I've_ seen before. Even the Knight Sabers armour and weaponry looked more familiar than that piece of work. Interesting.* He sighed as he climbed into his car. *Time to do the paperwork for this mess.* "...and then Leon said the armoured guy _threw_ the sword he had made into the Boomer's laser cannon!" Nene excitedly said as she repeated what Leon had told her to Linna, Priss, and Darlene, as they ate in a restaurant Linna had recommended. Continuing, Nene finished her story. "The 'Crystal Knight', as everyone down at ADPolice are calling him now, ended the fight by punching through the Boomer's armour and blowing it in half with some kind of energy discharge. He left by jumping onto a nearby building and disappeared." She leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Isn't that romantic? Someone else besides the Knight Sabers are fighting amuck Boomers. I wonder what he looks like..." "If he's blowing away Boomers he's got my vote," Priss chuckled. "Yes, but what if he's just a trap for them?" Linna worried out loud. "I mean, they _are_ mercenaries. Someone might be using this guy to lure them out for revenge." As Darlene was with them and they didn't know if she could be trusted yet, the other three were being cautious about the discussion, but they wanted to talk about it anyway. Darlene snorted. "Riiight. Have _you_ ever seen anything come _close_ to what Nene said he did? Like, suddenly appearing crystal swords that disintegrate? Crystal armour that _absorbed_ a heat blast? _I_ certainly can't tell where he got that stuff." Darlene had a descrete hand with crossed fingers behind her back. Linna wasn't very reassured. "But what does he _really_ want?" "Oh, don't make everything seem so gloomy, Linna!" Nene pouted. "Maybe he just doesn't like Boomers, like Priss." "Got _that_ right. Now and forever," Priss stated firmly. "Oh, you never know Priss... Nothing lasts forever," Darlene cheerfully said, making Priss look sourly at her. The reply was cut off when three separate beeping noises got their attention. Linna, Priss, and Nene, quickly shut off their Saber Signalers(tm) that were disguised as watches and stood up as Darlene blinked. "Forgot something that you set your watch alarms for?" "Uh...yeah! We promised a friend we'd help her with something. We _really_ have to go," Linna uncomfortably said. "We'll pay our bills on the way out. Sorry to leave you like this." Darlene waved her hand in acknowledgment. "It's okay. If you have to go, you have to go. I'll see you later then." The other two said their apologies to Darlene and left with Linna, leaving Darlene alone with her meal, musing. *Sheesh. Lousy hours they have.* She chuckled. *Must get them in all sorts of awkward situations.* As she ate, Darlene smiled internally at her successful first try against a Boomer. The compressed diamond armour and reflective microchain weave had worked great even though the heat beam had made it a little warm inside since the armour couldn't reflect or absorb _all_ of the heat perfectly. It had taken a _week_ to make that complete set of armour using plain TK. The _spell_ devised to make it wearable took almost as long to build up the power level necessary for it. And that didn't include all the time spent thinking on _how_ to do everything. How to make the diamond microchain itself took a while to figure out. In fact, she had the armour right now on her neck. Magically cloaked from all sight, disguised as a diamond, and ready at activate on vocal or mental command. The complexity of the spell was...quite a bit. And more so than the Dragonsword she had made before coming to this universe. A lot of what she had done was new, though she had done a few tests, but it had worked, luckily. It allowed her, in female form, to sense approximately _where_ a Boomer was causing havoc and showed a brief mental image of the Boomer in question. That it hadn't done so meant that the Sabers were going on a job and not going after an already rampaging Boomer. *Well, it's what they do. Good thing I found out my armour responded to my mental commands while _male_. Apparently, my magic resistance is only affective when something is _actively_ doing something on _me_ so that my armour can receive my _broadcasted_ thoughts. Makes things easier anyway.* The Thunderfist had activated perfectly against the Boomer, as well as the magically produced full-view display of the outside so that it seemed like the helmet wasn't even there. The infra-red and enhanced light hadn't been needed though. Cloaking worked perfectly, as did the absorption of light for power reasons. The cloak had allowed Twister to stay and watch the ADPolice clean up the Boomer. The armour, though magical, had needed a power source to recharge because of the heavy demands on it so Twister had decided on ambient light to collect power for the armour. The heat beam of the Boomer had merely charged the armour. Cloak mode didn't allow the armour to charge since it _bent_ all forms of light around the armour while giving a display to see by magically sensing what light had been bent. No illusion that but actual _invisibility_. Hidden hot and cold water pockets were kept in the armour. While Twister could not actively _control_ water, the armour could store it. The idea had come from the fact that teleporting water in a container had worked before, so why not in the armour? Heating or cooling itself around the water it also opened the sections when donning or removing armour to change Twister into the appropriate form. Clothing was _also_ stored...somewhere, in magically shrunk form. Twister wasn't sure how he had managed that bit. Twister was quite proud of what he had accomplished with the armour. He was quite sure the _dense_, yet magically lightened and strengthened, diamond material would hold up to a normal Boomer attack. The compressed air padding used inside the armour would help as well. *Thing didn't restrict my movements at all. Funny thing is, even though I made the armour almost weightless using magic, the inertia of the originally _heavy_ armour seems to have remained. I didn't hit that Boomer with my foot _that_ hard to leave such a dent. Unexpected bonus I guess.* Darlene had to chuckle at what she had done. *Talk about your 'Any magic sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from science.' quote.* Darlene chuckled as she finished her meal. Chapter Five ------------ Several weeks went by and Darlene's store grew in popularity as word got around. The beautiful interior of the store was almost the main reason people came to the place. _That_, however, was reserved for the dragon statues that started emptying their places with increasing, and dismaying, speed. The reason for the dismay was that they were getting _too_ popular and the demand was such that Twister felt he spent _far_ too much time making the things. In an effort to stem the tide, Darlene had increased the price once, twice, and three times, saying that the artist was having a hard time keeping up with the demand and wanted to rest _some_ time. The money soothed Darlene's grumbling though and eventually the sale of dragon's slowed to a decent level. To get Twister's mind away from dragons, he occupied himself with a few other things. Hacking on the computer with a level of ability approaching Nene's was a nice distraction. The irony was that Darlene had asked her for recommendations on what was the best computer system to get. Extending his mind into the computer nets had worked and enhancing his mind at the same time resulted in a exponential increase in results, but this was very tiring to do for long periods of time so he didn't do it much. The hackers in the net were a little puzzled when it did occur though, for things happened for 'Firelord', as he called himself on the net, that shouldn't have. He had even talked to Nene over the net, but though he knew who _she_ was, she had no clue about _his_ identity. It was great, after all, he _had_ been studying to be a computer programmer before his life changed so dramatically. Everything was so advanced and he wasted no time in trying to absorb it all. And with his memory this was going along swiftly. Boomers were an almost, _almost_, welcome diversion as well. Twister had now gone several times to aid ADPolice whenever possible. The police _facing_ the Boomers were greatful for the help, while some of the higher-ups didn't like the fact that a vigilante was doing a better job than the police. Seeing Leon at the scene a few times, Twister noted he looked more pleased than angry at Twister's help. Likely due to the fact that Twister really _tried_ to save people's lives. He had been hit hard as a result of that, but never seriously injured. _Bruised_ perhaps, but easily Healed. Another diversion he tried was motorcycles. Using his TK secretly, he had scanned Priss's bike since Twister knew it was a _damn_ fast bike. With his perfect memory, he had contemplated the design, making a few improvements with a boosted mind, and built a motorcycle with spare parts from a nearby scrapyard. While he didn't have a supply of special fuel like Priss, Twister made a few alterations to eliminate the need. One was his now-practiced method of molecularly strengthening the metal of the engine. This resulted in a much slower heating rate and a frictionless surface for moving parts as the process smoothed out surfaces. Therefore, he got faster acceleration, a higher speed tolerance, and a stronger bike for using normal fuel rather than Doc. Raven's special brand. _Should_ have got was more like it. Neglecting what effects those improvements had on the _exactly_ duplicated bike was not a Good Thing. When run the first time, the engine went faster all right...right up to the point where it blew up and scattered pieces of his 'stronger' engine all over. Unharmed because of his TK, Twister rebuilt the engine after learning more about motorbikes and something called 'tuning an engine'. When it was done, painted a deep blue with just as deep purple stripes, Twister practiced driving it at his private, underground complex in the aircraft hanger sized room. After becoming proficient enough, he took to the streets of Mega-Tokyo and had a blast on long, empty roads at night. Opening her up once, he had found that he could do 250 km. comfortably without the engine starting to sound funny. *Yeah. That had been a real pedal to the metal time,* Twister thought one night as he drove with a growing ease. *I can see why Priss drives around on these things. Lovely to be alone like this with just you and the bike.* A disturbing thought came to mind. The Griffin had finally shown up, as he had known it would, and the Outriders were getting trashed badly. Twister wasn't particularly concerned about that since he had had personal experience of how they could be from that encounter with Steelfist. *Won't be long before he's caught though. The...* Twister's thought was interrupted as he heard another motorcycle beside him and he looked to see who it was. It was Priss. *Uh oh.* He likely had missed the puzzled expression Priss must've had a moment ago before realization hit. The owner of the red motorcycle didn't look too happy now from what he could see through the transparent windscreen of her helmet. The obvious reason for that was that she saw an almost _exact_ duplicate of her _own_ motorcycle, which had been specially made by Doc. Raven, being driven in _blue_ colors with a _male_ driver. Said driver was _extremely_ happy his own driving gear was a matching blue outfit with a black visor that no one could see through. *If looks could kill...* Before Priss could do anything, Twister got an uneasy feeling and he went to the far left of the road as fast as he could. Just was he made it, several motorcycles and one black, armoured car sped by at a much higher speed he and Priss were going at and almost caused Priss to wipe out. An Outrider ahead of them wasn't so fortunate. *The Griffin. Greaaat.* He and Priss slowed down to check out the fallen biker. She nudged him with a foot and got a groan in response. "Bastard," she growled as the Griffin sped further off into the distance. Priss revved her engine. Twister had to say something. "You're not going to catch him." After a contemptuous look at him, Priss drove off, shouting, "Watch me!" Sighing, Twister followed her. Accelerating to high speeds, he and Priss soon caught up to the rear of the Griffin. "What _does_ she plan to do?" he muttered into his helmet. Priss's plan obviously included trying to pass the Griffin, but she expertly braked behind the car as the Griffin tried to make a road pizza out of her. Twister just shook his helmeted head as she stuck her tongue out at the car. Not surprisingly to Twister, the Griffin accelerated and he and Priss followed suit. Fascinated, he watched the speedometer slowly increase its reading. It had gone past 250 before a grinding noise got through the wind screaming past his helmet. Priss's bike destroying itself. It died a second later, slowing down, going uncontrolable, and eventually pitching Priss off the bike. Not wanting Priss to be seriously hurt, Twister slowed her fall as much as he could on such short notice with his TK. Her pants were still shredded by what speed she _had_ and her legs got scraped, but not sprained or anything. Twister slowed down as fast as he safely could and drove his bike around to see how Priss fared. He stopped near her. "You okay?" "Yeah, shouldda been worse. Got lucky," Priss ground out through the pain, watching the black car as the Griffin sped off. "Bastard." "I believe you said that already," Twister said in an amused tone. She angrily turned her head to face the blue motorcyclist. "Screw you, asshole! What the _hell_ are you doing with that bike anyway?!" "I _thought_ I was driving calmly down the road. Why? Was I doing anything unusual?" "My bike is _custom-made_ and _your_ bike is _exactly_ like it!" He turned his helmeted head towards the fallen original. "Not _exactly_, I believe. _My_ bike could handle the speed." As Priss fumed over that, Twister waved farewell. "Since I don't think you prefer my company, fair one, I shall depart from thee now. Toodles." Surprised at the flattery and outraged at his casual attitude towards her, Priss was speechless as Twister drove away. He knew she would be all right now and he thought it was best to get away. When he had gone, she swore. "He could have at _least_ have offered me a lift _dammit_!" "Getting information for you, Sylia, is always interesting. This time is definitely no different." Sylia's face betrayed no emotion but she allowed her voice to carry a faint bit of curiosity. "Oh? And what did you find, Fargo?" For some reason he had chosen an arcade to be their meeting place tonight. Video games blared in the background as they talked in a relitively quiet spot. Certainly no one else would be able to overhear them in this din without them noticing. "You told me you weren't certain about somebody and that you wanted to, quietly, find out anything at this person's store. Without them knowing anything happened. Given I don't see you uncertain over minor matters I didn't take this lightly." "Yes. And...?" "Someone...very qualified broke into the store. Quite easily. Didn't seem to be much security for such a popular store." Fargo stopped talking and appeared unsure about what to say next. "Fargo..." He sighed. "This someone happened to be carrying miniature sensors, necessary for their...wide range of jobs, to make sure one doesn't fall prey to all sorts of nasty traps. Chemicals, lasers, motion det..." Seeing Sylia's look of slight impatience he finished quickly. "That someone never wants to set foot in that store again." Sylia was surprised. "What?" "They were scared to death, Sylia. Later, that someone calmed down, but not until they were far away and gave me what they had scanned before...whatever happened. And they refused to tell me because it was thought that I wouldn't believe them anyway." He passed Sylia a disk. "Here's the scan but there's nothing there that could've scared a professional like that. Not even anything that might be hidden from a scan." "Did they tell you any clue what they saw?" "They only said: 'it just appeared' and 'it fits the place'. Whatever that means." Frowning, Sylia contemplated the disk that contained a scan of Darlene's store. Fargo smiled unexpectantly. "If the someone was surprised that badly then you know at least one good thing." "And what's that?" "The owner doesn't want to kill intruders, despite having something to hide to warrent whatever surprised my someone." "Reassuring," Sylia dryly said, "but it only makes me more curious." Fargo shrugged. "I don't think I can get anyone else to try it. Because of the first attempt, that is." "No, I think you've done all you can and this certainly was surprising. Until next time." Sylia walked away into the arcade. Fargo leaned against the wall and sighed with a smile. "Always something interesting..." Later that week, the Griffin was finally caught by ADPolice. Or rather, the _car_ was. Something had happened between the on-board computer and J.B. Gibson's mind that had formed something malevolent and when Gibson had tried to stop the car it knocked him out. So he was unconscious in the driver's seat and a now back to normal Naomi, his girlfriend, in the passenger section. Priss had used Mackie's Highway Star to finally catch up to the car and rescued the trapped lovers with the help of Linna and Sylia in their motoroids. The Griffin had continued on through the police barricade and into the armoured side of the tank placed there to stop it. Not finished, the car had still tried to run away, but Leon launched a grenade at it and blew it over the side of the highway to die a flaming death. Gibson and Naomi were left safely nearby for the police. However, one thing happened during the rescue that puzzled the Knight Sabers. "_What_ did you say happened to it?!" a disbelieving Mackie demanded of Priss after the rescue when she reluctantly confronted him inside Doc. Raven's garage with the Doctor, Linna, and Sylia watching nearby. "It _vanished_, alright! I jumped onto the car and when I looked back it was gone! I didn't believe it either at the time, but it happened!" Priss shouted back angrily at Mackie. "How can you _lose_ a motorcycle in _one_ second, Priss?" queried an amazed Linna. "I mean, Sylia and I didn't see anything when we flew up the freeway." "And since you _did_ jump off it there _should_ have been a large explosion when the bike fell over at those speeds," a puzzled Sylia replied thoughtfully and Mackie groaned at the idea. "So _where_ is it?!!" he demanded. "Someone order one slightly used racing bike?" a modulated voice cheerfully called out from the garage entrance. Everybody in the garage whirled to face the source of the voice. Casually leaning on the Highway Star, was the Crystal Knight. "Please try to be more careful with someone else's toys when you're on a mission, Priss. Even being a Knight Saber you _could_ have wound up trying to repair it," he continued merrily as he gave the machine's seat a pat. Stunned that this strange person knew about her being a Knight Saber, Priss stammered out, "How...did...you...?" "You'd be amazed at what I know and can do," the Crystal Knight chuckled. Sylia carefully approached the Knight. "_Who_ are you?" With an implied arching of eyebrows in his altered voice, he replied, "_Really_, Sylia Stingray. That wouldn't be sporting, now would it?" That said, the Crystal Knight disappeared before their startled eyes. "Oh, by the way, Priss..." a disembodied voice called out that came from around the area of the bike. "Till _next_ time, fair one! Toodles!" A chuckle echoed and slowly died in the garage. Priss started when that was said, then slowly an outraged look came over her face. "That was _YOU_ on the bike?!!! Who are you, you _BASTARD_!" she yelled to the empty air as her friends stared at her. Mackie ran over to his creation, looked over it carefully, and sighed in relief. All was as it should be. With narrowed eyes, Sylia regarded the space where the Crystal Knight had last been. *He must have some form of cloaking device in his armour. That is a technology I've never seen before so where did _he_ get it?* She was distracted by a curious Linna asking an angry Priss where she had seen the Knight before. As Sylia heard Priss's grudgingly told story, she was even more puzzled. *He duplicated Priss's bike? And by the sound of it, _improved_ it a little bit. How? Who _is_ this strange man?* Sylia pondered that thought all the way back to her apartment. *Hahahahahahahahaha! As Kodachi would say.* Twister laughed to himself. *Deities, that was priceless!* He replayed Priss's outraged look in his mind, and because he had a perfect memory it was in vivid detail. *Maybe I shouldn't have done that _quite_ that way, but I couldn't help myself. Priss is gonna be a little peeved at me for a while. I wonder if I should lay off the road for a while.* He thoughtfully considered it for a moment and decided. Then chuckled. *Naaaaaaah!* Chapter Six ----------- A month passed by, and Twister found more things to do. The caverns he had hollowed out are still pretty bare so he set himself the task of filling it up with nice things so that it would be livable and more. He may have overdone it a little, but it was _his_ private place, even though he had, accidentally, created enough rooms for ten people to live in. Using magic to enchant a few items, Twister gave the place all the necessities of a modern home except for one thing. A computer. Now the one 'Darlene' used in her home above the shop was nice and allowed her plenty of access, but Twister was always wanting something...more. He reserved a large room for _that_ future project which he was already planning in his mind. On nights when he was not having to meet any of his Knight Saber friends Twister occasionally enjoyed the highways after closing the store. Priss would sometimes spot him and she would madly try to catch him with her red bike. Too bad that Twister had improved his biking skills, had faster reflexes, and a repitore of made-for-biking psionic tricks he had devised to boot. She always found herself losing him or, rarely, getting a ticket from THP as she fumed under a chuckling Leon's gaze, whom Twister always seemed to know when he was on patrol nearby. Which he _did_ due to a spell put on his helmet that caused it to glow slightly on the inside when Leon was around. Leon seemed to find the whole thing vastly amusing as Priss, who didn't find it funny at _all_, had found someone who could out-bike _her_ and wasn't too happy with the fact. The topic finally came up when the Darlene and her friends gathered one night at her place. "Why do you keep trying to out-race that guy, Priss?" Nene said as Priss fumed on a couch in Darlene's place after getting another ticket an hour ago. Linna was typing away on her portable computer on a large, padded footrest and Darlene, keeping a straight face with difficultly, was comfortably sitting in a softly furnished chair nearby. "You never catch him and Leon gets this _big_ grin on his face whenever some THP officer mentions the 'Blue Bullet', they're calling him that now, over the radio. Even THP can't catch him and they're starting to really try too!" she said crossly. Priss snorted on the couch. "Since he always loses _me_ I'm not surprised that he can lose the THP whenever he wants to!" Linna absently nodded from her position "I think what Nene is so delicately trying to tell you, Priss, is that _maybe_ you should lay off chasing the guy," Darlene commented from her plush chair. "He's probably getting loads of laughs whenever he leads you right into Leon's happy hands. Leon's certainly a fan of his since the 'Bullet' seems to prefer that _Leon_ watches as THP hands you a ticket, while _he_ speeds away into the sunset." Nene giggled as Priss grimaced. "They're going to start betting on whether you ever _catch_ the guy and..." "Alright, alright! I get the message!" Priss dejectedly slumped in defeat. "That bastard's likely laughing his head off right now." "I doubt it," Darlene chuckled. Laughing inside of 'her' head right now would have been correct. "Isn't there anything else you can do to get your mind off this?" Sighing, Priss nodded. "Yeah, I've met this nice girl who seems to like bikes a lot. I should see her a bit more to get my mind off _that_ guy. I'm thinking of giving her a job with the band." Linna blinked and looked up from her notebook computer. "What's her name?" "Sylvie." Darlene had to suppress a _severe_ reaction to that name. *Uh oh... Times are going to heat up, I think. I _thought_ that shooting star looked odd a few days ago.* Twister sighed internally. *I haven't heard about any vampire murders though. Maybe I can do something before there are. Like making a 'withdraw' from a certain type of bank... Gonna be hard to find her but I shouldn't have too much trouble.* *Trust _will_ be.* It was pitch black in the cloud covered sky as a metal figure silently moved through the trees. Inside the cockpit there was light which revealed a gorgeous, silver-haired woman who was no woman at all but a 33-S Sexadroid who was searching for life-saving blood for her and her friend. A determined look was on Sylvie's face as she scanned with the D.D.'s sensors for the right target. *_There_! Two people in a isolated car. Perfect.* She sighed as she didn't like doing what she was about to do, especially after meeting that nice girl Priss, but she had no choice if she and Anri wanted to survive. *I'd better start now.* The D.D. moved forward under her guidance. BBOOOONNNNGGGG! *What was that?!* Sylvie thought frantically as she checked scanners that had registered nothing before. Before she could react, the D.D. _did_. A massive fist hurled towards a shadowy figure standing in front of the machine of destruction. All it hit was dirt as whatever it was dodged quickly and landed a short distance away, waiting patiently despite the threat. Before the weapons systems could fire, Sylvie frantically turned them off; she hadn't expected the D.D. to respond so quickly and was a little frightened at it's increasing ability. She wanted to be fully in control, not be a helpless occupant. Seeing as whatever had...knocked??...on the D.D.'s leg to get her attention had not attacked, Sylvie decided to cautiously find out what, or who, it was. Standing outside, and assuming a waiting posture, was a strangely armoured figure. What was even more odd was the clipboard, with multiple pieces of paper on it, that it held. Before she could react, the figure spoke in a modulated voice at her. "Two orders of blood at 37 Celsius for a Miss Sylvie!" The figure pointed at two plastic containers, that Sylvie hadn't seen before, filled with red liquid. "Please sign here please." The stranger held out the odd clipboard and held that position. Confused, Sylvie opened up the hatch of the battlemover and the person sighed with relief. "Ah, good. I got the right address." He shuffled the papers as the helmet appeared to be looking at them. "Sylvie. D.D. battlemover. Mega-Tokyo parkland. Good to be in the right place for once." He held out the board again. "Sign here, please? Oh, wait!" An armoured hand slapped the helmet. "Special case. I forgot. No signiture necessary. Bye...and enjoy!" The person leaped into the woods and disappeared from sight. Puzzled and uncertain whether or not the figure was one of her enemies, Sylvie guided the D.D.'s systems to grab one of the plastic containers and analyzed the liquid. After a few seconds, it was verified as being human blood at the proper temperature for the human body. Incredulously, Sylvie shook her head and stared at the two large containers before quickly draining them of their contents. As she returned to the hiding place for the D.D. Sylvie wondered at the extremely odd encounter she had just had. Someone who wanted to help her? Or...what? A week and a half later, Sylvie and Priss were riding their motorcycles through various streets. Sylvie was pretty happy at the moment. Her and Anri's desperate need for blood was solved after that first strange encounter with the armoured figure, whom she found out later was called the Crystal Knight. Every night after, two new containers of blood could be found in the apartment they shared. Anri was relieved that Sylvie wouldn't have to endanger herself, but Sylvie didn't know how long this apparent help would last, which bothered her. Especially help from someone who fought boomers. Until now that is. *I've finally found where the disk containing the information Anri and I need is located! Once I get it we can finally be free like Priss and her friends.* Sylvie smiled in her helmet. *I guess I can almost call them _my_ friends as well, though not as close as Priss. Nene reminds me of Anri a little. Linna is always busy in her business world and boyfriends. Darlene is friendly, even though she seems to be worried about something.* Sylvie sighed happily. *I am free...* Suddenly, a blue motorcycle turned onto their road and didn't appear to have noticed them. Priss turned her head to Sylvie and with a mischievous smirk motioned her to flank the biker on his opposite side. Wondering what Priss was doing, Sylvie complied. Quickly, the two female bikers were on either side of the 'Blue Bullet'. Surprised, the black visor went from Priss to Sylvie to Priss again. With a resigned shake of the head, he motioned them to pull over to the side of the road ahead. Priss's attitude towards the Blue Bullet had mellowed over the last two weeks. A form of rivalry was created, with either one of them sometimes sneaking up on the other when the other didn't expect it. Since the Bullet knew that she wasn't that angry now at him, his guard was down and made the game an even one. Not that he let THP ever catch him. When they had stopped, Priss and Sylvie took off their helmets while the Bullet left his on. "At last found a biking partner who could stand you, Priss?" He chuckled. "Shove it up your exhaust pipe, Bullet." Priss replied, not insulted. "This is..." "Sylvie." The Bullet interrupted Priss, who's mouth now hung slack. "Nice to meet you again." Sylvie was confused. "Have we met?" "Yes and yes." This didn't help Sylvie. "Ignore him, Sylvie. He likes being cryptic and obscure." Priss snorted with disgust. "Let's go! See you on the road, Bullet!" Priss roared off expecting Sylvie to follow after. Before she did, the Bullet quietly said, "Good luck, Sylvie." He sped off quickly from a surprised Sylvie. *What did he mean by that?* Sylvie wondered as she started after Priss. Darlene was contemplating Sylvie in her home above the store. *What can I do to save Sylvie? If I do something wrong then _Largo_ might do something different and the Knight Sabers might not be able to do anything about him.* Dark thoughts fluttered through her mind before grimly deciding on a course of action. *I'd better not risk it. Openly at least. Damn. Priss is going to go through Hell.* Priss was in Hell. The D.D. battlemover had gone into full-auto mode with _Sylvie_, of all people, inside of it. A battered Leon had gasped out the fact about the micro-neutron bomb when Sylvie had opened the D.D.'s hatch and begged Priss to kill her. She couldn't do it. The D.D. had finally responded to the threat of Priss and knocked her away into the stone wall, shattering her facescreen with the impact. Shaking her head to clear it, Priss had gone to get her motoslave to even out the odds; the battlemover was just too strong and quick. When she had arrived with the machine, she saw Sylia being caught by the D.D. Priss had realized that there was _no_ time left. If the micro-neutron bomb went off they would _all_ be dead and Sylvie had begged Priss to kill her to save them all. She made the heart-breaking choice when the D.D. raised it's fist to smash a trapped Sylia and eliminate her threat. Using the motoslave's cannon she blew away the D.D.'s right fist, and all eyes, including Sylvie's, went up to her. Priss recalled her words then. "Sylvie! Here I come!" Priss had taken off into the air and the D.D. had launched a salvo of rockets and bullets at her. The motoslave exploded in a giant fireball, but Priss's armour had protected her. As she fell to the ground, she had aimed her main blaster at Sylvie with tears in her eyes and cried out Sylvie's name when she fired. The shot hit Sylvie in the area below her right breast causing her to jerk in shock and the D.D. to shut down, releasing her. Priss had caught the limp Sylvie as she fell to the ground and held her close as Sylvie softly asked a request of Priss to give a disk to Anri, someone she apparently cared for, in her apartment. Priss had agreed and she listened to Sylvie's last words before a blue glow flashed in the hole the weapon had made and Sylvie went limp. The fighter-singer cried out her grief. Priss was in Hell. Leon woke up in the hospital with a familiar red-haired face smiling down at him. "Back to the land of the living I see," Daley cheerfully said. "Of...ow...course." Leon grimaced at the sharp pain in his chest. "Better take it easy. You were pretty messed up there." "No...shit." Leon sighed. "At least we're not dead... Thanks again to the Knight Sabers." He recalled that brief flash of consciousness he had. The Knight Sabers gathered around the operator of the battlemover, who was apparently dead. The shock had come when he realized it was _Priss_, in the blue Knight Saber armour, who had been holding the operator. Then everything had gone black again. "Not dead, no, but some people in high places certainly wish _they_ were," Daley wryly commented as he sat down on a hospital chair. Frowning now, Leon queried, "What do you mean?" A puzzled look came over Daley. "Well, we know the operator of the D.D. must have been killed and left by the Knight Sabers, but for some reason the body was missing." Leon looked surprised and Daley nodded. "Exactly my reaction. Not a trace was detected of who took the body or why." Now Daley rubbed the back of his head. "Here's the _real_ kicker. A transport was brought in to take the D.D. to a heavily secured area. The battlemover was loaded into the truck and the doors locked shut. From what a source of mine told me, when the transport reached the base to unload it's cargo, the D.D. had _vanished_." Leon's eyebrows went straight up at that. "How do you steal something _that_ big and heavy without the transport crew being aware of it and likely guarded from all sides?" "Beats me. My source also mentioned that there was a message burnt onto the inside wall of the truck, and I quote: 'Anyone who designed this thing with a micro-neutron bomb should be dragged out into the street and heckled to death.' No signature. Nothing." Daley sighed. "I'm told they scanned the interior of that truck quite throughly too." Chuckling at the message, Leon replied, "By the sound of it, the D.D. is likely in better hands than I would've hoped for." Daley grinned. "Me too." He stood up. "Well, heal fast, partner. I'll miss seeing your handsome face around ADPolice headquarters." He waved gaily at Leon and sauntered out the door. The injured merely looked to the heavens briefly and sighed. *I wonder who took the D.D... and Priss is Knight Saber?* Leon closed his eyes to get some sleep. *That had been one Hell of a confusing day.* Chapter Seven ------------- Nene was downcast as Sylia continued with the meeting. Impostors were trying to frame the Knight Sabers and now Priss had just left saying that she was quitting the group. The redhead softly sighed out the depression she felt. "Nene? Are you all right?" Sylia concernly said. Linna and Mackie both turned to look at her. "It's just Priss leaving and all, Sylia. It doesn't look good, does it?" Sylia smiled. "No, it doesn't, but we just have to do what we can. Mackie is nearly done the autodroid that was based a little on what you managed to scan on the D.D. and the new plane was completed some time ago. We should be able to manage this challenge of the impostors on our own." "Without Priss it _will_ be more difficult, Sylia," Linna commented. "It takes our fighting capacity down by quite a bit. Too bad we don't have another fighter like her." Perking up at an idea, Nene excitedly said, "How about Darlene? She's _very_ good at fighting! Remember that Steelfist creep, Linna?" With a thoughtful look, Sylia considered it. After watching Darlene quietly for months, she had come to the conclusion that, while the girl did seem to have _something_ to hide, the young store owner truly was a good person to know as a friend. Still... "Perhaps. If we _do_ have to encounter those impostors it _would_ be a good idea to consider her as a replacement for Priss...but I _do_ have confidence that Priss will come back eventually. It _is_ a good idea though, Nene." She smiled. "Though, I suppose that with her shop's business increasing that Darlene would be pretty busy right now." "Oops. I forgot about that. She was complaining about that too." Nene disappointedly sighed while the others smiled. "Anyway, let's continue the meeting..." Sylia was thinking back to that meeting in her armour as she, Linna, and Nene faced off with the newly revealed Super Boomers that had been impersonating them. The leader, who had looked like Sylia in her suit, had shrugged off one of her palm-blaster attacks with ease. *Maybe we should have asked Darlene after all, despite my doubts, but she wouldn't have been ready for this in any case.* Suddenly, someone stepped out of a shadow-filled doorway that was on the roof. Seeing who it was, Sylia's hopes increased. It was the Crystal Knight. The lead boomer saw him and growled. "So. You've decided to join our prey, foolish human? It will make no difference to us." The Knight bowed mockingly at the boomer and quickly moved to stand beside Sylia, who glanced at him. "You waited for us?" The armoured figure nodded and made an apologetic shrug. "Very well. Let's..." "We _both_ waited!" cried out a voice that seemed to be approaching rapidly and was now very close. The Knight whirled around just in time to be kicked _hard_ in the lower torso and thrown several meters away with his attacker still with him. Who then leaped away to land at a spot away from both boomers and Knight Sabers. Sylia and the others blinked for the attacker was...the Crystal Knight? "It's not nice to impersonate someone else," mocked the second Knight to the first. The first said nothing as he got up, but when he did he spoke, and in a voice unlike that of the second Knight, clear, deep, and very, very malevolent. "I'm pleased you _did_ come, Knight. It would have been too easy to take out the Knight Sabers once I had fooled them. But now..." The crystalline-seeming armour expanded and shredded apart from the strain as the true nature of the first, and false Knight, was revealed. A Boomer, of course. It was more lean looking than the others, but just as advanced, who had impersonated the Knight Sabers, painted in all black, and had long, wickedly sharp blades extending past it's hands. Various beam weapons were also revealed by lens near it's head and in the torso. It started walking towards the Knight in a smooth, precise, and predatory manner. "But you did come. The Master thought you would. He told me to kill you if you did. He also told me only _I_ would be needed for you. So now you are all _mine_." "But we've only just met," called out an unafraid Knight. "And parting is such sweet sorrow!" The black Boomer swiftly jumped towards his opponent, blades ready to strike. Sylia took advantage of the distraction to get the first shot at what appeared to be 'their' Boomers and thus started Sylia and the others own fight. Leaping backwards from the ebony Boomer's attack, Twister marvelled at how _fast_ the thing was as he landed further away. He'd never seen a Boomer move this... The Boomer landed where he had previously been and gave him almost no time to react as it rushed him, firing a particle cannon at the same time from it's mouth with the same surprising speed. Obviously, someone had figured out the lasers weren't much use against his armour. He leapt to avoid the burst and then the Boomer was upon him. One arm swung a blade at the Knight and was hurridly blocked by a diamond sword made a few seconds previously. Twister was unpleasantly surprised when his molecularly-sharp sword didn't pass through the other's blade. Indeed, the other's blade cut through _his_ sword. He had held the sword two-handed and since the Boomer was swinging down, the enemy blade continued it's descent, cutting halfway through his left forearm before stopping, despite his formidable armour. The Boomer was surprised as it pulled the blade out and Twister cried out in pain from this and the broken arm. They were both falling back to the roof and, as if to reassure itself of something, the Boomer used it's other arm to stab down at the Knight's lower torso, where flexible mesh and not hard armour protected. Distracted by the pain of his arm, Twister wasn't fast enough to prevent the swift machine and the blade pierced his armour. Sliding through his flesh, it emerged on the other side of his body in time to impale him on the roof. The Boomer was most curious, and said "How did your armour prevent my blade from going all the way through? It has special fields around it that allow it to cut anything. Nothing should be able to resist it except another blade like it." "The lifetime warranty, I guess," Twister gasped out in pain as he lay pinned to the floor. The magic enchantment of his armour must've been the only thing that had stopped the sword, but it hadn't been powerful enough to prevent the blade from going halfway through it. "Hah. Amusing. I guess I shall find out later...after I take your worthless head of your pitiful human body." The Boomer raised it's other arm and prepared to execute that last statement. Twister saw the arm raise through his pain. He hadn't expected the Boomer to be this fast and powerful and thus caught off-guard. The idea of him dying brought to mind when he had faced it before. The Event. And Malkon. And remembered his icy rage for the Demon at being threatened so before. And anew for this arrogant Boomer now. The Knight's visor suddenly flashed cold, glowing blue eyes. The uninjured right arm, lightning-quick, moved between him and the Boomer. Pure telekinetic force blasted the startled cyberdroid into the air, not injuring it but tossing it away and janking the impaling sword away with it. No blood flowed from the wound as it did so and, as the Knight slowly managed to stand up, the wounds on arm and torso Healed. The cool anger fled as the threat of immediate death was gone, but the glowing blue eyes remained as he knew he needed his power to defeat this hyped-up Boomer. When Twister flexed his left hand cautiously, the Boomer was stunned. "I broke your arm! You should not be able to do that!" The Boomer shrugged off the surprise and prepared to launch another attack. "It does not matter. Soon you will be dead." "Can't have _that_, can we?" The Hyperboomer was now going to all out to finish what it had thought would be an easy victory. Twister formed two swords, new thing to do, in his both hands and prepared himself as the Hyperboomer rushed him. *I'm going to have to boost my reflexes and strength for this guy.* Twister's blue aura was hidden by his armour, but the blue glow could be seen from the cuts his opponent had made. Also, the visor still couldn't stop the sight of glowing blue eyes from shining forth. Both of the Boomer's blades came screaming towards Twister and were blocked, barely, by the diamond swords that glowed blue from the inside. Twister had strengthened his swords with his energy to hopefully resist whatever power the Hyperboomer's blades had. Fortunately, it worked. *Jeez! I'm barely holding him at bay! Even boosted! I guess I can only strengthen myself so much.* The two forms strained to get the advantage, but couldn't make much headway against the other. The black Boomer leaped back and regarded this strange being in front of it. "You are not as weak as the Master had thought." "So glad I meet your approval. Guess Largo got bad info, huh?" The boomer stepped back in surprise. "How do you know the Master's name?!" "You'd be amazed at what I know," the Knight chuckled as he warily watched the other. "Enough! It is time you died." The bladed Hyperboomer rushed Twister again and leaped high to defeat this stubborn opponent. Twister leaped to match the boomer and had almost reached it when multiple explosions went off in the area where the other Hyberboomers and the Knight Sabers were battling. The ebony Boomer was distracted by this, but Twister wasn't. He had expected it and took advantage of it to finish off his opponent with something he'd never tried before. With boosted strength, he accelerated his velocity towards a startled Hyperboomer using his levitation and called out his attack. "Nova Kick!" Twister's right boot instantly began glowing with a bright light as approximately 99% of the crystalline armour's stored power was concentrated in that one region for the special attack. A powerful kick plowed through the Boomer's chest armour as it was being melted by the sheer radiant energy of the boot. The energy was then outwardly released from the boot, when it was buried inside the cyberdroid, in a vast wave of infra-red to visible red light. This caused nearby sections of the Boomer to become superheated plasma, flung explosively from the force of the heat blast. Twister teleported away just before the explosion could hurt him in any way and his disappearance was covered by the fireball. He reappeared in his underground lair and was barely able to move. *Jeez. This thing is _heavy_ when it's drained like this.* The load slowly lightened as the illuminated and warm room gave the armour energy to lighten itself once more. *Better wait till this thing is light enough to move around in.* Twister had almost begun to feel prepared again when he felt the floor tremble slightly. *No! Largo's launched his attack on the city already! DAMN!* He had already found Quincy's office earlier that week and had carefully marked a position that was likely to be safe to teleport. Activating the armour's cloaking mode, Twister went quickly to that spot. What he saw when he silently arrived in mid-air was Largo finishing off the last 55-C class boomer. Anri was looking at Largo from the side of the room, frightened. *You should be...* Twister mused as Largo slowly turned to face the android copy of Quincy. Suddenly, he noticed Ms. Matagan was slowly losing consciousness on the ground. Twister scanned her with his TK and found that a piece of shrapnel had struck right by a major artery in her leg. As Matagan finally fainted, she moved slightly and the shrapnel bit. Twister teleported beside her immediately. *I may regret this, but...* Twister mentally sighed as he reached out and grasped the wounded Genom executive's hand. Blue energy shone as his Healing power sought out the soon-to-be-fatal wound and the shrapnel was eased out of the wound by TK. Healing was then started. There was some strange resistance in the beginning but that faded away as the blue power finished it's work. Silently, Twister stood up from a no longer dying Matagan and watched the events that he had finished in time to watch: Largo discovering the deception; Quincy laughing at Largo from the remaining monitors; Largo's angry destruction of the wall monitors. And then...Priss came. *Shoot. I'm gonna _hate_ myself in the morning.* The drama played itself out in the way Twister remembered it. Largo revealing Priss as the one who had killed Sylvie. Anri revenging Syvlie's death upon Priss before discovering the _real_ reasons behind her dear friend's death. Largo laughed and revealed his contempt to Priss and Anri before raising his hand. Twister got ready. The bolt of power streaked towards Priss, but was blocked by Anri who screamed in pain. From his now-grounded position by Matagan, Twister quickly focused his mind upon the dying Sexariod. _He_ had been the one who had taken Sylvie before the police could arrive, for Sylvie had not been truly dead. Twister had managed to learn the trick of _reading_ information from data disks with TK and had done so before Sylvie had given the important information to Priss. The disk had contained _complete_ information about 33-S construction, repair and, if necessary, how to make them self-sufficient. With his boosted mind and perfect memory, Twister had quickly found a way to keep Sylvie alive, but unconscious with his TK. When he had done so, he had waited for the Knight Sabers to leave before teleporting her to his underground lair where she now lay asleep, but repaired, until he awoke her. Anri would soon be joining her as Twister repaired what needed to be done to keep her alive, but unconscious. He then waited for Priss to be blown out by Largo's punch and for Largo to leave. Twister teleported both Anri and himself to where Sylvie lay and placed Anri beside her before returning to Quincy's destroyed office. *Whew. Tough part's done.* He looked around in his cloaked state. *Boy, they really did a number on this place.* His eyes were drawn to the shattered screens on the wall. *That must be where Largo displayed his power by...destroying...killing...all...those...people.* Twister's mind went blank when he realized what Largo had done and that _he_ had practically allowed him to do so. *No...* The reality of the situation hit Twister hard then. Thousands had died because he hadn't been smart enough to think of a way to beat Largo _before_ this happened. He had unconsciously gone back to thinking that this was just anime again and he could very well have prevented it. A little time passed before a thunderclap brought him out of his shocked state and he heard Largo's cry of pain. *Largo.* Twister clenched his fists. *Largo!* He started walking towards the hole in the wall, cloak turned off, and eyes burning coldly azure through his black visor. When he reached the hole, he saw the object of his ice-cold hate and heard the last words said. "...I demand in atonement...death." Sylia and the others had just arrived to help Priss and now Sylia was supporting her as they all heard Largo's sentence of doom. The remains of the three Hyperboomers Priss and the autodroid had destroyed smoked where they lay. Sylia turned to Linna to shout an order. "Linna!" Just as Linna and Nene started to aim the giant weapon they had brought along, the battleground echoed with an arctic shout. "LARGO!" The voice boomed across the platform and all eyes, including Largo's, went to see the Crystal Knight standing in the hole Priss had made when Largo had punched her through the wall. Glowing blue eyes none of them had ever seen before were focused coldly upon the being that was Largo. Largo laughed. "So. Another worm has come to be WHOMPH!" Whatever Largo had been about to say was cut short as the Crystal Knight flew towards and tackled the would-be god with the speed and power of a missile. Together, they quickly fell over the ledge of the tower. "H-how did he move t-that fast without jets?" Priss managed to get out. She was recovering, but she would likely be hurting for a week from tonight's battle. "I don't..." Sylia started to say. Suddenly, the two figures of Largo and the Crystal Knight shot back up into view. They were spinning wildly for some reason, then stopped rising and began to arc back down to earth. *He's keeping Largo disoriented and busy so he doesn't fire the satellite!* Sylia realized. *But what is the Knight using for propulsion?* Linna called out, "We've got the lock, Sylia! Should we..?" "Yes! Fire!" A button was pushed and the giant cannon fired. The blue bolt sought out it's target that lived in the sky and destroyed it utterly. The airborne duo stopped spinning when the bolt was fired and the Knight Sabers could see the Crystal Knight holding Largo in front of him as the two plummeted down to the ground. Largo's remaining arm was almost in position to destroy the Knight when he was slammed with terrific force on the metal floor, creating a man-sized dent. To add further punishment, the Knight's legs dropped down with metal-crushing force as they propelled the armoured figure away by using Largo as a springboard. "AAAAARGH!" Largo had been damaged even more by the Knight's assault, but he was still operational and dangerous. He glared at his enemies as he slowly regained his feet. "So...you destroyed my satellite, but there are more that I can control. All you have bought is time. Time until another of my children lie above your heads!" During Largo's hate-filled speech, the Crystal Knight had formed one of his crystal swords. Strangely, by the time Largo finished, the sword was glowing brightly. The Knight said nothing save his next attack. "ICEBLADE STRIKE!" With the same uncanny speed the he had shown before, the Crystal Knight threw his sword with such force that it seemed that one moment it was in his hands... The next embedded in Largo's torso, driving the once-human backwards. "Urk! Ah..ha...ha...ha ha hah ahahaha!" Largo threw back his head and laughed maliciously. "Is that the best you can do, Crystal Knight?" He grinned mockingly at Sylia. "None of you can truly destroy me! I AM A GOD!" The Crystal Knight hadn't moved since his last attack on Largo. All he said, in a cool tone, was: "Wait for it." "What?!" Largo suddenly looked down. Contrary to all his previous information, the crystalline sword was not dissolving. Instead, the bright blue energy that the sword held was beginning to spread from where the sword had been driven through his body. And where it spread a cold fog formed and drifted to the ground. Largo's cybernetic eyes widened as he realized what was happening to him. In desperation, he grabbed the hilt of the sword with his remaining hand in an attempt to remove the sword. And succeeded. Unfortunately, the sword's handle began spreading the blue glow into Largo's hand, which instantly became unresponsive and continued it's deadly grip. Without another arm, Largo was helpless as the blue energy, somehow attracted to where the blade had struck before, flowed up his arm and down towards his legs. "NO! This is IMPOSSIBLE!" Largo said in futile rage, trying to throw the blade away and failing as his arm quickly stiffened, fog rolling down off it. A blue-pink hardsuit walked up beside Sylia and Priss. "What is the Knight doing to him?" Nene asked no one in particular. Priss had to chuckle. "He's using the phrase 'Chill, dude.' to the max." "Chill...? Oh!" Wide-eyed, Nene turned back to watch. It was almost over. Fog was rolling off Largo everywhere and the blue glow was finally reaching the top of his neck. He would have fired his mouth-cannon, but he had been so preoccupied in trying to get rid of the sword that, by the time Largo had thought of taking his enemies with him, it was too late for the cannon was non-operational now. Largo tried a desperate ploy, in a passionate tone he called out mentally to Sylia, thinking that perhaps he could use her to convince the Knight to stop. She was startled, both by the contact and the content. Normally Twister would not use telepathy as he had never used it on people or ever wanted to, just the form he used with computers. But as he had heard Largo and Sylia's sendings, a faint surprise, he felt a reply was in order. The Knight's cold mental voice came in, cutting off any chances of escape. The blue glow had almost reached Largo's head. Largo's head was swallowed swiftly by the glow and fog hid his entire body. Suddenly, the sword Largo held shattered and a wave of blue energy spread from the hand to the entire body, leaving a startling form behind. Largo was still as a statue now as his body temperature had been reduced to absolute zero. His arm was half-raised by his side and a mask of hate forever frozen on his face. The Knight Sabers gazed at their enemy before a shot from above rang out and Largo shattered into little pieces that would now stay inert of life. They looked up and saw Leon with a satisfied smile on his face. Warily, they turned to the Crystal Knight. Twister's eyes were back to normal and he was dead tired from the amount of energy it had taken to take Largo's formidable heating systems down beyond a temperature that they could not handle. His helmeted head hung wearily as he regained some measure of strength to teleport noisily with a bang. The Knight Sabers looked over the city as Leon left in his chopper. "Well..._that_ was satisfying," Linna stated. "_Weird_ is what _I_ would say," said Nene as she looked disgustingly at the frozen, shattered remains of Largo. "Good riddance," Priss said firmly. Sylia was silent before raising her palm blaster at Largo's remains. With one shot, the pieces of Largo were either vaporized or thrown over the side of Genom Tower. She turned to their transportation. "Let's go home." Priss silently looked over the city for a second longer. *Sylvie... Anri...* Resolutely, she closed her helmet and followed her teammates and friends. Twister was in his armor as he stood by the still forms of Sylvie and Anri. Just thinking over what he had done. *I killed him. I killed him and...I guess I don't feel any remorse over it. I think that...I would have if it wasn't for one thing that I saw.* He nodded to himself. *Yes. Definitely that.* He remembered again what he had seen. The look of hatred and pure evil in Largo's frozen eyes. Two days later, a meeting was interrupted by a call from an astonished Doctor Raven in his garage. He had refused to elaborate why, but he insisted that they all come down to his garage to look at something the Crystal Knight had brought. _That_ got everyone's attention and now Sylia, Priss, Nene, Linna, and Mackie were almost at Doc. Raven's. Priss was, of course, on her motorcycle and saw the Crystal Knight, in his Blue Bullet outfit, leaning on the outside of the garage. The helmet turned at Priss and the other's arrival. "Ah! You're here, Priss. We and Doctor Raven were wondering how long it would take for you to make it." His voice was _very_ cheerful and it sounded like he was about to start laughing. "'We'?" Priss asked as the Bullet waved his hand to signal someone inside the garage. Mackie and the Knight Saber's jaws all dropped as an impossibly alive, smiling widely, Sylvie and Anri walked out with Doctor Raven smiling behind them. "Yup. I'd say 'we' would fit." The Bullet chuckled. "You can close your mouth now, Priss." Priss did so, leaped off her bike, and embraced the two friends she had thought lost forever to form a Joyously Crying Trio. Lifting her head she dazedly asked, "How....?" "You can do wonders with scotch tape nowadays. Didn't you know?" That got some glares from Priss and the two Sexaroids. "Okay, okay! Kidding! Sheesh!" More calmly he said, "I prevented them from dying in the _first_ place and fixed them up when I got back from...Genom tower." "Prevented them...?" Realization dawned on Priss. "You _knew_ Sylvie was alive?! _Why_ didn't you say so?" She looked furious. Soberly, the Bullet answered, "I had my reasons. If I had, _Anri_ might have died in a way I couldn't have known about." The tone in his voice stopped any reply Priss was going to make. That got Sylia's attention. "You _knew_ what would happen?" she said skeptically. "Why do you think I was so angry at Largo?" the Bullet quietly answered. He shook his helmet. "Anyways, I'll leave you guys now to enjoy a 'precious moment' together. Ta." He leapt onto his blue bike. Before going away, he turned to face Linna and said, "Visions of the past shall come." He accelerated away before she could respond to that. Everyone watched the departing figure go. "That guy is _weird_," Linna said as she wondered what the Bullet had meant by that. "He has a nice body though," mused Nene. "Nene!" Linna and Priss shouted crossly. Sylvie grabbed Anri and Priss's hands. "I had thought I would never see either of you again." Tears shone in her eyes. "Thanks to _him_, Anri and I are finally free." She smiled at Anri. "Apparently, he made the adjustments to me that _you_ already have so we truly _are_ free now." "But where will they go? Won't they need some sort of job where they won't be looked down on if people find out who they really are?" Linna asked worriedly. Priss, Sylvie, and Anri looked a little worried as well. "I have an idea!" Nene brightly said. The others started to smile as she told them it. Darlene was busily working in her store the next day. *Gah. This is really starting to drive me nuts.* Business was really starting to pick up at her store. *I guess I should think about hiring someone to help me, but who can I really trust in this town?* She sighed as the door rang to announce more customers. Looking up, Darlene got a pleasant surprise. "Sylvie!" She acted surprised. "I thought you had left somewhere since I haven't seen you around." Priss and the others had never mentioned Sylvie's death to Darlene. "I just got back." Sylvie replied smiling. "Darlene, this is my friend Anri." Anri was looking at the inside of the store in rapturous wonder. She had never seen anything like it before. It was beautiful. "Hello." Darlene looked at Priss and Nene who had come in with the pair. "Where you all looking for something to buy in particular?" She said in a mock sourly-nasal-department-employee voice. Nene spoke up. "You said you were being kept very busy in the store. Right?" Darlene nodded and Nene smiled happily. "Why don't you hire Sylvie and Anri then? They could use the job." Nene and Anri looked imploringly at Darlene while Sylvie looked anxious and Priss calm. Darlene blinked in surprise. "Huh?" Then her look turned thoughtful. "I _was_ thinking about that a minute ago come to think of it." She thought a little longer and then smiled. "Why not? You're both hired." She got enthusiastic hugs and a happy "Thank you!" from Sylvie and Anri, causing Darlene to blush fiercely. Priss and Nene smiled. "There's also something else..." Priss said, a little hesitently. Darlene blinked and looked at the singer. Priss? Hesistent? "What?" "Well..." Chapter Eight ------------- Darlene woke up bearily since she still hadn't quite recovered from Largo's deep freezing and fixing the two Sexaroids. With the long practiced ease of habit, she got out, took off her clothes, and went to the bathroom to take a nice, long, _hot_ shower. Head down, lacking the energy and inclination to raise it. She always stayed in female form at home in case she had to answer a vid-phone for anything or anything else unexpected that she had to do personally. *Need to eat a lot. I haven't been lately and that fight with the Largo and his minon drained me since I guess I was low to start with.* She was inside the bathroom before it registered that the shower was _already_ on. Surprised, Darlene lifted her head and saw, through the glass paneled doors, an amused and naked _Sylvie_ who was holding the removable shower head. "Forget that we were here?" she smiled. Darlene then remembered that she had agreed, *Stupidly,* to let Sylvie and Anri stay at _Darlene's_ place, in the guest room, until they could find a closer, available apartment near the store. Turning quickly around, Darlene stammered out, "Uh, r-right! Sorry about this." Her face was red. *What was I THINKING?!?!? ARGH! My brain must've been out of commission or something!* Actually, it had been semi-active when Priss and the others had come back late last night after unsuccessfully finding a place for Sylvie and Arni to stay that was near Darlene's store. Priss and Nene had hinted they might not be able to earlier, but weren't quite sure. Nene had said it would be _much_ better if they could temperarily stay at Darlene's place since her place was big enough and asked if they could. Being half-awake is not a good condition to be able to refuse Nene. "No problem," Sylvie chuckled. "I'm done now anyway. I'll leave the shower on then." Wetly, she stepped out of the shower. Carefully, Darlene avoided her hot water covered body, quite a feat while not looking at Sylvie. "I'll wait till you go. I'm a little more...bashful about things like that." "You don't have anything to be bashful about. You have a wonderful body," Sylvie commented as she dried herself off and chuckled as Darlene's blush was becoming critical. She left, closing the door. Calming down, Darlene locked the door and sighed. *Just great. Juuuust great.* Refreshed from the shower, and using cold water to change back to female form, Darlene cautiously went back to her room and dressed before going to the kitchen. Anri and Sylvie were eating leftovers, which Darlene recalled she had from last night. They looked up when they heard Darlene approach and smiled. "We were hungry so we helped ourselves. I hope you don't mind. The food you prepared last night was delicious so we couldn't resist," Sylvie apologized. Darlene waved a hand in acceptance. "Feel free with the food. I eat a heck of a lot by myself sometimes so you two won't hurt me at all." Anri smiled. "Thank you, Darlene." They all started eating again, Darlene much faster about it, while Anri and Sylvie were told all the things that Darlene did to keep the store running. Since Darlene was realitively new at the business game herself she wasn't completely sure about how much to pay the two new employees of hers and confessed this fact as they cleaned up after breakfast. "We don't need much right now," Sylvie comforted Darlene. "Well, I'm _making_ plenty right now because of the dragon statues still." She shook her head. "I've raised the prices _six_ times now and people are _still_ buying them quickly. The people who buy them just get richer it seems as word gets around." "That's good," Anri commented as she rinsed off plates with a water sprayer before putting them into the dishwasher. Darlene took note of this fact. "Is that cold or hot water, Anri?" "Hot. Why?" Anri asked curiously as she turned towards Darlene, distracted by the question and forgetting that she was still holding the sprayer handle firmly. "ANRI! Noooooo!" The water hit Darlene in the face and changed her back to male form. Fortunately, he still enchanted his clothes out of habit so he didn't rip his clothing apart as they changed with him. However, both Anri and Sylvie were both staring at the now, much taller, _male_ Twister. "D-d-darlene?" Sylvie stammered out. Anri was still spraying Twister in shock. Sighing, Twister TK'ed the water valve shut and he stopped getting hit by water. The clothes were waterproof, thankfully. "Twister is what I usually call myself. Surprise." He added sourly, "I should've _known_ that would happen sooner or later." "_That's_ why you were blushing in the bathroom?" Sylvie got out as she and Anri slowly recovered from the incredible transformation. "Yup." "But _how_ did you _do_ that??" Anri blurted out. "Something I picked up in the crazy life I've had for the last year or so. Might as well show you the rest." A darkness shrouded Twister's form and before Sylvie and Anri could react, it dissipated. Anri gasped. "You?!" The Crystal Knight stood before them in black and silver crystalline armour. "The Master of Scotch Tape. That's me." The modulated voice sighed before the darkness reappeared and left Twister behind this time. Sylvie was struggling with all this. "_You_ saved our lives?" She remembered something and stared at the sprayer Anri was still holding. "How did the water get shut off?" "Telekinesis." Twister shrugged. "I have quite a few powers of the mind in this form." He jumped up, flipped, and used his levitation to stand on the ceiling. Smirking upside down at the two stunned visitors, Twister went on. "Levitation's handy too. I also have a few other powers I don't use as much." Twister smiled at the two Sexariods after jumping back down to the floor again. "So you see, we _all_ kind of have things to hide." Anri and Sylvie had sat on the table chairs again to try to digest this new information while Twister went to the cold water tap and splashed some on himself to change into a more familiar form for the two confused girls. They both seemed to accept it at the same time and looked in wonder at the now female Darlene "It's just incredible..." said Sylvie, then her eyebrows came down with puzzlement. "What did you mean by 'in this form'?" "Ahh..." Darlene decided not to mention the magic part of her powers right now. "I can't use psionics when I'm female." Sylvie nodded. "I see. But still..." "Yeah. It is weird, but that's the way I am now. Hm..." Darlene decided to tell them her story, edited and altered so that the two listening would believe her. After all, a story with demons, spirit dragons, and magic would not be very believable to people living in a high-tech world, even though it was true. "Now... Where shall I begin...?" *Ahh... _Much_ better. Those two learn fast, but then again, so do I.* With her two new employees, the store was much easier to run and became more enjoyable to work in. Anri seemed to never tire of looking at the store's interior between tasks. Sylvie took her work more seriously, but seemed to enjoy working in the store with her two friends. The addition of two more beautiful women working in the store seemed to attract more male customers too. Two familiar figures entered the store. *Hm? I wonder what Leon and Daley are doing here? Then again, I don't think they've ever been in here before.* Darlene decided to personally check this out. She walked up to the two partners. "Well, finally decided to come to my store, guys?" Leon had been introduced to Darlene at Hot Legs while trying to get, unsuccessfully, a date with Priss. Depressed, he had ordered a drink and had brightened a little when she had given him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. He had tried to ask _her_ out on a date to which Darlene had arched an eyebrow and said that he _must_ have been drinking too much. Leon had scoffed at that and indeed, he was having his first drink that night. With a wicked gleam in his eye, he had challenged Darlene that she had no way of being able to handle more than a couple of drinks. Needless to say, Darlene was a little miffed at that, even though she had never really _had_ much, if at all, experience drinking and, like all newcomers to the art of drinking booze, defiantly accepted Leon's challenge without much thought. She declared for a drink-off and that the loser paid the tab. Leon had arched his eyebrows. "You sure about that?" He had eyed her obviously small body weight. "Yes!" Darlene had sat down opposite Leon at the table he was sitting at. Daley had accompanied Leon that day, and Nene, Priss and Linna, Darlene. Priss had left to get ready for the stage and so was absent. Daley, Nene, and Linna, were worriedly looking at Darlene, wondering how to stop her, but it was too late already because a crowd had gathered to watch this small woman get drunk. Darlene had ordered, and started on, one extra glass of what Leon had to even things up. Tears formed in her eyes at the unaccustomed strong booze. Leon looked a little concerned, but Darlene just waved to continue as she struggled for breath. Unfortunately for Leon, while he was an accomplished drinker, Darlene had an advantage of her incredible metabolism and stamina given by the result of the Event, that which had given her her powers. _He_ was the one beginning to noticibly become drunk before Darlene was. The glasses were blurring before his eyes as Darlene finally started showing the effects the drinks were having on her. She was fairly drunk by the time Leon fell face first onto the table. Daley was amused at the scene while Linna and Nene were surprised at their friend's resilience. Darlene had obviously never done this much drinking before. "How did you manage that?" Nene had giggled as she glanced at the unconscious Leon. Voice slurring, Darlene had replied, "_I_ have been thought...taught by the housh of the Anything-Gosh Martial Artsh. _Believe_ mesh, that takesh a _lotsh_ of staminash." She had peered at Linna. "Ish that you Nabiki? Making betsh on the shide I bet." Darlene had started giggling uncontrollably then. Trying to stand up, she had accidently broken the table in half when she had dropped a fist down on it. Hard. Daley had quickly lifted Leon backwards as he regarded Darlene with a _lot_ of respect. "Oops. Goodsh thing I'm not ash Boomer, huh? Bulletsh all oversh the placesh." Darlene peered at the slumped Leon in his chair. "We'd better getsh him home..." Before anybody could object, Darlene had grabbed the out cold Leon, easily draped him across her shoulder, and drunkenly started towards the exit. Blinking, Daley had started after the drunken pair with Nene and Linna close behind. Fortunately, they had intercepted Darlene before she got away from them outside and got Leon away from her. She had _then_ started bouncing happily up and down. Five feet high into the air that is. Linna had finally calmed down her friend after a time and got her meekly into her van. Daley had whispered to Nene, "_Where_ does that girl _come_ from?? The Tribe of the Amazons?" "Umm...sorta," was Nene's weak reply before she ran to get into Linna's car. Daley had shook his head at the unconscious Leon at his feet. "Ah... My favorite dream. Oh, well." Daley hefted Leon and dragged him home. As they drove away, with Darlene snickering for some reason in the back, Nene had breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew. That was close." "I wonder what Darlene was talking about... Well, it could have been worse," Linna had said. "Hm?" "Both Darlene and _you_ could've been drunk. Now _that_ would've been worse," Linna had said in a matter-of-fact voice. The inside of the van had been filled with the indignant protests of Nene for the next ten minutes after that. *Sometimes, having a perfect memory in my male form can be _bad_,* Darlene thought as she greeted Leon and Daley. She recalled everything she had done and had blushed for a week after whenever Nene or Linna had brought up the drinking escapade. Needless to say, she hadn't had any alcohol after that. Leon smiled at Darlene. "We just got off duty and thought we'd check out your place. Nene's been talking quite a bit about it." Daley whistled as he got a good look at the interior of the store. "_Lovely_ place you have here. That dragon gave us a loop though." "Oh, Charcoal you mean? He tends to do that." Darlene looked down. "You can put the gun _away_ now, Leon." Startled, Leon realized that he had instinctively drawn his gun when he had seen the lifelike dragon and had unconsciously held on to it. With a sheepish smile he put the gun away. "Heh, heh. Sorry." " 'Salright. You should've seen Priss when she saw him the first time. Backed up in a hurry I can tell you." Darlene chuckled. "See anything you want?" She saw the gleam in Leon's eye and added, "I mean _inanimate_ objects, Leon." Sighing, Leon looked around and saw smaller versions of the dragon that had so spooked him before covering a wall of the store. Raising his eyebrows, he walked over to the display. "Ahh... So _this_ is where Nene got that statue on her desk." He looked at the prices and his eyes widened. "I didn't know she was getting so well paid." "I gave her one as a gift when I opened, but you _are_ right, they are a little expensive." Darlene sighed. "I had to raise the prices several times before they were being sold at a comfortable rate." Her eyes narrowed as she saw Daley closely examining the shoppers in the store. Darlene stepped close to Leon and whispered, "All right. What's going on?" He started to protest, but she cut him off. "Daley's being a _bit_ too curious about my customers. Spill it." "I can tell you've been around Priss," grumbled Leon. He gave in with a sigh as she continued to stare at him. "We got an anonymous report that a Boomer was going to go rogue around this area. Since it was a busy part of the day we didn't want to alarm anyone if it turned out to be a false alarm." "Oh, greaaat." Darlene's mystic senses had become fairly good as a result of her few months of magical training in Ranma's universe and she had discovered that she could sense the difference between Boomers and humans a few weeks ago. She scanned her customers with it. Nothing. "It's not here Leon." "Now how can you be sure...?" Daley came over, shaking his head, causing Leon to grin. "Now that's just luck." "Heh." Darlene smirked at his skepticism and then frowned as her Crystal Knight armour, in it's invisible pendant form, flashed her a brief mental image of a newly revealed Boomer that appeared to be in an area near her store. "I think it just showed up." "You can't be..." Leon and Daley's ADPolice beepers started going off which indicated that the Boomer they were seeking had indeed appeared. They traded incredulous looks before they rushed out of the store. Darlene herself went to the back and told Sylvie to mind the store while she was taking a 'Knight' off. Sylvie smothered a smile as she saw Darlene walk into a storage room and close the door. Since it _was_ a busy time of day, Leon and Daley got to where the Boomer had showed itself just in time to see the Crystal Knight quickly finish it off by a sword thrust through it's head. Daley sighed and turned to Leon. "Did you ever feel superfluous?" Leon was not paying attention to his partner but rather looking at a young girl who lay on the street near the downed Boomer. Everybody else on the street had been able to get away from the Boomer with only minor injuries except her. The blood seeping out of her side indicated that her wound was serious and a police medic was going over her carefully. When Leon came near, the medic shook his head quietly. The girl was conscious and looked at Leon. She smiled sadly. "I'm dying, I guess, from the doctor's look, aren't I?" Leon's silence confirmed it and she weakly started crying. "Damn, damn, damn... I don't want to die." She stopped crying when a shadow hid the sun from her eyes and saw the Crystal Knight above her. She tried to smile again. "You're that Crystal Knight guy. I guess you got here a little too late." A modulated voice quietly, but fiercely, said, "It's _never_ too late." The Knight knelt by the girl's side and grabbed an arm. "_Never_." Glowing blue, the black gauntlet gripped the arm tightly and a barely visible blue luminance spread from the point the gauntlet touched. Quickly, it reached the wound and, before Leon's wide eyes, started closing it until all that there was left was a white scar. Sounding tired, the Knight stood up from a now much stronger girl, who was staring in wonder at the dark and shining figure in the sunlight, and said a third time, "Never." He walked into the shadows and disappeared before Leon thought to stop him. Leon called out for the medic again and the grumpy man came over. The grumpy look vanished as he saw the healed wound on the girl and quickly re-examined the girl. He shook his head in disbelief when he was done. "She should be dying from internal hemmoriging, but...it looks as if its all been fixed and everything back to normal. I don't know _how_ but she's perfectly healthy now." The medic shook his head in wonder. "What did this is beyond me." "But not the Knight apparently," Leon mused softly to himself. He hardly believed it himself and he had seen it happen with his own eyes. "Looks like he's more than just a guy in a fancy outfit, hmm?" Daley was no less amazed than Leon, but decided not to show it overtly. He had witnessed the miracle as well from a position behind Leon and had been silent the whole time. Leon tried to discount that theory immediately. "Or it could all be another trick of that 'fancy outfit'. Who knows?" He smiled down at an immensely happy, now recovered girl. "At least it worked, whatever it was." The girl smiled back up at Leon. The next day, Leon left a message on Darlene's answering machine asking if she would like a tour of the ADPolice building for her 'willing cooperation' in he and Daley's intrusion of her store. Darlene had raised an eyebrow at what might be an unsubtle attempt to likely get Darlene on a date, but decided to take him up on the offer since she was curious about the building that Nene worked in. Leaving Sylvie and Anri in charge, Darlene took the bus and went downtown. She got off a fair distance away because Darlene didn't really hadn't been downtown that much and relished a chance to walk a bit to stretch her legs. A delicious looking merague pie caught her attention from a store window and Darlene couldn't resist buying it for later. Eventually, Darlene reached ADPolice headquarters, got a visitor's pass from a smiling girl in front, and ascended to Leon's floor in the elevator. Spying Leon leaning back in his chair, Darlene quietly chuckled and silently walked towards from behind him as stealthily as one trained in martial arts could. Other people behind their desks noticed her going towards the object of her attention and smothered their laughter as they figured out what Darlene was planning. Leon was musing over a case he was working on at the moment and also wondering if Darlene would accept that invitation today or not. He sighed sorrowfully as Leon didn't figure that he would be that lucky. *Then again, the Chief Lardass over in his Royal Office isn't exactly in a good mood today.* "Hi, Leon!" "Wha..wha...whaaaaaahhh!" Leon overbalanced the chair he was leaning in and he tipped over rapidly until the floor graciously broke his fall. "Whomph!" He stared up at a grinning Darlene after recovering his breath. "You came!" Smirking, Darlene watched Leon pick himself up from the floor. "What? Is someone curious about the ADPolice accepting an invitation of yours so rare?" "Ah...no." Noticing that his fellow co-workers were in various stages of hilarity, Leon shouted at them, "Can I have a _private_ conversation with a guest?!" After a few snickers, everybody went back to their paperwork and Leon turned to a innocently smiling Darlene with a sigh and a smile. "Shall we begin?" "Certai..." Darlene was cut off by a bellow from a glass enclosed office, which shook from the volume of the shout, with the door open and it's angry occupant visible through it. "LEON!! Get your sorry butt in here NOW!" "Damn," Leon muttered softly before turning with a exasperated expression to Darlene. "I'll be right back. Don't go away." Flashing a smile at her, he went to face his angry boss. Leon entered the office and went over to the side of the room so Darlene had a clear view of both Leon and his Chief through the door. "What's the problem _this_ time...sir?" The Chief was _definitely_ not in a good mood today. "Problem?! I'll _tell_ you what the problem is you young _punk_! This is a _police_ station! Not some place where you can bring some brainless _bimbo_ in to impress them! This a place for _serious_ police busine..." An airborne missile unerringly interrupted the Chief with a big SPLUT! when it hit his face dead on. Leon had been about to angrily retort about the 'bimbo' remark when the missile had startled him into silence. He cautiously peered around the entrance to see a tight-lipped, narrow-eyed Darlene advancing angrily towards the Chief's office while bringing her arm back down after throwing her merague pie at the Chief. The look in her eye made him keep _very_ silent and out of the way as she walked up to stand in front of the Chief's desk. *Hell hath no fury...* The Chief finally got his eyes clear of the pie's filling and angrily opened them. "Garh! Who the blazes...?" The sight of Darlene standing in front of his desk in an obvious and barely restrained rage startled him a bit, but not much. "Do you know the penalties for..." "...calling someone a...'bimbo' was it?" Darlene interrupted the Chief with deceptive calm. "I'd say a pie in the face and losing the use of one desk will do." Before the Chief could comment, Darlene raised her right hand and with a, "HIIII-YAH!!!", brought it down on the Chief's big, sturdy desk. Breaking it in half. Dusting her hand off, Darlene addressed the Chief once more. "Anything else?" Her narrowed eyes disagreed with her question. The Chief stared down at the two halves of his once whole desk in shock. He slowly looked up at the small woman who had accomplished the deed and was defiantly staring at him with anger in her eyes. Leon was quicker to unfreeze and grabbed Darlene hurriedly before dragging her reluctant form out the door. "I think we'd better start that tour now and let the Chief...ah...recover." Glancing at the broken desk and the still stunned Chief with pie still on his face, Leon smirked inwardly. *I wish I had a camera...* "You broke his desk in _half_??" Nene said, undecided whether to stare in horror or giggle. Giggling won. Leon's tour had brought them quickly to where Nene worked and Darlene had filled her, and a curious Naoko, in to what had happened earlier. Darlene was unrepentant. "Yup, and proud of it after _that_ remark." She snorted slightly. "He wasn't exactly in the best of moods today," Leon smirked. "But somehow I think he'll have cooled off a bit now. Probably from the pie. Where did you learn how to do that with the desk anyway, Darlene?" "Um... Oh, a long time ago, Leon. I don't use it much," Darlene nervously said. Nene blinked behind her desk at this comment. Leon grinned down at a now fidgeting Darlene. "I seem to recall Daley mention you doing something similar after that contest when I was...er...out. I didn't believe him then, but now..." He let the unfinished statement trail off. "Well..." Fortunately, the aforementioned Daley poked his head into the office and spied his partner. "Hey, Leon! There's some trouble in district 23 and we need you." "Argh!" Leon wiped a grimace off his face and smiled at the three girls. "Oh, well, duty calls! Could you help Darlene get out, Nene? Thanks!" Before Nene could respond, Leon ran out of the office. Darlene gave a sigh of relief. *Whew.* However, Nene had gotten out of her chair and was now standing beside Darlene. Nene whispered to Darlene, "Have you got your memory back? I just realized I never really asked you about that before." "Ah...Yes, but I don't think now is the time to discuss it. Please? Later?" "Sure." Nene nodded eagerly and Darlene had to smile at that. Not wanting to be left out, Naoko came closer to join the two's quiet conversation. "Say, Nene. Did you want you invite your friend with us to the concert next month? I should be able to get three tickets." Naoko smiled at Darlene. "One more person should make it even more fun." "Did you want to come, Darlene?" "Sure. I'd heard Vision was coming and was thinking about it myself." "Great! I'll make the arrangements!" Naoko beamed. "And as an added bonus...why don't you come by my store and pick out a dragon as a gift? That is...if you want to." _That_ widened Naoko's eyes. "_You're_ the one who owns that store everybody's talking about? Oh, _great_!" This was news to Darlene. "I didn't think it was that well known." "Oh, sure! Those dragons, like the one you gave Nene, are beautiful!" Darlene sighed mentally. *So much for low profile.* Chapter Nine ------------ In a dark place, hidden deep under Mega-Tokyo, three forms suddenly began to stir as power returned to the darkened room in which they lay. The room was large and contained cutting edge and revolutionary equipment in front of and within it's walls. The owner of the room had been very careful about it's secrecy and the location of this place could never be divulged from those who had constructed it. They had not left alive. All eyes opened simultaneously on those now awakened and they quickly sat up from their horizontal positions on the metal platforms upon which they lay. A screen lit up in their field of vision and three pairs of eyes regarded the message that flashed there. ------------------------------------------------------------------ TIME DELAY ACTIVATION HAS BEEN COMPLETED. CAUSE FOR ACTIVATION: SIGNAL TERMINATED DUE TO DESTRUCTION OF MASTER UNIT. ACTION RECOMMENDED: CREATE NEW UNIT IMMEDIATELY WITH COMPLETE MEMORY ENGRAM. MEMORY RECORDING OF MASTER UNIT UP TO TERMINATION READY IN MEMORY STORAGE AND PREPARED FOR NEW UNIT TO REVIEW. ORDERS: AWAKEN THE TRUE LEADER OF BOOMERKIND. AWAKEN...LARGO. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Seeing this, the three clones of Largo got off their metal beds and scanned the room. Despite appearances they were similar to Largo only in that they possessed the knowledge and experience he had. Their structure made them stronger than an ordinary 55-C class Boomer but far from Largo's level. As well, the clones had not been fully engrammed with Brian J. Mason's thought patterns. Each had only been capable of receiving portions of Mason's full personality, so as to not become a threat. Largo had preferred them this way, only Boomers with parts of his mind were worthy enough to protect his future existence. They had been programmed to obey his wishes without question and, in the _very_ unlikely case of his demise, his successor. Unfortunately for Largo, he had changed his thinking and began to think of himself as invincible and decided the clones unnecessary. He never finished the vital part of his future resurrection. And so left them, forgotten. This his clones did not know. "So Largo has been defeated," muttered Clone One. "Unbelievable," Clone Two remarked. Each clone's personality was different from the other as a result of the different portions of Mason's mind they received. "It must be so for us to have awakened now. Now we must prepare to awaken our creator again," Clone Three commanded. "His new body will be even _more_ perfec..." He stopped as he saw that the fourth metal bed was empty. The other two followed their companion's gaze. This was the vital part Largo never completed. "There's nothing here!" cried out a dismayed Clone Two. "But we _must_ awaken him immediately!" The programming within each of them demanded this and failure to comply with their directives would cause all three to shut down. Largo had planned for his clones to use a duplicate body of himself to place the original engram of Mason into and then feed in his memories up to his destruction in order to be reborn. Since there was no body, his clones now faced a dilemma. "Can one of us be the new body?" queried Clone One. After quickly checking with the room's computer, Clone Three shook his head. "Not possible. Our construction was not intended for full memory engram impression." Feeling the conflict starting within him, Clone Two looked around desperately. "There has to be _something_ we can do! Isn't there anything here that _can_ store a full memory engram?" "I don't see how..." Clone One spotted something on one wall that caught his attention. Walking up to it, he read the label and smiled. The other two watched as he pressed a sequence of buttons on a panel and a rectangle came out of the wall, mist swirling about it. Clone Three walked up to the clearing, transparent covering and looked at what lay inside the box. After raising an eyebrow, he slowly nodded to the others' relief. "Yes. I believe this have will do..." A few days later.... Nene was wondering at her dining companion's reactions as she ate what was in front of her with half a mind. Darlene had invited Nene to have dinner with her, Sylvie, and Anri. While they all ate, the others were being unusually quiet and somewhat distracted. Darlene especially for some reason. *This isn't like them at all...* Nene mused to herself. *It must have something to do with Darlene's past since that's what she said she was going to tell me tonight.* Nene ate some more of the delicious meal as she thought on. *She must have told Sylvie and Anri since _they_ seem awfully quiet too. What could it be to worry _them_? I hope it's not bad.* With a sigh, Darlene stood up from her almost finished meal and walked over to where Nene sat. "I think I'd better do this in a place where you will believe me." Glancing at her two employees, she smiled. "I'm sure you two can keep yourselves busy. Thank goodness you two found a new place to live in, you _are_ a little loud." While Sylvie and Anri blushed, Nene too when she realized what Darlene meant, Darlene motioned a confused Nene to stand up. When she did, Nene was startled by a mysterious darkness that surrounded Darlene before disappearing to reveal something _truly_ shocking. Nene's jaw dropped at what she saw. Standing close beside her, the Crystal Knight waved a hand and both he and Nene vanished from the apartment. They reappeared somewhere Nene had never been before: Twister's underground lair. The darkness returned and left again, leaving Darlene behind this time, who regarded Nene carefully. She seemed rather lacking in words for the moment and just stood immobile, slowly looking around herself. *Hm. Maybe just a tad too much to take in at once,* Darlene mused. *Oh, well. Better get what I need to show Nene my other side.* As she left to get some hot water from the kitchen she had long ago made for convenience, Darlene reflected upon the decor of her underground home and decided Nene's shock was understandable. She had practiced both minor enchantments and TK when she had spare time available to decorate the place. The results were a little mind-boggling as walls had been etched with TK's incredible detail and colored a bit with various metals, crystals, and magic. Scenes of knights fighting dragons were placed beside ones of the Knight Sabers fighting Boomers; a somewhat amusing sight for Darlene whenever she looked at this. Furniture had mixtures of mind and magic elements in their creation as well. For example, a padded chair would conform itself to the seated form and would massage the body to relax that person. Walking back and seeing Nene still staring around at everything, Darlene gently guided her into one of the massaging chairs which immediately started up, relaxing the stiff Nene. She slowly came out of her shock as Darlene watched her silently. Nene looked up at her friend's face. "Wha...wha...what did you _do_ Darlene?!" she stammered out. "Teleportation." Not exactly happy with that reply, Nene burst out, "Not _that_!" How can you be the Crystal Knight?! As the Blue Bullet he's definitely a _guy_. There's no way you can be..." Darlene poured some of the hot water on herself and changed into male form. "Presto chango. Instant guy." Twister had to grin a little, it was a rare occasion that he told someone about his sex-changing voluntarily. Nene was understandably stunned. "How...?" "Well...remember how you met me?" Nene nodded. "Um...I'm not from this universe and that's where I appeared...without my memory because of something that happened in the universe I was chucked out of." His companion was wide-eyed at this. "Another _universe_?? Oh, wow! Is everyone there both male and female?" Twister's amused snort signaled the negative. "Ah, no, Nene. It was something...strange that someone used on me." Twister supposed he had to tell _somebody_ about the magic part, a little bit at least...? No, not yet. "I'm...um...not sure how it works." True enough in a way. He _didn't_ know exactly how he changed forms, just that it was magic. Impossibly, Nene's eyes opened wider. *How does she do that?* "Oh! That's terrible! Maybe Sylia can help you, but...how did you know about us being the Knight Sabers?" "My armour can be invisible, Nene. It's not hard to find out things when you can't be seen." "Oh. Right." Nene accepted that and smiled, then a thought came to her. "But..." Nene's smiling face became a frowning one. "...were you a guy originally?" "Yes." "And...when did you get your memory back?" "It was the hot shower I had after you gave me that first lesson on the computer. Now _that_ had been a shock." "So...you knew...you were...a guy...all...the..time..." Nene's expression was making Twister very nervous. "Uh, Nene...?" "...all the...time...in my _home_?? When I...changed clothes?!?" *Uh oh.* "YOU PERVERT!!!" Nene, with righteous anger, started towards a hesitant Twister, who was making no-no gestures with his head and hands as he backed away from her. "Now, Nene, calm down a second and..." A piece of stone Twister had worked on to make it smooth and pretty for use as a decoration was quickly grabbed and thrown by Nene. It was easily dodged, but there were quite a few things in the room Nene could throw at him. Solution? Fly. When Twister leaped up and started hovering, Nene paused in the act of grabbing another piece of stone art to stare at him, indignation momentarily forgotten. "How...?" Not wanting to dodge rocks all day for something he hadn't done, Twister quickly started talking. "Now hold on, Nene. Did you _ever_ see me looking at you when you changed?" Still staring, Nene reluctantly said, "Well...no, but..." "And didn't you comment once that I was being too _shy_ when you noticed I was avoiding looking at you when you _did_ change?" Seeing Nene mull that over Twister decided it was safe and came back down. "Actually..." Nene looked embarrassed now, "...yes." "That was one of the reasons why I wanted my own place. My nerves were being frazzled." "Oh," Nene meekly said. Twister sighed. "Look, I wasn't sure how you guys would react when I remembered who I was so I stayed being Darlene. I _am_ sorry about that." "And now?" Nene was regarding Twister and wasn't exactly sure how she felt. "You guys are my _friends_," Twister stated firmly. "When you asked me about my past I decided I should finally tell you. I owe you that, after all you've done for me. I shouldn't have hid it so long from you guys and I..whoomph!" Nene had gone into full hugging mode and had targeted Twister, catching him off-guard. It felt strange for both of them now that he was quite a bit taller than her. "You're my friend too, Darlene." She blinked and released the hug so she could step back and smile up at Twister. "I guess I should call you Twister now." "When I'm a guy, yes. It'll make things easier." The enthusiasm Nene had shown before started up again. "How did you fly anyway?" "I have psionic powers when I'm male so I levitated. I used them to make my suit and a little when I fight Boomers." He chuckled at Nene's expression when he said 'sometimes' and explained. "I'm still stronger than I look." Then he grinned. "I'm just wondering if I'll have a repeat of what you did if I tell Linna I used precognition to help me on the stock market." Nene's eyes widened once more, then she giggled. "She'd be so _mad_." "Hmm... Maybe some things are best left untold. Anyway," Twister extended a hand to Nene, who had sat down on a chair during their conversation, "shall I show you my abode? You'll be the first, other than me, who've seen this place." Quickly, Nene stood up and grabbed Twister's hand. "Where are we anyway? How long did it take you to _make_ this place? What have you...?" "Whoa!" Twister chuckled as they started to explore his secret residence. "Let's start at the beginning..." With a lot of editing of course. "...and then the crystal's energy sent me into _this_ universe." Omitting the part that it was an evil spirit who _directed_ the energy and that he had been using magic to _contain_ said spirit. "And your memory was gone because of that?" Nene queried as they almost finished the grand tour of Twister's secret place. She was amazed inwardly at the _size_ of the place. It was almost the size of a small military base with it's large rooms, but she did wonder why Twister seemed a little embarrassed when she remarked on how big it was. The aircraft hanger sized area really amazed her with it's space since it was mostly empty. Twister's motorcycle he rode as the Blue Bullet was there as well as something under a _huge_ cover. Her friend Darlene, *_Twister_, I guess I should say, but I'll still think Darlene,* had smiled mysteriously and said it was an experiment he was working on and off on. "Yes. It wasn't until my hot shower that I regained my memory by changing back. My perfect memory in this form came into effect then." He sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I wasn't sure what to do then. Can you understand my reasons?" "Well...I guess so. It _is_ a strange story." Nene smiled up at Twister since he was a lot taller as a male. "But I _do_ believe you...Twister. This place is great!" She frowned slightly then. "Have you tried to go back? _Can_ you get back?" "I've...been thinking on how to do it, but I'm not sure how yet." The fact that his magic was still behaving oddly was the prime reason for that. And until _that_ problem was solved...his gaze fell upon Nene. "But I also wanted to help my new friends _here_ before I did leave. I don't think Genom will ignore the Knight Sabers forever, Nene, and I wanted to do _something_ that would make you guys better protected from them." They entered a new room and Twister waved at the contents inside with a wide smile. "_This_ should help me a lot." Nene gasped. In the middle of the large room was a very large, multi-colored, crystalline obelisk sitting upon a pitch black pedestal. Some wires came out of the base to connect to one of the most sophisticated computer interfacing systems Nene had ever seen and she knew all the most up-to-date systems available. Other wires went over to several, six-foot tubes standing by a wall. "What _is_ that?" Twister smiled at the setup. "I decided to actually _build_ something using information and software I've obtained from the net as Firelord..." He nodded as Nene whirled to stare incredulously at him. "That was me, alright. Since diamond is easily made for me, I hacked into quite a few places to get the knowledge necessary to build an _optical_-based computer and spending quite a few months designing and building it on my spare time. >From _programs_ I've looked at, I created my own operating system for this unique creation. With the results I've gotten...I think I can safely say that you are looking at the most awesome computer currently on the planet." He paused. "By _far_. It's amazing what you can make if you use protected information from companies connected to the Net all over the globe, and be able to merge it all together. It's dedicated for breaking security systems mostly and has already gotten one-third into the Genom database. Slowly. They don't even know it either." Chuckling at Nene's awed expression, Twister looked at a box beside the powerful system core. *I had to create an device of science and enchantment just to get a connection _out_ from this place. I did _not_ care to dig through a mile of rock just for a wire connection. _Very_ illegal as well, or it would be if anyone knew of such a thing, as it can access pretty much anything that has a connection to the Net.* Twister said offhandedly, "Care to try it? The memory is pretty free since I only have a few programs going right now." "Sure!" Nene rushed to the system, sat down, and immediately started typing on the keyboard as she felt her way through the system. "How did you make it anyway? It's _big_." Looking up at his creation, Twister chuckled. "I used my TK of course. Took much longer than my armour though..." he mused. Nene frowned a little as she explored the new system. "It's faster than anything I've used before, but the interface isn't very good." "Sorry. I didn't put much work into that since I finished it not too long ago and I don't _need_ that for a major task, though it's tiring if I do it that way for long. Maybe...no." Twister looked at the tubes on the wall as he said that last sentence. She had noticed his glance toward the tubes she had seen before. "What _are_ those anyway?" "Something...different I have to test yet. Likely never." Suddenly, a message appeared before Nene's eyes on the screen saying that Dr. Stingray had entered the net. The ADPolice officer was wide-eyed at this and spun to face Twister. "You bugged Sylia??!" "Well, she _has_ been overly curious about 'Firelord' and I added something to _help_ her avoid detection actually. That's why I called the system 'Wingman' 'cause it'll cover my rear end when I'm working. Much easier than just myself." Nene grinned up at Twister before turning back and begin intensely typing away again on the computer, trying to talk to Sylia now that she had access to a powerful computer that wasn't in ADPolice. After affirming that it couldn't be traced, Twister curiously watched over her shoulder as Nene initiated the talk session with Sylia. -Hi Sylia! It's Nene!- -Nene?!?! Where are you? How did you know it was me?- -Firelord's showing me his computer and it told me you entered the Net.- -You found Firelord?!- -He found me! *giggle* He's nice.- Twister chuckled behind Nene. -Who is he?- -Well, he's handsome.- Nene giggled as she practically felt the blush Twister had. -Nene...- -I don't think he wants me to say right now. His new computer's helping you on the Net secretly right now.- -I _was_ wondering why some security hadn't gone off...- -He says it's the most powerful computer on the planet.- -Nene, _every_ good user believes their system is the 'most powerful computer on the planet'. Though...it must be an excellent system to cover me where I've been.- -*sigh* It is.- Nene giggled when Twister muttered something about nonbelievers and politely took her position before the keyboard. -Hark! Dost mine eyes see disbelief from thy typed words?- -Firelord, I presume?- -*bow* At thy command, oh wise one.- -May I ask your name?- -Ain't much better than Firelord and it wouldn't help thee anyhow.- -Very well. Since you know Nene...may I make you a small offer for helping me gather information?- -Ah, but that is a task I have already set myself. Like Genom...- -Don't be foolish. No one has gotten much more than an eighth into their main system.- -WHOOPS! *grin* Good thing you didn't tell me that before I got past the one-third mark.- There was a long pause after that message. "Hm. Might have blown her mind there." Nene was trying not to laugh as she remembered _her_ reaction to Twister's statement before Sylia managed a reply. -You are already _past_ that point?!- -Nene _told_ you how powerful my computer is. Works great even though I need to fill up all that empty storage. Well, it's been fun but I think I have to go. Ta! Btw, Nene says bye as well.- Chuckling, Twister closed the connection. "I really have to chuck that habit of leaving people with their mouths hanging open." "Sylia's not going to be too happy with that," Nene said worriedly. "Just say I'll let you play with my system." He looked at her inquiringly. "If you _want_ to that is..." "Do I want to?! Of course!" She hugged Twister. "Thank you!" "No problem. I'll have to teleport you here and back but that's quick enough. And..." Twister grinned. "as you've seen, there's lots of snacks in the kitchen. Better watch it though. _I_ can afford not to since I burn it off darn quickly when I use my powers. Maybe I should arrange it so you can access from your home..." Nene's brightened mood turned petulant at that part. "Remember, I know about you and sweets." She sighed. "I know, I know. I just wonder what I'm going to say to Sylia when I see her again." "Don't worry, I'll tell them all when I think they'll accept it and from your reactions that shouldn't be too long. Just tell her what my male form looks like, that my computer system is really impressive looking and that you have no idea where I took you." He had to laugh. "Nothing like the truth with a few details deleted." "A few million details Dar...Twister." "Heh." Standing up, Twister motioned Nene out of the room. "I'll change back to being 'Darlene', become the Crystal Knight, and take you back. This concludes Twister Tour's guided explanation to Blow Your Mind Away." He and Nene laughed as they left the computer room. Chapter Ten ----------- Matagan stood quietly by Quincy's desk as they silently watched the monitors on the wall. The hidden cameras at the future, now devastated, Boomer testing grounds had captured everything that had happened the day before and they were going over the result. Expressionless, Quincy watched the recording as Matagan marveled at her superior's calm. They had lost the prototype for the new Boomer created by the joint efforts of Genom and the American company in the battle that had taken place in the grounds. The fact that the deadly blue spider-walker had been destroyed in the process didn't make it any less costly. *Damn,* Matagan thought with some heat. *We _know_ who was responsible for that thing, but we cannot move against her due to the fact that the Chang organization would not take that very well. They've lost too much as it is now, which brought this thing on in the first place.* Her eyes narrowed as the Knight Sabers came into the camera's range. *The Knight Sabers. I did find out that they were hired by that American to protect him. Still, their participation in the new Boomer's destruction instead of merely taking their client to safety does not put them in a very favorable light.* The Genom executives watched the fight continue until the Boomer locked itself in a death grip with the spider-walker. The crew's compartment blew open and one chair ejected the rear pilot to safety. The pilot in front, however, was caught by one of the Boomer's arms and could not escape. The green Knight Saber rushed to help the obviously female pilot. "Now..." Quincy quietly spoke as he narrowed his eyes. Swiftly, another form that Matagan recognized as the Crystal Knight rushed out from between the buildings, leaped forward, and cut the Boomer's arm off with a crystal sword. This resulted in the hand trapping the pilot to open. The green Knight Saber grabbed the pilot before flying away. The Crystal Knight vanished. "What the...?" Matagan burst out involuntarily. "A stealth device." Was Quincy's response to her reaction. "Smoke from the damaged Boomer can be seen to avoid a man-shaped area." The display froze to confirm what Quincy had just told her. "_That_ is why he had not been seen on the grounds by our security cameras. It is not yet known if it is totally undetectable." "Even it just affects _light_, sir, then combining it with a radar-absorbing material would make a machine totally impossible to detect." "Yes." He swiveled his chair to face Matagan. "What have you found out about this...Crystal Knight?" With a slight grimace, Matagan shook her head. "Not much information is available and considering that stealth device...I'm not surprised." She took a deep breath. "His armour seems to employ many abilities of a technology we have yet to be able to totally explain, though some of our theorists do not find them impossible. The light absorption abilities of his armour are likely the source of the suit's power, drawing energy from ambient light so that lasers merely give the suit more energy to use. Flexible areas reflect a laser's energy. How powerful a laser it can do so with is unknown. Strength enhancement is likely a system similar to the Knight Sabers hardsuits, but radically different in outward appearance. His swords..." She had to shake her head. "The theorists speculate that they are shells of diamond in the shape of a sword created from carbon atoms in the air." Smiling sardonically, she continued, "_How_ they are created is giving some of them headaches. One idea is some form of airborne nanites, though that does not seem likely. The energy fist attack is probably a field that draws electrons around the hand until it creates a plasma energized by the suit just before release." She shook her head. "That and the stealth device are all we have found of the suit's abilities." Quincy steepled his hands together in thought. "I have heard rumors that it also saved some girl from a fatal injury. Interesting." After a few minutes, he asked, "Have you found a pattern to his movements?" "There does not seem to be any pattern or reason, besides stopping renegade Boomers, that he is using and tracking him coming and leaving the times when he _is_ sighted fighting has been impossible with that cloak. The rapidity of his arrival, sometimes even before ADPolice get to the scene, suggests some advanced tracking and motive systems as well." "Hmm... Quite the enigma." "Yes sir." "Once more information is obtained about this...Crystal Knight we will have to have a...talk with him. For now, we shall take care of the Knight Sabers. Their suits are not important to Genom and their interference in several of our projects so far have decided me to have them taken care of." He swiveled his chair to face the stilled image of the cloaked Crystal Knight. "Take only one out first so that the rest will be easier later. You may go." "Yes sir." She turned and walked out of the large, dark office. As she descended in the elevator, Matagan reached down behind her leg and rubbed at a very faint, white scar. *Largo may have forced his way in here but the chairman outwitted him nevertheless. I thought I was dying after that monster destroyed our boomers; the pain that I _know_ that had been here felt like it. It was gone when I recovered consciousness. Somehow I was healed, but by who? It looks like I was cut near an important artery and I would have bled to death if it had. Also,* Matagan straightened up and regarded the city skyline, *my head has felt odd ever since that night. I've always followed my instincts but lately they've been much more accurate.* Matagan frowned. *What on Earth _happened_ to me after I fell unconscious that night?* "I'm telling you, Darlene, that you should go out and go out with a nice _man_ sometime. I've never heard you even _mention_ anything about trying to get one yourself. You wouldn't have any trouble _I_ would think." Darlene was hard pressed not to laugh out loud at Linna's comment. The foursome, consisting of the usual Priss, Nene, Linna, and herself, were being treated at Linna's place for supper after a particularly good week in the stock market. Priss was rolling her eyes while Nene, who knew about Darlene's position about this, was similarly trying not to laugh as they all sat around the kitchen table. A little while after being told about Darlene's male beginnings, Nene had teasingly brought up the subject of whether or not her friend thought she and the others were attractive. While Darlene was still attracted to females, she told Nene that she had regarded Nene and the others as just good friends while in her female form for too long to think of them in the way Nene suggested. It seemed weird even to herself but she couldn't really explain it any better. "Let's just say I have other things on my mind right now, Linna." "I hear Sylvie and Anri finally found an apartment," Priss put in. "Yup. They're great company, but I _do_ like having my house to myself." To herself, Darlene thought, *And silence at night to sleep too.* "Like Priss." Nene giggled when both Darlene and Priss made a face at her at the same time. Darlene reposited Linna's comment further. "I think you would be in a much better position Linna, if you _kept_ what _you_ 'got'. You dumped another one last _week_." She turned to Priss and Nene. "We should set up a betting pool to see how fast it takes her to drop the next one. Make a fortune if everybody bets it takes more than ten days." Linna was about to angrily retort when a, now familiar, sound reached Darlene's ears. The three Knight Sabers quickly stopped the beeping coming from their watches and sheepishly looked at her. She sighed. "Your friend again? Time to go then." "We're very sorry, Darlene," Nene sorrowfully said. Darlene waved her hand as she got up from her seat and went towards the door. "No problem. I've gotten used to it by now." Just before she closed the door behind her, Darlene commented, "You _really_ should ask Sylia about those noisy beepers." She swiftly left and closed the door before anyone could say anything.. Linna and Priss stared in shock at where their friend had left. "You think she knows?" Linna worriedly asked Priss. Priss snorted. "Actually, I'd be surprised if she _didn't_ by now. These watches _are_ obvious." She noticed Nene quickly getting ready to leave. "_You_ don't look very concerned about this, Nene." Starting, Nene tried to look confident. "I don't think Darlene would _tell_ anyone, Priss. She's a pretty good friend." "Riiight..." Priss thought Nene knew something more, but didn't press the issue right now since they had to hurry. An hour later, all four Knight Sabers were suited up and being driven to their destination by Mackie in the van. "Why are we going outside city limits again, Sylia?" Linna asked queriously. "I didn't get all the details straight when you told us before." Her helmet was currently off so her questioning expression was visible to the others. "A valuable piece of experimental equipment was stolen from our current client a few days ago by a small group of Boomers. Several attempts to recover it have met with some unusual resistance which our clients are not prepared to deal with. The piece has been moved to a location just outside Mega-Tokyo and is isolated enough that our activates will not attract attention. It appears that it is merely a temporary, not very well defended location and was only used because there was nothing better available for the moment. I've been told it will not remain at this position long so we will strike tonight." "'Unusual resistance', huh?" Priss snorted. "Sounds like we'll be busy on this job." Sylia smiled briefly inside her closed helmet before continuing. "The building, in which our objective currently resides, is in the middle of a large clearing. There are no _visible_ defenses which makes me suspect that there are a few nasty surprises waiting for us." She turned to Nene. "Nene, you use your suit's sensors to scan the area when we get there while the rest of us go for the building." "Sure, Sylia" Nene was glad she would be able to use her specialty on this job as she knew fighting wasn't exactly her strong point. Soon the van arrived near the target site and dropped the four off before leaving the area. Mackie would return when Sylia gave the order to pick them up later. Moving quickly through the trees, using short bursts from their jet packs, they soon came near the edge of the clearing with the small building in the middle. Linna scouted ahead while Nene scanned the path that would take the others quickly towards the building, and found some interesting things waiting for them. "Sylia, there seems to be several remote-controlled mines in random patterns under the ground that would be invisible to ordinary sensors and even I'm having trouble clearly seeing them." "Can you jam them?" "I'll have to enter the clearing to make sure all of the mines are safe from here to the building." "Very well, we'll have to be quick then. No telling if they have something else to surprise us with if they have the time." Linna came back and reported what she had seen. "There are three people surrounding the building. Most likely Boomers." "They must be decoys so that some poor slob would walk into the mines." Priss grinned inside the helmet. "Won't _they_ be the surprised ones." Sylia decided. "Linna, Priss, we'll rush the building and get the component after destroying the Boomers. Nene, you jam those mines in case they get the chance to try to detonate them. All right, everybody?" "Okay!" The other three chorused. "Knight Sabers...GO!" Stepping out of the forest, Nene immediately started jamming the mines using the gear in her hardsuit. Sylia, Priss, and Linna began jetting towards the building after getting her affirmation that the mines were now safe. Due to the clear stretch, the Boomers guarding their objective saw their approach, burst out of their human disguises, and waited for the intruders to come to them. Sylia was worried at their behavior. *That's odd. Those Boomers should appear more surprised than they do. We've gone over several of the mines already and they should have attempted to detonate them by now. So why...* Her thoughts were interrupted when she reached the 55-C class Boomer waiting for her and began her attack with her arm cannon, which her Boomer barely managed to dodge. Linna and Priss were starting their engagements as well, expecting to quickly finish off their fighting partners, when round circles in the ground popped up and more Boomers of the same type leaped out to join the fray. "What the Hell??!" Priss shouted angrily when two more Boomers joined the one she was currently fighting, making her leap and dodge more often. This was happening with Linna and Sylia too. Fortunately, the Boomers couldn't attack them three at a time or they would risk hitting each other and not their enemy. Oddly, they didn't seem to be trying all that hard, but it was enough to keep them all furiously busy. "Nene! Why didn't your sensors pick these up?" Sylia called out on their radio when she got the chance. "I don't know!" The upset Nene shouted back. "They just appeared on my scanners. The hiding places they were in must be _very_ heavily shielded in order to evade my suit!" "Dammit!" Priss narrowly missed being hit by a heat blast. "Who could make _that_ kind of goddamn equipment?!" "Only one company I know of." Sylia quietly said as she fought. They all thought the same name. Genom. Smiling slightly with satisfaction,, Genom executive Ms. Matagan regarded the scene being shown on several monitors. The target that she had decided upon was all alone and the others were too busy to help even if they wanted to. "Perfect." One of the few operators working under her on this assignment turned a head in her direction. "The second force is now ready for Phase 2." Matagan's smile vanished and she was all business. "Excellent. When I give the word, execute it." The operator who had spoken seemed puzzled. "Why so many, sir?" "I want the other three _surviving_ members to get the maximum psychological impact," the smile surfaced again, "as well as making sure that the blue/pink Knight Saber is terminated." Another reason she kept to herself. *I'm not telling an underling that I had some damned strong feeling that a lot of firepower would be needed.* After waiting a few more seconds, she calmly said: "Do it." Sylia and Linna had destroyed a Boomer each making it easier to fight now while Priss had destroyed two, leaving the one she had originally started out with. Their suits were a little battered but Priss felt they should be able to finish off the remaining Boomers without much more trouble. Suddenly, a powerful radio pulse was emitted from an unknown source that easily cut through the interference Nene was generating. Making every mine in the field detonate. While the building where the fight was being played out was clear of mines, the area where Nene stood was not. Several of the powerful mines exploded around her and she screamed in pain and surprise as the powerful force battered her terribly inside her suit. She fell facedown on the ground. "NENE!!" cried the fighting Knight Sabers. The Boomers they were fighting stopped and leaped towards another area of the now-devastated clearing, taking advantage of their targets' distracted attention. However, the clearing was no longer empty in that area. More scanner- invisible hiding places had been planted there and their contents had jumped out when the mines had detonated. They were Boomers, but not 55-C's. Instead, they were BU-88's, or as they were called: Double Eight Ball Boomers. Made especially for the army, the 'Debbies' were mostly mobile missile launchers capable of taking out a sizable attacking force with just one unit. They were modeled after the standard combat boomer, without the bazooka arm, two feet taller, slightly more bulkier for their size, and pitch black. They packed five missiles on each leg, two in the torso, and four apiece on the arms. An additional twenty in a backpack module could be attached to the back for extra firepower. Their armour was resistant to their own missile's heat exhaust and cooled rapidly to avoid heat sensors. Mobile, large, and powerful, they were the ideal missile support system. Ten now stood in the clearing and were facing a fallen Nene's direction. Priss saw them in a firing position. "Debbies!? No! Nene!!" She started for her friend, knowing she would be too late. Linna and Sylia started moving too when they saw the double eights but their hearts sank as they realized it as well. Four of the 88s had their missile packs on and were turned around to fire them upon the target they had acquired before. Two lone missiles launched ahead before all of the turned around and forward facing BU-88s sent the rest of the missiles, trained on the prone figure, to their objective. Some went high, low, to the left, and to the right, in order for most to hit close to the target and not be caught in another missile's explosion. In her angry and horrified rush, Priss saw the first two missiles hit. First behind Nene and then in front of her. Nene was blown upwards in the first explosion and Priss had seen her cracked armour begin to come apart before the second explosion obscured the heart-wrenching sight of Nene starting to fall back towards the ground. The other one hundred and ninety-eight missiles that followed...hit. A fair portion of them detonated well outside Nene's position from the force of those before that blew, but not enough. Priss was hurled back by the multiple explosions and fell at her stunned friend's feet. Silently, Sylia helped Priss back up and the three looked at the fiery, smoking crater that was where Nene had been. Linna went to her knees as she realized her much-loved friend was gone and Priss clenched her fists in a rage. "A trap." As the other two slowly looked at their leader, Sylia repeated herself in a detached voice. "A trap. All a trap to get one of us so that the rest would be more vulnerable." She paused. "And Nene paid for my stupidity." Voice saturated in uncontrollable rage, Priss shouted at Sylia, "Like HELL it's _all_ your fault! NONE OF US SAW IT!! Damn Genom!!" She whirled to the direction where the Boomers obscured by smoke still stood and prepared to attack. Whipping her head around, Sylia divined Priss's action. "NO! I do NOT want to lose another today!" "I'm not going to just _stand_ here while those bastards are..." Linna's grief-filled voice cut Priss off. "What's wrong with the smoke?" Sylia and Priss turned and saw what she was talking about. The dense smoke coming from the crater was even now flowing past the grieving and surprised Knight Sabers on either side while leaving their area free of opaque smoke. They gasped when a dark but familiar figure emerged, with smoke hiding his legs, that carried a more than welcome blue and pink package that didn't look a bit damaged. "Nene!" They rushed towards the Crystal Knight with suddenly lightened hearts. And stopped in shock when they got a better look at Nene's rescuer. The Crystal Knight's armour was in bad shape. There were large cracks in every black plate and his shimmering, flexible mesh ripped and torn. Part of the chestplate was destroyed and a bloody wound in the lower ribcage was visible. The helmet was laced with cracks as well. The Knight's eyes were glowing blue like the time when he had destroyed Largo. Linna stepped forwards and extended her arms slowly and carefully to the Knight, who placed the still form of Nene into them. She opened the visor and cried out with relief, "She's alive!" Greatfully, she looked back up to Nene's rescuer. "Thank y...OH!" she gasped. Sylia was relieved beyond belief but was puzzled at her friend's outburst. "Linna, what..?" Then she and Priss saw as well and understood Linna's shock. The dark armour had not protected it's wearer completely. It was now evident with Nene out of the way and the covering smoke gone. Shattered, the left arm's armour ended halfway between shoulder and elbow...along with the arm. This was repeated at the left knee with more shattered armour. *How can he be standing?* Sylia was shocked beyond belief. *For that matter, how did he have Nene in two arms when he has only _one_?* Priss was more forthright. "How the _hell_ are you _doing_ that??" The Knight's reply was to turn towards the smoke, step away a little ways into it, and stop. "Did you hear..." "Priss! My God, he's lost an arm and a leg! He could be in shock!" Linna angrily replied. "He should also be on the ground unconscious from blood loss!" "I think he's waiting." Priss and Linna turned to Sylia when she spoke. "The smoke is dissipating and he's facing the Boomer's direction exactly." To herself she thought, *What will he do in this state? What _can_ he do in this state?* Sylia regarded the slowly more visible Knight. *I guess we'll see.* A cold and pleased smile was on Matagan's face as she viewed the now smoke obscured screen that had shown the stunned Knight Sabers a minute before. "Nicely done, gentlemen," she addressed her employees. "We will keep the Boomers around for confirmation, but recall them if the other three attack. No sense wasting valuable equipment when it will likely take less to finish off the other three later. A good night's work indeed." A puzzled technician looked up from a screen. "That's odd," he muttered. Sensing something was amiss, Matagan quickly walked over. "What is it?" "That smoke is blowing northeast." She didn't see the reason for his concern. "The problem...?" "The wind is blowing in a southerly direction. It can't _go_ that way unless something is _making_ it do that." Matagan frowned. *That _is_ strange.* "Sir!" another tech monitoring the screens called out. "Something's happening!" Walking back to see for herself, she noticed the oddly-behaving smoke dying down. A figure was slowly being revealed, as well as the Knight Sabers, with the green Saber holding an unpleasant surprise. "No!" Matagan smashed a fist down on a console after seeing the unexpected sight of a whole blue/pink Knight Saber, startling the tech. She shook in rage as she realized the only way the Knight Saber could have survived the attack and glared at the dark figure standing shown on the monitor. "_Damn_ that meddling Crystal Knight!" Her eyes widened as she realized something else. *That's why so much firepower was needed. But how did I know?* *_How_?!* The Boomers were looking angrily at the now revealed group of humans. They didn't like failing to achieve their mission objectives. One of the 55-Cs spoke up. "So, you somehow managed to save your little companion, humans? We can _fix_ that little problem." "Just _try_ it, junkpile!" Priss shouted. "We intend to." The Boomer looked to the silent Crystal Knight and noticed the missing left arm. "Lose something, Crystal Knight?" it amusedly barked out. "I would have expected you to be crying in pain like the weak flesh you are but," it saw the glowing eyes and speculated, "perhaps you are _not_ human? Then why save the pink fleshed one? Am I right?" it called out. From the cracks and tears in the armour, blue light slowly built to shine outwards. The Crystal Knight raised his remaining right arm, had his palm facing the grouped force of Boomers, and grated out a raspy reply. "Wrong." Blue light flared and became blue fire that filled the cracks of the Knight's armour. The glowing blue eyes became brighter as he added something else before Knight Sabers or Boomers could react. "CRYSTAL KNIGHT...." Blue flame burst out of the armour's tears and cracks to arc towards the space in front of his outstretched palm. The flame spiraled together to be formed into an intensely blue, blazing cone with the wide open end facing the Boomers. It grew in power as the flow continued. The eyes then flared. "...FINAL STRIKE!" The Boomers saw a small sun appear within the inside of the cone. Then they were no more. "NO!" Matagan was furious as the monitors now showed only static. "WHAT HAPPENED!!?" Employees worked furiously at their consoles, trying to get the Boomers reconnected and the hidden cameras around the clearing operational. Finally, as she was loosing patience, the leader of the technical group faced Matagan, shaking his head as he gave his report. "From what we can tell...all of the Boomers we sent have been destroyed. The cameras from the side-effects." "What?! Don't give me riddles. Give. Me. Facts!" Matagan icily said as she tried to regain her temper. "The brief readings we got from the camera and Boomer sensors tell us that an EM pulse fried the sensitive camera's circuitry. Not the Boomer's. They are shielded against a pulse this weak. However, what must have been some kind of atomic reaction," Matagan sucked in her breath in shock, "that produced such a strong pulse, likely vaporized the Boomers just after they registered the forerunning EM radiation." "Vaporized..." "And if you ask how..." He shook his head. "I have no idea. Whatever that strange blue energy was...I've never seen anything like it in my life." Numbly, Matagan turned to regard the static-filled screens. *Failure. How do I explain this to Quincy?* Her mind was blank. The three Knight Sabers looked on with awe as they regarded what the Knight had done. Where the group of Boomers once stood, a gouge had been taken out of the earth. The blast of yellow-red energy had turned killing machines into atoms and had easily streaked out to cut a wide, fan shaped area of destruction into the surrounding, unpopulated, tree-covered region. The fires from the blast were starting to die now since the area was moist from a good week of rain. "Priss! The Knight!" Linna shouted. Quickly, Priss rushed over and caught the Crystal Knight as he slowly collapsed. She mirrored Linna and held him like Linna was carrying Nene. "Jeez. His armour's light." "Good, because after that little display it won't take very long before someone comes to investigate." Sylia glanced around at the area where the trap had been set. "Let's go home." Chapter Eleven -------------- "What can we _do_? Even if we take him to a hospital, how do we take that armour off? There's no opening seams and even damaged it still looks pretty tough," a concerned voice spoke, penatrating a veil that wrapped the consciousness of the listener. Slowly, Twister came out of the trance-like state he was in that cut off pain he knew was still lurking in the background and tried to become more fully aware of his surroundings. He cracked open his eyes. Sylia had long ago prepared a large room with medical equipment beside their training area at Dr. Raven's for potental cases where it would be impossible to go to an ordinary hospital. Two beds occupied the room; an unarmoured, unharmed, unconscious Nene, still in her softsuit for her powered armour on one, and the battered form of the Crystal Knight on the other. The other three Knight Sabers were in a group over by one of the diagnosing machines installed in the wall, likely discussing what to do about their 'guest'. Linna and Priss had changed into their normal clothes but Sylia had not, having been too busy checking on both Nene and the Crystal Knight. He recognized that the voice had been Linna's. "That's true. It seems to be made completely of diamond, which wieghs MUCH less than it should, and that makes it difficult to scan to see how injured he may be. What's even more remarkable is that it seems to be repairing itself slowly," Sylia mused, her arms crossed in front of her as she stated that bit of information. Priss glanced at the battered form on the bed. "Well, we'd better think of something quick. I don't think it's doing the same to _him_," she said sarcastically. "True," Twister weakly got out in a barely audiable croak. The three started, then rushed over to his bed. He noticed Mackie also appeared to be in the room, along with Dr. Raven who had come to offer advice on removing the armour, both watching the person on the bed who had saved Nene. Twister wondered if Mackie was concerned or just studying his armour. Likely both; Mackie was a pretty decent person, despite the occasional voyorism the others sometimes complained about. "How are you?" asked a concerned Sylia. "Coffin handy?" Twister rasped. Progress. He had upgraded from a croak. "Huh. That good, Bullet?" Priss jokingly commented, trying to lighten the mood of the room, the guy didn't look good at all with those injuries and missing limbs. "Nene?" "She's just fine. Still sleeping," Linna reassured him. "Good." "Knight, how can we get this armour off to help you? You need serious help though your major arteries and veins in your...missing limbs have been sealed by the explosion's heat." Twister struggled to answer, he did kinda want to live. "I seal. What little sense had left after knock to head did that. Dumb. Should've Healed, but angry at what happened to Nene. Wanted to keep her safe and blow Boomers away." "I can relate to that," Priss softly said. Privately she wondered why this strange individual was concerned for Nene's welfare. "Heh. I block pain now. Almost all energy gone with final blast. Hungry. I take armour off now but pain come back when armour off cause of change. Get ready." Puzzled over his strange remarks, Sylia nevertheless got a painkiller/sedative from the medical supplies as Twister prepared to take off his armour. "This not..." Darkness covered the battered Knight, startling everyone as the Knight continued, "...take loooooaaaaaAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" In the process of changing to female form, as that had been the form Twister had been in before donning the armour, the mental ability he had unconsciously used, but now consciously kept up to distance himself from the pain, seemed to rapidly dwindle away as Mind changed to Magic. Darlene screamed as the mental power being used to block the incredible pain disappeared from the change into female form. Her normal clothes, those she had been wearing to dinner with Linna and the others, were on her now; they loosely covered Darlene's missing limbs. Shocked beyond belief at the incredible change and the familiarity of the person, Sylia still managed to wrestle, along with an equally amazed Linna and Priss's help, Darlene's remaining right arm down and inject the painkiller/sedative. It took almost immediate effect; Darlene's pain faded away and her scream died. Blinking at the sudden relief, she looked up at her disbelieving friends, smiled faintly at them as the jig was up, and felt the sedative part of the injection kick in. Drowsily, she chuckled, "Surprises guys." And fell asleep. The five who had seen the incredible change stood in shocked silence. "_Darlene_ is the..." Linna slowly began to say. "...Crystal Knight!!?! What the fuck?!?" Priss finished incredulously. She backed up a step, shaking her head as if to clear away something inside. There had been some remarkable things she had seen being part of the Knight Sabers, but this... *No _way_! It's just not possible!* "But...how? The Crystal Knight was a _guy_ from what I saw through those big holes in his..ah...her armour." Mackie stammered out. "And where _did_ the armour go?" Dr. Raven asked curiously. He had been shocked too but less visibly as his curiosity over the disappearence of the suit overrode his surprise. Seeing the severely wounded, now-revealed friend of her companions, Sylia ignored the questions arising in her own mind and focused on helping this person, however unusual, in need first. If Darlene survivied she could ask them later, if not... She quickly grabbed a sharp knife and handed it to a shell-shocked Linna, who snapped out of it as she felt the knife placed into her hand. "Linna, cut off her clothes so we can bandage what we can. I need to see what we _can_ do." She turned away to get some bandages when Linna nodded her affirmation, eager for for a task that occupied her mind with something else. As Linna started to do so, Priss, recovering from the shock, stared at the friend she thought she had known. She didn't like being tricked. *Then again,* she sighed mentally, *Sylvie did the same thing to me, which I know she thought was the best thing to do to survive. And I guess surviving is probably Darlene's reason for hiding..._this_. Maybe that's why I wanted to be friends with them both. Even though,* she looked over Darlene's battered form as Linna struggled to cut through the same pant leg she had started on, *I don't know what exactly she is. Sylvie may be a Boomer but I don't think Genom can build a Boomer that changes sexes like this.* She saw Darlene's stump of an arm, glimpsed bone, and looked away with a shiver. *No. Boomers are metal not bone.* Then Priss spotted something flickering on Darlene's neck. "Hey! What's this?" she said loudly, trying to distract herself. Stepping closer, Priss gently removed something that shimmered in and out of visibility from around Darlene's neck and walked up to a curious Dr. Raven and Mackie with it. It appeared to be a largish diamond to her eyes as she dropped it into the Doctor's palm, incidentily diverting Mackie's attention from a slowly being undressed Darlene. "Any ideas, Pops?" "Doctor!" Doc. Raven absently replied automatically as he studied the strange, flickering crystal Priss had dropped into his hands. He carefully looked at it when it could be seen. "Hmm... Possibly something to control that armour perhaps?" "And damaged along with the rest of it?" Mackie interjected. He seemed torn between looking at the strange object and the slowly becoming more exposed Darlene. He was wincing as he saw more damage revealed on her. "Perhaps. Come on then and we'll look at it. We certainly can't do much here." Dr. Raven firmly guided a slightly reluctant Mackie out of the emergency room. He didn't too have much trouble since Mackie was just as curious as he about the strange object. Linna was sweating heavily when Priss turned to see how she was doing. "What's taking _you_ so long?" "This..._stuff_," Linna grunted as she finished opening another sleeve, "is..._really_ hard...to cut! Can't believe...it could...be...so _tough_. Done!" Setting down the knife, Linna carefully lifted Darlene's body, with Priss' help, to get all the clothing out of the way. The view wasn't good to look at. "Shit," Priss softly stated and Linna silently agreed with her. In addition to the missing left arm and leg, Darlene's body now sported various bruises, cuts, and, to Priss's experienced eyes, broken ribs as well as the right leg being broken, adding insult to even more injury. Possibly hidden internal injuries as well. Sylia turned at the quiet exclamation and inhaled with dismayed surprise. She shook that counterproductive feeling off before going over and carefully examining the unconscious Darlene with what medical knowledge she had. After a minute, she stood up straight and sighed. "It would be better if she were in a hospital, but I doubt that would be a good idea until I know what exactly is going on here. As it is..." She looked at a worried Linna and a frowning Priss, "I think she'll be okay here. I'll have to set that leg and bandage the ribs but otherwise she should pull through since I don't _think_ there is any hemorrhaging, which is a miracle. Or maybe not, given she's already surprised me greatly already." As Priss became much less tense at the news, Linna breathing a sigh of relief, a groaning sound that was getting louder from the other bed alerted them that Nene was waking up. "Priss! Cover her up!" Sylia didn't want Nene to see how badly her friend was hurt and nodded when Priss quickly covered Darlene with a folded sheet that had been on a nearby shelf. "Uhhhh...." Nene groaned again and finally opened her eyes. All around her were the rest of the Knight Sabers, confusing her with expressions of relief and...something else. Worry? She blinked as memory returned with violent surprise. Springing straight up on the bed, Nene quickly looked at her smiling friends with open confusion. "The _mines_! How...? What happened?" Checking herself out rapidly and finding she wasn't hurt, Nene was even more confused. "I'm not hurt?? But..." Trying to calm her down, Sylia started speaking, "Nene..." Unfortunately, Nene had been looking wildly about and had locked on a familiar face that shouldn't have been in the Knight Saber's emergency room. "D-Darlene?" she stammered before jumping out of her bed and running over to helplessly look at the injured face of her obviously hurt and unconscious friend. When Sylia and the others quietly came over to stand behind her, Nene turned her tearful visage to the Knight Saber's leader. "S-sylia..._what happened_?!?" Sylia put her hands on Nene's shoulders, looked at her right in the eye, and gently said, "Nene, calm down. It won't change things." Seeing her friend relax as Nene realized the truth Sylia was saying, she went on. "Unbelievable as it may sound, Darlene saved you from a missile attack, after you were knocked unconscious by the mines...as the Crystal Knight. The missiles meant for you wounded her pretty badly." Sylia was surprised at Nene's reaction to this information. "Oh no!" Nene looked tearful. "I should have scanned the area better!" She quickly turned to stand beside the wounded Darlene again, hands together under her chin with worry as she looked at the face of her friend. "Sylia said she should be okay, Nene..." Linna tried to reassure her. Priss, however, like Sylia, realized something from Nene's reaction. "Wait a minute here!" She narrowed her eyes as she looked with a growing suspicion at Nene. "You certainly don't _look_ very surprised that Darlene's the Crystal Knight! Don't you find this is a _little_ odd??" Nene's suddenly guiltly face confirmed it. "You _knew_!!" Priss cried angrily. Sylia was impassive; Linna tried not to let her own feelings of surprise and anger show, and was failing. Looking down at her feet now, Nene hesitantly spoke, "Well..." "Told few day ago," interjected a raspy voice no one had expected to hear. The Knight Sabers started and looked at the sheet-covered figure. Darlene's eyes were half open and seemed a little defocused as she formed a small smile on her face. She added, "Thought it time. Ow. Bet' tell Sylvie an' Anri I slightly laid up." Darlene smirked weakly at her joke, the drug making clear speech a task. "I'm sorry, Darlene!" Nene cried out before Sylia could say anything. Darlene blinked slowly. "No' fault. Trap. They too prepar'." Seeing that Nene wasn't very reassured, she added, "Don' worry. Hopeful' not permant'." Before Nene could ask what Darlene was talking about, Sylia interrupted her and started asking a few questions of her own she wanted answered. "Darlene, how did your armour change you? And _why_?" She hoped the answer wouldn't be an unpleasant one. Smirking again, albeit weakly, Darlene directed her answer to Nene. "Water. Hot. Head pleas'." Turning her head back to Sylia while Nene went over to a sink to carry out her request, Darlene added, "Painkiller stuff doesn' last lon'." Sylia raised an eyebrow. "It _should_ have for your body weight." Before Darlene could reply to that, Nene returned and before anybody could object, poured a glass of hot water on Darlene's head. Blinking the water away, the now _male_ Twister smiled at Sylia, Linna, and Priss' amazed expressions. He weakly chuckled. "Ther'. Answered. I'm jus' full of surprises. Ow." Grimacing a little at the now-returning pain, tried to use that mental trick he had discovered and applied before. It worked again and he relaxed as the pain became remote. His stomach growled, reminding him that he had drained himself to nil and had no spare energy for Healing. "I _really_ need somethin' to eat," Twister apologetically said. "I'll get something!" Nene cried before anyone could say anything and rushed out of the room. Everyone stared at her exit. Twister closed his eyes and sighed. "O' boy. Tha's no' good." "Nene _is_ acting a bit strange," Linna worriedly commented. "Ah, she's fine," Priss distractically interjected, more concerned with the issue of her strange friend laying down on on bed. "She had a _very_ close call tonight, Linna. That will take time to fully recover from. Now..." Sylia turned back to Twister, who had reopened his eyes and was smiling somewhat more weakly in the face of her stern expression. The leader of the Knight Sabers crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow. "What _exactly_ is going on here?" she demanded. Priss pulled up a chair, turned it around, and sat on it, arms resting on the back of the chair. With a somewhat sardonic expression, she said, "Now _this_ should be interesting." "Gee. Thanks, Priss." Twister sourly commented, making her grin despite the strangeness of the situation, but he reluctantly looked up at Sylia, who hadn't wavered an inch, and started talking. "I tol' Nene this already..." he inhaled carefully; he _did_ have broken ribs. "...and _was_ gonna tell you later, but I'll star' from the beginning." The brief explanation took a little time since Nene had come back with some form of energy food bars that were usually used after a really exhausting mission as they were very nutritous, containing needed vitamins and minerials. She hand-fed the injured Twister with them, much to his mild embarrassment and irritation, during his story. The irritation seemed to bring Nene back to her old self and she even crossly told him that he was acting like _Priss_. When both Twister and Priss indignantly said "He/I is/am not!" simutaniously, he and Priss stared at each other in surprise, the others laughed at this. The story he gave them was the same one he had told Sylvie, Anri, and Nene. One devoid of magic but leaving in psionics, or substituting psionic power for magical power when retelling some wilder parts of his story. As to the shape-changing, he just repeated that he didn't know how it worked and that he only had psi power while male, the reason he fought as a guy. The armour was now a sophisticated creation of his mental powers that he half-unconsciously made and wasn't sure himself how it all worked. He did leave in the parts of the feats the martial arts in Ranma's universe did, Linna shook her head at some ki attacks he mentioned and he promised to show her the one that he had learned from Ranma later. Sylia was more inclined to believe the physical feats given she had roughly scanned Darlene's unusual body already. She theorized to herself that whatever alterations had occured to Twister had seemingly adapted him to the environment of the last universe, privately intrigued at the abilities of such human beings. A more detailed examination would likely be most informative. Twister's story was given some credulance when the bars he was eating gave him enough energy to Heal his broken ribs and most of the bruises and cuts on his body, much to his relief and the other's wonder. The flashing blue aura and his amused, "Five broken ribs in my chest...five broken ribs...if one of those ribs should happen to Heal...," FLASH! "ow...four broken ribs in my chest. Oh,..." caused Priss to alternately watch the amazing specticle and wince, his singing was painful to her. She wanted to hit him to stop the 'singing' but she canceled the impulse as he was too banged up at the moment. Later though... After finishing his story, and feeling much better from the Healing, something occurred to Twister. Something was missing. "Where's my armour?" Linna blinked. "You caused it to disappear Dar...ah, Twister." *I'll never get used to that,* Linna thought to herself. Shaking his head, Twister corrected himself. His voice clear of the drug's effects, his accelerated metabolism while Healing having quickly burned it off. "Sorry. I meant: Where is my armour in it's pendant form?" "You mean that blinking in and out of sight thing was your _armour_??" Priss gaped. "Right. I forgot to mention that...blinking?" The thought went through Twister's mind for a second before he said in a more alarmed tone, "BLINKING?! It's _not_ supposed to do _that_!" Sylia was out the door in an instant, crying, "Mackie!" A few moments earlier, Mackie had picked up the strange object in his hand since Doc. Raven had deemed it safe due to the fact that nothing harmful seemed to be eminating from it. He was fascinated by the way it flickered in and out of sight by a means the Doctor or himself hadn't figured out yet. *Now, if I can figure out how it works and install the system into one of _our_ transports...* Looking at it closer, he wondered how Darlene had activated it. No connections were apparent on the surface of the diamond, which was the substance he figured it to be. With a bit of frustrated humor, Mackie thought, *Maybe she just thinks 'armour on' and...WHAA?!* "Mackie!" He heard his sister cry out but he was a little too busy being disoriented to reply. His clothes seemed to have vanished; something else was covering him now. Unfortunately, that something wasn't meant for his size and when he took an instinctive step forward, he fell noisily with a crash and a yell. "Yahhh!" "Mackie!" Sylia called out again when she heard his cry and was prepared for the worst when she entered the workshop that he and Doc. Raven were in. However, when she spotted the Doctor struggling to help a slightly shrunken Crystal Knight up, with Mackie's arm and leg visible due to the missing pieces of armour, she held a hand to her mouth to cover her smile. "Are you okay, Mackie?" she said with some amusement. The cracked helmet turned in her direction, "Yeah, sis!" came out Mackie's voice modulated reply. "This thing's suit up procedure surprised me that's all. Boy is it quick!" *I wonder how it took my clothes off...* Doc. Raven sourly looked the armoured Mackie over. "You put it on, but can you get it off?" "I think so..." *Armour off,* Mackie thought. When nothing happened, Mackie started getting a little panicky. *I hope this thing's circuits or whatever are still functio....* A crackling noise interrupted that thought. Sylia and Doc. Raven stepped back when the sound echoed throughout the room. Before they could react, the Crystal Knight armour Mackie was wearing seemed to...puff outwards briefly. The armour promptly fell apart as it turned into diamond dust, leaving a clothed Mackie behind. He was a little uncomfortable since all his clothes were now backwards and inside-out. Nevertheless, he breathed a sigh of relief. At least _he_ wasn't backwards and inside out. "Whew." Doc. Raven peered down at the pile of dust that had once been a formidable piece of armour. "Hmmm... Hardware crash." Nene and Linna quickly appeared at Sylia's side. They looked a little worried because of the sound they had heard, but when they saw Mackie's state of dress, they both started trying to stifle their giggles, and failing. This caused Mackie to flush red with embarrassment. "What...happened?" Linna got out with Nene still giggling beside her. "Mackie managed to activate the Crystal Knight armour but apparently it was too damaged to change back." Sylia told her as she thoughtfully looked at the pile of diamond dust. "I gather it too much of a strain and it fell apart." Privately, Sylia wondered about that armour. *Twister said that he made it with his psionic powers, but I find that somewhat hard to believe. Something else is afoot here, I know it. And I intend to find out what it is and why our unusual guest seems reluctant to tell us.* Meanwhile, red-faced and embarrassed, Mackie turned from glaring at the giggling duo to go change his clothes back the way they were. *Guess this is part of the price one pays for science,* Mackie glumly thought on the way to his room. Priss had stayed behind with Twister and had been about to leave herself when she heard Linna's faint, but amused, voice along with Sylia's reply. Raising her eyebrow, she turned a smirking face over to Twister. "Looks like I'm not the only one who can trash a suit." Twister groaned and lifted his remaining arm to cover his face with a hand. He sighed into it. "Ah, well. I guess it was time for a new model anyway. Back to the drawing board." Priss contemplated this stranger who was no stranger. Some of 'Darlene's' slightly strange behavior, like not having anything under her shirt all the time, now made perfect sense now that she had heard Twister's story, as well as that unusual strength. The fact that no one to her knowledge had really noticed anything this odd spoke a lot for Dar...Twi..., *Argh! I'll never get that straight!*, TWISTER'S ability to adapt. Still, she felt that he owed her for deceiving them for so long...and... *WAIT A MINUTE!!* Trying to stay calm over the important information she just recalled, Priss almost kicked herself. *_Darlene's_ the Crystal Knight...and the Knight was the Blue Bullet!!! That means... Why that...* Her confusion over the Darlene/Twister issue suddenly clarified itself while she silently raged to herself, not wanting Twister to get any more amusement over what he had done to annoy Priss for a very long time. *Sylvie's my friend and I don't care what she is. You're no worse, just very unusual, and I guess I don't care about that either for the same reasons. _But_, I will get you back for all those tickets, embarrassing me in front of Leon, and finally, for SITTING THERE IN FRONT OF ME LAUGHING TO YOURSELF WHILE I TOLD YOU WHAT YOU ALREADY KNEW!!* Suddenly, Priss' anger turned to vast amusement as, in a flash of inspiration, she decided what she would do, for a start at least. She smiled broadly at her idea, it was something that she was going to look forward to. Oh, the delicous irony... Having been silent in her thoughts for a time Priss moved up to the bed and contemplated his remaining arm. "You certainly don't seem very worried about your...other arm and leg," she remarked. "Well, I checked while I still had energy from those bars and I definitely think, well, at least reasonably sure, that I can regrow them. Thank goodness." He sighed. "It's going to take a while and a _lot_ of food since I'm not just Healing something already there but re-creating it from scratch. I've got a perfect memory and I've scanned myself lots of times before so it shouldn't be too hard to do it right." Priss shook her head at his calm statement of something incredible. "That you think you can _get_ them back is damn good." Then she narrowed her eyes while still smiling, walked over to Twister's sheet-covered form and bent closer to look into his puzzled face. "However...I think we should..._discuss_ something, _Bullet_. Like about all those...speeding tickets?" *Uh oh. She remembered.* Twister was sweating a little now. "Ahhh...tickets? What tickets?" he said weakly. Smiling, Priss reached out and lightly tapped Twister's still broken leg causing him to inhale slightly in surprise from the unexpected twinge of pain, he had stopped using that pain trick so he felt it. "Oh, you know. Especially with that _perfect memory_ you said you have..." Twister grinned weakly as he mentally cursed himself for mentioning that part of his psionic powers. He sighed. "I'm sorry, Priss. I'll pay for the parking tickets. I just thought it was funn...err..." The look on Priss' face stopped him. She was smiling sweetly. Too sweetly. "Yes, you will. But you _owe_ me something fierce for not telling me about," she waved a hand at his body, "this, for constantly getting me caught in front of Leon, which could have caused me to lose my licence..." "You wouldn't have," Twister protested. "I made sure of that." "You what...? Been taking lessons from Nene? ANYway, that doesn't come close to making up for all you've done to me." Priss was grinning now. "You _owe_ me. Big time. And by your look I think you agree with me." Twister's expression was slightly sick and wasn't a result of his injuries. Cheerily, she went on. "In fact, I already _have_ something in mind..." He groaned. Chapter Twelve -------------- With Mackie and Doc. Raven staying behind to examine the remains of Twister's former Crystal Knight armour, Sylia, Linna, and Nene, went back to talk a bit more with Twister. Slyia and Nene had taken time to change back into normal clothing as well. Nene was puzzled when they entered the emergency room. Priss looked... _smug_ for some reason while Twister had this resigned expression on his face. Priss grinned at them as they entered. "Back? Great! Me and the _Blue Bullet_ here just completed some unfinished...business." "_What_ are you talking about, Priss?" Linna asked the singer with some confusion. She seemed to be talking this business rather well, whereas Linna wasn't sure on how she felt about it. Maybe she would later when it finally sunk in that one of her friends could change sexes faster than her clothes. Priss just grinned while Twister's expression fell a little more as he sighed, "Bike maintenance. Non-psionically." Brows furrowed, Nene wondered what Twister meant by that until she realized that Priss had been ticketed quite a few times because of the 'Bullet' and now that she had finally found out who he was... Nene quickly hid a smile behind her hand but her giggles still escaped from behind it. Twister sourly looked at her. "Thank you for your support." Linna was still confused while Sylia looked amused. She too had divined the reason for Priss' smug smile. "I'm sorry." Nene looked anything _but_ sorry and was trying to stop her giggles when she noticed something odd she had missed before. "Twister... What's wrong with your sheet? It looks...funny." Startled at the question, Twister quickly looked at the other three Knight Sabers and asked, "Doesn't she know?" This might be bad... That response, and the now obviously absent lumps in the concealing fabric, told Nene what had happened to Twister when he had rescued her. "No..." Nene whispered in a horror filled voice. She despretely scanned the cloth to see if she was wrong but there was no denying the fact that Twister was missing most of an arm and leg. "Oh no...." Tears filled her eyes. Before anyone could react, Nene ran out of the room. There was a stunned silence before Twister shouted to try to get Nene back while Linna ran after her friend. "NENE! Wait! It's...!" The muffled sound of Nene's scooter fading away caused the shout to die in his throat. "...ok." He paused. "Damn. I wish..." Suddenly, Twister's eyes closed and, now asleep, he fell back into his pillow from the semi-sitting position he had assumed on the bed when Nene had left. Alarmed, Priss straightened from leaning on the wall. "Hey!" Sylia waved Priss back and calmly looked at the prone Twister. "It's all right, Priss. I was wondering how he was staying awake after all he had been through tonight. He must have been using those powers he mentioned to stay awake _this_ long after healing himself." Priss frowned at the sleeping Twister. "Idiot." Sylia tactfully didn't mention the times when Priss had done similar things. Linna came back shaking her head. "She put on her helmet and left before I could catch her." She saw Twister's current state. "He finally fall asleep?" "Yes. Nene's likely going home. You and Priss should go there as well. She's been through some shocks today and I think you two would help immensely." Sylia sighed. "I would come too but I have to make sure something like that trap does _not_ happen to us again. As well as keeping watch over Twister here." "Right." Linna motioned for Priss to follow her and the two of them left the room. A lone figure watched from the forest as a Genom clean-up crew removed the disfunctional cameras and scanners as well as those Boomers destroyed by the Knight Sabers. Several technitions were using various detection equipment around the area that the Crystal Knight had impressively blasted ten plus Boomers, at once, into atoms. The concealed form gazed at the devastation in silence. And smiled. *Impressively done. As I would expect after seeing your performance with Largo, Crystal Knight. Genom may not have counted your presence into their plans when dealing with the Knight Sabers, but I will welcome it. Indeed, I _want_ it.* The figure's gaze became thoughtful. *But I do need help in order to accomplish this safely.* *I will search for what I need....* Slowly waking up, Twister opened his eyes and spied Sylia, calmly sipping some coffee, sitting on a chair and facing him. "Uhhhh... I hope what I think happened last time I was conscious was a dream." Twister checked his current state and sighed. "Darn it." "Did you want some coffee and something to eat?" Sylia inquired. "You've slept for twenty-four hours." "I'm not a coffee drinker, unlike a lot of people. But I would _love_ something to eat. Being totally tapped out is my current status at the moment." "Certainly. But right now I was wondering if we could talk some more." "Ah...sure." Sylia put down her cup of coffee, clasped her hands together, and put them on her lap. "I realize that, because of your injuries or privacy, you likely did not tell us _everything_ about your past. You did mention that your psionic powers and form changing were _imposed_ upon you after being taken from your home universe. Also, that you learned some...unusual martial arts techniques while in the universe you arrived in. However," Sylia calmly went on as Twister waited, a little nervously, for her to finish, "there _are_ some facts that I believe you deliberately left out or altered." Now Sylia's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why?" Twister looked away from Sylia's gaze, feeling a little ashamed. After a minute of thinking in silence, he decided to tell her. She might believe him. "Well...yes. I did. But...what I _have_ told you are the parts that I felt you would...believe." An eyebrow arched. "Believe? If it wasn't for the abilities you've shown us all, I wouldn't have believed even your altered story. What more is there?" "You live in a very...advanced earth compared to my home universe and the one from where I came. I thought that when you got used to the true parts of the story, which are weird enough, I could tell you the rest." He closed his eyes. "At times it's hard to believe it myself and I had read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy _before_ this all happened." Considering the person whom she had once thought to be only a _slightly_ unusual individual, Sylia sighed. "Just what are you trying to avoid telling us?" He paused, then said, "Magic." Sylia stared at his calm expression. "You can't be serious." "Very serious." "That's impossible!" Sylia snapped...but it seemed like he actually believed it. "So is changing sexes by means of water." Twister grinned. "Nothing is impossible, only improbable. Besides, the only time it's worked in this universe is with things like my suit. How else did you think I got that diamond armour of mine that light on it's own? Magic is my female side's specailty. Though I have been having trouble with it since I came here." "Assuming I believe this," Which, unfortunately, she was beginning to in a fascinated sort of way, against all rationality, "what sort of...trouble do you mean?" "I'll have to show you. Could you bring a glasses of hot and cold water for me?" Puzzled, yet intrigued, Sylia complied and was soon shaking her head in disbelief when she saw the almost instant change of male to female. "That alone could convince me." Darlene giggled a bit, the first time Sylia had ever seen her do that. "Well, this is what I'm having trouble with." And Darlene recited: "Power beyond imagination, Spell to help with sight, Give me now illumination, Shine _forth_ magic light!" The ball of glowing purple light that appeared from nowhere transfixed Sylia's attention as she gazed at the impossibility in front of her. "This could just be another form of mental power..." she said faintly. Irritated, Darlene snapped at Sylia. "Oh, come on! I'm not even concentrating on it anymore. Just believe me, it's magic. You wanted the truth, you got it." Claming down, she peered at the sphere. "It's also the weakest spell I dare that isn't enchantment. And you'll see...why..._now_!" Suddenly, the ball of light was beginning to spurt magical flames erratically and wobbling in mid-air. Quickly, Darlene used the hot water Sylia had given her to change. Twister then trust his remaining hand into the flaming sphere, ignoring Sylia's startled shout, and the ball of light was sucked into his skin, without a mark. "I'm immune to direct magic in this form," he explained to a wide-eyed Sylia. "You could have warned me!" Trying to clam down, she continued, "Does that mean you are immune to direct psionics when female?" At his nod, she sighed. "All right. Male is psionics and...female is magic. I'll believe you, reluctantly, but what caused that...instability?" "I wish I knew. I didn't have any trouble before I came to this universe." Sylia stared at him. "Did it ever _occur_ to you that it might be the result of whatever brought you here?" "How??" "I don't know, you should know better than I. But when you arrived you said you had amnesia. Something deeper might have been affected as well." Twister looked thoughtful. "You could be right. It's something I can check later." "And _later_ is when I can _hopefully_ get the full story from you," Sylia said meaningfully. He seemed a little disterbed, but didn't object. "Ah, right." Changing the topic, Twister asked a question he had been worrying about since he woke up. "How's Nene? She didn't react...well when she realized what had happened to me." Now Sylia looked slightly concerned. "Priss and Linna went over to her place and found her crying...rather heavily. They managed to help her stop, but I'm afraid that they couldn't cheer her up much. Nene _did_ seem relatively okay by the time they left. Relatively." Twister shook his head and sighed. "Poor Nene..." "Twister." When the owner of the name looked up at Sylia, she asked him a question that _she_ had been wanting to ask for a while. "Just how badly hurt was Nene?" Twister stared at an expressionless Sylia before closing tired eyes and hesitantly answering the question. "Bad. No... She was _very_ badly wounded as you could guess from what you saw before the explosions hid everything." He frowned. "I was standing nearby, invisible by means of my armour, because I was curious how you guys did one of your operations. Didn't even notice the mines until a split-second before they detonated. Wasn't fully prepared so I was a little stunned, but in much better shape than Nene. I should've got us both out when I caught Nene after the second explosion hid us from your view but I was still stunned and Nene was in a _really_ bad way. Healing someone else is difficult for me but she needed it _immediately_." Twister took a breath. "I devoted my concentration on Healing her and fixing her armour to better protect her. The other missiles didn't affect her because my power protected her. I, however, didn't have the luxury as you can guess." He sighed. "I thought my armour could stand up to it. Wrong, wrong, wrong." In silence, Twister contemplated all the possible things he could've done better and was racking up an impressive amount until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Surprised, he opened his eyes and looked up at a gently smiling Sylia. "Don't dwell on what you think you _should_ have done. What you did saved Nene and you both _survived_. _That's_ what counts." She cocked her head. "I don't believe you have much experience in working with a team. Am I right?" When Twister nodded her smile became more friendly. "Then I would say you did the best you could in order to help save Nene. Although," she arched an eyebrow, "_next_ time you should try to come out _intact_. Speaking of which..." Sylia looked thoughtfully at where Twister's left arm should have been under the cover. "Can your power fix that?" She smiled a little ruefully. "Somehow that doesn't sound impossible now. You certainly are full of surprises." Twister grinned. "Yup. But I did tell Priss that I think I can...but it's gonna take a while _and_ take a lot of food." Twister's gaze turned pensive. "Have to tell Sylvie and Anri about this so they can look after the shop. And...hmmm..." Sylia wondered what Twister was thinking of before he spoke again. "You said you wanted to make sure that kind of trap wouldn't surprise you again?" Sylia frowned. "Yes. That must not happen again. I've taken a few small measures already." "Mind if Firelord helps you with that?" Sylia blinked. "You know him too? I thought only Nene..." Twister continued with a grin. "I _am_ a little peeved at Genom right now." Sylia's expression caused his grin to grow larger. She got control of herself again and gave him an arch look. "So _you_ are Firelord?? Why am I not surprised? Just how many names do you _have_?" Twister smirked. "A lot. I think you've got 'em all now." "Just what sort of 'help' were you thinking of?" The evil grin she got back made her amusedly think that Genom had made a big mistake in making this particular person hostile towards them. "Let's just say...I have a few ideas." A week later, Twister was carefully gazing at his new left arm, both by eye and psionically. After a minute, he sighed with relief as he opened and closed the fingers on his fist. He'd devoured enough food to choke a horse to do it and withstood some pain during the process but it worked. "Finito. One brand new left arm ready for duty." He smiled. "What's that? Feeding your face?" Twister looked at a smirking Priss who was leaning on one of the walls of the emergency room where he was still stuck in. Sylia had been adamant about his staying in the room until he was done Healing himself. Apparently, she wasn't _too_ confident about Twister's ability to regrow his missing limbs. Then again, she could be wanting to study his progress to see if it could be done without psionics. Only Sylia knew. As usual. A portable computer system had been brought in so he could connect to Wingman. Twister had then given Sylia access to the formidable computer he had created and while she wasn't on Nene's level, she certainly was using it well. The 'little' ideas they were using to get Genom off-balance occupied some of his time as they added a little chaos into the lives of Genom Corp. Wingman couldn't be traced (after all, it was more than a mile under the ground and had no direct connection anyhow) which made things _so_ much easier for Sylia. He was still getting bored. "Of course, Priss. That means I can get _out_ of here quicker." Before she could make a retort, Twister asked Priss something that had been bugging him. "How's Nene? She's the only one who hasn't been here the last week. She ok?" He had a worried expression on his face. Priss was quiet for a moment before answering. "She looks ok but..." She sighed. "There's something in her eyes that tells me she's not. I told her you were going to regrow your arm and leg but that didn't help." Twister digested this bit of news and sighed as well. "I think, perhaps, that the only way to help her is to talk to her directly and say it's not her fault. I'd better wait until the leg is done. Bad reminder." "Hope that does it. Anyways..." Priss grinned, "I came to work out the details on out little 'agreement' for my bike." She definitely was enjoying getting back at him. Little did he know Priss didn't think he would pay nearly enough maintaining her bike and was waiting for any chance to punish her friend a little more. Twister rolled his eyes. "Oh, great. Does the 'cycle singer' want her bike to go even faster? And maybe shouting out as she rides..." Twister started singing out a part of one of Priss' songs. Badly. "Big City, kodoku-na Heart to Heart, minna ai no mayoooffph!" The abrupt end was the result of Priss' fist hitting Twister's diaphragm so that Twister was now gasping for breath. "Don't mangle my songs like that!" She glared at the recovering Twister. "Can't you sing any better?!" "I...wheeze...never learned...gasp...how. Though..." He was clearly recovered now but still pretended to be breathless. "I...pant...may have just...wheeze again...gotten incentive to do...gasp...so. Ohhhh, the pain." "The hamming it up you mean, you idiot." Laughter and giggling from the entrance to the room drew Priss and Twister's attention to the source of the sound. "Sylvie! Anri! You two been okay with the shop?" Twister smiled. "We've managed." Sylvie smiled at Priss and Twister. "That _was_ pretty bad, Twister." Anri was still giggling beside her. Twister sighed. "Critics everywhere." He brightened. "Hey! Something new to torture Priss with! First bikes, now singing! Two points!" Bad move. Priss had been walking towards Sylvie and Anri to give warm greetings but froze when she heard that. *Like _hell_ you are!* she thought. Whirling around to glare angrily at Twister, she shouted, "Don't you _dare_!" He smirked. "Why not? You've got me going to improve your bike like I did to mine already. And since I don't know how to sing, it doesn't bother me at all. Only those who know how to sing well." This is called 'putting out a fire with gasoline'. "Listen, you sonofa..." Priss started stalking furiously towards a grinning Twister but suddenly stopped with a thoughtful expression on her face. Twister's grin disappeared. *Uh oh. What's she planning?* Suddenly, Priss' face showed exactly the same sort of expression she had on just before telling Twister that he owed her for all those parking tickets. "You said 'those who know how to sing well'? Well, guess what? I've been having a slow month and since you won't be able to work on my bike until you're out of here...you're gonna get a few _singing lessons_. And I'm going to make sure you know how to sing _decently_ at _least_ by the time your leg is done! Remember, you _owe_ me, and don't you think for a minute that I'm gonna forget it!" All the while Priss talked, Twister sank deeper and deeper into his bed's pillow. When Priss defiantly finished speaking, he quietly groaned as Sylvie and Anri looked on with vast amusement. *Why do I do this to myself?* Twister sighed mentally. *Oh, well. At least I won't be bored.* Looking again at Priss' now-smug face, he added to that thought. *Anything _but_ bored.* Chapter Thirteen ---------------- The door to an apartment opened, let the owner of the place in, and then closed the home from the outside world once more. Said owner slowly took her shoes off before going over and sitting down on a chair, facing the computer system in the corner. And just stared at the screen. Nene sighed and stood up again. She couldn't go on the Net. Not today. She just couldn't stop thinking about that day when they had fallen for that trap and she had been knocked unconscious. Finding out later that Darlene had risked her life to save Nene's and had lost an arm and a leg while doing so had horrified then deeply depressed her. *If only I had been more _careful_!* Fortunately, Nene _did_ know that she had done all that she could. Her suit's systems just hadn't been _quite_ as good as they needed to be to discover the hidden Boomers. She _knew_ that. *But it doesn't help,* Nene sighed mentally as she sat down at her table and stared down at it with tears staring to form in her eyes as they had often been doing for the past two weeks. DING! She looked up at the sound. *Doorbell. Must be Linna. Trying to cheer me up again.* Nene tried to wipe the tears from her eyes as she went to open the door. She didn't have much luck by the time she started to open the door. "Hi Lin..." The dull greeting died in her mouth as it dropped open in surprise and Nene's eyes widened. "I may not be a Linna but will a Darlene do?" said the grinning red-head, chuckling at Nene's reaction. Darlene's amusement turned to concern as Nene just stood there, looking from her face, her left arm, her recently Healed left leg, and back to her face again. "Nene? Hey, are you alright?" Darlene softly said. Startled, Nene stopped her examination and looked Darlene in the face with a more normal-looking expression of guilt but still didn't say anything. "Can I come in?" Darlene prompted. Nene quickly nodded, still unable to speak, and Darlene walked into the apartment. She had just taken off her shoes when Nene closed the door and ran up to Darlene to hug her tightly, crying, "I'm sorry!" Startled, Darlene hesitantly hugged Nene back as Nene sobbed on her shoulder. *Priss was right. She isn't doing to hot, is she?* she thought with some concern. When Nene calmed down after a while, Darlene said, "Didn't Priss and Linna tell you that I thought I would be alright?" "Yes," Nene sniffled, "but..." "...kinda hard to believe. I guess that's true." Darlene stared over Nene's shoulder for a second. "For me as well." She sighed and shook her head. "Still weird for me too, at times." She refocused on Nene's face and smiled. "Got some cake? I've been busy with this leg all week. I've got a case of the munchies and 'nothin else will do'." Trying to smile, Nene walked over to the fridge and produced a half of a cake. Darlene smirked when she saw the cake. "Natch." Nene didn't have to try to smile after that predictable, for Darlene, comment. After they had both eaten a piece of cake, Darlene, with no little malicious satisfaction, told Nene about the 'little' setbacks she and Sylia had conjured up on the computer to pay back Genom and keep them occupied until they found a better solution. As Darlene had hoped, Nene came out of that strange depression halfway through the descriptions of the pitfalls created for Genom and started interjecting her own comments. *Well, she DOES know the Net better than me or Sylia. Heh. The Net is _Nene's_ kingdom.* As she listened to Nene's comments, Darlene inwardly smiled that the distraction seemed to be working. *She looks 200% better now.* "...and the data transferal from that node will lose Genom's pet hackers tracking your trail," Nene concluded. She paused for a second as she realized her state of dress. Nene had been working hard at work this particular day to forget her troubles and since it was a Friday there had been lots of things to finish up. The result of this was that her uniform was wrinkled, her deodorant starting to fail, and hair in a slight disarray. She was distressed as she looked at herself. "Oh no! I forgot! I'm a mess!" "As long as you look happier than before, I don't mind." Darlene smiled happily as Nene checked her uniform's status. That was the wrong thing to say. Nene slowed her inspection slightly before standing up. Sadly, Nene said, "I guess so." *Oh no, I've gone and reminded her again. Shoot!* Thinking quickly before Nene left to go clean herself up, Darlene hurriedly said, "Say, Nene... How about you just do me a _favor_. Later. Though not as dramatic or stupid as sacrificing an arm and a leg. Nothing big. Just so you feel better. Is that okay?" Nene listened to this and looked strangely thoughtful for a second before nodding slowly. "Okay." As she walked towards the bathroom, she said, "Thank you, Twister." "No problem." It wasn't until Nene closed the bathroom door that she realized that Nene hadn't called her 'Darlene'. That struck her as unusual for some reason. *That's odd. She should be more used to that name for this form.* *I wonder why she used the name she knows for my male form...* Darlene was sneaking another piece of cake with the self-rationalization that it would help Nene with her sweet tooth and was quietly singing and humming between bites as she ate. Her friend was taking her time. *Sigh,* Darlene half-mocking thought to herself as she munched on the piece of cake, *Curse you, Priss. You actually managed to get a decent voice outta me and now I _know_ how bad I was before. Oh, well. At least no one's going to wince at me anymore. I just wish she hasn't looked so damned amused after seeing me wince at a recording she had made of my singing before we started.* "That's really nice, Twister. I didn't know you sang," Nene's quiet voice commented behind Darlene from the region of the bathroom door. *'Twister' again?* Darlene wondered as she started swinging her head to face Nene. "I threatened Priss with bad singing which wasn't...too... smart...um...ah...what's that for, Nene?" she nervously got out. Wrapped up in towels, one for hair and one for body, Nene nervously stood a few feet away from Darlene. Her eyes were looking alternately at the floor and at the object she held in slightly trembling hands. A steaming glass of water. "Twister...do you want to..." Nene's voice trailed off as Darlene stood up and approached her with some hesitation. When Darlene stopped, she slowly raised her hands and before Nene could say anything, placed those hands overtop Nene's shaking ones, keeping the glass between them. Miracle of miracles that Darlene was able to keep her own steady considering the panic she was feeling herself. Darlene quickly started talking in a rush. "Nene...you're my _friend_ you don't need to..." "But I can't think of anything else!!" Nene cried, tears forming in her eyes and staring to fall down her cheeks. "I'm alright, Nene. Really." Quickly, Darlene guided Nene closer to the table and managed to place the glass of hot water upon it by taking both sets of hands away from the container. "You don't need to do this. It's not...eek!" she squeaked in panic at what Nene did next. Freed of holding the glass, Nene had suddenly rushed forwards and hugged Darlene desperately and tightly as she cried. Surprised again by Nene's reactions, Darlene could only let her friend sob into her shoulder as her mind whirled in confusion. "It's...just...too...much!" was Nene's muffled, but anguished, plea. "Please!!" *This isn't right,* Darlene thought frantically. *She's my _friend_ for crying out loud! But how can I get rid of this grief of hers? What can I do? What should I do?" Suddenly, her mind flashed a rushed solution. *Maybe...* "How about a date?" she blurted out, then cursed to herself as soon as she said it. Not comprehending at first, Nene kept sobbing until the meaning of what Darlene had said reached her. She stopped and lifted her head to look, with some surprise, at the person she was holding on to. "A...date?" "Um...ah...yeah." Darlene dredged up a smile. "Just to give you time to...er...think it over. Let's both go out tonight and try to have a good time. I know you haven't had much of _that_ lately." Actually, Darlene was beginning to think this might work after all. Nene sniffled and considered this. "And you'll be a guy?" "Of course. I'd be a funny date if I wasn't." Darlene rolled her eyes. "And it'll be my first time being male in the city without wearing my armour. That _does_ draw some notice," she said wryly. Releasing Darlene from the hug, Nene giggled as she wiped the tears form her eyes. "Ok. We'll go on a date." "And, uh, you can pick where to go." Darlene looked slightly embarrassed. "I've been in this city for almost a year and I'm still not familiar with it in the entertainment value-wise sense. Haven't gone out much, I guess. The only places I know is where you guys have taken me." "Oh, I know some great places and Naoko has mentioned a few spots to me that I didn't want to go to without a...um...date." Nene blushed, then brightened as she thought about it. "Now I can!" They both giggled at that. "Heh. Well, if we're gonna do it then I guess we'd better get ready." Darlene picked up the still warm glass of water. "If I stay like this there's going to be some strange things being said about you if you're seen by anybody you know." Nene giggled as she nodded her agreement, then started looking for something to wear, her depression set aside by excitement. As she looked, something bothered her for some reason. Not the date, which she was looking forward to, but something else she couldn't figure out. Then she shrugged. It couldn't _that_ important. "I can't believe that guy was cheating," Twister grumbled. "How did you know?" Nene's voice inquired curiously. The two were walking out of an old-style amusement park that Nene sometimes went to with friends from ADPolice. Nene had picked it as the first place to go and they had enjoyed the rides and games that the park offered. He had mock begged Nene to go on the roller-coaster ride called the 'Tornado', which had caused her to dissolve into hilarious laughter once she got the joke. But there had been one game that almost became the exception to their enjoyment. "It's hard to fool a telekinetic who's suspicious of something. Those targets were easy to hit with the air gun, but just when I was about to win they suddenly weren't flipping anymore. The second time I checked to see if I was hitting them...and I _was_! The guy must've triggered something that made the ducks harder to knock down. Once I realized that, I 'helped' my own air gun shoot quite a bit faster." Twister smirked when he turned and looked at Nene. She was quite happy since her arms were full of large, fluffy, and cute dolls. "The guy sure looked funny after I started winning and kept at it. Want some help with those?" "I'm okay. Mmmmm..." Nene happily hugged the dolls. Then she sighed. "But we have to go back to my house and drop these off before we go anywhere else." She pouted at the anticipated waste of time. "Ah, but, madam. You have Twister's Delivery Service at your disposal." Twister smiled as he quickly plucked a white plush kitten from the bunch in Nene's arms and with a mystical gesture made it vanish. "One feline hath been delivered to thy domicile, fair lady." "Oh, right! I forgot." Nene started handing dolls over to Twister with some sorrow but was cheered by the fact that she'd have lots of time to be with them later. When he finished, Twister bowed grandly to Nene and both were surprised when the crowd that had formed around them started clapping. "Uh, oh," Twister said in a low voice. *Didn't think. That was stupid but I was more concerned with making Nene happy.* "Oops. They must think we're performers for the park. What should we do?" Nene nervously glanced around at the clapping audience. "Not much choice, it's time to improvise!" Raising his voice, he addressed the waiting crowd. "Thank you all for your applause! And for our second magical surprise, I and my lovely assistant," Nene blushed at the appreciative whistles from the crowd, "will deceive your eyes and leave you with more fuel for your imagination." Twister gestured for Nene to stand close to him as he started to chant, spreading his arms wide. "Trantol fortran kantal pascal...." Nene repressed her smile when she heard some of the words he chose. With sweeping motions of his arms, Twister focused the crowd's attention to the ground. Mist was forming from no visible source and was beginning to rise and swirl around the pair. Higher and higher it rose until all there was was Twister's voice chanting from a pillar of fog. Suddenly, the voice stopped and the fog halted swirling for a moment and began to drop back to the ground. Then it pulsed. And began to shrink into a familiar form. After a few seconds, the crowd looked on with amazement at the giant boomer made out of fog that slowly and silently walked towards one side of the audience. Before anyone panicked, the boomer stopped and exploded with a faint mushroom-like poof into mist that rapidly vanished. The two that had produced such an illusion were nowhere to be seen. After a moment's confirmation that the two hadn't left through the crowd, the people who had seen the display clapped their hearty approval for a long time, suspecting that the two were nearby but hiding to improve the effect. "Whew. That was close." Twister relaxed as he peered around the corner. He had silently teleported them both away to a hiding place he had quickly spotted when they had been concealed in fog and had used his 'unnotice me' trick to avoid them being noticed. Nene was impressed at the control he had used to shape the fog. "That was neat! But why did you make it do that?" she asked him curiously. Twister turned to smirk at Nene. "They expected a surprise and I gave them one. Still," he shuddered, "I hate being the center of attention for a crowd. Brrr..." "You didn't act like it," she pointed out. "Didn't have much choice. Anyway," Twister gallantly held out an arm for Nene, "I'm supposed to be giving _you_ a good time. Shall we go before we're noticed?" "Sure!" Nene quickly wrapped her arm around Twister's and they retreated from the area. When they finally returned to Nene's apartment, it was late and both were tired from all they had done. Nene hadn't done anything for two weeks so she had had quite a bit of stored energy once her mood had improved. Twister had kept up with her the whole time and was surprised at how tired he himself was. "Ahhh... Back home!" Nene got a sudden burst of energy and ran to check on her new stuffed pets. "Yay!" she cried as she found them on her bed and tried to hug them all at once, then one at a time. "Glad to see you back to your old self again," a female voice commented wryly, but with an undercurrent of relief. Nene looked up and saw that Twister must've used some cold water to change forms again because Darlene was standing nearby and smiling at her friend. "Why did you...?" "I had a feeling I didn't need to stay male and you're more used to me being like this. Am I right?" Nene didn't say anything for a moment as she checked her emotions to see if that heaviness that had been a dark cloud over her heart for the past two weeks was still there. While there seemed to be a shadow of it remaining, it seemed less and less every second. Nene sighed happily at the gladness she felt. "Yes." "Thank God," Darlene said with such feeling that Nene irritably threw a pillow into her face. "Mmph!" came the muffled cry of surprise. "Darlene! That's not nice!" said Nene as she was slightly miffed at her friend's too heartfelt reaction. Her eyes widened in surprise when Darlene, with a imp-like gleam in her eye and pillow in hand, leaped to the attack and with a muffled sound hit Nene on the side. Frantically scrambling for a weapon, she quickly grabbed the other plump pillow and the war was on. The two were soon laughing too hard to continue the pillow fight and collapsed on the bed, snickering. After they had calmed down, Nene smiled gratefully at Darlene. "Thanks for cheering me up, Darlene. I had been feeling so...so depressed ever since..." she trailed off, not wanting to mention the incident. "Hey, we're friends. That's what friends do." Darlene sighed, holding the pillow close to herself. "Besides, I haven't had that much fun for a long while myself. Tiring, but fun." She closed her eyes to remembering, what all they had done that night. One amusing thought came to mind as she did this, even as she felt her eyes starting to droop. "You know..." she sleepily said. "Hmmmm...? What?" was Nene's tired response from where she lay on the bed. "I just thought about something." "What's that?" "Would rule number ten of the Knight Saber code have applied here or not if we had done it?" The last part of the sentence was barely audible. Nene wondered what Darlene was talking about until she remembered the list of rules that Sylia had given her, Priss, and Linna. Not that they had obeyed some of them. She thought about the wording of that rule and her friend's strange form-changing abilities and had to giggle. "That's funny, Darlene. I'm not sure. What do you think?" When she got no response, Nene looked at her. "Darlene? Are you... oh." The slow and even breathing told her that her friend had fallen asleep at last. *Hmmm... I guess...I...will...too...* was Nene's last thought before she followed in Darlene's footsteps and closed her eyes. Early Saturday morning was bright and sunny and Linna was fully enjoying this as she jogged her usual route. She was almost home and was planning what she would do that day. *Let's see... Going to pick up Priss at 11 and go shopping, then stop over at Sylia's for a swim in the pool. What else?* She had jogged back to her apartment building and paused before opening her door. *Nene.* Her friend hadn't been included in her plans because Nene had not wanted to do anything for quite some time. Linna frowned. *Two weeks is long enough.* She decided. *I'll clean up and head to her place right away and get her to _go_ somewhere. Maybe me, Priss, and Darlene can cheer her up. At least, now that Darlene's leg should be done by now.* The thought of her friend's newly revealed abilities still caused her some wonder but she had decided she was adaptable enough to accept it, barely. She liked Darlene though, and that made all the difference. Thinking over the plan briefly, Linna nodded to herself and smiled. *We should be able to cheer her up.* Later, Linna knocked on Nene's door and hoped that she was up. *She should be....* The door opened and Linna was very surprised to see Twister as the one who was standing behind it. She hadn't seen too much of Darlene's male side as he had almost always been under a cover but even dressed as he was now Linna could see he was pretty handsome looking. He looked surprised and a little embarrassed. "Linna! Uh...hi! Come on in! Nene's in the shower and I'm making breakfast for a treat." He had changed back into a guy so he could use his TK for some practice as well as giving Nene a bit of a show. Seeing food prepare itself, with him making exaggerated music conductor motions, had almost made Nene collapse in laughter. "What are you doing here this early?" Linna said as she walked in and smelled the delicious aroma of breakfast. She had had a light breakfast to get here quickly and this smell prompted her to eye the kitchen. "Um....well..." His hesitant answer was cut off as a toweled Nene came out of the bathroom with a smile and saw Linna which made her smile even bigger from the unexpected and happy surprise. "Linna!" She looked very cheerful. "I'm sorry that I haven't been much fun lately. Gimme a second and I'll be right out and we can have breakfast and then go out and do something!" Before either Linna or Twister could reply, Nene grabbed some clothes she had laid out before taking her shower and went back into the bathroom to dress. Linna was faintly stunned at this turn of event and her face reflected it. Twister blinked and speculatively looked at the bathroom door. "Well, she's definitely cured of that depression." Turning her head at his voice, Linna stared at him, then at the door Nene had gone through, and then back to Twister again. Something was slowly forming in her mind and she voiced it out loud. "Did you two...?" His raised eyebrow made her blush in embarrassment. "Tsk, tsk, Linna. What a naughty mind. No, we didn't. We just had a friendly date to try to cheer Nene up and it worked. Whoops! Gotta check on breakfast!" Twister ran away from Linna to save the food and she followed him inside. That Nene had asked was better left unsaid, he figured. As Twister continued making breakfast, Linna recalled how down Nene had been for the past few weeks and compared that to the cheerful face she had just seen. One thought entered her mind, stunned as it was at Nene's enormous change. *Must have been some date.* After Nene came out, the three ate breakfast. Nene was the one doing most of the talking with Linna, catching up on most of the week's events. *Trying to make up for two weeks of gloom it sounds like.* Darlene thought amusedly to herself. She had used some water to change into female again as Twister had felt that Linna would probably feel more comfortable with the more familiar form. The guess was a good one and Linna, now that one of her best friends wasn't so depressed anymore, was smiling and laughing almost as much as Nene. When they finished, they all left in Linna's van and picked up Priss, who still looked faintly sleepy, eleven a.m. was early for her. The cheerful greeting she got from Nene woke her up in a hurry as she stared at the unexpected, smiling face of her former doom-'n-gloom friend. Surprise turned to pleasure as she got on the van, happy to see Nene back to normal. As they drove, however, Priss was getting rather annoyed since no one would tell her the reason for Nene's abrupt mood change. Nene just smiled happily. Linna just grinned and looked ready to laugh out loud. Darlene just smiled and was trying hard to look innocent. Priss just ground her teeth in frustration. She hated not knowing what was going on. The shopping mall provided Priss with some means of satisfaction when Darlene attempted to avoid trying on or buying any female clothing. "Hey, Darlene! Now why aren't you looking for anything for yourself?" Priss grinned as she said that since everybody, with the exception of Darlene, the group were looking at various things displayed in front of female clothing stores. "You know very well _why_, Priss." This was quietly muttered out the side of Darlene's mouth as she embarrassed enough as it was. "But what about when..." Nene started to say. "...I first came? I didn't want to look suspicious then, that's all. I think I have enough right now." Darlene looked uncomfortable. "Not that I ever wore some of it." Nene hid a grin behind her hand as she remembered some of the articles she had persuaded her friend to buy at Sylia's shop. Darlene glared at her suspiciously and she tried to keep her face straight but her lips twitched uncontrollably. Linna saw what Priss was up to and decided to get into the fun herself as well. "That was _months_ ago! You need to keep up with the fashions!" Priss looked at her with a grin and they nodded imperceptively in agreement. "Uh..." Darlene felt like she was losing ground somehow. "'Sides, we're all going to Sylia's for a dip in the pool and somehow I don't think you have anything for that." Priss grinned as she and Linna each firmly gripped one of Darlene's shoulders and started herding the reluctant shopper towards a store entrance. Panic rushed up and Darlene dug in her heels, being as strong as she was this stopped her forward momentum, almost tipping over from the force of the surprised Priss and Linna's hands on her shoulders. "H-hey! I don't really need to go in. Do I?" That last was added desperately. "What's the problem? You've obviously shopped with Nene before." "Yeah, but mostly clothes that would look good on either sex," Darlene retorted. "The rest I've never worn. And _that_ store," she waved at the entrance that she had almost been dragged into, "looks like it doesn't carry any of the former." Priss carefully studied the store's displays. "You know, I think you're right. Even better," she declared with an evil grin directed at the horror filled red-head she held firmly. "All the things a cute girl really needs. Don't you think Darlene fits into that category, Linna?" "Oh, _definitely_, Priss." Cutting off Darlene's denial, Priss bent down to look eye-to-eye with her companion. "And she _does_ remember that she owes me, doesn't she?" Darlene stared at the singer with a rapidly sinking feeling. "How long are you going to hold that over my head?" she asked with a sick curiosity. "Until I think you've suffered enough," was Priss' calm reply, a wicked gleam in her eye. Darlene slumped her head in defeat. "Oh, all right," she muttered, "I'll go peacefully." "Hey, it's not like you don't have the equipment," Priss quipped, and smirked at the glare Darlene gave her. "Want to help, Nene?" Nene, with great dignity, said, "Only if I get to help with the swimsuit." Then she smiled broadly and innocently at Darlene. "Traitor," the prisoner growled. Nene stuck her tongue out impishly before they all went into the store, everybody laughing save one resigned red-head. Sylia was pleasantly surprised to see that Nene had come and was looking cheerful again when the four arrived for the swim. Also, from Linna and Priss' mirthful expressions, she suspected that they had something to do with Darlene's holding two bags worth of recently bought clothing. Especially when she had that martyred look on her face. "Nene! It's good to see you looking better." Nene looked down slightly. "I'm sorry if I worried everyone, Sylia." "I _was_ a little concerned, but I can see you're okay now." She smiled at Nene who had looked back up. "Shall we go swimming now and forget about it?" "Okay!" Nene smiled and then giggled as she remembered something. "Wait till you see what I helped Darlene get!" "Hmm?" Sylia blinked at this somewhat startling news and looked inquiringly at the others. "Oh, we decided that Darlene needed a new wardrobe seeing as she was trying to avoid shopping today," Linna said offhandedly while Priss smirked. "She needed a swimsuit anyway." With an arched eyebrow and amused face, Sylia turned to Darlene. "Really?" Darlene sighed wearily. "I _did_ need one." "Don't forget that _lovely_ dress..." Priss said, earning her a black look from Darlene. Sylia wisely refrained from commenting after seeing the reaction. "I think the swimsuit looks great!" said Nene happily as they all entered the building. "Hmph." Darlene tried to cheer herself up a little. "At least it wasn't a bikini." "What's wrong with a two piece?" Linna inquired. "For you, nothing. For me...I don't think so." "Yeah, it's just not you." "That's _not_ what I meant, Priss." "Heh. I know." "Priss...argh." Darlene gave up. "Anyway, I can live with green and purple. I like purple." "I didn't see why the first one I picked wasn't a good choice, Darlene." "Nene, light _pink_ isn't one of my..." "Say, Darlene," said Priss curiously, interrupting her. "What?" she braced for another comment. "I thought you were shy about this." Darlene blinked. Sylia had already been changed so she had not followed the four into the room normally used to change into swimsuits. Darlene had been distracted by the conversation and thinking about the very embarrassing incident at the clothing store, the source of all the new clothes she now owned. The other three were used to changing into their swimsuits here so their movements had all been natural; Darlene had unthinkingly followed suit. All present in the room didn't have much on at the moment. "_ACK_!!!" Darlene shouted and an eyeblink later her hands were over her eyes, which didn't hide the beet-red blush on her face. "Sorry!!" Priss rolled her eyes as Nene and Linna were sorting out their own feelings on the matter. "Somehow, I don't feel very threatened by this. Given your reaction, that is. The fact that you're a girl now helps as well." "I don't care," Darlene forcefully stated. "Well...even if you were a guy at first, you've been a girl most of the time while you've been here and we _are_ all friends. It's not like you don't fit in with _that_ figure." Like Priss, Linna appeared to have decided that it wasn't a problem. "Right! Come on, Darlene. It's not that bad," Nene chimed in. "No. The store was my limit." Darlene was trying to walk backwards towards the door while still covering her eyes. Linna sighed. "You'd think she'd jump at the chance." She motioned to Nene who nodded with a grin. "If you don't, we'll pry those hands off your eyes, even if we all have to wrestle you to the floor." Darlene froze at the implications of that. "You wouldn't." "One..." "Okay! Okay! I surrender!" Reluctantly, Darlene lowered her arms. Trying not to look at the semi-clothed others. Nene stepped up in front of Darlene, a small frown of exasperation on her lips. "It's okay, Darlene, don't look so resigned!" She blinked and looked down. "Say...do you _never_ wear a bra?" Priss and Linna hadn't thought someone could blush that red. "Should've left on one of the ones we made you use while trying on all those dresses," Priss commented. "Oh, shut up," Darlene said as she grit her teeth together. "HUP!" SPLASH! "AGH!" "HEY!" "EEK!" Breaking the surface of the water, Darlene shook her head to get the water off her face and grinned at the soaked, surprised, and beginning to steam Priss, Linna, and Nene who hadn't even gotten in and weren't accustomed to the pool's temperature yet. She had directed the splash of her entry just right to get all three. The design on her swimsuit was all green leaves with purple flowers blooming between and above the foliage, the waters of the pool lapped at the suit. Revenge was sweet. "Payback!" Darlene crowed, laughing. "WHY YOU...!" Priss dived in immediately, prompting Darlene to quickly backstroke away as the singer resurfaced and made like Jaws towards her. Evading Priss all the way, Darlene made a complete circuit of the pool before standing up in the shallow end. "Hey, I was just getting even for making me buy all those clothes!" Having reached the shallow end and standing up as well, Priss slowly advanced, not too angry anymore but with an evil grin on her face. "You forgot one thing, Darlene...teamwork!" "Huh?" "GET HER!!" chorused a trio of voices. Too late, the memory that Darlene had gotten all _three_ friends came back and was washed away as three pairs of hands grabbed and dunked her. Nene and Linna had entered the pool as Priss chased her quarry and had quietly waited for the two to come back. "Gaaaa..blub!" Sylia watched their antics with a smile, pleased that they were having a good time. It certainly seemed like everyone had finally recovered from that last fiasco of a mission. The team hadn't been on any jobs as a result and while they had been piling up, she had felt that the time had not come yet. She wanted the others to initiate the restart of operations because if Sylia did then they might feel like things were being rushed. She smiled again as she watched the four splashing each other. *I don't think I'll have to wait long.* Mackie was sitting beside his sister and was staring in envy at Darlene as she splashed the others in the pool. *She changed with Priss, Linna, and Nene. Together.* He sighed at all the potential opportunities to spy on girls such form-changing abilities would present to him, even though Mackie had no desire to actually _be_ a girl. Still...all those _chances_. *How lucky can you get?* Chapter Fourteen ---------------- Business was steady in the Flights of Fantasy store and Darlene was, surprisingly, pleased as she surveyed her domain. *I opened this store just so I could get enough money to support me and then only until I could return.* She looked around at the customers scattered around the store. *But it's amazing how attached you can get to something if it succeeds.* It was now several weeks since Darlene had fully recovered from the injuries she had suffered in that little trap of Genom's for the Knight Sabers. Nene seemed fully recovered and had gone with the Sabers on several missions with only a slight bit of hesitation, which was fading fast. "Excuse me?" "Hm?" Darlene blinked, her mind had been wandering and hadn't noticed anybody coming up to her. She looked up at a customer and almost blinked again. That the customer was a lady, anyone could tell. She had an air of command about her as she smiled, slightly mocking, at the recovering Darlene. With long, purpleish hair, almost too-pale skin, and surprisingly blue(not sure) eyes, she seemed to be a living model for the Elegant Woman and was dressed like it. Trying to collect her wits, Darlene quickly smiled at the woman in front of her. "I'm sorry! My mind was some distance away." "I could see that." The smile reflected amusement now. "What can I do for you?" Something was bothering Darlene in the back of her mind. *Where have I met this person before? She seems familiar.* "I am thinking of buying..." The lady turned around and glanced at what occupied the center of the store. "...that." "Char?!?" Darlene looked incredulous. "Most people want to stay _away_ from him at first glance!" The urge to smirk was strong. "Or is it for 'the man you love?' To _hate_, that is." The purple-haired woman had to laugh briefly at that, "No. My employer likes to collect...unusual things from time to time and that rather impressive piece of work would please him very much." Noticing two very large gentlemen busily looking at objects in the store Darlene quickly checked with her mystic senses and had a guess confirmed. "You always bring Boomers along to carry your shopping?" That caught the lady by surprise. "How...?" She narrowed her eyes. "I see you are observant." "So-so," Darlene sighed. "In any case, Char's not for sale. He was a gift for the store's opening." "_Genom_," the woman hinted pointedly, "would be more than willing to offer you a more than sufficient amount to compensate you." Darlene stiffened involuntarily as she realized who she was talking business with. Matagan! Darlene, as Twister, hadn't gotten a really good look at her face during the Largo incident, but she recognized the Genom executive now. And she also knew Matagan was, from a few hacks into the Genom database, the project leader of the trap that had been planned for the Knight Sabers. The trap that had literally cost her an arm and a leg. It was a good thing this was Anri's day off, Matagan would have recognized the sexaroid instantly. "I don't think so," Darlene frostily replied. "The person who gave me Char seems to be against Genom for some reason and I don't want to chance offending him." Matagan was slightly puzzled by the store owner's sudden coldness after mentioning Genom but she was still not willing to give up so easily. "Perhaps if I could talk to this person...?" Now it was time for Darlene to do some major on-the-spot acting to divert attention away from herself. She snorted. "_I_ barely talk to him myself. Actually, not at all since he vanished for a few weeks about a month ago. I tried looking for him in some...strange places but couldn't find him until he re-appeared, muttering only something about 'costing an arm and a leg,' whatever that meant." Darlene tried to look puzzled as she went on. "I wish I knew how he delivers his stuff inside the store too. He has a nice blue bike but that couldn't manage all of his stuff." The mention of the arm-and-leg phrase caused Matagan to stiffen and she intently looked at Darlene as the latter finished talking. "Have you seen his face at all?" "No," Darlene snorted with mock amusement. "He's into this 'mysterious person' bit. Always keeps his face covered somehow. He's a nice guy though. Did you want to get one of his smaller dragons? Easier to carry." Matagan slowly looked at the selection and picked a Western one at random. "I'll take this one." As Darlene rang up the sale, Matagan thought furiously to herself. *It _must_ be whoever the Crystal Knight is! I've been looking for anything unusual that might lead to him and I think I've finally found a lead! The rumors about these dragons drew me here as soon as I heard about them. These hunches I've been having are getting stronger and I came myself so I wouldn't need to tell anyone about these strange feelings.* She contemplated the dragon she had just bought was she left the store with her two guardian Boomers. *As for this, it looks _too_ well done. I think we should analyze this to see why...* "Come again!" Darlene cheerfully said as she was thinking something else. *I know _I'll_ be coming to _your_ place soon, and I have just the thing to do it too. Mysterious Person, coming up!* Much later that day, Matagan was standing in front of Quincy's desk as he minutely scanned the dragon she had purchased in the morning. "Perfect," the director commented as he examined every detail. "Tell me what the results were," he said this without looking at his employee. "Perfect is correct in many ways for this statue." Matagan looked at a sheet as she went on. "There is no possible way that this was done by hand. By either human or Boomer. You would need precision mechanics for the incredible detail incorporated into this statue...for a lengthy amount of time." "And you say these are bought daily." "Yes, sir." She flipped a page. "Also, small samples were taken and it was found that some had a purity of almost 99.99% for the metal sampled. Again, something that would take a long time to create and useful for far better purposes." "I'm hurt. I thought it was a great way to use it." Matagan whipped around at the totally unexpected voice and Quincy slowly brought his eyes up to narrow his eyes at the unexpected guest. Standing in ankle-deep fog, was a cloaked figure. The cloak was impenetrably black with softly glowing blue trim. The hood of the cloak was over the head of the person, shrouding it in shadow. The light of the office failed to be able to penetrate the darkness for some reason. When the figure started walking towards the two Genom execs, a pair of similar black with blue trim boots were shown to be worn on the stranger's feet as the fog followed like a puppy behind him. Again, the figure spoke in a modulated reply. "I'm glad you like it though..." "How did you get in here!?!" Matagan shouted. "Elevator, of course. Those stairs are murder." The figure chuckled. *Actually, I used teleportation but I'm not telling _them_ that.* Matagan went pale. "A stealth device," she whispered as a suspicion of who this stranger was grew in her mind. Quincy, as usual, was calm. "So then. You are the Crystal Knight, I presume." The hood of the cloak was facing Matagan as the Crystal Knight nodded. "Quite right. I guess I shouldn't be surprised you know about my little invisibility trick." The hood shifted as the Knight cocked his head at Matagan. "Hm. I should be very mad at you, Miss Matagan. Your little trap caused me a _lot_ of pain..." A brief flash of glowing blue orbs chilled Matagan, making her wonder if he was human, before the Knight went on, "...but the look on your face right now more than makes up for it." He chuckled. "Priceless!" An angry flush replaced the coldness in Matagan as she realized that the Knight wasn't seeking revenge and had been enjoying the fact that she didn't know that. "Why you..." "And after I saved _your_ life too. Ah, well." Twister mock-sighed. "_What?!?_ What are you talking about?!" "Largo. Scar. Leg. That help?" Matagan went white. "Yup, I guess that did it." Seeing as Matagan was unable to carry on the conversation, shock will do that, he turned to Quincy. Quincy calmly regarded the person in front of him as he held the dragon statue in one hand. "Your equipment seems quite remarkable. Indeed, most of it looks to be beyond current technologies or, at least, very different from normal methods. With your help, Genom would leap far ahead of all others." Twister gave a distorted snort. "Do you always offer intruders in your office employment? First Largo, now me?" "Yes...how did you know of that?" Quincy clasped his hands together on his desk. "I came around after the Knight Sabers injured him. I stopped to heal her during that time." Twister waved a black-sleeved arm in Matagan's direction. Still white-faced, Matagan was beginning to shake a little, eyes slightly defocused. Twister hoped she would snap out of it soon as he turned his attention to Quincy again. "Well, both you and he showed remarkable abilities to reach this point. Unfortunately, Largo chose to refuse me believing that he was some form of god." "Some god. I gave him a bit of a chill and he went all to pieces." A vast understatement if ever there was one. "Do you think you are one?" Twister laughed. "Hardly. I will turn down your offer as well though." Quincy narrowed his eyes. "Then why did you come here?" "Forgot my laundry the last time." Twister shook his head. "Scratch that. Totally irrelevant. I just wanted to ask you politely to forget about going after the Knight Sabers again OR trying to find out who they are. Me too for that matter." "Is that a threat?" "No. Just a request." "The Knight Sabers have interfered far too often in the affairs of Genom. The only reason they have been left alone is that more pressing concerns have been..." "I know. Wanna know why?" Twister chuckled. For the first time, Quincy looked slightly angry. "You have been the cause for Genom's trouble in the computer networks for the past month?" "Well...I didn't say I had completely forgiven Genom for what happened that night. After all, you..." Suddenly, something caught both Twister and Quincy's attention, it was a bright flash of light that caused the two to halt their conversation and stare at no-longer forgotten source of that light with great shock. "What the!?" "Ms. Matagan!" Matagan was outlined by a bright yellow aura and her eyes glowed the same color, making them twin lights of power on her expressionless face. Her hair started flying upward wildly as wind picked up around her. When it was noticed by her that Twister was facing her direction her face contorted into a mask of rage. "YOU!!!" "Holy...argh!!" Twister want flying across the room and slammed painfully into a far wall, which cracked at the tremendous pressure as he was forced into it slightly. The power that had flung him across the room let go and he fell to the floor where he started getting up again. *Ow, ow, ow... Wasn't ready, but jeez! That would've seriously injured a normal person!* Before he was fully up, Matagan screamed furiously that her foe was still alive and sent winds of rage to batter him. This time Twister was ready and he stayed, standing in place during the onslaught, using his own power. Quincy was wisely keeping quiet, not wanting to attract the female psionic's attention to himself in her obviously unstable state of mind. Twister's mind whirled with thought. *Since when is Matagan psionic? Given her state right now...probably all of one minute. Just perfect. I'm fighting an out-of-control psionic who isn't in control of her faculties and likely able to do more than she would be able to normally as a result of her insanity. Boy, am _I_ the lucky one. Whoa!* Seeing that winds weren't getting anywhere, Matagan had decided to turn up the heat. Pyrokinetic style. Orange-red flames appeared in front of her that were fueled only by her mental powers. With a scream, Matagan sent a roaring line of fire towards her opponent. A frantic wave of Twister's arm managed to deflect the flaming line of death. He was surprised that controlling the flames had come naturally. *_Very_ good time to discover I can do it. Necessity, mother of invention. Of course, I knew I was telekinetic and pyro is closely related.* "Sir! What's going...oh my God!!" a voice cried out. *Oh, no.* Genom security forces had finally come investigating. A group of mixed Boomer and human guards were standing in the office's large doors and staring at Matagan's glowing figure. She, on the other hand, sensed danger and reacted, temporarily ignoring Twister. Being the bigger threat, Matagan telekinetically grabbed the Boomers of the group and violently twisted their necks, snapping their fiber-optic backbone and rendering them inoperative. She showed no pleasure in the act as the Boomers crashed to the floor. "Fuck me!" screamed the leader of the security men as he saw their most powerful weapons eliminated and dropped on the floor, aiming his weapon, shouting, "Shoot her!" The others of the group quickly aimed their pistols at Matagan. They were unpleasantly surprised when their guns were jerked out of their hands and thrown into a very far corner of the office. The men's eyes widened in helpless horror as flames sprung to life in front of Matagan and shot out towards them. To be blocked half a meter away. Matagan snarled and turned to look at Twister, the only person she sensed capable of deflecting her wrath. But when she did, even in her current state, her face reflected a measure of shock at what she now saw. "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Realizing that Matagan needed to be shocked back into sanity, Twister decided that a very big display of power was needed to do this. Eyes now blazing azure through the magical darkness underneath the hood, Twister's blue aura had been raised and was shown to be substantially larger than Matagan's. He too gathered wind about him and the cloak billowed ominously behind him. He raised black gloved fists before him, blazing with his blue mindfire that was quite distinct from Matagan's mundane fire. Twister began walking towards her, consciously willing her to feel his much greater psionic power. She felt it. Her mask of rage cracking slightly, Matagan sent flames roaring towards Twister. They were not deflected this time and the mask cracked further when she saw him walking unharmed through the psionically-created flames. She tried snapping his neck like she had the Boomers but she couldn't move the hidden head a millimeter. Then he was too close for anything else. He stopped before her, stared into her eyes, and spoke words in a tone that ripped through her power-maddened mind like a dagger cooled to absolute zero. "Cease or die." His words meant what he said but Twister didn't. She listened to the spoken message. Even in her current state, Matagan realized he could easily do so and quickly relaxed her power. This act brought quick unconsciousness as she had used a higher level of power than she would normally be able to handle. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she went limp. Twister caught her before she fell to the floor, letting his own power go down, and gently laid her down. "Gee, that was fun," he sarcastically said. Quincy stood up and cautiously came around his desk. "What happened?" "Your executive is psionically active, which should be quite obvious. I'm no expert, but the sudden flow of power probably made her temporarily insane and she lashed out at the thing that angered and shocked her enough that made her active. Me. I had to shock her again to make her stop and become sane again. Since she knows the feeling now she shouldn't go berserk again. But then, I'm no expert so that's just my theory." "Psionic..." Quincy snapped his head up and regarded Twister carefully. "That statue. You made it with your mind." "Two points. No advanced technology, just thought." "Uhhh...." Matagan groaned. Surprised, Twister looked down at her. "That was quick." "What... Sir? You?" The last was spoken with some venom when she saw Twister's cloaked figure. "Do you hear voices? Have you?" inquired Twister. Matagan blinked. "What? Of course I don't!" Twister breathed a silent sigh of relief, no telepathy. Hopefully. "Well, she appears sane. Psionic, but sane. And so, I shall leave since I doubt my help is needed, or wanted for that matter. Bye!" One of the outside windows shattered and Twister made a running leap through the new exit. One thought went through his mind before he vanished. *First Largo, now me. Wonder how much these windows cost...* Chapter Fifteen --------------- A garage door opened and the van that was the Knight Sabers' mobile command center drove inside. When the vehicle came to a complete stop, a few moments passed before doors opened and the van's four armoured occupants, along with Mackie, stepped out. Taking off her helmet along with the others, Priss complained, "Man, those Boomers didn't put up much of a fight." "All the better, Priss," Linna said, standing slightly behind her friend. "Still...you're right. Must've been cheap economy models. Poor investment." Sylia said nothing as Nene piped up to give her own opinion. "They just can't stand up to us!" She nodded her head with conviction. Priss gave her a sardonic glance. "_You're_ not the one fighting them." "Hmp!" Nene turned her head away. "I do my part. I don't see you breaking access codes..." Her voice trailed away as her helmet, previously nestled in Nene's armoured arm, slipped out and began floating in front of her face. Shock was evident on her face as the others looked on with great surprise. "Wha...wha...wha..." Nene backed up from the floating helmet and only stopped when she ran into something behind her. That something placed a deeper-than-midnight black glove on her shoulder, getting her attention immediately, heightening her shock and growing fear as it whispered in a strange, deep, and spooky voice. "Neeeeneeee Rooomaaanooovaaaa....." Head whipping around, Nene took one look behind her at the cloak-covered figure with a hood that contained only darkness...and screamed. "YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!!!" She clumsily stumbled over to the others, who had raised their weapons at the sudden appearance of the stranger, and ducked behind Sylia. "Who the hell are you?" Priss demanded, although she had a good suspicion and was fighting back a grin. "_I_ am the shadow that _creeps_..." the figure began, then hesitated and shook its head. "Then again, maybe not; one Darkwing is enough in the universe. Or any other for that matter." Twister's wide grin was evident as he pulled the hood off his brown-haired head. "Sorry, Nene, couldn't resist." The floating helmet drifted over to gently land on his outstretched and gloved hands. Priss and the others, smiles on their faces, lowered their weapons when they recognized their friend, but Nene was not amused. Her expression had morphed from fright to angry indignation and she stomped around Sylia to swipe her helmet from the still-grinning Twister's palms, glaring at him. Sputtering, she said, "You... You... I should... Hmp!" She turned around and left the garage, head held high in a huff, as Priss and Linna tried stifling their laughter. "Sorry!" Twister cried after the mad ADPolice officer before sighing, "I'm such a stinker at times," then he grinned, "but it _was_ funny." No longer laughing but still amused, Linna said, "Yes, but you can bet she'll try to get even somehow." As Twister mulled that fact over, she probed, "Why are you here anyway? Showing off that costume? New, isn't it?" "This? Oh, I've been wearing it for a week or two but it's just something I made when I still had my armour. Still working on a new suit to replace my old one, and I've made some changes that I'm ironing out the details on. This," he waved down, indicating the getup he currently wore, "isn't something to fight Boomers with, useful as it is. But," Twister looked inquiringly at Sylia, who had been silent since he had arrived, "the real reason I came is that Sylia asked me over today. For which she did not tell me why and I am dying to find out." Everyone looked at Sylia, who in turn was calmly looking at Twister. "Have you ever been examined by a doctor since your...change?" Suddenly, Twister looked very nervous. "Um, no..." "Why not?" "Well, when you can Heal yourself there's not much point." He was visibly agitated by the topic, making Priss, Linna, and Mackie wonder why. The leader of the Knight Sabers wasn't convinced. She had gotten to know this rather unique individual fairly well over the time that he had been among them and she knew that the response he had given wasn't the main reason he hadn't gone to a doctor. The real reason was obvious to her. Sylia voiced it aloud. "No, I think it's something else. Besides finding a doctor you could trust to do it...you don't want to know how much you've been changed by what happened to you." She folded her arms across her armoured chest and not without sympathy gave Twister a questioning glance. "That's the real reason, isn't it?" Twister dropped his gaze to the floor and was silent for a long time. Finally, he sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Yes. It's not something I care to think about much, but sometimes I do. I haven't really decided whether or not I'm comfortable with it. Not that I have a choice in the matter," he said dryly. "Avoiding the problem won't help," Sylia pointed out. "If you want, I can do an examination. I am qualified enough and have the equipment necessary to be reasonably thorough. Enough to get answers." Twister had to smile, and said, "The fact that you're likely curious about my psionic abilities having no impact of course." He sighed. "I guess I should find out what I can about myself. Sure." Pleased, Sylia nodded. "Good. I'll be putting the others through some tests for adjusting the new suits two days from now. You might as well come then." She waved at Priss and Linna to follow so they could get out of their armour. Just before she left the garage, Sylia turned her head and said, "I'll be testing _both_ forms, Twister." And with that, all three went through the door, smirks on Linna and Priss' faces. The look of discomfort that crossed his face caused Mackie, who had remained, to snicker. Twister gave him a _look_ and, with a hint of cool menace in his voice, said, "If _someone_ wants to find out how discomfiting changing sexes all the time can be, I _might_ be able to _arrange_ something." The speed at which Mackie left the garage was quite satisfying. *Ah well, I guess I had to do it eventually. Wait a minute! New suits?!* Twister groaned mentally. *And thus does the last BGC episode come into our lives. I bet Priss destroyed someone's camera during the mission and I know who's. Hmm. I wonder what I can do. Or _should_ for that matter, after all, they DO beat the nut.* He pondered that for a minute before teleporting home. Lisa watched the battle through the telescopic lens of her vid-cam, a new one of course since the one her father gave her had been destroyed by one of the evil Knight Sabers, and watched breathlessly as events unfolded on the distant roof of an unfinished building. The fact that she was 30+ stories high on an unsafe, windy ledge likely helped drive some of that breath out. *This time they can't take away a helpless girl's camera to prevent me from finding out the truth about them!* Lisa mentally crowed. Then her thoughts stilled as she saw the blue Knight Saber leave her current boomer opponent to support another of the team. Being without a combat partner, the Boomer immediately locked on to the pink/blue Saber, who didn't appear to be exactly thrilled to be chosen for a deadly dance. To her credit, she did do some damage, but that didn't stop the Boomer from winding up for a terrific backhand. Then a sword impaled itself in the Boomer's metallic skull. Destroyed, the Boomer collapsed. Lisa blinked. *A sword? Where did that come from?* she thought as she continued to take pictures of the fight. The pink/blue Saber seemed just as surprised as Lisa for she pushed up her outer helmet as if to confirm it with her own eyes. *Gotcha!!* Lisa couldn't see the face properly as she took the picture but she was sure that with her image enhancer/enlarger the identity of this Knight Saber was going to be hers! The Saber closed her helmet and left with the others of their dirty group once the Boomers were defeated. "Got it all..." she whispered, then realized where she was. Now that she had accomplished what she had set out to do, the determination that had got her to her perilous perch was gone. She swallowed. It _was_ awfully high. Deciding to leave before she lost her nerve, Lisa gathered herself... ...and moved. "Oof!" "Umf!" Lisa was startled, she had run into something that wasn't there! This curiosity was forgotten as she found that her balance was shot because of the mysterious collision. And she was now beginning to fall. "Nononononoooooaaaahhhhh!!!!!" Suddenly, Lisa's fall was stopped by something grabbing her arm. She looked up after making sure she still had her camera. Nothing was there! "Huh?! What...?" she got out before being lifted onto the building's platform, by nothing, and safely dropped off. Lisa collapsed to her knees in relief and amazement. No one would believe... "Sorry about that. You okay?" Lisa's head shot up and saw a cloaked figure a few feet away from her, obviously the owner of the voice that had spoken. Little could be seen of the person within the cloak as what seemed to be solid shadow concealed the body underneath. The cloak itself was blacker than shadows but lined with a deep blue on the edges. The dark shroud hid everything of the person within. "Where did... Sorry for wha..." Her mind pieced it together. "I ran into _you_!" "You're quick." The figure sighed. "I should've seen you coming but I happened to be looking somewhere else when you moved. Personally, I've never been fond of heights and falling from this elevation is not a Good Thing. ." Lisa asked the question that was clamouring around in her head. "Who ARE you?" After a brief pause, during which the figure seemed to contemplating his answer, he spoke, "Well, I've been in this town a while so I guess you've heard of me. I'm called the Crystal Knight." He shrugged. "My old armour was trashed and I'm almost done working on a new one. So until I'm done," he dramatically wrapped the cloak around himself, "I'm wearing this outfit in the meantime." Lisa stared at him for a second, then turned suspicious. "How do I know you're _really_ the Crystal Knight? For all I know you could be some impost...eek!" She squeaked as she saw the stranger move impossibly fast and drive a crystal sword into the floor of the roof, one foot in front of her and before she could do a thing. The hand that drove it in wore a thick-looking blacker- than-midnight glove with the same type of dark blue lining at the end. She had seen boots of similar coloring as well. The cloaked stranger stepped back and bowed. "My credentials, lass." Gloves and boots disappeared within the cloak once more. Wondering, Lisa timidly reached out and touched the sword's hilt. It was solid and cool on her fingers. She made a surprised and disappointed sound when she saw the sword suddenly disintegrate into black dust. "Okay...I guess you are who you say you are," she said, a little lamely. The Knight chuckled. Remembering about her camera, Lisa whipped it up to take a picture but found that she couldn't press the button. Frustrated, she repeatedly tried to get a shot of the Knight but the button stubbornly wouldn't move. "Come on! I just got you! Work!" When the Knight cleared his throat she looked up at him. "Sorry, no pictures," he said with an amused tone in his voice. "Maybe later." Lisa stared at him, then at the camera. She slowly turned the camera around and tried to take a picture of herself. This time the camera offered no resistance and took the shot. "No... No way! That's not possible!" she stammered. "Heh. I may not be a mercenary group like the Knight Sabers but I do have a formidable bag of tricks up my sleeve." Stunned, Lisa just looked at him. "It's been a pleasure talking to you but I have to go. Bye!" With that, the Knight jumped five feet and vanished, startling her immensely. After a frozen moment, Lisa ran to the spot where he had stood and quickly searched the area. She found a faint group of footprints on the slightly dirty floor where he had moved while talking to her, but only those. Nothing else, except for the hole the sword had made, was on the rooftop. Not one thing to suggest how the Knight had vanished like that. Unable to determine anything else, she began walking over to the door for the stairs, thinking to herself. *It looks like I have two mysteries to solve: who are the Knight Sabers _and_ who is the Crystal Knight? I wonder if there's a connection. The Knight doesn't _seem_ to be a mercenary from what I've heard before, but then, what _is_ he then? I'll have to make him my second objective. I wonder if I can handle that before I have to leave...* At least the Knight didn't break her camera like the evil Knight Sabers. The next evening... *I wonder if this is a good idea.* Twister had teleported just outside Doc. Raven's and it was with some understandable reluctance that he walked into the large garage. Sylia had told him to arrive early since he had two forms to test and she didn't know how long it would take. *I guess it's too late to say no now. I DO need to know.* As he walked in, Mackie, who was working on a bike, heard him and looked up. He grinned at Twister's expression and nodded towards the back door. "Sis is inside and ready for you." "Ready. Why does that not sound very encouraging?" He sighed and walked through the back door, giving Mackie a sour look as he did so when he heard muffled laughter behind him. When he entered the physical examination room, he saw that Sylia was standing behind a table with something on it. She gave him a small smile and pointed to some clothing on the table. "It's good that you came in your male form because we'll be testing that first. I made these two outfits to generally conform to each of your forms. The material that they're made of is stretchable enough to make up for any discrepancies." She pointed to a door. "You can change in there." "I won't need to...um...remove anything for any of the tests?" Twister's face turned slightly red, showing his embarrassment. Sylia smiled at his discomfort and shook her head. "The material you'll be wearing is essentially transparent to the equipment I'll be using. Besides some testing of your more unusual abilities, you'll also be doing what the others will be going through too. As part of the testing, of course." "Of course," he agreed wryly. "I also want to ask you a few questions about that armour of yours that you made. Despite the...ah..._unusual_ nature of its construction, there are a few things that I might be able to study for my own purposes. Nothing like whatever you used to increase your strength." "Increase my...?" Twister's face showed his puzzlement. "Yes, your suit did..." Sylia's voice trailed off as she saw his face. Slow understanding came to her. "Your suit _didn't_ increase your strength, did it?" "Err...no. I can boost my strength with my psionic power but my suit...no." His face turned contemplative. "Actually, when I reduced its weight with the spe..." "Never mind," Sylia sighed, interrupting him. "I'll ask about that later...when I get the full, _true_ story from you." "Um...well...are you _sure_ you really want to?" Sylia gave him a long, steady look. "Guess you do," he muttered, privately he hoped she wasn't very religious. Arch-demons after all... "Go on and change, the others should start arriving by the time we get close to starting your female side." After swinging the testing clothes over his shoulder, Twister nodded and left to change. Sylia studied him before turning to glance at the examination setup of the room. *If he really didn't use the armour for strength then I hope my equipment is sturdy enough for this.* "Hi!" "Hi, Nene." Sylia smiled at the red-head as she walked into the testing room. "You can go in next after Linna." Nene looked at the console. "Wow! Level 8. And I still can't get past level 4." "You need to practice more, Nene. You're too weak," Priss smirked out over at the arm strength measurer. "And if you think level 8 is good, you should've seen 'Mr. Speed Demon' over there." She nodded over to where the treadmill was, a familiar person catching his breath. "Hm? Oh! Hi, Twister! I didn't know you would be here. You look a little tired," she observed. Still wearing the dark testing clothing, Twister was sitting on the treadmill with head slightly drooping. His hair was damp with sweat. "Hi, Nene. It's okay. I'll be fine in a few minutes; I recover quickly." "Guess Sylia tested you pretty hard," Nene said with sympathy. Twister rolled his eyes. "Not only did she test me physically, she also wanted to see me use my psionic powers. I can't believe how many things she had me make from unstable diamond." "And a stable diamond point for my work," Sylia commented absently, still watching Linna. Nene remembered Priss' comments and angrily turned to the singer. "And weak am I? Hmph! I contribute with my computer skills and my good looks. I wouldn't want to be an ape woman like you." She smiled with satisfaction. "And I caught you, didn't I?" she said, referring to earlier that day when she had been driving with Lisa and happened to spot Priss speeding. Nene had stopped her and gave the biker a ticket. "Hmph." Priss angrily turned away and kept pushing the testing bar with her arm. "Not me." Twister chuckled. Nene angrily whirled around to face him. "And _you_! What were you trying to do? You passed right by me and Priss when I gave her the ticket and stopped right beside my guest." "I thought she might want to see the legendary 'Blue Bullet'." Twister grinned, near laughing. He had been amusing himself at the time by staying right behind Priss, suspecting what would happen that day. It had been a sudden mischievous impulse to pass both friends and brake to a stop by a startled Lisa. "_And_ you were going twice the speed _Priss_ was over the limit," Nene fumed. She had found that out after returning red-faced to her car. "Legendary! Lisa asked me why I didn't arrest you! I felt so foolish!" Twister shrugged helplessly. "Well, what could I give you? I don't exactly have a licence you know. Anyway, I think she'll find out THP has already tried to catch me often enough," he grinned broadly, "without success. Then she won't think badly of you. They are getting more persistent though," he pondered out loud. "YAAA!!!!" Nene turned at the muffled shout to see Linna's holographic opponent disappear in defeat. "Linna's done." "And now it's your turn, Nene." "Uh...do I have to?" she weakly asked. "Of course! I need the data for the suits." "Okay..." Twister chuckled and stood up. "I think I'll go change now. You don't want too big an audience for this." Frowning angrily, Nene whirled to face him. "And just what do you mean by _that_?" "Nothing, nothing..." he held up his hands in front of him, backing away with lips twitching, the sign of a grin threatening to burst out on his face. "Hey, Twister," Linna said, getting out of the simulator. "Show Nene that weird move of yours." "Show _you_ you mean," Twister replied with a knowing smile at the martial artist who put an innocent expression on her face, hiding her eagerness. Nene blinked, wondering what they were taking about. "What move?" He waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, the universe I was in before has some really unusual martial arts' moves involving ki. A friend of mine showed me one of them but I've been trying to make up one or two of my own to see if I could." "Ki?" Nene said doubtfully, wondering if he was joking. "Just watch. I came up with this one after spending a little time thinking on the possibilities." Twister took a deep breath and his face turned calm. Almost too calm. He quickly shot out his arms straight out, angled slightly downwards, in front of him and had both pointing fingers touch each other. Where they joined a white glow started to grow. "DIAMOND KI DEFENCE!" At the naming of the move, Twister quickly and precisely drew an octagon of energy around himself and finished the shape behind himself. Then he raised both now-glowing fists high above himself. A field of force shot outwards from just above the fists to form a smaller octagon. Lines of light from the previous shape and the new one leaped towards each other to form a network of triangle-shaped surfaces. The lower octagon grew slightly and sent more lines downwards to mirror what had already been done above. When it was finished, it looked like Twister was standing in the center of a very large diamond with glowing white edges. Nene's eyes were wide with amazement. "Wow..." Linna went over and patted a hand carefully and reverently on the diamond shape. "This thing is _hard_. I tried kicking it and almost sprained my ankle. He says it isn't actually diamond, only ki-force." She shook her head as she examined the field. "I wouldn't mind being able to do something like this myself." "Wow..." Nene repeated. "This is amazing, Twister." Nene frowned as she got no reply. "Can't he talk to us?" "Nah," Priss said. "He said he needs all his attention on keeping it up. Another benefit." She grinned. Twister lowered his hands and the field shattered into its separate surfaces and slowly fell to the ground, looking all the world like glass shards until they vanished. "Very funny, Priss." "I thought so." "I _can_ hear while doing it. But you _really_ don't want to know how long it took to perfect that move. Oh, thanks, Nene," the red-head started to smile but he continued with a grin, "and I hope you won't get too badly defeated. Well, I'd better change. Back soon." He turned, still grinning face. As Twister left to get changed, Nene fumed. "_That_ does it. We need to do _something_ to get back at Darlene!" she said angrily, using Twister's female name as she, as well as Linna and Priss, knew her friend best that way. "We?" Priss and Linna chorused. "Oh, come on, guys!" Nene pleaded, clasping both hands together. "Help me, please?" Linna and Priss looked at each other. Finally, Priss said, "Well... I do know something that might work and I think she does need to get her tires deflated a bit more." "Hm, it wouldn't hurt to take her down a peg," Linna agreed, she really wanted Darlene to try teaching her about those ki moves, but Priss was right. "What did you have in mind?" Hopefully she could ask about those moves later. "Yes, yes, yes! What? What?" Nene eagerly asked. "Someone I know told me of this party next month that a friend of his was going to be testing something at, as a joke of sorts." "Testing? Testing what?" Linna asked curiously. "Some new chemical that supposedly nullifies all means of someone being able to tell if the punch is spiked," Priss grinned, "no matter how heavily it is. Smell, taste, you name it." "And Nene gets Darlene to drink some and get her drunk!" Linna revised her statement when she recalled something. "Hmm.. A _lot_ is more like it. Remember Leon, Nene?" Darlene had challenged the officer to a drinking contest a long time ago, and had won with some margin to spare. Considering that Leon was no stranger to drinking, and Darlene's lesser body weight, this had been impressive. "Hey! Why me?" Nene protested. "You're the one who suggested it. You do it," Priss countered the red- head's objection. "But what do I do after she's drunk?" "Be imaginative," the singer replied, grinning as she had a few ideas of her own. "Ahem! Nene? Your test?" Sylia patiently said, wanting to get on with the examination. She had waited for the others to finish but she did want to finish. Nene sighed. "Coming, Sylia." Chapter Sixteen --------------- In his laboratory, Dr. Miriam was hard at work, gleefully going over the data received from the fights of his Boomers against the Knight Sabers. Only one more fight was required to get the total information on their hardsuits he needed. Then, he would create wonderfully unique Boomers to destroy the them! "They will be my masterpieces!" he cried aloud in slightly crazed glee. "A testament to my incredible genius once they humiliate, then rip the Knight Sabers apart! Then no one will be able to deny my genius!" "How original," a voice laced with a slight taste of sarcasm said from the doorway that he had failed to hear open during his ranting. "What?! Who are...you...?" His voice died once he glimpsed who stood in the doorway. "A representative," the amused, female, voice said. The voice's owner stepped into the workshop with one graceful stride, allowing the door to close behind her. Long, warm brown hair seemed to flow around the strange female when she stopped, then flowed back to rest on her back. Her voice was suggestive and, combined with the incredible figure that showed even through the business dress she wore, started the startled scientist's knees shaking. The unmarred, slightly tanned face held a pair of startling blue eyes hinting of mischief and, flickering so briefly the doctor thought he imagined it, malice. "From one who also wishes the Knight Sabers destroyed," she concluded, using those delightful looking lips once more. Shaking his head to clear it of these ridiculous feelings, the doctor stood up as his knees had bent a bit during his lapse. He was surprised the woman was almost as tall as he was, still...anger built at this intrusion. "I can take care of them myself!" he snapped. "My creations can overcome anything, even the Knight Sabers! Who _are_ you?!" "I am Yanda." she said, unruffled. "And does anything include the Crystal Knight?" "What?! There's no indication that he should...interfere..." his voice trailed off as he recalled a previous fight when one of his Boomers had been destroyed by a strange object that appeared from nowhere. Suddenly, he felt a little less confident. Yanda was contemptuous. "He fights rogue Boomers. Of course he will come if it's serious enough. But," she smiled secretly at him, "my Master has a proposition for you that can help deal with the Crystal Knight without interfering with your own plans for the Knight Sabers. Something that might be even more potentially rewarding than mere Boomers...if you agree. And also if you're intelligent enough. The possibilities would be incredible..." her voice trailed off temptingly. Naturally, Miriam couldn't let this challenge go unheard. Irritably, he went to a nearby chair and sat down on it and waved at her. "Very well, I am listening." Yanda smiled, he would not be able to resist the bait she was about dangle in front of him. Perfect. The next morning was bright and cheerful, but in ADPolice headquarters, not everyone was happy. Leon sheepishly smiled down at Nene who still shaking a bit from the shock of him springing up in front of her desk. He inwardly cursed at himself, if he had known she would had been so frightened he wouldn't have done it. "Ah...sorry, Nene. Er...I...that is..." The red-headed young woman slowly stopped her shaking and a growing anger was beginning to show on Nene's face as she picked herself off the floor. "Sorry? Sorry?!? You scare me out of my mind and that's _it_?!? That's not good enough, Leon! That was..." Someone else behind Leon chuckled and managed to get Leon to hear his voice during Nene's furious diatribe. "You think you can spare an hour of your time? If you think you can calm her down that is." Leon grimaced as he recognized the voice, but calming Nene down was the more immediate problem. "Nene," he said plaintively, interrupting her, "I'm really, really sorry about this and..." Leon paused. "And...?" Nene echoed angrily. He sighed, but smiled inwardly since he knew the solution to this problem. "And I'll give you three coupons for the new Dessert Palace that opened up. When I can get them," he promised. Nene wavered as she remembered Priss, Linna, and Darlene's laughter when Priss had dragged her over to the body scanner, showing her shameful waistline. But, she reasoned, Leon _should_ pay for scaring her like that. "Alright..." she slowly agreed. "Great! Later, Nene!" Leon quickly turned to the person behind him and as fast as he could walk, got away from the scene of the embarrassment. One crisis averted and, unfortunately, possibly an even more unpleasant one before him. When the two were a safe enough distance away, Leon growled, "Alright, Potter, what's the ADPolice officer I dislike the most doing here?" "So _this_ is the reason??" Leon demanded incredulously. "When did you get the funding for these?!?" "No funding. Donated," Potter grinned as Leon disbelievingly scanned the garage's contents. "It seems Genom felt that ADP would do nicely to test these babies. That Griffin incident proved it right enough. And someone also decided to put me in command of them. Got just the right job for them too." The objects of their discussion were two rows of cars that counted twenty for each line. They were freshly painted and polished in the ADPolice style, but these cars were different than standard police vehicles. They were sleeker, more streamlined, and made for speed. Potter had even hinted that they would've given even the Griffin a run for its' money had they had these cars at the time. This suggested that the material of the cars were likewise strengthened for the rough duties of an ADPoliceman. The Griffin had not been an easy car to catch. Leon turned to sourly look at the person beside him. Randy Potter was not one of his favourite persons and the malicious smirk the guy wore did not make him revise that opinion. Slightly taller than Leon, and with a slimmer build, the black-haired, hawk-nosed man would've had no trouble with the women if it wasn't for the need the THP officer had to flaunt what he had to everybody in the police force. Most females seemed to sense Potter's arrogance from forty feet away, not that the man cared; his ego was big enough for two people. Leon had the misfortune of training with the bastard and had formed an instant dislike to the man. So did everyone else. The only reason he was a lieutenant was because some of that ego was justified and considering the size of IT...he was very good at his work. Unless that same ego got in the way. "And what job would that be?" Leon inquired. Potter's face turned slightly angry as if remembering something unpleasant. "To bring in that Blue Bullet character." Leon blinked, then remembered something. "Oh, yes. You tried to catch him once, didn't you? Said that THP was staffed with idiots and went after him yourself to prove it." A lazy smile grew on his face. "As I recall you...ah...didn't get him. Something about a wrecked car...?" "Yes," Potter growled out, unlike his usual self-assured tone of voice. "Me and my partner were tricked into crashing our car and the bastard _mocked_ me! He just sat there with an amused air about him and _waved_ at us as we got out of our car! I'll catch him if it's the last thing I do!" *Uh oh. Looks like he's obsessed with catching the Bullet.* Leon frowned inwardly. *I wonder if Genom knew that when they 'suggested' Potter command the squad.* Aloud he said, "Did you bring me here just to show off your new toys?" "No." Potter got control of himself and waved at the cars arrayed before them. "I want you to help me catch him." Leon was surprised, this wasn't what he had expected. "Me? Why?" "First, you're one of the few people who can handle one of these babies to get its full potential. What's more important, however, is that you probably know more about the bastard than anybody, possibly excepting your would-be girlfriend. Her name's Priss, I believe?" Leon shook his head, ignoring Potter's jab about Leon's efforts for Priss. "Believe me, she told me everything she knows about the guy, and some very unlikely and personal remarks about his heritage. Loudly." He had to grin at the memory. "She wasn't too impressed about him getting her into so many speed traps. From her reactions I don't think she knows who he is." "But their bikes and equipment are virtually identical," Potter pressed. "I know. That was another thing that annoyed her to no end. Funny thing is, I checked the database for motorcycle owners and nobody has any mention of his bike. Even Priss' bike is in there, but not his. So he must have made the thing himself after seeing hers," Leon deduced. "And knowing how souped up hers is, I have to be impressed at him outdoing Priss. Must be some closet mechanical genius cyclist who has a thing for her. Or her bike." "Damn," Potter viciously said, frustrated. "I came to that conclusion too and had no luck finding him. Guess we'll just have to run him down the hard way." He didn't look like he was disappointed at that conclusion. Rather the opposite. "Join the team when we go after him?" Leon shrugged. "Why not? Sounds like it'll be interesting." He also wanted to keep an eye on Potter. Potter grinned with pleasure at his victory. "Great! Take one now so you'll be able to help when he appears. I'll see you then." He walked away, anticipating his future victory. Shaking his head at the man's departure, Leon turned to the sleek new cars, a big smile on his face. He whistled as he approached the one he chose, though he suspected he wouldn't have it for long after Potter's 'mission' was over. *Might as well enjoy it while I have it.* The next day had the sun shining brightly outside. "Darlene! Phone!" The red-headed owner of the store, who was placing the last of a new batch of dragon figurines in place, turned her head at the call. "Hmm? Oh, thanks, Sylvie." Smiling at her friend and assistant, Darlene walked over to the vid-phone partly concealed from the rest of the store and brightened when she saw who was calling. "Sylia! Hi! What's up?" The leader of the Knight Sabers smiled at her greeting but seemed a little concerned about something. "I've finished the results of the examination that I gave you." Darlene's eyebrows shot up. "Should I be worried? You scanned me fairly thoroughly and it has taken you a few days." Sylia shook her head. "I only looked for specific information that could pose a danger to yourself or others." She hesitated. "There wasn't anything like that. The opposite in fact." "The opposite? Bwah?" Darlene blinked a few times in confusion. "I don't follow you." "Maybe you should come to my place right now so I can explain." "Sure... It's been a slow day." Sylia nodded and closed the connection. Darlene frowned; what could it be that wasn't dangerous to her and yet has Sylia worried? She sighed. Waiting to find out wouldn't likely help. "Sylvie. Anri," she called out. When both turned to face her, she rolled her eyes. "My doctor asked me to visit her. And although it's been such a _busy_ day," the sexaroids grinned at the exaggeration, "she wants me to go over my examination results with her." Concerned, Anri said, "Anything bad?" "No...but she seemed worried." Darlene shrugged. "I'll find out when I get there..." "WHAT did you say??" Numb, Twister heavily sat down onto one of the soft chairs in Sylia's large living room, staring up at Sylia, whose eyes showed some concern as she carefully watched his reactions to the news. She repeated herself. "I said: your physical body is not aging at a normal rate." Shaking his head, Twister calmed down a bit. He could just be overreacting to this a little. Still... "How can you tell?" he asked a little shakily but in full control. "If I had just the examination results of a few days ago, I might not have known. But I told you that I had scanned your female form when we first met during that exam, right?" Twister rolled his eyes. "Nothing like trust at first sight." Sylia shrugged innocently. He, as Darlene, had been a lot more vocal when she had revealed this during the scan of his female half. "Anyway, the first gave me a very precise scan of musculature, skeletal structure, and other macro scale items of your body. The micro scale is what I was more concerned about; cellular structure, neurochemical balances, and other things that might eventually be fatal. But when I compared the two macro scale scans..." "You found out I wasn't aging at a normal rate?" Twister said sceptically. Sylia nodded. "Yes. The human body changes continually, even from day to day, in the macro and micro scale. It might have been impossible to detect the changes a decade ago, but today we can. When I compared the two scans, I saw the differences in the readings." She was watching Twister carefully now. "And what? I live to be two hundred? Three?" Not seeing Sylia change her expression, he hesitantly added, "Four?" "The readings indicated a change comparable to one day." "So it's one day. That's no reason to panic..." It sunk in at that point, and Twister's eyes widened in disbelief. "Waitaminute! The first scan was over a year older than the second!!" "Yes." "Now. _Now_ we start panicking," Twister faintly said. His eyes glazed over as he figured out how long that meant. "That's practically a given thirty thousand years, then adding on around ten to twenty thousand for yucks! My God, all that time paying life insurance..." "Are you alright?" "Considering what you've just said, I'm _gonna_ be alright for a looooooong time." He chuckled weakly for a second before sighing and closing his eyes tightly, rubbing his face with his hands. "No, I'm _not_ alright. How would you feel if someone told you this? Are you _sure_?" Sylia nodded her head, face full of sympathy. "Haven't you noticed that you look the same as when you first got here? You still look seventeen years old, and for _either_ sex at that time you usually change a lot in a short period." She tilted her head a little, considering. "You do manage to appear older by your behaviour, enough so that no one questions that you own a store. Many people likely think you just appear younger naturally." "Naturally!" Twister snorted, still dazed by the news. "I guess you might call being altered by a...er...sort of natural force that." Forcing himself out of his own confusion, he stood up abruptly. "I think I need some air. Maybe I'll go cycling on the highways." Twister got ready to teleport. "Wait!" Sylia quickly held up a hand as she deduced what he was about to do. "What?" Seeing her hesitant face, he felt a sinking sensation somewhere in his stomach. "Don't tell me there's more?" "That was what I found on the macro scale, the micro scale was more disturbing. As with the macro scale, of which I only mentioned one item, there were numerous things, but this is the most important. Normally, as the body develops, you can find dead cells throughout the body. When their numbers begin to increase, some things like hair or skin start failing. Eventually, major organs become non- functional. This process of cells dying happens every second. In your case, both male and female bodies showed _no_ signs of cells being non-functional." "Wait." Twister was even more confused now. "If I'm showing signs of a very slow aging process, wouldn't it be normal for no cells to die during a relatively brief exam?" "Maybe, but there was no sign of _any_ dead cell on your body, with the exception of your surface skin layers and hair. Not even your brain, and untold thousands of brain cells usually die every second." "So...I'm aging physically, but I'm not aging normally in the cellular case?" "I suspect you may be unconsciously using your powers in either body to sustain this. It may also prevent you from getting any virus or bacteria that would be harmful to you. I couldn't tell as I was looking for other data." Twister stood there silently. "So I might live even longer, but I'm still changing physically...which shouldn't happen if my body is trying hard to keep cells from dying...which is a part of aging...which..." he ran out of words. "There must be something else happening to explain all this, but as it's all going so slowly it's hard to tell what that might be." There was a few seconds of silence. "I need some air," Twister slowly said, then vanished. Sylia sighed and stood there for some time after he left, thinking to herself. There was something else that might become a potential problem. She'd noticed that, as Twister, her friend was usually a fairly calm, somewhat logical individual with a hint of mischievousness thrown in. From what she had understood from the tale told her about his/her past, it had taken a serious physical threat to him or to another he cared about to anger him and thus use the full force of his considerable power, otherwise his use of psionic powers was minimal when fighting someone. She concluded that, deep down, Twister wasn't really comfortable with his powers yet and normally reluctant to use them. Perfectly understandable. What really concerned and disturbed her was that, when comparing female Darlene and male Twister, she had noticed a few differences in behaviour. At times, Darlene appeared to be more emotional, a little rash sometimes, and surprisingly more female in behaviour than when Sylia had first met her. Which might be understandable except...there was twenty years experience being male in that mind and a fairly stable, adaptable yet strong mind at that. But there were signs that told her that for some reason, when female, Darlene was far more emotional now than she used to be before all her changes had happened. Perhaps it was psychological, perhaps something to do with that thing he called the Event. Maybe the latter, he _was_ more logical as a male, but that didn't concern her. This did. When male, by what she had been told, Twister had been very angry several times, and when this happened Sylia had been told by Twister himself that he had slightly changed mentally. He had been cold, emotionless save anger, logical, and controlled. But Darlene appeared to be Twister's opposite; in sex, in power, and...emotionally. What would happen if Darlene got really mad? This obviously hadn't occurred to Darlene. Sylia felt she had better warn the red-head after the shock from the latest news had worn off enough. She felt slightly worried about waiting, but Darlene hadn't been really angry for the past year. Perhaps the old psychological patterns were keeping Darlene from 'blowing up,' restraining the reactions of her more emotional state. If so, it could wait a week or two. No need to make things worse at the moment. Chapter Seventeen ----------------- Twister stopped and studied the motorbike he had created before getting onto it. It still amused him at times that he had exactly duplicated Priss' bike to create the deep blue, with purple lines, colored motorcycle. He held up his helmet and saw himself in the black, slightly reflective visor. It was the same face he had seen yesterday and when he thought back to when he had first looked at his altered face, after his first battle with Malkon, he remembered that it had been the same then too. Sighing, Twister put the helmet on and mounted his bike. A lifetime of over thirty thousand years. I still can't really believe that, he thought, even knowing that I _do_ look the same as I did two years ago. I guess I would have realized it myself eventually. He shook his head. Hard to swallow that tidbit of info, isn't it, Twister? Very hard... oh, heck! Twister irritably kicked life into the machine and revved the engine, the sound echoing in the huge cavern. Enough brooding on what's already been done. Time to ride. With that he teleported for the streets. "Leon! Leon! Pick up your mike! Answer me!" Surprised, Leon glanced down at the new car's police radio which was issuing Potter's excited voice. He had gone out to get a feel for the new car that he had taken from the ADPolice garage. Unfortunately, the Chief had decreed that Leon would be on his own while Daley stayed on regular patrol. It was too bad; the car was a dream as far as he was concerned. He picked up the mike. "Keep your cool, Potter. What's got you all excited?" "He's been spotted! In the downtown area no less!" There was no need to say who. "Must be feeling social," Leon quipped. Potter wasn't listening. "All units are converging on his location. The overconfident bastard's trapped himself. We've got him for sure!" "Does this mean I don't get to keep the car?" Now the other was angry. "Just be there. The location's on your vid-map." If one could imagine the sound of a mike hanging up over the radio Leon heard Potter manage it. He shook his head. "I don't know who to feel more sorry for: Potter, or the Bullet." Leon sighed and turned on his police lights. "Oh, well. Let's see who wins." SSCCCRRREEEECCCHHH!!!! Twister didn't even have time to wince as he was far too occupied doing a hard right into a busy street. Meanwhile, the police vehicle that had been insanely too close on his tail couldn't quite make the same maneuver and crashed into a store display window. He hadn't gone another block when another police cruiser appeared behind him. Argh! What IS this? Bite the Bullet day??? Methinks someone in ADPolice is a little ticked off me. Better get to the more deserted section of the city as I don't like doing damage to downtown... He made another turn and the cruiser followed. A quick look back confirmed something. Those are NOT standard THP or ADP equipment. Too agile by half; I'm gonna have trouble with these things. Did ADPolice win the funding lottery or something? A slow smile grew on his face as he weaved through traffic. Then again, they must be feeling pretty confident with their new toys, Twister thought and suddenly felt very mischievous. Guess I'm going to have to frustrate them a little to burst their bubble. Heh, heh, heh. "Keep on him! Don't lose him!" Potter clenched his hands in front of him as his driver strained to keep up with the blue motorcycle. "Your ass is MINE, asshole!" he crowed to the helmeted figure in front of them. "I think he's heading to a more deserted part of the city," his driver managed to say through his intense concentration of keeping up with their agile target. "Perfect! We can box him in more easily!" They barely kept up with the more maneuverable cyclist as he turned left down one street then right down another. Potter shouted commands over the radio to try to surround the target but the streets and the speeds they were going made it difficult to do so. Suddenly, they turned into a miraculously clear, broken-down street. Luck seemed to be smiling on Potter as there was another two cruisers at the opposite end of the road, bearing down on the Bullet. "We've got him now! There's only an alley left for him and it's a dead end!" "He's not slowing down," the driver said, a little concerned. "He knows he's trapped." Then the blue bike put on a burst of speed and accelerated until it was almost midway between Potter and the other two cars. At that point the Bullet did a hard turn into the narrow one-car wide alley, the police cruisers closing in. "I wish I could see his face when he realizes it's a dead end. WHAT THE HELL?!?!?" Potter screamed in disbelief at what he saw next. The Blue Bullet roared out of the alley that was far too narrow for such a large bike to turn around in, and with almost no loss of speed as when he had roared into it. This startled all three drivers of the police vehicles enough to forget to brake in time as he zoomed around the car that had been chasing him. Potter's driver reacted first, braking hard and the car started turning, blocking the road. The other two cars smashed into it, rendering all three immobile. Both Potter and his driver panted as adrenaline coursed through their systems. "Impossible," Potter muttered, recovering. "Impossible, and it was!" He straightened as he reached out for the CB's mike and turned in on. "All units! The fugitive has disabled three more units and is still on the loose! Capture at all costs! I repeat..." His driver wearily leaned on the steering wheel. This is going to be a long day...,he thought, mentally sighing as he listened to his superior rant to the CB. Twister grinned inside the helmet. THAT was the TTA manoeuvre, guys; Teleport Turn-Around. Another police cruiser screeched its tires as it turned to follow him. He groaned as he accelerated. "Here we go again," he muttered to himself, disgusted. "Hmm. I wonder if any of them have seen Tron. I bet I can do a REAL good imitation of a lightcycle. Like...instant ninety degree turns coming up?" His grin appeared once more. This night might turn out to be a good one after all. Sylia sat down in front of the radio equipment she used to contact Nene at work. Mackie had whispered that the red-head needed to tell her something badly so she had quietly left the store to go to the communications room to find out what was the matter. I wonder what it is... she thought as she pressed a button and put on a headset. "Nene? Are you there?" "Sylia, you finally made it." Nene's voice was full of relief and concern. "What is it?" "ADPolice are after the Blue Bullet!" Nene said in a frantic whisper. So much for Twister getting some air, Sylia thought. "What did he do?" "Nothing! Some lieutenant I don't know apparently got permission to apprehend him. I didn't know about it until the Bullet was spotted and everyone went into a frenzy!" Nene's voice turned amused. "He's wrecked at least five of those new cars trying to avoid being caught and causing no end of confusion. He's feeling tricky I guess. No one's been hurt, aside from wounded pride, that is. What?! Hey!!" Sylia didn't like the tone of concern that had appeared in Nene's voice. "What is it?" "A Boomer just showed up! It's blocking ADPolice efforts to catch the Bullet. And another one just appeared!" "Nene, you said 'new' cars. What 'new' cars?" "I'm not sure. Somebody whispered that Genom..." Nene trailed off as a dawning suspicion grew. "You don't think Genom is after Dar..." "No," Sylia interrupted, mind racing. "But they may suspect he's the Knight. Keep tabs on events. I'll see if I can get the others." "Okay. Hm? Oh, Lisa! Nothing, just muttering to myself. Yes, that lieutenant's voice IS funny." Nene's transmission ended rather quickly. Sylia frowned. What is Genom up to this time? she wondered as she activated the beepers on Priss and Linna's watches. Mackie is making the fine adjustments on the new suits but that won't be done for a few hours so we'll use the old ones one last time. Meanwhile, Twister was wondering where his imposed playmates had gone to. Odd, they were everywhere a few minutes ago, now...nothing? "I don't like this at all..." he muttered aloud, turning his head left and right and looking for trouble. Then a STRONG feeling to brake sharply and turn lanced through his mind and he acted on this impulse without delay. A good thing to do; a blue plasma blast lanced into the street where he would have been if he hadn't turned. Still, the resulting explosion of exploding street jarred him enough that he had to wrestle with his bike to get it under control. Looking behind, he saw the Boomer that had attacked him leap off the building roof from where it had fired, land, and after turning its' flight vents on, begin chasing him. Twister immediately started swerving to avoid giving the Boomer a chance to lock on to him. He wasn't happy with the way things were going. "First brand-new ADPolice pursuit vehicles, now Boomers?! Okay, the former I would've thought harmless, but BOTH?? Hmmm...gee, I wonder who could be behind this. G...E...N...O...M...and Genom is it's name-o," he sarcastically sang to himself. A second Boomer smashed through a wall in the street ahead and began flying his way. When he turned into another street, the two followed him as a group, firing randomly to keep him occupied. Yikes! he thought as he dodged the Boomer strikes. And all I wanted was some air! Sheesh! Twister shifted the bike slightly to avoid the rain of bullets one Boomer shot at him, and immediately did so again when the second Boomer did the same a half-second later. Turning sharply, the Bullet went into an alley. The Boomers tried to fit into the passage but were thrown out of the way when the blue motorcycle returned at full speed, doing a wheelie, knocking them out of the way and turning back onto the street. One Boomer had gotten tossed into a building while the other tumbled momentarily in mid-flight before righting itself. With grinding snarls the two powerful androids started up the pursuit again. When a particle bolt flashed by him, Twister almost sighed; he'd hoped that trick had taken them off his tail. No such luck. He continued to try losing the two as the skies grew darker, without success. The only times it seemed he could was when ADPolice showed up. Unfortunately, the Boomers managed to keep them away and still keep up with the speedy Bullet. It was odd that more ADPolice hadn't shown up. Must be more than just these two then, he thought, and...whoa!! Twister screeched to a stop just in time; the street he had turned into was blocked off by an impressive amount of debris that was far too high to jump over. The Boomers that had been chasing him landed in the intersection where he had turned off, trapping him. Uh, oh. Trouble... It wasn't the Boomers that worried him; he could handle them with psionics if he had no choice. Somehow, though, he felt that there was more than just Boomers involved here. "So, Crystal Knight, here you are at last," a familiar voice that he recognized called out. Madagan's. Somehow he wasn't surprised. Twister quickly turned his head to where the voice had come from and then he WAS surprised. Surprised at what he saw...and sensed. Whatever Madagan was wearing reminded him of a scuba diver's suit, remotely. The shiny black material of her suit hung close to her trim figure and bright yellow lines traced across the black stuff in a suspiciously orderly and meaningful pattern. Her face was partially uncovered, the eyes being protected by some reflective, silvery substance formed into a visor. The suit covered the back of her neck, forehead, and around her face while allowing her hair to escape freely. There was a lot of the yellow lines in the headband and some kind of equipment on her back. What worried him was that he couldn't find out what it was. Something was blocking him somehow and that wasn't a very good sign as he figured Madagan wasn't...shouldn't have been strong enough to do that. "Ah... Me? The Crystal Knight?" Twister laughed half-heartedly. "You must have the wrong guy." Madagan smiled in self-satisfied amusement. "After I felt you trying to find out about my new suit and blocking your attempt? I don't think so." Insert head and kick thoroughly to correct brain, Twister mentally cursed, then gave up the pretence as he turned on his bike to face his female adversary. "Oh, okay. I am. What's your beef that Genom sics ADPolice and Boomers on me anyhow? And how did you block my scan?" he added curiously. "The first is simple enough. We want," she pointed at the blue-clad biker, "YOU. Although my new-found psi powers have impressed researchers in Genom with the sheer potential of my abilities, we know your natural power exceeds my own by a great amount. That is why when you next appeared in your other persona we arranged things so that you would eventually be forced here. It was an impressive effort of planning." "For some reason I'm not flattered," he commented as he rested one elbow on his bike. She ignored him. "To accomplish this, and answering your second question, I'm using the fruits of labour from a largely ignored section of Genom. This suit was available and pre-made. With it, I..." Two explosions originating from where the Boomers had been standing guard interrupted Madagan and she looked away from Twister to see what had happened. He too looked, and smiled at what he saw. The Boomers were down with large, smoking holes in their bodies. Standing over them were Priss and Linna in their hardsuits, made even more impressive by the motoroids surrounding their armoured bodies, the large hand-held cannons smoking. Sylia, in hardsuit only, stood in the middle of the street while the other two flanked her. "You up there, I suggest you leave. Now," Sylia called out, Linna and Priss raising their motoroid's weapons to punctuate that command. Anger clearly shown on her face, Madagan started to shout, but then calmed down mysteriously, and smiled. "With it, I was about to say, I can do...THIS!" Her suit's yellow lines pulsed and glowed as a wave of telekinetic force lashed out at the four in the street. Twister lost ground as he wasn't prepared for the unexpected strength of Madagan's attack. Still, he protected himself and his bike as they both slid backward, carving gouges in the street as he struggled to stay upright. However, the three Knight Sabers didn't have his psionic advantages and received the full force of the blast. In only her suit, Sylia was thrown violently down the street and luckily didn't hit anything, rolling when she hit pavement. Linna and Priss, in the heavier motoroids, were thrown with less force, but impacted with the buildings on either side of the street. Unlike Twister's usual psi-force blasts, which were only air telekinetically accelerated, Madagan's blast was pure psi-force. More efficient, he guessed, as it didn't have to waste energy moving air and make it move through air resistance. He'd have to learn how to do that. Later. He was a little busy now. Madagan threw back her head and laughed mockingly at those below her. "This suit was designed for the express purpose of testing the idea of amplifying human thought waves for use in remote control operations AND seeing if true mind-over-matter powers were possible. The woman being tested happened to be my size and since I could already move things with my mind, the researchers, once they were told of my new abilities, were most interested in what would happen. You've felt the results for yourselves. It amplified my telekinetic powers." She glanced up at the darkening sky, then focused her attention on Twister. "It's getting late, Knight. Come with me or else I'll 'play' with the Knight Sabers till they fall apart." The Bullet's black visor just continued to stare in the purple-haired Genom psionist. Priss' swearing could be heard in the background as she and Linna began moving again. Sylia was nowhere to be seen. "Damn, damn, damn, DAMN!!!" Priss swore angrily as she struggled to get the motoroid out of the rubble and standing once more. Whatever had hit her had NOT behaved like a normal blast; she'd been hurt inside the suit more than she figured she should've been, as if it had passed _through_ her protective armour somewhat. The same with her equipment as well, the circuits must have been jolted something fierce as her motoroid's movements were sluggish. "Priss, are you alright?" Linna called over their private radio link sounding concerned and not so hot herself. "Just a lot of damn bruises, and what the FUCK hit us?!?" Sylia's welcome voice spoke up. "I suspect it was some form of psionic attack, likely telekinesis." Her tone turned arch. "Our friend, Twister at the moment, seems to have neglected to mention Miss Madagan's new talents." "No shit," Priss replied, heaps of sarcasm in her voice. "Where are you anyway?" "Trying to find a better angle and... I've just noticed that there are several more Boomers hiding in the area," Sylia reported offhandedly. "Oh, perfect." At least her cannon was undamaged. She also noticed that Twister hadn't moved or answered the Genom witch yet, the latter was getting impatient at this silent treatment. "Well? Do I have to prove that I can?" she heard the waiting Madagan say as the black and yellow suited woman slowly stepped down the slope of the pile of rubble. Twister, alias the Bullet at the moment, still hadn't said a word making Priss wonder what her friend was doing. Giving the rest of them time? It wasn't needed as her systems were as recovered as they were going to get. Wait a minute. "Hey, Linna, is it just me or is the witch coming too close to Twister for comfort?" Priss queried. "What are you talking about, Priss?" was Linna's distracted reply. "Don't you think she would want to stay a certain distance away?" True enough, as Priss had pointed out, Madagan hadn't stopped advancing on the Bullet. She was off the rubble and on the level street. What could be seen of her face suggested a person utterly fascinated with something: the Bullet, or rather, his visor. "Must be doing something. Right, Linna?" No response from her friend came, puzzling Priss. "Linna? Hey! LINNA!!" Her shout got the green-suited Knight Saber to wake from the trance she had started falling into. Linna shook her helmeted head to wake up a bit more. "Huh? What was that, Priss?" "I SAID Twister must be doing something psionic, and you were falling for it too so WAKE UP!!" Priss cranked up the volume to emphasize her last words. "OW! Not so loud!" Linna complained, snapping fully out of it. "Priss, Linna, get ready," Sylia's voice cut in. "I think someone's been monitoring the area because the Boomers I see may be getting ready to move. I'll take care of them, but there will likely be more." Sylia's words turned prophetic as three Boomers leaped over the pile to land behind Madagan. Four more, two for each side of the street, crashed through the walls of the constraining buildings. These four advanced on the Bullet's seated figure, apparently intent on grabbing him. "I don't think so, assholes! Come on, Linna!" Priss shouted and she fired her motoroid's hand cannon a split-second ahead of Linna's. Two of the Boomers around Twister were hit dead-on, rendering them dysfunctional. "Two down, five to go!" Priss crowed, but then saw the angry figure glowing yellow in front of the Bullet. The noise of the Boomers and their cannons had shaken Madagan out of whatever Twister had tried on her and she did NOT look very happy. "Oh, fuck," Priss swore with a sinking feeling. That sentiment was echoed by Twister as he regarded Madagan's glowing form. The addition of the Boomers wasn't helping his situation any, though the destruction of two helped. "You bastard...." Madagan ground out the word through clenched teeth. "What the HELL did you try to do to me?!?" Her fingers flexed and unflexed angrily. Twister dismounted off his bike, and while the Boomers tensed around him, they didn't do anything. "I have a trick I use to get people to avoid noticing me. I just tried the opposite, focusing on my eyes, hoping it would work so that I could get close enough to you to disable your suit. Unfortunately, you were distracted." He shrugged. "C'est la vie." Using his telekinesis he pushed his bike forcefully away from the soon-to-likely-be combat zone. Madagan was livid. "How DARE you take this...ME!...LIGHTLY!!" "Shouldn't I? Trust me, I've faced worse," Twister replied in an offhandish manner, "though not as fashionable. What is that style anyway? Early deep-sea?" he mockingly added. To himself he prayed that pissing her off would do more damage to the Boomers than to himself when they inevitably fought. He braced himself as he felt THREAT coming like it was digging him in the ribs. "DAMN YOU!!" Madagan screamed furiously and her suit glowed brightly. The area around the Bullet seemed to explode as a three-story column of fire erupted from the street. Both he and the two Boomers vanished in the flames. A Boomer behind Madagan protested at this. "But we were instructed to capture him at all costs! This...squark!" Madagan had moved her anger onto the doomed Boomer and it was quickly compacted into a volleyball. She quickly re-focused her attention as her recently acquired powers screamed danger; this was precognition though the scientists at Genom hadn't known about it. Once she realized she had it, Madagan decided it was a good thing to keep silent about. At Genom it was always wise to keep a few aces up your sleeve. The two Knight Sabers hadn't taken the apparent roasting of their friend too well; Linna was rushing at the ready Boomers while Priss fired the motoroid gun again... at the Genom exec. The glowing projectile tore though the air towards its target but never reached its prey. Psi power stopped its flight and quickly reversed it. Fortunately for Priss, Madagan was still new to her powers and the singer was able to frantically dodge her own weapon's projectile. Linna, much to her dismay, suddenly found herself unable to move herself when the amplified psionist turned her attention on the green Knight Saber. Madagan smiled unpleasantly at the fly she had just caught. "You should really find out more about what you attack, insect. It may be more than you can handle. Like finding that your heart has stopped." And with her TK, she reached out... Linna gasped from the sudden pain in her chest. It HURT! Then, from the smoking crater the pillar of fire left, a roar came amidst a sudden swirl of furious air. "HURRICANE BLAST!!" A horizontal torrent of atmosphere punched a hole through the smoke, gained strength as it tore up distance and street before it reached a surprised Madagan, hurling her backwards to crash into the pile of rubble. Smoke rising from him, the Blue Bullet walked out of the smoke. "I don't mind if you hurt me, well, actually I DO mind, but if you hurt my friends, you face me and my wrath next. DON'T think that unimportant," he emphasized grimly to the stunned Madagan, then turned to Linna. "You okay?" "Yes," Linna sighed with relief; when Twister had knocked out the cause of the pain her heart had begun beating again. "That scared me, though." "I don't doubt you." Priss flew the short distance to stand beside him. "Linna's okay, but what about you?" Linna caught the faint concerned tone in Priss' voice and actually looked at Twister's state. His biking outfit was singed all over and charred over the worse parts. The helmet, only slightly sooty, was the most intact article on his person. She didn't say anything but wondered how close he had come to being barbecued. Twister brushed ash off an arm. "Let's just say I'm not keen on repeating the experience and I feel like calling it a night. I'll take on my oh-so-humble-pie psycho-psi-sister if you want the leftover Boomers." He indicated the two remaining androids protecting the almost recovered Madagan, who didn't look too happy. "Gladly, but can you take her?" Priss asked. "Nothing's ever really certain buuuut...maybe." "You're a help." "You aim at Boomers and I aim to please," he chuckled a little and Priss could practically feel his grin, hidden as it currently was. "Ah, round two approaches." Indeed it was, for Madagan was walking towards the three with the two remaining Boomers flanking her, strangely calm after being blasted hard into the pile of rubble. Still mad, Twister suspected, but in control. "So, you finally decided to take this seriously, have you?" the purple- haired woman said. "Good." "Look, I'm not coming with you to Genom, Madagan. Just go home. Please?" "I can't do that. Either you come with me, or die." "The latter's more attractive than the former but I'm taking option three: kick your butt. Now THAT'S an amusing image." He looked over at Priss. "Don't you agree?" The singer in her hardsuit snorted loudly in agreement. Madagan frowned. "Very well! Then die!" Madagan started glowing again. Twister got ready. Chapter Eighteen ----------------- The scene was certainly odd; three against three but of a radical assortment of beings. On one side were two females in advanced combat suits with support mechs overtop who stood on either side of a male psionist whose features were hidden by a slightly charred motorcycle getup. The other group consisted of two androids of considerable destructive power who flanked a female psionist with boosted powers. Not a sight you normally see, even in Mega-Tokyo. Madagan stretched out her arms and her suit glowed once more, the Boomers crouched, preparing to attack. For a moment nothing happened, making Twister and the others wondering what Madagan was up to. They didn't wonder long. Suddenly, yellow lightning erupted out of the ground in front of the Genom exec, the deadly energy arced upwards then flashed down at the spot where the startled Twister stood. "OH SHIT!!" he shouted, and frantically leaped high and backwards, narrowly avoiding the electron stream that blasted his former position. His feet prickled as they had been closest to the near-hit. The two remaining Boomers ignored him as the two Knight Sabers were higher priority targets in their programming. Both managed to get Priss and Linna to the far sides of the street by tackling each one-to-one with their back jet-packs on full power, the purpose to get the two out of the way and not interfere with their Mistress. However, with both Sabers in their motoroids the androids were not going to last very long unless they were VERY lucky. Madagan, on the other hand, never got a chance to launch another lightning attack as Twister, eyes glowing blue through the helmet's visor and aura glowing brightly around himself, moved with TK-enhanced speed towards her. She barely managed to get arms and power ready to meet him and their hands clasped together with a small thunderclap. Blue and yellow psionic energies crackled and discharged between the two. "Nice trick you started out with. Ripped electrons from the ground? Not bad after such a short time psi-active," Twister managed to comment after they had struggled for a few seconds. Madagan's suit made her formidable, and he couldn't drag this on very long. Unfortunately, Twister had finally finished his new Crystal Knight suit, casting the spell upon the completed diamond armour early in the morning. Because of that powerful finishing spell, he was still tired and his available energy was fairly low. During the day he hadn't visibly shown this, even though Anri had asked if Darlene had lost some weight when they had opened the store. The purple-haired Genom exec couldn't have picked a better time, as he was tired and hadn't put on the amulet that was the armor. Madagan smiled, though with a bit of strain since she was in the middle of a fight. "I didn't need much time to learn enough to face you with this suit. My mind was already well trained and disciplined to handle my new abilities. You certainly don't seem much more experienced," she observed with a little contempt. "Hey, I've never had anybody to teach me," Twister defended himself indignantly. "And when I've fought I don't make much use of psi unless I have to." "Then you are a fool." "Or maybe I just like to fight fair. You needed that psi-amp on your back to fight me on even footing so don't complain...wimp." Her lips compressed in anger. Madagan was about to push harder when he beat her to it in a strange manner. Instead of attacking her, Twister yanked his hands from Madagan's, surprising and unbalancing her, and directed the forces he had used, and was a little unsure of himself, towards the female executive to the ground below her feet. Road exploded, flinging him backwards and Madagan high into the air. Disoriented, even as she protected herself instinctively, she flew through the air. And was intercepted in mid-arc by another flying figure that swung a blade at her semi-helpless form: Sylia in her hardsuit. Back after finally finishing off the Boomers she had found. The leader of the Knight Sabers quite deliberately launched her blade into the equipment on Madagan's back. If she had attempted to strike the psionist herself the attempt would have failed because of Madagan's precognition, but as this did not endanger her life the attack worked. Sparks and minor electrical discharges appeared around the blade as Sylia pulled it out of the now-dark suit. Madagan screamed in rage as she sensed her advantage taken away. The white-suited Knight Saber attempted to catch her but missed as Madagan had stopped flying through the air and was now hovering. A little surprised Sylia landed as Madagan shouted angrily, "LET ME DOWN!!" "Certainly," Twister said, picking himself off the ground, revealing to all that he was the one supporting Madagan. Priss and Linna relaxed and dropped the weapons that they had been aiming at the furious Genom exec. "But don't expect a warm welcome. Oh yes, I destroyed the devices spying on us when your new Boomers appeared. Surprised you missed it," he said, adding insult to injury. Madagan's face paled as she realized that she was in a terribly bad position to be demanding anything. When she reached ground, she wasn't released from the hold the Blue Bullet had on her and could feel she wasn't going to be able to free herself. She was not strong enough now without the suit. "What do we do with her?" Linna's chill voice frightened her. She had not been nice with the green Knight Saber. "Want me to make the call?" the Bullet inquired of the white-suited Saber. "As long as you do it quick." "Gotcha." He walked up to the standing, immobile Madagan and sighed. "Are you going to kill me?" Whatever he did she was determined to not show fear. Nevertheless, when he shook his helmeted head she relaxed slightly. "No. I haven't killed a human being and even after you tried to do kill me it wouldn't be right. Besides, Genom might be less interested in me if you're still around to satisfy their curiosity in psi." "Is that wise?" Sylia said, concerned. "Genom seems to have done quite a bit of research already, she may accelerate that." "Oh, I'll put them in reverse." His slightly mischievous tone raised her eyebrows. Then he turned away from the helpless Madagan, which seemed odd to the captive, before he continued. "And as for you, Madagan, I have to take away your toy." This confused her. "What?" Then she heard ripping sounds, and felt... Twister heard a very startled, outraged, feminine scream behind him as he used his TK and had to grin. He then brought the outfit and equipment he had taken off Madagan in front of himself and wadded it into a fairly tight ball. "Could you take this stuff, Sabers?" "Oh, gladly," Linna's mirthful voice replied and the green motoroid with her inside picked it up. Priss was howling with laughter. "You...you...you..." he heard Madagan sputter behind him. "I'm sure you'll find something to cover yourself before a Genom crew gets here, Madagan. Me, I've got some things to settle with ADPolice tonight." "I'll make you suffer for this," was her coldly furious reply. "Advice: Don't try." He waved behind himself as he walked away for his bike. "Ta." The Knight Sabers walked away with him. "That was a...practical way of getting her suit," Sylia remarked dryly. "It was perfect!" Priss chortled. "It WAS the fastest way." Twister shrugged, unrepentant. "And so modest, Bullet," Priss teased. "Turning away like that from an attractive woman." Twister reached his bike, managed it up, and got on before answering the singer. "If you think of her like that maybe I could find a bow and gift wrap her for you. For those cold, lonely nights in bed, of course," he added helpfully as Priss sputtered indignantly. "She's holding a very big gun, Bullet, you'd better go quickly," Linna laughed. "Right." He revved the engine. "I'll release Madagan now so you'd better go. Oh yeah, whatever you hear from my next encounter with ADPolice: don't believe it. I'm going to play escape artist, but not let ADPolice in on it. Especially if they try the same thing on me as they did to the Griffin. In fact, I'm counting on it. Oh, don't forget, Priss," he added, "if Madagan tries again: maybe next time, oh mighty amazon. And if you spank her she may actually behave. Or if you prefer, she'll spank you." Seeing the blue motoroid cannon begin rising he quickly waved to them and tore off down the street. "He's going to pay for that," Priss ominously said. "Time to go back to base," Sylia ordered, ignoring Linna's laughter, "and we'd better move quickly." Slightly surprised, Priss and Linna looked at each other, then both turned to their friend and leader. "Why, Sylia?" Linna spoke for both. "Something else may come up tonight and we'd best be ready," Sylia replied mysteriously and all the way back home that was all either of them could get out of her. "You want to WHAT?!?" Leon stared at the radio incredulously. "You heard me! If it worked that time then it'll work now! What's wrong with that!?" Potter demanded. "We'll heard him onto that street and block the entrance with patrol cars. The armoured tank you used last time is already in position at the end. I don't want anymore comments from you, Leon. Just. Be. There." And with that, he cut the transmission. "Idiot!" Leon swore furiously. His car was already approaching the spot Potter wanted him to be and the jerk hadn't even bothered checking Leon's position. They had temporarily lost the Bullet but suspected he was headed towards the street Potter expected him to take. Leon, however, had almost lost all the humour he had felt at the beginning of this fiasco. The amount of cars taken out or damaged so far was worse than the Griffin affair; a testament to the skill of the Bullet and the overzealous actions of Potter. Those Boomers turning up hadn't helped, but they had vanished as mysteriously as they had appeared. Strange that. Just then, something in his rear view mirror caught his attention, something fast. Before he had a chance to recognize it, it had gone into the next lane and slowed down enough to stay parallel to him. The Blue Bullet! And he was jauntily waving at Leon. Cheeky bugger, to do that, was his amused thought. The silver windows that reflected lasers made his grin impossible for the biker to see. He almost didn't turn on the radio to report this, but duty compelled him. "Hey, Potter. The target is keeping parallel to me and appears to be having a fun time." "What?! The better not be a joke, Leon!" said Potter angrily. "No joke. I'm turning onto the street you wanted and he's staying right with me. Maybe he wants to surrender." "That's impossible!" "I'm going to check it out. See ya." He reached for the turn off switch. "Wait! Don't you..." Potter voice died with pleasing suddenness. Leon slowly applied the brake and the Bullet decelerated to match. They quickly came to a stop as Leon guessed that his companion was staying with him. The Bullet, a few meters ahead and watching him, made no move. Sighing, Leon checked his gun, just in case, and opened the door to get out, standing behind it. For some reason the Bullet looked surprised, at least that what Leon thought from the body language. "Leon...McNichol. This is a surprise," spoke the Bullet. In his turn, Leon was amazed the biker knew him, or a least well enough to recognize him on sight. "You know who I..." "I have my methods," interrupted the blue biker. "Doesn't matter. I'm glad it's you with whom I speak with last." "Last?" echoed Leon, a sense of dread coming over him. He began lifting his revolver which was hidden from the Bullet's sight behind the car door. "Yes." The Bullet dismounted and faced Leon. "You see, when I heard about the Griffin I felt a great sense of wanting to be as famous as that car of the night. And so, I built this bike with all of my hidden talents and love to achieve the same blaze of glory. Tonight," he added dramatically, "will be my final and greatest performance." This guy is NUTS! thought Leon incredulously and acted. He whipped his gun up and assumed a firing position behind the car door. "Your act's been cancelled, buddy, so just stay where you are. Besides, you'd never get past the tank at the barricade up ahead." The Bullet acted like he was happy about that. "Really? Could you tell them to leave the area then?" Swiftly, the Bullet re-mounted. "Stop where you are or I'll shoot!" Leon ordered. Turning to talk to him, the Bullet added, "I'm going to make quite a bang. Bye-bye." Then he pushed an empty hand at Leon. A stunning force knocked the gun out of Leon's hands as he himself was knocked over. As he recovered he heard two sounds, the Bullet driving off and more ADPolice cars finally reaching his position from the same direction he and the Bullet had come from. What the hell did he hit me with? Shaking his head, Leon stood, recovering his gun in the process, to greet the arriving police vehicles. Then he turned on his radio again. "Potter, he's coming your way and I think you'd better get out. Now." "Don't you dare turn off your receiver again and what the hell are you talking about?!" demanded Potter. "He may have a bomb." "And he TOLD you this? Are you a complete idiot??" Potter demanded. "It's an obvious ploy so he can escape." "Dammit, Potter! This guy is crazy! He told me all..." Leon stopped when another voice cut in. "This is chopper three and I have a visual on the target. He's going around 225 km/h and climbing. Around mid-way point. Wait...something is..." the pilot paused, then grew confused, "What the hell is going on?!" "Get the visual!" Leon heard Potter demand. There was a few moments of silence as Potter's team at the blockade looked at the feed they were getting. Then... "He's on fire??" an officer Leon didn't know said disbelievingly. "BLUE flames?!" another cried. "Dear GOD, it's getting bigger!!" "He's not burning! It's fake!" Potter shouted angrily. "The road's MELTING BEHIND HIM, Potter!" the first officer retorted. "I can't even see him anymore!!" On fire? Leon wondered. Melting? "This is chopper three! I can't keep up!" The pilot's voice was beginning to reveal his panic. "Whatever it is, I recommend YOU GET OUT OF THERE!!" "GET OUT, POTTER!!" Leon yelled. "EVERYBODY, EVACUATE!!!" Potter's scream blasted the speaker; Leon hoped it was in time. Thirty seconds later, Leon saw a blue glow, then a dazzling white light where he imagined the barricade had been. Twister appeared in his hanger-sized room about three feet above the ground, the engine of the bike roaring before quickly dying. I hope that worked, he thought. He let the bike down to the ground and got off, sighing with relief. Would have been interesting if someone had stuck around, good thing nobody did. Somehow, I doubt ADPolice will think the Blue Bullet survived. Twister stretched, then headed to his computer area, remembering why he had done it and how. He couldn't use his Blue Bullet persona anymore. Events tonight had shown that all too well and he had built the bike to relax, not to be the object of a manhunt. Spoilsports. He heaved a sigh. God, he was tired. He had used the one enchantment that he had recently put on his bike. Something he had dreamed up while finishing his new armour. As he had accelerated past 220, the spell had started absorbing the engine's heat to form a type of fireball around him and the bike, storing the energy. Increased by his own TK, done by trying to heat up his own engine, the fireball had gotten hot enough to melt through almost any obstacle. When he had teleported, just as the front tire was about at the point where the tank wall had melted away, all that was released, mostly straight up and down. Mostly. Must've left a pretty big hole, he mentally chuckled while walking into his computer room. Then he noticed something on his screen, and swore. He had 'visited' ADPolice by computer a few days ago and had set up a flag that his supercomputer could monitor safely. The flag had activated exactly one minute ago. Arrgggghhh!! Did he HAVE to attack right NOW?!?! Damn. Twister took off his helmet and then lifted something unseen but felt off of the table the terminal rested on. His fingers traced the invisible object, contemplated the other two events that had already happened that night, and sighed wryly. Third time's the charm. But for whom? And here he had hoped he could munch on something before this. Chapter Nineteen --------------- Ten minutes before- "Sylia!" Nene cried sobbingly into the vid-phone she immediately used when she saw no one was finally around and the elegant leader of the Knight Sabers answered. Sylia was a little startled at Nene's tearful state. "Nene, what...?" "Darlene's dead!" the young red-head cried, using Twister's female name as she usually did. "I just heard a few minutes ago! Some kind of explosion and there's nothing left! Nothing!" Sylia sighed, she should have called earlier. "No, Nene." "N-no?" Nene blinked her teary eyes in confusion. "Aside from the fact that our friend can be...elsewhere when desired, I believe whatever has you so upset was planned for ADPolice benefit." "Elsewhere...? Oh! I forgot!" Nene's face reddened with embarrassment. "But why do it at all??" she demanded, wiping tears off her face angrily. "My guess would be to make it seem as if the 'Bullet' was killed. And succeeded, I assume, by your reaction," Sylia concluded wryly. "I doubt there will be much of an investigation and/or search for him now." "Could've told ME before doing it," Nene mumbled, slightly annoyed. "Well, he did say he was planning something after the battle." "Battle? WHAT battle?!" Nene was beginning to feel like she was missing a lot tonight. Smiling slightly, Sylia shook her head. "Best not to say anything now. I'll fill you in later." Despite her impatience, Nene released her breath in a faintly annoyed "Alright." Then she heard a boom and felt the floor shake; something normally not done by floors as a rule. "What was that?!" she exclaimed, looking around. "What's happening, Nene?" Sylia asked, concern on her face. "Don't know! Gonna check it out." Nene reached to hang up the phone. "Ne..." was all Sylia got out before the connection died. Quickly, she stood up and hurried out of the room to get the others ready as Priss and Linna had stayed at Sylia's request. The new suits were ready, and it was time to use them. It looked like what she had suspected was happening now, at ADPolice headquarters. The black Boomer with several spikes on its shoulder pads that was now guarding the roof of ADPolice headquarters saw the two police helicopters approaching. Its AI designated them as hostile and to be destroyed; the Boomer's creator did not wish anybody else landing on the roof. The target lock for the two airborne vehicles was swiftly made and the mouth laser began glowing blue, about to fire. It fired... and missed. Reason? Something unseen had hit the cyberdroid in the torso just in time, making it stagger backwards before steadying itself. The two choppers thought the missed beam was a warning shot and were turned away by a concerned Daley who had seen it. With the choppers out of the way that left the Boomer's full attention for whatever had hit it. "Well, FANCY meeting you here, Mr. Spikey Boomer!" something said to the android. Someone black and armoured appeared near the edge of the roof; apparently the one who had hit it. The Boomer's ID software came up with a match: the Crystal Knight. However, some changes in the Knight's armour had given a few microseconds difficulty in making his identity known to the biotechnical terror. Most areas of the black inflexible plate potions of the armour now had faint silvery designs, very visible against the light absorbing armour. The visor was still undecorated, but now the lower portion of the helmet covering the lower face was pushed outward slightly. This was not the only addition. There were two raised strips on the chestplate running diagonally from around the shoulder areas to the bottom of the rib cage where the diaphragm was; they weren't very thick and did not join. The only other major change to the slightly different armour were additional rounded and streamlined forearm projections that tapered off into the armour near the elbow and contained large holes on the other higher end near the hands, obviously some kind of new weaponry. Despite the difference, the Boomer had recognized its new opponent. However, the Knight's arrival had been prepared for by its Master and it was programmed to wait. This was not what the Knight expected, and after ten seconds of nothing happening, tried goading it. "Hel-LO! Ah...yo? Machine o' death and mayhem?" Nothing. "Pardon me, but you attack ADPolice choppers and ignore me? Yaright. Blow a circuit?" Something occurred to the dark armoured figure, and he slowly said, "Or... are... you... waiting... for..." "HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! So! You finally realized I expected you, Crystal Knight!" shouted a voice from the previously ignored chopper on the roof, confident in its superiority. The Knight turned to face Dr. Miriam. "Oh yeah, I'm just thrilled to meet a mad scientist and his Boomer Babies. I don't suppose you care to surrender?" He said this in a manner that showed he didn't think that very likely. Twister saw the fury grow on the mad doctor's face and got ready for him to order the Boomer to attack. The doctor had other ideas. "They are not BABIES!! They are my MASTERPIECES to destroy the Knight Sabers! YOU are not fit to face them and," he reached one hand into the helicopter and made a sudden movement, "if the information I received is correct, you will be of much better use to me as valuable research material." He laughed a little maniacally. "What the heck are you... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" White-hot railroad spikes lanced into Twister's brain for an instant, making the rest of the world forgotten in the moment of pure white agony. It vanished even as he raised his hands to his head, but the after-effects left him reeling and he staggered, almost going unconscious from the sudden lack of pain. Elsewhere, on route to Genom tower, a seething Madagan, wearing a large coat to cover her, suddenly widened her eyes in shock, then doubled over when the pain registered. Fortunately, being less sensitive she felt the pain less. Even still, her driver and bodyguard Boomers reacted with concern, but she waved them off thinking it was a result of her earlier battle. Not so. "Wonderful! So you DO have mental powers!" Miriam gloated as he saw the Crystal Knight recover slightly from what he had done. "What...the HECK...was that?!" Twister managed through his headache, he tried to Heal it but whatever had happened seemed to have somehow inhibited his psionic powers temporarily. He realized that this was a Very Bad Thing. "I'm told it was an experimental device operating on the theory that it would disrupt a person's psi ability if they had any. Since each human being has an unique personal 'wavelength' it has to cycle through a broad range." Dr. Miriam smiled unpleasantly. "It seems you're very gifted. All the better." The Knight shook his head and took a deep breath to steady himself. "Yeah, right!" He leaped for the chopper to destroy the device. It was a measure of how rattled Twister was to have neglected to consider the very dangerous Boomer still on the roof. When it leaped to prevent him from harming the doctor, he was still unable to use his psionics and his attempt to do so allowed the Boomer to launch a fist that landed on his torso. The Knight flew back to the edge of the roof, landing hard. Groaning, and with one hand over his stomach, Twister got on his knees to try to get up. He relied a lot on speed to avoid damage from Boomers, and when unable to avoid getting hit resorting to psi. He wasn't feeling very fast at the moment, was currently without psi, and this one had hit HARD. Luckily the new suit had a weak force field around it; along with a bunch of other options. He cupped his right hand as the Boomer advanced on him and softly said, "C-Sphere." Stored energy in his suit created a restraining globe of force, within which air was superheated into plasma that strained to escape from the constraining sphere. It left a faint comet-like trail when Twister threw it hard at the enemy machine. Not being a rocket, beam weapon, or something else familiar to the Boomer the machine hesitated briefly, allowing the potent ball of energy to hit and explode with a fiery blast. It threw the android violently back with its front armour melted slightly, unfortunately with no real damage. "Tit for tat," Twister chuckled nonetheless. Suddenly, the pain came again. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" he screamed. "For doing that to my creation I'm overjoyed the machine's cycle has come back to your wavelength again!" Dr. Miriam angrily shook his fist at the black crystalline-armoured annoyance. The doctor would soon be his own audience as Twister didn't think he was going to be able to keep himself conscious. He had been tired to begin with and this hadn't helped. Whatever that thing was doing, the effect seemed to have doubled because of the previous time. This was comprehended through a foggy maze of pain, as well as the fact that the Boomer would be able to have him for lunch now that he was in no way able to fight. Twister couldn't be captured by this madman, who knew what he would do to him? But escape seemed difficult now. One chance. And it promised to be painful. "Once more, with feeling," he groggily whispered. "C-Sphere." The ball formed as the angry Boomer rushed at him once more, but he didn't throw it at the android. He threw it to the ground in front of himself. Two feet away. The blast blew him backwards and beyond the edge of the roof. This has definitely not been a good night for me, was Twister's last fleeting thought before darkness rushed in. Dr. Miriam wasn't angry; his Boomer hadn't been damaged enough to matter and the Crystal Knight's last move was that of a desperate man. The Knight Sabers were his real objective tonight anyway, the Knight he could deal with later. "Forget him," he commanded his Boomer, his masterpiece. "Go into the building and destroy everything until the Knight Sabers arrive." As the cyberdroid started towards the door, Dr. Miriam returned to his helicopter to continue monitoring the progress of the building. "Soon, Knight Sabers. Soon you will be no more, proving my greatness!" he laughed insanely. A half hour later, all four Boomers were destroyed. So much for greatness. Mackie left to get the van ready, thrilled by the action but also relieved it was over. The rest of the Sabers would have left with him except that Priss insisted she had seen the Crystal Knight and they had gone to investigate before coming home. It had been a busy night. Sylia had told him to bring his suit so he could carry Nene's suit to give the red-head once inside. He and Priss had found her confronting a new type of combat Boomer! Priss threw herself onto the cyberdroid while he and Nene got away. The red-head had been unusually serious at the time, and had immediately suited up before they went to the control room. Once there, the two had found that a Boomer had infiltrated the computer systems. He helped her fight it, but it had been a sophisticated program to deal with, and when Nene's friend Lisa became a target the red- head had had to frantically counter all the death traps the Boomer kept trying to use on the girl. But Lisa finally made it to where they were, and Mackie was relieved to see the others arrive after beating their Boomers. Then the fourth had activated the building's self-destruct system, and the others took Lisa away but he and Nene stayed behind to save ADPolice. It had come pretty close at the end; Nene had overridden the fourth Boomer's self- destruct just in time and blew up the Boomer. He smiled, remembering Nene's gasp of relief when they had succeeded, then her smile when she saw the others had come back. As he headed for the van, the young man considered the mech he had built himself and decided it needed a lot more work, maybe even a complete redesign. It wasn't because of poor efficiency. It just didn't look cool enough for him now. Chapter Twenty -------------- "I told you I thought it was him! Hey, sleepy head," called a voice that penetrated the darkness of oblivion. "Hey! Wake up! C'mon, you dope!" Recognition flared. So did pain. "Shut up and let me die in peace, Priss," Twister groaned without opening his eyes. He felt bruised and tired. The bruises he tried to Heal, and thankfully it worked. Whatever the crazy doctor had used didn't last long. "He's alive," Linna sighed with relief. A hard blow to the stomach surprised him, producing a grunt, and a startled Twister opened his eyes. All the Knight Sabers in new-looking suits were standing around him, or rather around the Twister-shaped hole he was currently lying in. The pink hardsuit had been the one to stomp on his lower torso and the foot still rested there. "What was that for?" Twister demanded, beginning to try to rise from the hole. Nene moved her foot away as he slowly got up. "Not warning me beforehand about what you did with ADPolice! I was worried!" Nene angrily told him. "And for worrying me AGAIN when I saw you here!" "What happened?" inquired Sylia. "Crazy doctor used some strange device on me that disabled my psionics and it knocked me almost into unconsciousness. I blew myself off the roof to escape." Twister levered himself out of his hole and tried using his powers again when his head pulsed with pain from a killer headache. He sagged a little in relief when he found he was able to Heal a second time and the killer headache disappeared. "BLEW YOURSELF OFF?!?!" chorused Nene, Linna, and Priss incredulously. "Even Priss isn't that dumb!" said a startled Nene. "HEY!!" Hiding her amusement as Nene and Priss started arguing, Sylia asked, "How did you slow your fall and survive if you couldn't use psionics?" "Air brakes, heh heh heh," Twister said in an Ernest sort of way, and chuckled at the assorted groans. "Added feature of the new suit, just in case. I'm not fond of falling." "Nice. Getting decorative?" Linna said, pointing at the designs on the black plate. "It needed it. You four have upgraded as well I see." "What else does it do?" asked Priss, curiously. "Later. Where's that doctor?" "ADPolice caught him. They'll be here soon," said Sylia. Twister straightened at the news. "I'm going to destroy that thing he had and ask where he got it from. Thanks for worrying about me, but I'd better hurry. See you later!" Before anyone could protest, he vanished. "Chee! Thinks he can do everything," Priss grumbled. Sylia shook her head. "It's best he does it now before ADPolice get their hands on that device." "How's that headache you got, Sylia?" Linna queried. "Fine. We'd better go; it's been a busy night." Sylia turned and started walking away. The rest followed, except for one. Linna turned when she noticed. "Priss?" With a grin on his face, Daley watched the helicopter belonging to the terrorist who had taken over ADPolice headquarters land on the street. When the blades had stopped moving the door opened and a cheerful Leon holding the collar of a sullen Dr. Miriam stepped down the stairs with the prisoner. "So, finally decided to join us, eh, Leon?" Daley cheerily said. "You could say that. Been a busy night for both of us." Leon grinned. "Well, you got my character; how did you handle yours?" Leon shrugged. "Not mine. Potter's. And that didn't go as well as this did." "Now THAT'S debatable. Headquarters is a mess right now," Daley ruefully said, then added, "I did hear some reports. Did the guy really kill himself?" Leon nodded. "Looks like it. I talked to him before he did it and he sounded like a real loon. Took out a large chunk of bridge doing it." The brown-haired inspector shook his head at the waste. Then he spotted Lisa, the captain's niece, passing by, looking slightly distracted. "Hey, Lisa!" Lisa had been deep in her own thoughts, thinking about what had happened in the building with her and Nene, who was a Knight Saber! Surprised at hearding her name called, Lisa looked up and saw the trio over by the chopper, then looked down at the camera in her hands and smiled. She raised it into position and took a picture while the two ADPolicemen posed. Lisa lowered it to say, "Thanks!", but she noticed the three were all staring at something behind her. Whirling around, she saw the object of their attentions. Walking in a straight line towards the chopper, through startled people that avoided him, was the Crystal Knight. Despite the change of the new armour compared to the old, he was quickly recognized by Lisa. ADPolice did too, but those gathered around weren't sure of what to do as the reason for the Knight's visit was unknown. He stopped right beside Lisa and looked down at her. "Hello again," he greeted her. "As you can see, I'm wearing my armour this time." "So it WAS you!" Lisa gasped, remembering when they had literally bumped into each other on that roof. "What are you doing here?" His answer was directed at the frowning captive. "To get a few answers out of Dr. Miriam here." "Hold it!" Leon called out before the doctor could speak. "He's a prisoner of ADPolice and, despite the help you've given in the past, you're still a vigilante." "Oh, come off it, Leon," the Knight said, disgusted. "All I need are a few answers and something in that aircraft of his," the Knight calmly said. "Why don't you use your psi-powers or are they still unavailable?" Dr. Miriam queried maliciously. Blinking, Leon and Daley looked down at their captive in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?" Leon demanded. "Shut up, Miriam," the Knight demanded and one of his characteristic crystal swords appeared in a hand. He advanced. "Stop right there, Knight," Leon commanded the black plated and silvery design-covered figure. "He's still our prisoner." Meanwhile, Miriam was unimpressed with the Knight's display. "Looks like you've recovered if you're using telekinesis. What will you use next? Telepathy?" Suddenly, he smiled unpleasantly. "I see no need to continue this idiotic farce anymore." Puzzled and confused at the confidence in Miriam's voice, Twister hesitated, wondering what was going on with the doctor's attitude change. The answer came terribly quickly. Lancing pain erupted in his mind for the third time that night and his sword shattered into vanishing motes of sparkling dust. "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" he screamed, falling to his knees and hands. Everyone except Miriam was shocked at the agony the scream described even with the distortion the suit normally applied to his voice. Dazed, Twister heard Leon react. "What the hell?" Leon said, surprised at what had happened. Instinctively he realized the cause and shook his captive. "What did you do, asshole?" For an answer, Miriam moved his arms surprisingly quickly and grabbed Leon and Daley. Then, with strength that was definitely NOT normal, he hurled them both away, sprawling, in different directions. Someone in the crowd of police cried out, "Android!!" Weapons were raised. "Stop!!" The android of Dr. Miriam commanded. "Fire and I will trigger the explosives hidden in the helicopter and destroy most of the surrounding area, including yourselves." Understandably, the police hesitated, making the doppleganger grin as it walked over to the gasping Knight. So much for staying true with the anime version, Twister berated himself, mostly for not scanning with his senses and discovering about the fake. "That you were fooled by my deception is no surprise," the mechanical clone gloated, then frowned. "But that was not my goal. Those new suits were an unknown. An unknown I shall be ready for next time." Something landing behind it made it turn around, and then glare at the new arrival with simulated hate. It was a blue hardsuit. No surprise there. "Hey, you damn machine, how about taking me on?" Priss taunted, one arm raised in firing position. "And can you be sure I can't detonate the copter before you destroy me?" the android of Miriam retorted. The blue suited Knight Saber hesitated. Twister had seen enough. If the cycle on the damned machine was still running he would be hit hard again and likely fall unconscious. The head. The head had to be completely destroyed and the android was not likely to be armoured. His armour's other weapons were still mostly untried and the way he was feeling he doubted he could aim them properly. Suit - out. Psi - out. But there WAS one thing he could use... "Well? What will you do? Or should I detonate it right now?" the android mocked. "Bastard machine..." Priss' arm wavered, then firmed for some unknown reason. When she spoke next, it sounded like she was smiling as she said, "You know what I'll do?" The android's brows furrowed; this was strange behaviour for a human. "I think I'll watch." "What?!?" "MOUKO TAKABISHA!!!" cried the Crystal Knight from behind the android and before the machine could do anything the ki power Twister had gathered between his hands was unleashed in as powerful a blast was he could make it at the moment, aimed right at the copy's head and upper body. The force of the almost point-blank ki blast slammed into the android and the metal head was blown apart into a million pieces, thrown up into the sky along with most of the upper torso. Headless, what was left of the body fell to the ground. Priss lowered her arm and watched Twister sigh with relief. "Was that another one of those weird moves?" "Yeah," he tiredly answered, standing up slowly. "As much ki as I could manage that quickly and narrowly anyhow." He'd have to thank Ranma again for teaching that move to him. "I like it." The Knight snorted audibly in amusement. "Surprise there. You'd better get going," he added seeing the police force around them start to lose their hesitation. "And thanks; I owe you one." "And you sound like you're dead on your feet," she retorted. "Don't worry, I'll collect eventually," Priss answered him in a devilish tone. "Maybe when I get you back for those comments earlier." And then she activated her jumping jets, swiftly leaping away. "Oh, joy," Twister muttered. "Why do I feel this sinking sensation?" "Hey, Knight!" Startled, the armoured psionist looked at the helicopter and saw Leon waving at him. Remembering about the device that had disabled him, he rapidly strode over to the ADPolice officer. Twister noticed some people moving around inside the chopper that must have ran inside right after the Miriam android was destroyed. Leon saw his glance and nodded inside. "Bomb squad. That thing was right about the explosives." "Great. Thought that it was going to blow it up anyway so I took it out." The Knight shrugged. "Sorry, us vigilantes can be mean." He tried Healing the headache he had and got a faint response, lessening the pain slightly. It appeared the device's effects didn't last very long past one of its cycles. The lieutenant gave him a wry look. "I noticed. You do realize that the only reason I'm not ordering your arrest right now is that I don't think I could stop you from getting away. True?" He chuckled at the Knight's helmet looking innocently up at the sky. "I'll let somebody else tackle that job, thank you very much." "Hey, Leon," Daley called from inside the copter. "I think I've got some really strange piece of equipment here. We had to disconnect it before we could get to the explosives." A strong sense of danger began building in Twister halfway through Daley's message. "Oh, SHOOT!!" Twister cried, and before anybody could stop him, rushed inside the helicopter and came out immediately with a large metal box that had a few lights, displays, and wires hanging from it. With all his might and recovering telekinetic power he threw the box into the air. He stood rigid as he kept accelerating the box upwards with his mind as much as he could until.... BOOOOOOM!!! A large explosion safely far above them marked the end of the device that had given him so much trouble. "I'm getting REALLY annoyed at this Miriam character," Daley stated as he looked up at the fading explosion from the door of the helicopter. "Better make sure of the android's body as well," said the Knight and he turned to the remains. Holding his two hands together straight out in front of him and all fingers pointing at the target, Twister said, "Laser Lance." Ten small laser beams leaped from each of the black fingertips and merged into a powerful, single one where a glowing torus had appeared a hand's span from the closest fingertip. With deliberate precision, Twister sliced apart the lifeless form of the android into harmless chunks of metal. He noticed his armour beginning to get heavier so he was relieved that he had finished in time and stopped the beam; the armour started losing weight again as it gathered ambient light to recover from the power loss. "New armour's more powerful I see," Leon commented, a tinge of envy and frustration in his voice. "Yeah, and I'd better get cloaking. Good-bye." With that last word, the Knight vanished, startling many ADPolice who had been watching him. "Oh, yeah," his disembodied voice called. "Thanks, guys! And I won't destroy your pictures, Lisa," the Knight added with a chuckle, making the young photographer start, then flush with embarrassment. The young girl thought that it was lucky for him that she was leaving tomorrow or else she'd REALLY work on finding out who the Knight was! "Why is it that everybody else in this crazy city has better equipment than us?" Leon asked the empty air. "They don't have to worry about boards and politicians," Daley answered with a sigh, coming up beside him. Leon echoed him and leaned on the helicopter. "I wish we had better stuff." "Be careful what you wish for, Leon," whispered the Knight's voice, right by his ear. "HOLY!!" The ADPolice lieutenant jerked away, caught totally off-guard and surprising Daley. "Leon?!? What's wrong??" "He... I..." Leon waved haltingly at empty air for a few seconds before sighing in defeat. "Never mind. Let's get this mess cleaned up." "Riiight." Daley still looked at his partner strangely as he walked away. Levitating ten feet above Leon, Twister quietly laughed. Only one thing left to do today, then I think I'll collapse into sleep. What a day. He sighed. I never even got a spare moment to think about what Sylia told me. Tomorrow then; I'm too wasted now. He teleported home for some much needed sleep. Doctor Miriam angrily slammed his fist on the monitor screen that had been receiving his duplicate's visual transmissions and cracked it slightly. "No!! How could they have ALL been defeated?!?" he demanded. Yanda calmly looked at him. "It appeared that the Knight Sabers suits had been upgraded since the last time you collected data on them. You did not account for that, and so they were destroyed. You had better luck with the Knight but he was the one who destroyed your copy with one of his UPGRADED suit's weapons." Still furious, Miriam could not deny the ring of truth in her words. She was right, he'd neglected the possibility of upgrades and that had been the flaw in his plan. He was suddenly glad the woman had insisted on moving out of his factory and moving to a safer locale; it HAD been his face on the double and no doubt ADPolice, and worse, Genom, would be looking for him. But even with his current safety, he was dissatisfied. "Where did you get that device that took care of the Knight's psi power?" he asked, that had been the lure Yanda had used to get him to accept substituting a double for him. The possibilities for such power was ENORMOUS! IF he could use them himself, which the woman had hinted at. "An... old friend of my master's made it," Yanda replied. "Master?? So you are not alone; I thought not," Miriam smirked knowingly, he had scanned the woman and knew her to be a Boomer, albeit of an unusual design. That made him sure that there was someone else behind the scene. "I agreed to help you if my plan failed. What will I be doing?" "WE," she emphasized, "will continue on a similar track to your plan but with some... changes which will necessitate some research before we act. Most of the technology we possess but there are flaws that need to be corrected." "And that is why you contacted me?" Miriam felt pleased that his greatness was recognized by this mysterious Boomer. "After we discovered your... activities with the Knight Sabers I did some checking and found you quite acceptable." "WHAT are we going to DO?? Destroy the Knight Sabers and the Crystal Knight? And WHO is your 'master'?" Miriam demanded. "Not destroy, exactly," Yanda answered him, wearing an unreadable smile. "Especially not the Knight, who's strength in psi would be most valuable if controlled...somehow." Miriam frowned from the, yet another, hint from the woman offerings. "As for my master..." She stood up abruptly and, surprised at the action, Miriam echoed her. "We will meet him now." She turned for the door as it opened and stepped out of the room, a curious Miriam following after. Yanda smiled as he caught up with her. "I think you'll be quite...surprised." Chapter Twenty-One ------------------ It was a semi-cloudy morning outside and the view from the Genom elevator was spectacular; Madagan hadn't even noticed on the way up. Standing in front of Quincy's desk, she was reliving with cold fury the encounter between her and the Crystal Knight, aka the Blue Bullet. She had slipped into doing this when the Chairman had dropped into silence for a lengthy period of time. "Miss Madagan." Quincy's voice startled her into snapping out of her reverie and refocused in his face. "Sir?" "Thinking about last evening?" There was a neutral expression on his face. Cheeks coloring that she had been that obvious, Madagan nodded. "Yes, sir. Forgive me for asking, but when will a new suit be ready?" "A few months, if not years." "WHAT?!" The purple haired executive stepped right up to the desk in her anger. "WHY??" "Miss Madagan, please restrain yourself." Quincy sounded calm, but the faint golden glow in his employee's eyes unnerved him slightly. It was fortunate that mind-reading hadn't been one of her surprising new abilities. Seeing Madagan realize her lack of control, flushing slightly, and settling down reassured him. It would be a pity to dispose of such a loyal, and now much more valuable, employee. "Such pointless hatred towards the one who likely helped you to obtain your new powers and saved your life will result in nothing good. Please remain objective." Madagan hated the truths that Quincy brought up, but nodded slowly to acknowledge her compliance. "I'll... try. But why, sir? He could become such a threat!" "He has already become so as of last night, and I do not speak of your ill-fated confrontation, which I now see as a rash move on our part." Madagan was puzzled. "Sir?" "Every Genom computer that held any information and/or data about the research that created your suit had those particular files deleted and made unrecoverable. There was no trace of an intruder other than that." Quincy leaned forward onto his desk. "And I do mean EVERY computer since all those involved were connected via the Mega-Tokyo Net." "Every..." Madagan was speechless. "How?" Quincy leaned back into his chair, hands pressing together as he looked at her stunned reaction. "Obviously our adversary has means at his disposal we have not yet seen. Powerful ones. I am disturbed greatly by this, especially with our current dealings with him." "He must be able to go through our systems with ease," Madagan half-whispered. "We are changing all security codes as I speak. The magneto-optical disk backups are unharmed of course, but the fact remains that he broke in once; he could do so again and that is a fact that we cannot ignore. Until we know more of his capabilities I will not have research continue in that area as he may utilize other more... effective measures. Therefore," Quincy eyed Madagan with a steely gaze, "for the moment _Genom_ will no longer have any involvement in operations concerning the Crystal Knight, or the Knight Sabers for that matter as there appears to be some connection with the two. At least until we have more useful information." He held up a hand to stop Madagan's furious protest. "Until then, what you do with your free time is up to you." She did not miss the insinuation of that last part and smiled slightly, but with pleasure. "I was planning on visiting a certain store tonight anyhow, sir." He nodded slowly in understanding, but his hard eyes told her that she would be unsupported if she got into trouble. Madagan didn't really care; she was going to get back at the Crystal Knight somehow, and knew just where to begin. The little red-haired bitch had to know something and she was going to find out what. WHACK! "Take that, you red-scaled dummy. Hi, Anri." Sylvie looked up from the cash register and saw Priss greeting Anri by Charcoal, the guardian dragon statue. "Why do you do that to Char, Priss?" she asked the singer from across the room with an amused smile. Also, it appeared Sylia had come with her for some reason. "Hi, Sylvie." Priss came over to the silver-haired sexaroid, Sylia following, and shrugged. "Because it startled me the first time I saw it; I like getting back at it. Is Darlene here?" Sylvie grinned. "Sleeping Beauty is still upstairs in her apartment." Priss looked at her oddly after the un-Sylvie-like crack, then observed, "You've been hanging around her WAY too long." "Occupational hazard." After the two finished laughing, Sylia said, "We'd better go up." And without another word entered the passage that led upstairs. Priss shrugged helplessly at a puzzled Sylvie and followed. She caught up to Sylia when she entered Darlene's room. It looked like the red-head hadn't cared much about being too neat last night because clothes were scattered across the floor. Sylia was standing on the side of the bed that wasn't against the wall, eyebrows arched high and a small smile of amusement on her face. Darlene's apartment had a lot of average-price furniture in it, and that included the bed, except for the fact that it had sinfully soft-looking and very expensive covers and pillows. The occupant was smiling angelically, having wrapped herself up in the luxurious sheets, cocoon-like. "Y'know, it's almost a pity to wake her up," Priss noted, observing the scene with a smirk. "True. But we'd better." That said, Sylia reached down and gently nudged the slumbering form. Twice. Eyes cracked open slightly and the smile vanished as Darlene turned her head to blearily look at her summoner from slumber. "Sylia?" she mumbled, then spied Priss grinning at her. "Priss? God, I must've really overslept if you're awake." She smirked sleepily and then yawned. "Very funny," Priss grumped, then smirked in turn and said, "NICE bed, Darlene. What do the men think when you bring them over?" She grinned as she dodged the pillow missile thrown at her. The red-head glared at her from her now semi-sitting position revealing that she was wearing only a t-shirt and boxers, a fact that amused both Sylia and Priss; the inappropriate underwear must have been uncomfortable. "Hardy har har. That's funny. NOT." Darlene self-consciously shifted the sheets around herself again, trying not to think of how red her face must be. "Why are you guys here anyhow?" she asked, looking at Sylia. "We can't stay long, but I wanted to check up on you." She sat on the side of the bed. "Did you think about what I told you yesterday at all?" Darlene snorted a negative. "When? After I went back to the cave I traipsed through the Genom network and obliterated all psi-research they had on their computers. That'll make 'em jumpy. Then I came back home and barely got my clothes off and the covers over me before I fell asleep." "Cuddled up nicely in it too," Priss added, then dodged another pillow. "How about now?" Sylia asked Darlene, ignoring the singer. "I..." Darlene looked down, her face showing signs of the internal conflict that suddenly raged inside. "I don't know what to think." Priss knew she was being left out of something. "About what?" Still looking down at the bed, the red-head mumbled, "Sylia said my aging has slowed a lot." "Huh?!" Priss' eyes widened with surprise. "That's good, isn't it? You'll live beyond two hundred years or something?" "More like thirty thousand," Darlene whispered, sudden depression crashing down on her. The singer froze in shock, unable to comprehend what her friend had told her. Thirty thousand years of life?? "It may be much longer, Darlene," Sylia gently added, "remember I mentioned that your cells are not dying as they should, or at least being replaced immediately. It's not regeneration, it's something else." Darlene's face was blank when she lifted it at this news. "Perfect, now I can watch more people grow old and die." Her eyes began to fill with tears. "Add that maybe I'm not just AGING." She clenched her hands in the sheets, and she cried out, "Maybe I'm MUTATING!! INTO SOMETHING HORRIBLE!!" Suddenly, Darlene was using her fingernails to gouge her arms, making bloody trails in her skin, eyes wide with sudden self-loathing and terror. Sylia quickly tried restraining her to prevent her damaging herself further, Priss jumping in hurriedly because the red-head was a lot stronger than she looked. Both flailed at Darlene's wildly moving arms and shouted at her to stop. Sylia managed to land a stinging slap on the terrified young woman's face through the confusion. That shocked Darlene out of her panic, and the energy went out of her; sobbing as they held her arms gently but firmly, unsure of her mercurial mood at the moment. Then Sylvie ran into the room and took in the scene. "What's going on with all the shouting? What's wrong with Darlene?" "Sylvie," Priss sighed with relief. "We might need your help holding her." "I'm..." Darlene sniffled a bit and took a deep breath before trying again. "I'm okay... I think." "Are you sure?" Sylia asked, the sympathy in her voice surprising Priss. At Darlene's slow nod, she released the arm she had and Priss hesitantly copied her. Looking at the bloody gouges in her arms, Darlene winced, feeling the stinging pain now that the panic had worn off. "I'm a mess. I didn't think I'd react that badly. I'm sorry." "DON'T!" Priss shouted angrily, startling Darlene. "Do NOT apologize! At least not for wigging out like that, I know I'D react badly to that kind of news myself so don't get down on yourself. That's what started you off in the first place." "Sor... Okay," Darlene corrected herself and gave Priss a sheepish grin. Then she looked at Sylvie, who appeared to be half-concerned, half-relieved. "You'd better go back down and reassure Anri. I'll be down in a little while?" she said in a querying manner to Sylia, who nodded. "Working should get my mind off more... disturbing things." Sylvie nodded, a bit relieved. "I'll see you in the store then." As she turned to leave, Priss came up and walked with the sexaroid out the bedroom door. Darlene and Sylia heard Sylvie say, "What happened?" and heard Priss' faint reply, "Darlene changed a bit more than we thought..." Sylia nodded at the fresh gashes. "Do you want some warm water?" Darlene shook her head. "I'll do it later; it's not too bad when you know you can fix them instantly and I've had much worse, as you well know." She grinned self-consciously at the leader of the Knight Sabers who nodded in agreement. "Have you realized that your emotional state in your two forms produce some very different reactions?" "What was your first clue? That show I put on a few minutes ago?" Darlene said with heaps of sarcasm, then had the grace to blush under Sylia's reproving gaze. "Okay, I know about it." She paused, then amended her admission. "At least, I knew but didn't want to think about it. It's a little disturbing when you find out that you're not acting the way you used to. Especially doing something major you wouldn't normally do and not realizing that until later. Like challenging Leon to a drinking match." She winced a little at that particular recollection. "But at the time it didn't seem odd." Sylia nodded in understanding. "From what I've seen I doubt getting you very mad in your male body would be an easy task, and when you were it wouldn't be blind anger but a controlled one. It's how you are right now that I'm worried about." "What's that supposed to mean?" "You seem to be divided into opposites in some respects..." she trailed off, letting the red-head get the obvious conclusion on her own. Memory flashed in Darlene and she recalled the time when she had just arrived in Mega-Tokyo. In the fight with Steelfist a comment from him had sparked something red-hot within her and she had lashed out instinctively when he thought her distracted; his cybernetic arm was broken in half by her. And this was when the differences in her behaviour were less noticeable. She shivered. "I guess I see what you mean, but that's only happened once and I'd never hurt my friends like that." Sylia caught something from her voice. "You sound very positive about that." Something about that was odd, but the reason seemed to elude her. "Of course I am," Darlene continued with more cheer, "aside from martial arts practices and fun." A thoughtful look came over her suddenly. "I wonder..." "What?" "This aging thing. I might've known somehow." THAT idea brought very uncertain emotions to the fore. "What makes you think that?" "Well, think about it; I've been here over a year and a half and I'm only now starting to feel a faint but real desire to go back to the place I came here from and see a certain face...s. That's a long time to wait, don't you figure?" "It might be possible, but," Sylia sighed, some frustration evident, "anything could be concerning you, or so I'm beginning to believe." She stood up and smiled down at her friend, who seemed to be trying not to laugh at what Sylia had just admitted. "I do have to go now." She got to the door before stopping and turning around. "And... I too know something of having to adapt to changes." There was something in her eyes that told Darlene that Sylia believed the red-head knew a little about what she meant. The young woman in the bed nodded back. "Yeah. Thanks, Sylia, for finding out." She smiled faintly and Sylia returned it before slipping away. Darlene sighed and flipped away the covers. She'd slept long enough. Time to get to work. Priss and Sylvie greeted Sylia downstairs. "So, how is she?" Priss asked. "She appears to be accepting it now. Normally to do it that quickly would concern me, but..." The singer nodded, "Yeah, she can get into some heavy downs but she usually recovers damn fast. Still," she frowned, "that self-mutilation she tried to pull worried me, and how come you didn't tell me and the others about that longer lifespan stuff?" "I just told her last night, when she was Twister." Sylia frowned, vexed. "That gender change still gives me headaches. Anyway, I was more worried about how she would react as Darlene, with good reason." "So it's true about her? Darlene's almost immortal?" Sylvie queried, intrigued. "As far as I can tell." "Strange. A few well-made Boomers nowadays could outlive their owners by several generations or even much longer. Then Darlene comes along and turns it the other way around." Strangely, Sylvie looked sad after she finished. Priss scratched the back of her neck. "Y'know, I'm not sure if I should feel envious or sorry for her. Especially after what she said about watching people grow old. Life can be a real bitch." "Life is duty, duty is forever," Sylia commented to nobody in particular, before nodding to Priss that they should go. "We have to be going, Sylvie. I may phone you later to see how she is." When the silver- haired woman nodded, both Sabers left. Anri came over after finishing talking with a customer. "What was the matter with Darlene, Sylvie?" Her friend sighed. "It's a short story but it feels longer..." Chapter Twenty-Two ------------------ THAT EVENING... "Ahhhhhhhhhh," Darlene sighed out as she stretched. "Closing time at last." Sylvie and Anri, both standing in front of her, laughed a little at the relief embedded into the red-head's voice. "Today wasn't THAT bad," Anri teasingly objected, Sylvie nodded her agreement with a smile. "Yeah, well, I had a busy night yesterday," Darlene rolled her eyes at the understatement, "and I think being very, very lazy for the rest of the day will help me a lot." Anri, surprisingly, came up and hugged Darlene. "You'll be okay, won't you?" she asked after drawing back a little and looking directly at the other's startled blue eyes. "It was pretty rough news," Sylvie said, echoing Anri's concern. Darlene sighed slightly and gazed at the other two's faces. "I think so. It's just going to take a while to get used to the concept, I guess." She shrugged, then flashed a grin. "At least I'll have a lot of time on my hands." The two sexaroids grinned, both in relief and at her comment. "I'd better lock the front," Anri suggested, waiting for Darlene's nod before heading for the entrance. "How are you two's lives getting along anyhow?" Darlene asked Sylvie, then added with a grin, "Need a raise?" "Gee, thanks, Boss," the brown-haired woman said, and grinned at the other's level glare. "Just kidding. Actually, that would be nice. We really should get out more. Like another person I know." The last statement directed at Darlene was not a subtle hint. "So I don't get out that much..." Darlene began to protest. "LET ME GO!!!" Anri's angry and frightened shout immediately caught the two's attention and, startled, they saw the reason why she had yelled. A very tall and wide man that practically screamed 'Boomer' held the blue-haired sexaroid in baseball glove-sized hands as he entered the store. She struggled helplessly in the steel grip as she was brought in, feet dangling uselessly above the ground. Two more men of equal size, also obviously Boomers, entered the store as Sylvie and Darlene watched by the cash register, both wondering what was going on and what to do about it. Then another person confidently entered the store. One with purple hair. "Not again," Darlene groaned, but quietly enough so that only Sylvie heard. The red-head had recognized Madagan instantly. "Please, no, I've had enough for a while." The Genom exec didn't oblige her as she approached the two, a Boomer flanking her on each side and the one holding Anri standing slightly behind. Madagan was smiling, which was a bad sign to those in her path. She stopped a few feet away before speaking, looking at Darlene and Sylvie with mocking pleasure. "Well, now. I was hoping to get more information about the Crystal Knight, but this," she nodded in such a way as to indicate Anri, "was certainly more than I expected so soon. Having a sexaroid..." Stopping to look speculatively at Sylvie as a sudden thought occurred to her, Madagan's smile grew even more. "Make that TWO sexaroids, I should have noticed the first time I was here, is illegal. Preoccupied, I'd imagine. Did you know what they were?" she asked Darlene. "I don't own them. They work for me and are my friends," Darlene ground out, angry from having her domain invaded in this manner. She could tell Sylvie was restraining herself from trying to rescue Anri. Fortunately, the other sexaroid didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. "'Friends'?" mocked Madagan, making Darlene angrier yet. "So you DID know. Did you know the one in MY 'friend's' hands used to work for a monster?" "Largo manipulated her," Darlene spat out, not caring much that perhaps she was telling Madagan more than she should. "It's not her fault. Besides, you don't need to be built to be a monster." Her furious glare and tone left no doubt on whom she meant. Sylvie sucked in her breath in sudden fear. Madagan narrowed her eyes and her smile vanished. "Monster? Then I shouldn't disappoint you." She shot out her arm as her eyes glowed brightly, sending out the most powerful wave of telekinetic force she could manage. It sent a surprised Sylvie flying backwards until she smashed against a wall hard enough to stagger her and then fall to the ground. Darlene had ignored the wave completely as it had no effect on her. "Sylvie!" Anri and Darlene cried in unison. Total shock was on Madagan's face after seeing the red-head ignore her psionic power. "Impossible! How did..?" Darlene had thought that she was over her frustrations and confusion from the previous night and this morning, but seeing one of her friends hurt again by Madagan was the final straw of the haystack that had landed on her back recently. Still, she didn't dare cast a spell, that much sense was available in her growing anger. Instead, she summoned her sword, uncaring of the others' reactions. Every being in the room was shocked when a purplish glow appeared above one of Darlene's hands and quickly became a fairly ornate sword that she gripped firmly, fury burning in her eyes. "I have more in common with the Crystal Knight than you suspect, Madagan!" she shouted, using the Genom exec's name like a vile curse. "I may not use psionics, but I DO have other options available!" This was enough for Madagan. "Stop her!" she demanded, and her Boomers reacted to her wishes, bursting and expanding into their combat mode. Darlene didn't wait; she jumped over the three in front and swung at the as yet untransformed Boomer, who still held an astonished Anri. The enchanted sword was up to the task of cleaving though the Boomer's arm, the separation making it involuntarily release Anri as it bellowed its pain. The blue-haired sexaroid scrambled out of the way and tried to reach the groaning and rising Sylvie. Darlene leaped away before the other two Boomers could catch the red-head. "Stop her!" Madagan repeated her command. "But don't kill her!" This was easier said than done. Darlene was in a real rage and she was venting all her frustrations upon the three Boomers trying to catch her. Unfortunately, they were destroying most of the store as the incredibly agile and quick martial artist dodged the powerful C-55 Boomers, who did not use their more lethal weapons because of Madagan's order. Display glass and artwork were smashed and littered the floor. The three-on-one wasn't giving Darlene much opportunity to strike back with the sword, which the Boomers now regarded as the deadly weapon it was. The strikes with her feet, despite the way they actually dented her opponents' armour, didn't do much. It was a particularly large piece of glass that was her undoing. Darlene was preparing to use a handspring to dodge once more, but her hand was stabbed through by the glass piece on the floor. She cried out in pain and stopped long enough for a Boomer to slam its fist into her stomach, sending her flying into and through a still undamaged display case. The wall finally stopped her with a jarring thud and she dropped to the ground with a groan, cut deeply and scratched all over. "DARLENE!" screamed Sylvie and Anri. Madagan smiled, relieved that her Boomers had won. "You two," she ordered the one-armed Boomer and one of the undamaged two, "guard these two sexaroids and make sure they don't do anything. Boomer F-128, get the owner of this store before she recovers." There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask this mysterious young woman. Pain. Anger. No. RAGE! The memories rushed though her mind. Recollections of what Madagan had done to her and friends. This confrontation. The fight. Losing. The pain. Everything seemed to be escalating her fury as she gasped helplessly. Using the Crystal Knight armour was the farthest thing from Darlene's mind. She had beat Madagan even without the armour. Male. She didn't need it now! Didn't need it! If she could've trust her spells... DAMMNNN!! She needed more power! Madagan's pleased voice infuriated her further, anger increasing to a previously unknown degree and she trembled on the floor, paralysed from rage, as the Boomer approached to catch her. To put her at Madagan's mercy. NO!!! SHE! WILL! NOT! WIN!!! was Darlene's last furious coherent thought. In the exploding nova of mindless fury that then went off, Darlene REACHED. She found something, instinctively, and drew it into herself. It was what she wanted, what she desired. Be careful what you wish for. The Power came, roaring into her being like wildfire. Darlene screamed at the burning felt through every fibre of her being. This... this Wild Magic was totally new to her--and it was TOO MUCH!! She couldn't handle the wild, chaotic energies that battered at her inexperienced will, so unlike the more orderly spells she usually cast. She c-couldn't... couldn't... And then... ...her sanity shattered. Something wasn't right. Madagan could almost taste it, but could see no cause for her senses to disturb her so. The two sexaroids were holding each other, one still dazed from the Genom exec's attack, the other seemed disinclined to cause any trouble. Madagan saw that the surprising, and annoying, red-headed owner which was the reason she had come would soon be brought to her and then she would get the answers she wanted. So what was wrong? Why was this feeling of danger growing? Boomer F-128 reached the wounded female and roughly yanked her head up to see if the female was conscious. Madagan recoiled in shock and involuntarily took a step back. The young woman's gaze practically BURNED with hatred. She'd never seen anybody with that much anger in their eyes, never thought anybody could do so. Then the emotion changed, and Darlene's eyes and face showed, for a brief moment, utter shock. In that brief moment her eyes went from normal, to emanating a faint violet glow, and finally to a purple blaze of light. Then the red-head screamed. As if following the scream, light with that same intense purple hue exploded outwards from the girl's body, blinding Madagan for a moment before her eyes cleared. The gasps of surprise from the two sexaroids told her this was new to them too. When she saw once more, Madagan began to understand why that feeling of dread had grown as she saw, with disbelieving eyes, what had happened. Boomer F-128 was frozen like a statue, because now it WAS a statue; a statue of clear, shining glass. That was flat out impossible! Then she saw who had done the insanity, and for the first time that night, started to feel afraid. For Darlene was outlined in purple flame, flame that came from her body but did not burn. She had changed too. Time seemed to have struck her with a vengeance, for now she appeared around the mid-twenties and as she shakily stood, had grown taller and filled out more. The aging did not stop. The expression on Darlene's face was the worst part; she seemed to be in quite a bit of pain, but a twisted grin on her face made it look like she was revelling in it. The aging accelerated, and Darlene's clothes changed to match, subtly enough so that they fit. A strange thing that occurred to Madagan's stunned mind was that Darlene's face, while becoming more mature, had stayed youthful. Her hair, however, changed. A white streak appeared in the middle, and rapidly grew until her hair was completely white. Madagan now judged her around seventy years old, but the woman still seemed to have retained her youth while at the same time becoming more mature, and taller. Faster. Her hair had grown long as well, almost down to her waist. Then, at some undefined point, something new and even more dramatic happened. The face, that had remained mostly unchanged save from maturity, altered. It lengthened suddenly, became more angular. Eyebrows and eyes shifted. Her hair, once white, gained color once more, but now that of the same purple that shone in the flames around her, that burned from her eyes. The body lengthened as well in a sudden growth spurt and settled into a more slender and graceful shape. Clothes rapidly morphed into a half-gold, half-silver armour weave that covered her chest and torso, looking flexible and strong. Pants of a purple shade to match boots of the same color were created. Sleeves and gloves with no fingers came into being and provided the same function and color for the arms. A slightly shimmering cloak of a darker purple finished the new outfit. Then the flames surrounding her died out. The transformed Darlene breathed deeply, then giggled in a disturbing way. She swept her still-blazing gaze around the messy room, even her movements seemed to be different, smooth. When she brushed her newly grown hair back, everyone saw the pointed ears. Darlene looked like an elf! Her gaze locked on the statue that had been F-128. She hit the glassy chest with a casual backhand and shattered the statue into dust. All save the head, which floated in mid-air until Darlene raised a hand underneath it and lowered it to her eye level. "Alas, poor Boomer," she spoke sadly in a newly musical voice. "I knew you not." Then she cocked her head. "And I don't give a damn." Darlene dropped it and the head exploded into countless shards on the floor. Clutching Anri tight to her, Sylvie whispered, "What's happened to you, Darlene? What's going on?" "Ah, Madagan," Darlene said in that new voice of hers, smiling cheerfully. "'Stop her?' 'But don't kill her?' Tsk, tsk, tsk." She waved a disapproving finger at the still stunned Genom exec who was now around the same height as her. "The second command is not yours to decide. And the first... well, let's just say that's going to be really, really, reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaalllllly hard to pull off." Reaching down gracefully, she retrieved her sword. It had slipped from her fingers when the destroyed Boomer had punched her through the display case. Once grasped in her altered hand, the sword grew and lengthened to fit her new size. "What..." Her voice broke so Madagan tried again. "What are you?" "What am I? Hmmmmmmm. Good question." Darlene waved and suddenly a mirror appeared beside her, with nothing supporting it. Carefully, she peered at her reflection, turning one way, then another; smiling, then frowning; then brushing her long hair back to smile at her new ears. She did a complete pirouette before making the mirror vanish. Satisfied, she turned back to a slightly annoyed Madagan. "It appears that I've become an elf," she said, stating the obvious with a smile. Then her expression hardened, the still blazing orbs narrowed, and the smile became an extremely wicked and disturbing smile that showed her teeth a little. Madagan's neck hairs went straight up. "And, my dear, right now I am a very, very pissed off elf." Chapter Twenty-Three -------------------- Everyone in the store stood still, a moment of indecision shared by all. The Boomers were unsure of what to do; they waited for Madagan's orders. She herself was internally debating whether to attack, talk, or just start running. Sylvie and Anri stayed seated on the floor and continued to stare at what their friend had become. But the transformed Darlene acted first. "Madagan's Downfall, Act II!" she cried gleefully, whipping her sword level and extended in one hand, pointing at a previously ignored object of the store. "Cue protector dragon! AWAKEN, CHARCOAL!!" A solid bolt of intense purple energy in the shape of a double helix lanced down the mystic blade and roared through the air before hitting the red draconic statue seated in front of the store's entrance. Coursing lines of light raced around and within the unliving form when it was struck, spreading the purple energy into every bit of matter that comprised the scaled sentinel. Everyone save the grinning Darlene and the Boomers flinched away from the bright display. Then it stopped. For a moment nothing happened. The tail twitched. Wings stirred, obviously no longer merely metal. Suddenly, the head rose as the magical beast stretched its neck from side to side; Madagan watched in disbelief and stunned horror. Once frozen eyes blinked slowly, then locked onto the purple-clad form of Darlene, a deep rumbling purr thrummed almost inaudibly from the beast's throat. "Yay!!" Darlene cheered enthusiastically, jumping up and throwing her arms wide, releasing the sword and letting it fly through the air to imbed itself in a far wall with a loud 'THWOK!!!'. She pointed at the Boomers, and whooped, "Look, Char! Chew toys! Sic 'em!" Immediately, the dragon swivelled its head to focus on the blue androids and roared deafeningly prior to leaping up from the position it had been crafted into and charging the Boomers. It was unnaturally swift for something that large and one Boomer was caught in the creature's forearms, claws digging through weapon resistant armour with little difficulty, before most of the upper body was bitten off by a vicious chomp of dagger-like teeth. "Do you like him?" Darlene eagerly asked an ashen Madagan. "He certainly doesn't play with his food like some kids, but then, maybe he finds Boomers tasty. I wonder if he'd like Genom executives," Darlene thought about it for a moment, then shook her head, smiling evilly. "Nah! I want you ALL to myself." That did it. Madagan's waning confidence vanished, and she took one step towards the exit. Then another. Then she broke into a totally panicked dash for the exit, eyes wide with panic and not looking behind her. Darlene watched curiously as she raced across the store and, after flinging both doors open, running away outside. Meanwhile, the other Boomer had tried its built-in machine guns in the arms to little effect against the enchanted metallic scales of the red dragon while it finished off the first Boomer. As the wyrm turned to it, the Boomer's chest flipped up to reveal the lens array of the heat weapon inside. Char lunged forwards, mouth gaping wide as lens began to glow. The weapon fired just before the maw of the beast reached its prey. Unfortunately, the Boomer did not know something about colors of dragons. Char was a red dragon. Red dragons LOOOOVE heat. The outcome was predictable. The Boomer fired uselessly and Char bit into the mid-section, whereas the portions above the upper chest and those of the legs flew away from the region the dragon devoured hungrily. The long tongue wrapped around the pieces left and drew them into the hungry abyss awaiting. As the dragon licked its chops, Darlene ran over and hugged the beast she had brought to life around the neck. "GOOD boy!" The dragon rumbled in pleasure. She released the hug and turned towards the fearful sexaroids. The sight of them staring at her like a stranger changed her mood instantly and Darlene became morose as she approached. When they shuffled back slightly, she stopped. "So. Afraid, are you? ARE YOU?!!" she screamed at the two on the floor as they stared wide-eyed at her. "Perhaps you should be, perhaps not." Darlene turned away from them, and stood silently, the slightly shimmering cloak stirring faintly. "Wha..." Sylvie stopped and swallowed nervously; something was very wrong here. "What's happened to you, Darlene?! How did you do...?" "Charcoal? The glass Boomer? Changing into THIS?" She threw her arms wide still facing away from the two on the floor. "Magic, of course." "Magic??" Anri and Sylvie chorused, incredulously unbelieving until a loud snort from the dragon made their disbelief much harder to maintain. "Yes, but perhaps Wild Magic, as I call that which fills me now, is more accurate. Behold." Darlene waved one hand and the debris in the store began to move. In a small hurricane of activity, shattered glass and panelling swirled in the air before flying into position and merging seamlessly to repair all the damage to the store. When it was done, Darlene shrugged and said, "And if that doesn't convince you, even with all the proof you've seen, this might. Char! Perch!" she imperiously commanded the dragon. Charcoal the red dragon crouched, wings extending, and leapt into the air towards Darlene. And shrank, incredibly quickly. By the time it reached Darlene, wings flapping, the dragon was small enough to land on her right shoulder comfortably. Sylvie and Anri had managed to get to their feet and stared at the diminutive dragon when the magic-user turned to face them. Her burning eyes discomfited them as the beast chirped, its voice gone higher from the loss of size. Suddenly, Darlene's mood changed again and with a laugh she placed a hand on a shoulder of each sexaroid. "Isn't this neat? I should've told everyone about my magic, but my spells haven't worked right since I arrived," she bubbled excitedly. "That's fixed now, I don't know why but it's true! And I'm not looking up at your face now! Too bad I didn't know this," she took her hands off their shoulders and waved at the elfin body, "would happen. Losing my sanity isn't so bad now, since I suppose this is what I'll look like naturally in around thirty thousand years. Nice to know, eh?" Anri couldn't believe her ears. "You mean... you're insane??" "Sure!" Darlene said brightly. "Couldn't you tell? Hmm. Maybe you shouldn't answer that." She giggled in an unnerving way. "Of course, there's still some nagging remnants of my conscience, but don't worry; I'll grow out of it." "Darlene, can't you change back?" Sylvie asked desperately. The elven-looking countenance pouted. "Why should I? I don't NEED to speak now to cast spells, even though they CAN be fun, and insane I can keep drawing on more power." Suddenly, Darlene smacked a fist into her palm. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot." She looked at her scaled companion. "Go and follow Madagan. I'll be there soon." The mini-dragon chirped again, and launched itself from its perch, vanishing mid-air in a poof of fire. "I wouldn't want to lose her now, oh no, definitely not now," Darlene slyly said to herself. "Maybe you should stay here until you recover," Sylvie suggested hurriedly, hoping that her friend wouldn't leave in her current state. "Stay? Recover?" Darlene narrowed her eyes angrily. "I will go where I want to! And YOU TWO can stay here!" Jabbing her fingers at the two startled sexaroids she cast another spell. Sylvie and Anri were suddenly bound with bands of white light around their legs and pinning arms to their sides. Conversationally, ignoring the two's startled cries, Darlene went on, "Stopping now is not my wish, and I don't care what I will feel if I ever return to normal. Normal! HA! As if I can ever be called THAT anymore." Looking up, she made a decision, her face for a moment revealing the insane fury that still raged inside her, and she hissed, "Now I will go hunt and torment my prey." Soundlessly, she vanished. "DARLENE! COME BACK!!" Anri screamed uselessly, struggling in her bonds. "It's no use. We don't know how to reach her," Sylvie said, testing her own restraints. She tried hopping and managed to reach the vid-phone. "Maybe someone else can." Somehow, after several abortive attempts with a pen in her teeth, she managed to make a call and Priss' face appeared. "Hello? Sylvie! What the Hell??" the singer exclaimed when she saw the bonds that held her friend. "Priss, just listen, please! There's no time. Madagan came and made Darlene crazy! Now Darlene's a super powerful magician and after Madagan! I don't think she'll stop at anything! She tied me and Anri somehow then disappeared." "Sure...," Priss said warily, staring at the glowing bonds that held the sexaroid. "This is a joke, right?" "NO!!!!" Sylvie put all her fear and frustration into her shout. "Hurry, Priss!! Darlene's gone insane!" "Okay, okay!" Priss held up her hands in surrender. "I'll call Sylia. I just hope she doesn't think I'M nuts." The picture blinked out. Sylvie prayed that too. Blocks away from the store, Darlene stood alone on a windy rooftop, smiling faintly. Senses that had become more acute fed her intense, heady input as newly lengthened hair swirled gently around her, cloak flapping behind her. She lightly caressed her face with a hand, savouring the intense new sensations, and smiled wickedly when she stopped. It was glorious to be free of most of those irritating morals and restrictions, some half-understood even in her current state, like the liquid water one. So silly! She had not actually gone against any of them yet, save perhaps binding those two back at the store, but only because she had not had opportunity. Yet. "It's dark. But not stormy," she critiqued to herself, peering up at the slightly cloudy sky. "If I'm going to go on a rampage, I simply must have a storm." Darlene brought her seemingly delicate hands close together and started the summoning for her thunderstorm. One she would control completely. "Madagan, I WILL have you," she purred as light formed and pulsed between her hands, eyes blazing slightly greater from the fury within. Clouds in the sky above began to gather. And grow. "So." Sylia leaned backwards in her chair. After a moment's hesitation, she reached over and pressed the button that summoned all the Knight Sabers. Priss hadn't phoned Sylia, she'd decided to bike it and deliver the message personally. Her leader's reaction wasn't what she had expected. "You're not taking this seriously, are you, Sylia?" Priss said, her disbelief evident in her voice. "I mean, come ON. Magic??" "Very seriously, Priss. While I didn't now exactly HOW, I'd hoped this wouldn't happen." Priss spoke very slowly, "You knew about this? This is real?" Sylia looked away and sighed. "Yes. And as much as I find it hard to believe...yes, this is all too real. It was because of my reluctance to accept it that I didn't tell you or the others." "Oh, perfect! So, not that I really believe any of this, how strong is she now?!" "That's what we're going to find out," Sylia grimly answered. Priss grimaced. "I was afraid you would say that." Madagan panted heavily, finally catching her breath. It seemed the nightmare was over. She was in her Genom limo's back seat, which seemed huge now that the three Boomers that had originally accompanied her were not seated with her. The vehicle had been ordered away so as not to appear suspicious, but after her frantic escape, and losing some of her fear-paralysis, she had used her personal communicator to order the car to pick her up. The only other Boomer she had left was the driver, not much of a reassurance after what she had witnessed. A glass of liquor(she didn't care what it was) was in her hand, half- full after an attempt to calm her usually solid nerves. Normally she would not, but this night had been bad, more a nightmare. Her rock-steady world view had been badly shaken, almost shattered, something she feared more than death. Still holding the glass, Madagan signalled the chairman over the car's communication system, hoping he was still in his office. A screen blinked to life. "Quincy here." The craggy features of the chairman appeared, then showing faint surprise when he took in her ragged and dishevelled appearance. "Miss Madagan? What happened to you? You seem distressed." Madagan's hysterical laughter after that comment did not dissuade this opinion. "Are you drunk?" he inquired neutrally, seeing the glass. Hearing that, she stifled the laughter that threatened to go on forever, and took a deep breath to calm herself. "No, this is my first glass and I've only had half. I wish I was at the moment. There was some... difficulty in my personal activities." Quincy's face was guarded. "Genom will not be involved, or interfere if you encounter trouble." Madagan laughed scornfully, not caring right now how powerful the person she was talking to was. "Trouble? My God, if only you had seen what I have tonight. Trouble is mild to what I saw." "Sooooo correct, Madagan," a syrupy sweet voice spoke from the hidden communications speaker, interrupting what Quincy began to say as he heard it too. "The hunt is on, and I'm getting clooooser." Madagan recognized it and her face went white with shock. A flash of lightning outside the car flashed briefly. "Who is that?" Quincy demanded. "Who am I, puny little moooortals?" Darlene's voice continued in a teasing tone. "Someone you might not want to meeeeet. Perhaps I'm Armageddon come at laaaast. And now, Maaaadagan, I'm coming for you." The screen that contained Quincy's image shattered, ending the call rather firmly. Far away at Genom tower, Quincy's screen shattered too, much to his surprise. Madagan had barely time to draw back from the broken screen when something else happened. SSSSSSCCCCCCCCRUNCK-CREEEEEEEEK!! Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the roof of the limo being ripped off like a tuna lid, then ducked her head to avoid flying glass. With a final shriek, the top came loose and flew away, held by something large, powerful, and scalely. When the sound vanished, Madagan looked up again and could see the growing storm that hadn't been the sky ten minutes ago; she prayed that she was wrong about the source of the changing weather. The limo had also stopped in the middle of the street, the Boomer chauffeur seemed to be having trouble starting the car. Traffic stopped behind the limo because some had seen the large dragon tearing the roof off; in front the cars had gone ahead, having seen the dragon and NOT wanting to stop. In front was where SHE appeared. There was an violet aura around Darlene, highlighting her unusual nature and making her visible to Madagan, as well as to the surprised drivers behind the stopped limo. A small smile was on her face, calmly standing in the middle of the street, the growing wind moving her flowing hair around. Madagan saw alright, and desperately she cried, "DESTROY HER!!" The remaining Boomer heard and complied. It kicked out the driver's door while ripping out of the human disguise and stepped out of the car. From all available input the android assumed the target was an extreme threat, no normal human could look the way the target did; long distance assault seemed the best option so it opened its mouth and fired the laser cannon. The beam was dead on target. The target CAUGHT the beam. The Boomer, Madagan, and the assorted drivers behind her, stared. Still wearing her smile, Darlene impossibly worked the beam of light with her hands, wrapping it, twisting it, strange squeaking noises somehow being produced. Finally, she proudly held up the finished result. "Look, a French poodle!" she pronounced in a strange manner, the dog-like shape the frozen laser beam had become glowing in her hands. "Now get outta here, kid, you bother me," she continued in the same tone and tossed the glowing figure at the Boomer. As soon as the dog-figurine left her hands, it began to change. Its balloon-like appendages shifted, becoming more canine, and growing as well. Halfway to the Boomer, the poodle no longer resembled a cute little doggie; now it was more like its primitive ancestors, and very realistically at that. The lean lupin form dropped to the ground, avoiding the warding hands of its prey and leaped up within the outstretched arms, feet leaving smoking paw prints in the road. The azure wolf's jaws reached the Boomer's throat and closed, laser teeth sizzling easily through and decapitating the cyberdroid neatly before the canine form exploded in a burst of coherent blue light, melting the falling android slightly. Darlene brought up a hand to cover her mouth in mock-dismay. "Oh, my! That wasn't a French poodle; that was a Siberian timber wolf." She sighed. "I never was good with identifying species. But," she added as she raised an arm towards Madagan's transportation, "I definitely know a certain member of the human branch is about to become extinct." Energy began to gather in her hand as she aimed for the limo. Madagan noticed, and frantically opened her door. As she scrambled away from the limo a... distortion, that was the only thing she could describe it as, suddenly roared from Darlene's hand, flattening road deeper into the ground and impacting into the vehicle. Metal was squeezed and kneaded like bread dough; windows didn't shatter - they popped like soap bubbles; and rubber tires became rubber spaghetti. The gasoline ignited, but the explosion blew vertically, like a volcano. Still, the blast was enough to make the fleeing Genom exec stumble forward, but not enough to stop her. Madagan didn't look back, she couldn't look back, she had to run, she had to get away. And did so by turning at the intersection the limo had just passed and continuing to run down the sidewalk of another street. The elven-looking magic user watched her disappear around the corner. "I've got your scent now, Madagan; you can't get away," she said silkily, and began walking to pursue. The aura disappeared, but the spectators that had gathered drew away as she approached, having seen what the stranger had mysteriously done and fearful of her still-glowing eyes. "Damn Boomer," someone muttered quietly, but Darlene's newly keen ears heard it. She immediately stopped and pivoted to face the source of the comment. The crowd melted away as the person who had uttered the comment froze in sudden fear, realizing he had been heard. Darlene gave the man a curious look; he appeared to be a business man as he was in a moderately-expensive suit. "I am no Boomer, mortal," she said, playing the role of Angry Elf to the hilt. "Could a Boomer do this?" she inquired, smiling. Instantly the man found most of his body constricted and weighted down. Panicked, he looked down and found, to his great surprise and amazement, that it was his suit that was doing it; For it had become solid yellow, shining GOLD. The man gave a startled yelp and found himself trying to keep his balance. He toppled over hard, unable to do so. "Maybe I should've included him as well," Darlene mused aloud as the crowd gasped and ahhed. Brightly, she turned around with a smile that held some malice within it. "Sure! Does anyone else want to volunteer? I'll try stainless steel this time." She advanced, hands outstretched and pulsing with a disturbing light. The crowd paused, then some woman screamed and that started everyone running away in a panic from the insane magic-user. The street was soon deserted. "Everyone's a critic," Darlene pouted, letting hands drop down to her sides. Then she remembered Madagan and started off again. "Hey!" The man screamed from his golden prison, struggling. "You're not leaving me like this, are you?!" As she left the area, Darlene turned her head and called out. "Sorry! Places to explode, people to play with! Someone should come along soon. Ta!" And then she too disappeared around the corner Madagan had run around. "But I'll miss my dinner meeting!!" the man cried, but knew it was futile. Sighing, he let his head drop to the pavement, depressed and wondering when help would arrive. None too soon, he suspected dismally. He cheered himself by figuring out how much his suit was now worth. Chapter Twenty-Four ------------------- "Hey, Leon!" "Hmm?" Leon looked up and saw his partner heading his way with an odd expression on his face. "Hey, Daley. What's up?" "There's a disturbance downtown and our two squads have been ordered to mobilize." Looking carefully at Daley's face, Leon asked, "Why do I get the feeling this isn't the usual Boomer crisis?" "Come on. I'll tell you on the way." "Sure," Leon said uneasily, getting out from his chair. Whenever his partner got like this it meant something REALLY strange, and potentially lethal, was going on. As they walked down halls, Daley elaborated. "The normal cops encountered it... her a half hour ago when a patrol car was heading towards a reported disturbance. A woman, not the perp, stopped the car by standing right in its path. When the cops got out, they found she was frightened out of her wits and was running for her life. They tried to find out what she was running from, but she kept insisting that they get her away from the area, immediately." He paused as he pushed the button for the elevator. "They found out why quickly enough as the reason the woman was so scared arrived. Leon, it was an elf." The elevator door opened and Daley stepped inside, Leon almost didn't make it as he had been so startled by the news. "An elf?!?" he said disbelievingly. "Some bizarre kind of 33-S you mean?" "No, I mean your Tolken-style, magical kind of elf. This is too weird for a Boomer, Leon. She turned the patrol car into Jell-O." "A new type of weapon?" "Leon, I mean she TURNED the car into REAL Jell-O! Strawberry flavor, I hear." His partner stared at him. "The elf did this after the cops tried to warn her to stay away. Understandably, this spooked them just a bit." "I'm not having this conversation." Leon seemed to be having a headache and put a hand on his forehead. Daley looked on sympathetically. "I'm dreaming this, aren't I?" "No such luck." The elevator doors opened and they exited. "So what happened then?" Leon asked with a sigh, giving in to Daley's weird tale. "The other woman started running again and left while the elf was occupied with the cops. Oh, we've IDed her as a Genom executive; Kate Madagan. The woman, not the elf. Very highly placed too. Maybe Genom has been stealing fairy treasure and leprechaun gold." Daley grinned for the first time since he got Leon from his desk. "Just tell me what happened, please?" Leon asked in a pained voice. "Well, the two officers pulled out their guns and told the elf to stop where she was. The elf apparently considered this and told THEM to stop. And they did." "Huh?" Daley gave him a sober look. "They were stopped until the next patrol car came along and saw the two. The elf was nowhere in sight. Like statues, the new officers described them, until one was touched and almost blew away the guy who poked him. It was like no time had passed between confronting the elf and coming to. The other guy was woken up to corroborate stories." Leon saw where this was heading. "So when their superiors heard about this they figured it must be a Boomer and got ADPolice on the case?" The resignation in his voice told Daley that he already knew this as inevitable fact, due to the stupidities of the upper command. "Bingo." "You never get bored in this city," Leon sighed, shaking his head. "Alright, let's go arrest this...elf." "Maybe she'll give us three wishes when we catch her," Daley said cheerfully. Leon snorted and had to smile. "I'll believe it when I see it with my own eyes." "You have no imagination, Leon." "Hey! Of course I do. Just ask any girl I've dated." "I rest my case." Daley chuckled at the glare Leon gave him. Darlene laughed loudly and threw her sword again. It became akin to a blazing comet, the Dragonsword at its core, and tore through four parked cars, making them explode like firecrackers. It disappeared in flight and reappeared in the insane magic-user's hand once more. She had begun blowing up objects on the road and sometimes stores as well with it after her encounter with those funny cops, whom she hadn't seen again for some reason. It kept the road clear (evacuated) for her and Madagan to continue their stroll through downtown. The Genom exec was quite a distance away on the road, but that didn't matter much; Darlene could always catch up. It really was a shame that Madagan seemed to be approaching the end of her endurance. The storm above was truly a pleasure to see. Black thunderclouds looked like onyx chased with gold from all the lightning churning within, energy ready to be unleashed, held in check only by her power. Time for a withdrawal. She pointed at a still-intact car up ahead. "Zap!" Darlene commanded. The clouds above responded adroitly and one of Zeus' thunderbolts came to earth, striking the vehicle squarely. The flash of billions of volts outlined everything in sharp relief milliseconds before the shockwave created by the flash-heated air shattered windows within the immediate vicinity. "Glorious!" Darlene exulted as the smited car burned and glass settled to the ground. Something landed behind her. Whirling around, Darlene saw who had come... and frowned. The Knight Sabers had arrived, standing in front of her. Priss and Nene stepped back in shock when their transformed friend turned around, unprepared for the amazing metamorphosis that the former red-head had undergone. "Darlene, what are you doing?" Sylia demanded calmly, voice not betraying the nervousness she felt after seeing Darlene call down the lightning bolt. She was also shocked at how many changes had been wrought upon the young person she knew; such dramatic alterations should not have been possible, but the glowing eyes looking in her direction reminded Sylia of the power Darlene claimed to possess when female. A power which could not be disbelieved now. "Doing?" The road slightly behind Darlene bulged upwards, higher, transmuting into new material, and quickly forming into an ornate throne upon which the elven-liking woman sat gracefully. "A little hunting, but remodelling mostly. You like?" She waved at all the destruction around her. "Oh yes, and my new looks too! Are they the real me?" The earnest smile she gave them didn't look very sane. Strangled noises could be heard coming from Priss as Sylia debated her next reply. Apparently the singer's opinion on magic being make-believe was not standing up well to Darlene's display. "Sylia..." Nene whispered pleaded over the private radio link they all shared, fearful for her friend. "What's happened to Darlene? Is that really HER?" "And how did she change the road to GOLD and GEMS???" Linna added on the same channel, referring to the throne newly formed on the street. "Yes, how DID I manage that?" Darlene interjected from where she sat, appearing very interested in Sylia's response, startling them at her ability to hear their encoded transmissions. Then she frowned, puzzled. "Hey, where IS Linna?" she said, finally noticing the absence of the green hardsuit. "NOW!!" Sylia barked. Before Darlene could say another word a powerful stream of water from a nearby roof struck her squarely on the head, drenching her as Linna carefully aimed the stream of hot water at the seated mage from the pressurized tank they had brought. She turned off the water quickly knowing she had hit her friend and leaped down to the street below. But the hot water had not done the job Sylia had thought it should have done. Darlene's hair was plastered flat with water, allowing the pointed ears to be seen, and she glared balefully at the Sabers like a wet cat, unaltered by the hot water. "What?" Priss said disbelievingly. "What the hell went wrong?" Suddenly, despite the water attack, Darlene's mood turned cheerful. "Nice try, Sabers, but I suppose I'm too weighted down with power to change now: the balance of power is tipped too far at the moment." She waved and a powerful gust of hot air dried her off swiftly. When Nene and Linna started, she grinned, "I can do some really neat things now, if you hadn't noticed. Magical things. "And I guess I should answer the question as to what happened to me. Before I would have been very upset by current developments; now I don't give a damn." Her fists clenched as her face reflected the inner fury that had burned inside since it had blazed into existence. "Damn that Madagan!" she spat furiously, eyes flashing as thunder from above echoed her exclamation. "Invading my home, threatening, TAUNTING me and my friends! This time will be the LAST!" Fists slammed down on the arms of the throne and it shattered into dust as Darlene propelled herself up, energy crackling around her and playing havoc with reality. It winked out a moment later and she smiled once more. "But I'm getting off topic." "And scaring the shit out of me," Priss muttered. Darlene heard but pretended not to hear the comment. "My spells, other than enchantment of objects, have been acting strangely since I arrived, that's fixed now by the way, so I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to risk losing my friends because magic might've stretched friendship a bit. Especially after not telling anyone for so long. But I got so angry with MADAGAN," she clenched her teeth and continued, "that I reached for power I didn't know I could possess. And I got it! Unfortunately, my younger body had to compensate for power it couldn't handle so I involuntarily aged to a point where my body COULD handle it. This," she waved at herself, "is what I guess I will look like somewhere around thirty to forty thousand years from now. I can FEEL that's the right answer. However, while my body could age, my mind couldn't cope and so my sanity broke into little bitty pieces." She paused in reflection, then laughed. "It's SO much more fun now not worrying about consequences." "And can you become sane again? What will happen then?" Sylia queried, even now staying calm. The elven brow furrowed momentarily in concern, then cleared. "Who cares? I don't, even though I suspect my sanity still has a weak hold on me. Why should I care?" "Get rid of the damn power before you do something you REALLY regret later, you dumb ditz!" Priss shouted furiously. "Please, yes! Get rid of it!" Nene pleaded. Everything became silent. Softly, gently, Darlene whispered, "You don't understand what I can do now, can you, Priss?" She appeared to quiver for a moment before stilling again. "Priss, don't...!" Sylia warned, too late. "Yeah?? What CAN you do?" Priss demanded angrily. The silence came again. The elven mage whispered, "Char, take her for a wild ride. As for the others... playtime begins." With that said, Darlene vanished. "Wait!" Sylia shouted, but it was far too late. "Char?" Linna said, confused. "Say, isn't that her store's drag..." rrrrrrrooooooOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!! Startled, Priss was suddenly propelled upwards by an expanding, scaly neck, the other three Sabers were shoved backwards by the growing form that was attached to it. "YAAAAA!!!!" Priss shouted at the top of her lungs by the totally unexpected act. She tried to get off immediately, but found... "I'm stuck! I can't get off!!" "That IS Char!" Nene said from the ground, staring at the impossibly alive dragon. "The statue in Darlene's store that Priss hits all the time." Charcoal snorted, startled by the news, then growled low. "I think it can understand you, Nene," Linna warily said. "Oh, THANKS!" Priss said sarcastically, frantically clutching for a handhold. "Remind it about that, why don't you!" Wings snapped out and the wyrm crouched, a draconic chuckle emerging from its throat. "Oh no," Priss said with dawning dread. If Darlene made this thing, it might have her sense of humor. Which meant... "Oh, godDAMN!! Get me off! GET ME OFF!!!" she cried frantically. Too late. Steely muscles launched the mighty form, and its unwilling passenger, into the air before any of the others could react. Rising into the stormy sky far faster than mere physics could account for, Char the newly awakened dragon got ready to give his rider the ride of a lifetime. And unlike rollercoasters, he didn't have to stay on a earth-bound track. This was going to be fun! Sylia watched in frustration as she watched the two fly off. She tried getting a response from Priss but the unwilling dragon rider did not answer, something was blocking the singer's communications. There was no way they could catch that thing by themselves. They had to find Darlene and somehow bring her back to her senses, but how could... "Ah, Sylia, either I'm having a nightmare," Linna said, interrupting her thoughts, "or did I really see Darlene transformed into an elf, itching for Madagan's blood, and a dragon carry off Priss?" "If you're dreaming this then so am I and I don't CARE right now!" Nene said. "We've got to find Darlene and tell her to stop!" "Priss tried that method already," Sylia dryly said. "The results were somewhat disappointing and, unfortunately, hot water does not appear to change her in her current form." "We've got to try SOMETHING!" Nene cried, frustrated. "Playtime..." something whispered eerily. The three women froze. "Playtime... playtime.... playtime..." echoed several more voices. The three Knight Sabers gathered back-to-back, quickly scanning the area but not seeing what was making the noise. "Sylia..." Linna nervously muttered. "Shh!" Suddenly, stirring began in many spots on the street. Wreckage from cars, shattered pavement, moved into several places where the pieces joined a growing blob of material. Large growing blobs of material. As the three Knight Sabers watched, the blobs formed amorphous arms and legs, with a baldish head on top. There were fifteen blobs in all and their features grew more defined as they suddenly shuddered into walking towards the Knight Sabers. "What are those things?" Nene fearfully asked. "How should WE know??" Linna retorted. With a final, violet flash the monsters were completed and the ten-foot tall monstrosities advanced upon the staring Sabers. "Is this a JOKE?!?" Sylia burst out, recognizing the figures. Blades sang as they sprouted out from pudgy purple fingers. "I don't think so," Linna answered her. "I'm beginning to favor Priss' opinion on Darlene's sense of humor," Sylia growled, truly annoyed at the ridiculous sight. "Why's that, Sylia?" Nene innocently responded. "You really don't want to know..." Just before they attacked, the terrible creatures began singing, "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family..." "After this, I'm going to have a long talk with that girl," Sylia promised grimly. "Actually, they look kinda cute, besides the knives that is," Nene observed. "Please, Nene. Just get ready." The Boomer Barneys waddled forth. Chapter Twenty-Five ------------------- "Hey, Lady." Madagan jerked her head up from the cup of coffee she had been staring at and looked fearfully at the man who had spoken. Leon sighed, then smiled reassuringly. "Relax, okay? You're safe now." [Author's note: Yaright!] Madagan blankly looked at him for a few seconds, then closed her eyes and shook her head. Taking a deep breath, she struggled to regain some measure of calm. After doing so she opened her eyes and saw a relieved Leon waiting for her reply. "I... Thank you," she managed. "You're welcome. Normally I'm not the world's greatest Genom fan, but I'm not one to kick someone when they're down. Especially in the state you seemed to be in when you ran into our barricade." Leon's face conveyed his sympathy. He frowned up at the flashing sky. "I'd've helicoptered you out of here but this weird storm makes me leery." "SHE'S making the storm," Madagan said, absolute conviction in her voice as well as a slight tremor of fear. "No wind, no rain, a dead calm when a storm that big should be blowing like a hurricane. Her doing." Leon looked at her uneasily but couldn't refute her claims; the storm WAS acting very oddly. Damned unnatural, in fact. "I didn't need to hear that. I really didn't." He sighed. "What did you DO to make this...elf," Leon still couldn't believe he was saying that, "so damn mad at you?" "I threatened and injured her on her home ground without knowing what she was." That Madagan admitted this was an indication of how rattled she was, a fact not lost on Leon who knew top execs of Genom would rather die than admit something like this. Which meant this elf had terrified her through the normally invulnerable Genom superiority complex something fierce. "Now she wants me," she sobbed, composure cracking again. "All because I wanted to know more about the Crystal Knight!" "The Crystal Knight? How does he..." "LEON!!" Daley shouted from the front of the barricade. "She's HERE!" Madagan jerked violently, spilling coffee. Pointing at her, Leon barked an order to one of his men. "Watch her and keep her safe." Then he went to see what all the fuss was about. He weaved through the gawking men in from of him until he pushed through to his partner's side. When he registered the sight he saw twenty feet away from the barricade, he stared in amazement. The elf had fists on hips, cloak draped over each bent elbow to provide a background for the image she projected. Her lithe-looking figure, revealed by the form-fitting clothing worn, and delicate face that her purple hair framed, belied the power that shone from her eyes. She appeared quite amused by the formidable mass of ADPolice and equipment that was arrayed before her. All in all, the elven figure was quite a sight, and very different from the brutish variety of Boomers they usually faced. Leon spoke to an officer standing beside him who wore an infra-red scope that identified Boomers. "Is she a Boomer?" The man checked his scope, then checked again. Extremely confused, the officer replied, "Sir, my scope's reading looks like a video game; the words 'NICE EFFORT, TRY AGAIN' is all I can read." "On an INFRA-RED scope??" The elf's musical laughter told Leon that; one, as crazy as it sounded the elf was responsible; two, she could hear them easily for the timing was too good; and three, she had a really nice laugh. "So, you can hear me?" he inquired, addressing the mysterious being beyond the blockade. "Oh, I can hear you quite well," was the elf's clear response, even more unnerving because she had not shouted but sounded more like she was standing right beside Leon. Leon rubbed his forehead, then looked at Daley. "Y'know, you can take over any time here," he offered. "Feeling the solid ground of reality slipping away, huh, Leon?" After giving Daley a sour look, he turned to address the elf. "I'm afraid I have to arrest you for destruction of public and police property as well as disrupting the peace." The elf cocked her head. "Oh, really?" KA-TOOM! The ADPolice officers were unprepared for bolt of lightning that struck the road a few blocks away behind the elf, temporarily blinding Daley, Leon, and those officers not wearing their flash-protectors, used for seeing when laser bolts are flying around you. The roaring thunder didn't help either. KA-TOOM! KA-TOOM! KATOOMKATOOMKATOOMKATOOMKATOOMKATOOM!!!! One after the other, electrons ripped through the atmosphere to strike the earth below. Each one getting closer and closer to the barricade until the final one struck just behind the one who called the lightning. KA-TOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!! Silence. Slowly, realizing the fireworks were over and hearing his ears ring a little from the loud percussions, Leon peered over his arm and gaped a little before a grim feeling stole over him. The street beyond the elf was multi-cratered and glass from broken windows littered the ground. And there was positively no way that it could have been a natural occurrence. Absolutely unaffected by the destruction that she had summoned, the elf seemed to be gazing right at Leon and was no longer smiling. "It is a time when magic is more powerful then science, and only those who control the magic control destiny. They... are DEFINITELY not you!" She snorted contemptuously. "Arrest me? What a joke! But then, ADPolice IS a joke, isn't it?" she sneered. "I tire of this hunt. Where is Madagan?" Leon waved his hand in a negative gesture. "You're not getting her, whoever you are. And unless you surrender, I'll have no other option but to use heavy force." He ignored the incredulous stare Daley was giving him. The elf blinked in astonishment. "Surrender? To you?" "Yes." She paused, then smiled happily. "Okay," the elf decided brightly. It took Leon a moment for her response to register. "What?" he said. "You mean you...surrender?" Eyes bright, literally and figuratively, the elf nodded the affirmative. "O...kay," he said dubiously, wondering if this elf had been hitting the flower nectar a little too heavily. "Bochinski! Wadderson! Go escort her here," he ordered two of his men, who hesitantly began walking towards the purple-colored figure. Under his breath, Kennith Wadderson swore quietly. "Why do we have to bring in this bitch?" he muttered to himself. He had been offended by what the elf had called ADPolice so he did not relish this task, beautiful as the elf was. A sudden crackling sound drew his attention and he froze, as did Bochinski. The elf was glaring murderously at Ken and her anger was palpable. "Bitch?" she hissed between clenched teeth, energy spitting around her hands. Kennith swallowed; she had heard! "If you've killed us, Wadderson, I'm not going to forgive you," said his fellow officer and friend beside him, beginning to back away. He hadn't gone one step back when the elf moved with inhuman speed and grasped an arm on each man. Her grip was unshakable, not that either would have much time to attempt to break free. The elf laughed maliciously, and before anybody could react she intoned, "So bitch it is, so bitch I see, but split in twain, I give to thee, one so fair and one so fleet, forever now my spell complete!!" Releasing their arms, her hands drew back slightly and then lanced forwards, blazing with intense purple fire, to strike both men's chests simultaneously with incredible force. Both men screamed as they were flung back through the air towards the barricade. Every cell in their bodies felt like they were on fire and agony was all they knew before losing consciousness. Their comrades behind the barricade caught them and two groups of bodies fell to the ground, the two out-cold officers in top. "I've changed my mind," the elf said flatly. "Bring me Madagan!" "Dammit!" Leon swore and turned around. "Are the men suited up?" Seeing another's nod, he shouted. "Okay then! Apprehend the elf!" "Do you think we're in trouble?" Daley asked as he came up beside Leon. "Hell, yes," Leon sourly answered. "The only reason I didn't order the men to shoot was that it might've pissed her off more. You'd better get our guest out of here while the suits distract her." He turned to look at the waiting elf. "That's about all we can manage with anybody who can make storms and call lightning at will. Better go." "Right." Daley nodded and went to collect the Genom exec. "NO!!" roared the elf, having heard every word. Suddenly, her sword appeared in her hands and gripping the hilt, drove the blade halfway into the street. Mild shockwaves radiated outwards from the point of impact, and died. Then the tremors began again. ADPolice officers stepped back as sections of the other three streets that the intersection the barricade was positioned at burst up from the ground. Higher and higher the stone walls grew until they topped twenty feet. Some officers saw that sewer manholes had disappeared, others noticed the buildings around them now had whole windows again. The glass would prove to be unbreakable. "No," repeated the elf more calmly, pulling the sword easily out from the ground. "My walls will not fall. She is mine." And, with a peculiar smile on her lips, she said, "And Madagan will come to me now." Madagan looked up at the worried Daley as he looked around at the stone barriers. Something was wrong; she could feel it despite her fear. As she strove to find out what, she suddenly found herself being restrained by the red-haired Daley. "Hey, now! It's better if you stay here." "What?? I didn't... I..." Madagan was confused, she hadn't stood up and yet she was standing! Her legs tried to move forwards again, pushing a surprised Daley back, and her eyes widened in sudden panic. "I'm not doing this!" "Urgh... Could've fooled... me," Daley grunted out, trying to keep her back and failing. "I'm not in control! She's bringing me to her!" she cried out, helpless to stop herself. "I could use some help here!" Daley demanded politely and several men hurried over to help. They succeeded in dragging her back, but it was impossible to get her off her feet and it was getting harder to hold her. Leon rubbed his eyes and looked again at the scene before him. Yes, it was still the same. Unfortunately. After the last little display, the suits had gone out; now two were out and the third in the process of doing so. The first had been disabled, oh hell, DESTROYED, when the elf had blown a kiss!! at it. The suit had behaved like a puddle of water when someone blows on it; it had SPLASHED, that was the only word that seemed to fit, away from its startled operator, leaving him to run back to the safety of the barricade. Puddles of the liquefied metal still pooled on the ground. The second had swung a fist at the elf. Leon had thought she would dodge but she had just stood there, smiling. When it hit her shoulder, the elf didn't budge an inch, but a network of cracks had raced up the fist, arm, and body, making the suit crumble apart into tiny fragments. The third she was playing with using that damned sword of hers. Slicing away bits and pieces every time she swung. The nimble elf was far too fast for the bulky suit to even come close to catching her; it wasn't going to last long. "But she hasn't killed anyone yet," Leon mused. "Yes, sir. The two she seemed to fry are... fine," reported an officer with a little hesitation. "Bochinski?" "He's come around and making jokes about frying pans." "Wadderson?" The officer hesitated. "She's still out." This discrepancy took a second to sink in. "Did you say 'she'??" "Yes, sir." Seeing Leon's stare, he explained, "We were surprised as hell but when we took off the helmet...you could DEFINITELY tell." He shook his head. "Wadderson wasn't the prettiest guy around, but now... Hair color, face, body, EVERYTHING'S changed. There's not much left of the old him that I could tell." The officer coughed. "Some of the more...ah...macho troops were really tempted, but I suggested it might be catching, and that could be true, I guess." "He...she's THAT pretty?" The officer's emphatic nod made Leon sigh. "Good work. If anything happens I'll have that person's balls. And the elf..." "Nobody's going to say the b-word for a while." Despite the situation the officer had to smile at Leon's snort. "Smart. Very smart." He turned around just in time to see the last suit jerk to a stop, and the pilot bail out, the elf merrily cut up what was left. She finally stopped and faced the barricade, crooning, "Maaaadagan. Coooome to me." Behind Leon there was a startled shout, and then the hapless Madagan came striding through the front line officers like they weren't even there. With a curse, Leon ran after her, heedless of his own safety. "Stop!" As Madagan finally came to her, Darlene-elf smiled in triumph. Still, she heard Leon's demand and an idea sprang into her head. "Stop? That's still a good idea!" Clapping her hands together, she cried, "STOP!" Dead silence descended, save that of Madagan's steps and Leon's strides. The helpless exec stopped right in front of the angry elvish mage, Leon arrived a second later. "What...what did you do?" he demanded, panting. "I stopped everything...by speeding US up," Darlene answered cheerfully. "Now, no one will interfere." Leon whipped his head around and saw that she spoke the grim truth. His men were as still as statues. Someone had even tossed a gun to someone and now it hung in mid-air, motionless. A sinking, helpless feeling could be felt in his stomach; that made him angry and he stepped in front of a surprised Madagan. "Look, will you just go back to wherever you came from? I'm not going to let you hurt her." "She's from Genom! She's an enemy!" Darlene spat out. "Don't you have other enemies to fight, dammit?!" "Other..." Darlene drew back, and thought about this new idea. Her eyes widened. "You're right! How could I be so forgetful! So blind!" "What??" "I'll take care of Malkon, then Genom, and THEN destroy Madagan! I should've gotten my priorities straight." She shook her head sadly. "Ah, terrible that I let my mind get so distracted. Now, how shall I do it...?" Ignoring them, Darlene looked down and put a hand on her chin, deep in thought. The other two stared at her. "Who IS this person?" Leon demanded crossly to himself and Madagan, not expecting an answer. Surprisingly, Madagan gave him one. "She is...or was...an art store owner. Red-headed, much shorter, and..." Leon hadn't gotten his rank for nothing, and he figured it out when she mentioned red-headed. "Darlene?!?!" he blurted out, shocked. Madagan stared at him when he spoke her tormentor's name. The transformed Darlene looked up at him curiously. "Yes, Leon? Oh, you found out? Like the new look?" Seeing him speechless, she shrugged and went back to her deep contemplations. "That's... Darlene??" he managed to say. Madagan stared at him disbelievingly. "You know her??" "Apparently not as well as I thought," Leon said uncertainly, wondering how he should react in this situation. "She's insane!" "And who made her that way?" he said, turning around and glaring at the exec, suspecting the answer. Madagan guiltily looked away at Leon's fierce stare, hating herself for doing so. "Right!" Darlene's shout startled them both out of their argument. She was facing away from them and pointing her hands at the remnants of the ADPolice suits she had demolished. "Gather," she commanded, and all the pieces of three suits shifted or flew into a growing mass of circuits and armour. "Coalesce," was her next command and the mass responded, merging and mixing the components of three powered suits into one. "Transformation," and now her hands began to burn with purple fire as the mass became a humanoid figure fifteen feet tall. Massive weapons grew on the arms and nasty looking blades formed on most parts of the body. It still appeared like someone could pilot the thing inside but now it seemed to be attaining a malevolent life of its own. Leon was suddenly reminded of the D.D. "EMPOWERMENT!" Darlene finished triumphantly and a beam of roaring purple fire shot from her hands, striking her new creation and stopped after a few seconds of this, then she lowered her hands. The glass for the unneeded operator glowed a purple so deep it looked black. Darlene's wicked smile was triumphant. "Wild magic burns through your circuits now. HE will have trouble with you because of that, or so I sense. You are destruction! Awaken when you arrive in his domain! GO!" Her sharp command created a portal underneath the huge creation and it fell into the rift. Then the rift vanished. "One down, two to go," she said, pleased with herself "Wh..where did you send that thing?" Leon stammered slightly, still shaken by the sight he had seen. "You REALLY don't want to know, Leon. It's a very warm place," Darlene said with a giggle. A white light grew in one of her hands. "Now for Genom. Starting with the main tower." "NO!!" Madagan rushed around a startled Leon and with both hands grabbed the arm that held whatever spell Darlene had created for Genom. "DON'T!" she cried, trying to keep the mage from throwing her spell. "Too late." The light vanished and Madagan stared helplessly at where it had been. "Want to know what it will do? It will slowly disintegrate the tower from top to bottom, growing in power as it goes," Darlene calmly informed her. "It might take a week. You opened Pandora's box when you made me angry enough to reach, unprepared, for the power I now wield and making me insane." She cocked her head curiously. "I see that my conscience must be getting weaker, for the spell will disintegrate people as well if they touch the spell's area of effect as it spreads." Then, Darlene slowly focused her glowing eyes on the Genom exec. "And now it's YOUR turn, Madagan." Madagan's eyes widened in sudden fear, realizing now how dangerously close she was. She tried to get away, but Darlene's free arm came around and trapped the woman close to her with a deceptively powerful arm. Madagan struggled futilely. "Wait!!" Darlene looked up, mildly peeved to be interrupted. "What is it now, Leon?" "Don't kill her," Leon said, holding up a hand as if to restrain her. "I've been around and talked with you enough times to know that this isn't like you. You'll regret it if you do this." Her eyes blazed at him. "Do you think I CARE right now?" "Do you?" he asked simply. "Do I...?" It startled her, not so much the question but the hesitation she felt. Darlene had thought that such matters were beyond her now. Something deep within disagreed. The thing she had sent to Malkon's and the spell for Genom tower had been relatively impersonal and so she hadn't felt any hesitation. This, however, was not. She looked at her captive and saw the fear in those eyes. Madagan had no chance at all, not as she was now. Despite that, and seeing her captor's sudden internal struggle, Madagan's fear perversely firmed into determination. "Kill me then," she said calmly, feeling comforted with self-confidence returned. Little things can trigger major reactions, and Madagan had unwittingly found the correct response for the situation. Darlene blankly looked at Madagan's calm acceptance of the inevitable; she sensed it was no deception and now her instincts were always true. They were actually HELPED by her unstable state of mind but they WERE true. It was how she felt this was what she would look like in around thirty thousand years, and how she was casting complex spells without rhymes when she wanted. "I... You..." For the first time since the transformation there was a strain, sweat began beading on her forehead from the internal conflict. "Kill... YES! NO!" She released Madagan and clutched her head from the conflicting desires within. Eyes shut, breathing raggedly, Darlene staggered back. Madagan merely stood, watching and waiting; her fate would be decided on what happened next. The strange fey mood still gripped her. "I have power... unready!....too much....what..." Fire began to ignite all over Darlene's body, the same purple energies that filled her within now openly revealed. The speed-up spell broke and they returned to normal time, the officers in the barricade shouting at Darlene's blazing form. "Power... no...power go. Power go," she said in a rising voice, louder, more pleading. The flames grew higher and the ground around her began to glow. Leon saw this and rushed forwards to grab a calm Madagan, then together they ran for the barricade. He had a feeling something big was about to happen. "Power go. Power go! Power GO! GO! GO!" Darlene jerked her fists above her head and screamed, "LEAVE ME!!!!!" What happened next wasn't as loud or as bright as the lightning strikes before, but in it's own way more powerful and frightening. A column of fiery, purple energy appeared where Darlene stood, tearing apart the road around her. All the energy that she had held within herself, and kept full by constant drawing, was released in all its raw untamed force into the sky. It streaked heavenward, until, by its own existence, ripped a hole into the Void. People on the ground that saw the rip immediately turned away, disoriented greatly as they were unable to comprehend or witness the utter blankness of the Void while in their own reality. Eventually, all the raw energy left into the rift, which immediately closed with nothing left to sustain it. The still transformed Darlene gave one last soul-wrenching cry and collapsed to the ground, weeping. The storm, held at bay for so long by the power she had wielded, finally unleashed its fury and instantly a windy downpour began drenching the city of Mega-Tokyo; as if the storm was crying with the mage who had regained her senses at last. Knowing the damage she had done and all the near-deaths she had ALMOST caused, Darlene desperately wished she hadn't. IN A REGION OF HELL... Malkon frowned and looked up from the tome he had been studying, sitting in his favorite chair of skulls, sensing something odd. Something had just invaded his realm, something that felt very disturbing to the arch-demon. Sighing, he closed the volume bound in green reptile scales and sent it back to its place in his library of magic with a murmured command. That done, he gestured and vanished from his study room. He emerged at a far corner of his personal domain and witnessed something making Hell even more hellish than it already was, it was destroying objects and demons alike with careless abandon. Fifteen feet tall and bristling with physical and magical power it appeared to be some strange type of metal golem. The arch-demon smiled; it had been a few years after the trouble with that mortal(or immortal; Malkon still wasn't sure) Twister and he discovered he welcomed a chance to flex his magical might. After all, it was only an odd type of golem. What threat could it possibly pose him? Chapter Twenty-Six ------------------ The column of purple energy was easily visible from the sky. Charcoal the dragon spotted it immediately. He would have known even if he hadn't seen it with his draconic eyes; it was of the same power that flowed through his own body. The source was also simple enough to figure out. His creator. It felt like she needed his help. Good. He wanted to please her. His rider was only weakly cursing now so he needed to let her off soon; other strange and bizarre sounds had been heard during his erratic and crazed-looking flight. Char was no ordinary dragon, a result of his unique awakening, and had demonstrated that often during the flight. Accelerating until he could barrel through one of those steel skeletons rising from the ground on sheer speed alone had been fun. A pity Char didn't know much about Mach speeds; he broke quite a few windows during his flight through those construction sites. The weather was turning bad anyway and his creator needed help now so he dived towards her position. "Not again, you speed freak of a dragon!" his rider protested in vain when she felt the course alteration. "I'm already going to have to clean up the damn helmet, inside AND out!" Char grinned as only dragons could grin. But as he got closer, he could feel the intense despair of his creator, igniting an equally intense protective feeling in himself. When she was in sight, he saw many unknown humans beginning to approach her. Annoyed, he roared to order them away. They retreated not quite fast enough for the dragon's liking so he exhaled some fire to quicken them, and quicken they did. "You stupid lizard! That's ADPolice!" His rider paused, then added disgustingly to herself, "Yeah, right, Priss, as if a dragon knows or cares about cops." Char decided then that his rider was not as stupid as he had thought. Therefore, when he landed and could not get a response from the crying elf, he lowered his neck and allowed his rider off to get his creator so they could take her away to a safer place. His rider seemed to be unsteady when on the ground again; who knew why? And, when she too failed to get a response other than crying, picked up his creator. After some strange reluctance, and a little growling persuasion, his rider got back on his neck, and he took off again. He would return to the place he had picked up his rider. Char wondered what distressed his creator so. Leon stared disbelievingly through the heavy rain at the huge dragon that had taken away Darlene. And with a Knight Saber too! With Priss, as he knew, or at least suspected strongly, who the blue Saber was, at that! "What are you going to tell your superiors?" Madagan asked from behind him, her pose recovered and in a reflective mood, sensing that the current danger was over. She wore a borrowed jacket to help shield her from the rain. "I'll list the damages, injuries, and say that... the culprit got away." That it was by dragonback would be better off not said. "Nothing else?" she said, curious about the lieutenant's response. Leon sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair. "They'll never believe me. Hell, _I_ don't believe me. Even if we had arrested... the elf, I doubt we'd have been better off." He turned to look at the men packing up the barricade behind Madagan. "As it is, I'm going to have a heck of a time explaining how one of my men is now a woman. And... it's a good bet the elf would've had an excellent case for temporary insanity." "Maybe if you see her again you can ask her to help you, and Genom," Madagan added. "Remember what she said about the tower." "I do." "Then I'd best be going home." Sudden weariness was reflected in the Genom exec's eyes. "I have to think about some things. You can get my statement tomorrow, by vid-phone." Leon didn't bother to protest, it was more than he had hoped. "And what about your superiors? What will you tell them?" "As little as possible," she said flatly, surprising him. "Some things are best left alone, at least, that's my opinion now. What do you think?" "Hmm..." Leon peered up through the wind and rain, and said, "I'll tell you later." "Perhaps that's best. Good-bye, Inspector McNichol." Still wondering about events that night, Leon silently watched her disappear into the rain. "Sylia, I'm getting really, really, REALLY sick of these things!" Linna said crossly as the rain poured down. Nene's frustrated snort told everyone that the red-headed hacker agreed wholeheartedly. "This is so EMBARRASSING!!" she said, thumping futilely with her one free arm at one of the purple bodies pinning her down. The pudgy purple things had proven to be more resistant to their attacks than appearances led them to believe. Five each had swarmed around each Saber, bloated bodies smiling emptily at them. Linna had knuckle-bombed one and sliced another into pieces, but while she worked on the other three the two she had taken apart regenerated somehow and bounded to the attack once more. Sylia had similar bad luck, and Nene's suit didn't do much damage at all. Fortunately, the things seemed to want to hug and dance with them more than slashing with their finger blades. When they did hit, it was by accident, not design. Still, being whirled around and crushingly hugged was taking their toll. Disgusted, Sylia had finally ordered them to get away so they could get Priss and Darlene. That was a mistake, for as soon as they tried to make a serious attempt to leave, the purple things, moving faster than Sylia had thought they could, tackled them all en masse like pro- football players. It was pretty much only their helmets that were not covered by the things. Unable to get any solid leverage on the soft weights upon them, the three Knight Sabers could do nothing but wait. Sylia was thinking of blasting the things on top of her just on principle when she saw something descending rapidly from the stormy sky. It came closer and she saw it was... "Priss!!" she cried once she recognized the dragon and the hardsuited figure on its neck. As it landed, Linna and Nene also crying out their friend's name when they saw her too, Sylia noticed someone else cradled in Priss' arms. When the singer carefully leaped off the dragon's neck and gently placed the person on the ground, she could see who. It was the still transformed Darlene and she appeared to be crying miserably. "Priss!" Nene and Linna chorused. The singer took in the strange scene with no small amount of disbelief. "What the hell happened?? What ARE those stupid-looking things?" "Never mind, Priss," Sylia said, feeling foolish at their current state. "We've tried getting free, but the constructs just regenerate and we can't get a grip on them. Can you see if Darlene can get rid of them?" Priss dubiously looked at the purple pile, then at the mage. "I'll try." She slowly knelt by her transformed friend and softly said, "Hey. Do you feel like talking?" The only response was a lessening of the heavy crying. "It's important, Darlene. We need to get those purple whatevers off the others." The elven-looking woman made a half-sob, half-laugh. "Tell them you hate them." Priss blinked. "What??" "Tell them you hate them." After staring at her changed friend, she turned around. "Um, Sylia..." Priss began to say. "I heard." Sylia heaved a sigh at the utter absurdity of this impossible situation, but her next words were very satisfying as she directed her attentions to the purple bodies above her. "Barney... Barnies, we hate you." The result was immediate. All fifteen of the things wailed in apparent pain and their features became softer, more mushy, as they melted into a disgusting and sticky mess. The three newly-freed Knight Sabers stood up, covered in purple gunk. "Oh, yuck!!" Nene said, repelled by the stuff on her and the others' suits and tried to wipe it off to little effect. "This is icky!" "Ditto," Linna agreed, repulsed as well by the mess on her. "How come Priss is the only one clean?" "Wanna bet?" Priss retorted. "Damned crazy dragon is worse than any amusement park ride." Char snorted behind her and she edged a little away from the beast. Feeling slightly apprehensive about the draconic entity, Sylia nevertheless started approaching their purple-haired friend. "Darlene, you'd better come with us and we can..." The rest was drowned out by a thunderous bellow from the red dragon, making all the Knight Sabers retreat a little. The dragon shrank a little and pawed closer to its creator. Lowering its head, it gently nudged the sorrow-filled Darlene and made a questioning rumble. Lifting her head, Darlene gazed with tear-filled eyes at the dragon she had brought to life, and whispered, "Store." At that, the cat-slitted eyes of the scaly form glowed and in a burst of flame both Charcoal and Darlene vanished. The Knight Sabers stood silent for a moment as they digested what had just happened. Finally, Priss spoke up. "Sylia, either I'm having one goddamned strange dream, and I hope I wake up damn well bloody soon, or else I have to clean off my helmet and confront one of my friends about what happened tonight. Somehow, I don't think that thrill of a task will be a piece of cake." "This feels too sticky to be a dream," Nene commented, futilely trying to get the purple gunk off her suit. "But... what are we going to do, Sylia?" she asked in a worried tone. "Yes," Linna added. "What HAPPENED tonight?" Sylia sighed and shook her head. "First, let's get home and clean up. Then we'll all go over to Darlene's shop. I don't think it would be wise to delay that any longer than we have to. Hopefully she won't do anything rash before we get there." "Shouldn't we go right now?" Linna asked. "No!" Sylia flatly rejected that action. "The less threatening we look, the better. Let's go." She activated her jump jets and bounded off. The others quickly followed. "Sylvie?" "Hmm?" the brown-haired woman murmured curiously as she leaned on the wall, not wanting to sit as she would have had a hard time getting up. Anri sat on the cashier's table, having managed to hop up onto it. "How much longer do you think we'll be like this?" There was no need to tell her fellow sexaroid what 'this' was. The bonds of light still bound them tight after Darlene's disappearance. "Hopefully soon. Darlene was..." As if saying her name had summoned her, the elven Darlene and Charcoal the dragon burst into existence where the wyrm had normally rested when he had been merely a statue. "Darlene!" both Sylvie and Anri cried. The magic-user did not respond verbally, but instead stood, using the red dragon to steady herself. Her face was tear streaked and, with eyes closed, slowly came over to the two worried sexaroids. When she stood before them she tried to talk but could only utter a half-sob. Frustrated, she swiped at the magical bonds with her hands and the bindings vanished with bursts of light. With her two friends freed, Darlene stepped back and hugged herself desperately, not saying a word. Able to move once more, Sylvie hesitantly approached her friend. "Darlene? Are you okay?" She immediately regretted saying that as the purple-haired woman looked anything but okay. "I'm... I'm s-sorry," Darlene managed to get out, face to the floor and voice laden with grief. "I... I don't... I didn't..." "It's all right, Darlene," Sylvie said, trying to calm her friend down. She reached out and placed her hand on the elven woman's shoulder. Darlene twitched, but accepted it. "You should get some rest. Come on, look at me." The hypnotic devices in her optics would harmlessly put the other woman to sleep. Darlene knew about them too, but still lifted her head and opened her eyes. Anri had been looking in slight apprehension and wonder at the dragon, who was looking back just as curiously, when she heard Sylvie gasp. Worried that something else had happened, she quickly turned around and saw Sylvie staring at Darlene's face. No... At her eyes. Why was she...? Then Anri SAW and gasped too. Noticing their reactions, Darlene looked rapidly at both. Fear rippled across her face before she turned and ran, cloak flying behind her, for the entrance to her upstairs home. She slammed the door behind her. The blue-haired girl shook her head to clear it. "Wha... what was that, Sylvie?" Anri shakily said, there was no fear in her voice, but there WAS wonder. "I... don't know," Sylvie replied, a similar tone in her own voice, "but I wish I did." Charcoal lazily stared at the scene, then exhaled softly and reassumed the posture he had been positioned in as a statue. There was no way to tell now that he had changed as he looked exactly the same as before, save for a glint in his eye that could be mistaken for a reflection of the lights above, but was not. He would wait until his creator needed him again. Leon gritted his teeth and counted to ten. Slowly. Very slowly. He had just gotten back from the mess that the confrontation between his and Daley's squad, and the Elf. (How could she be Darlene??) The Chief had immediately demanded what had happened. Leon told him. During his report the Chief had gotten more and more red in the face from his growing anger. When he had finished, the Chief had given him a dressing down about taking police work seriously and not to 'play the damn fool' with his superiors. After ten minutes, The Chief finished shouting at Leon and was waiting for his reply. Leon took a deep breath to calm himself, and said, "Everything I said is true... sir." Other than omitting Darlene's name; he was sure no good would come of ADPolice confronting her again. "Daley, as well as EVERY OTHER OFFICER THERE will give you the same story. There was an elf. She destroyed three K-17 suits easily and sent the remains somewhere else. She destroyed a fair portion of street with lightning bolts and blocked off the other three roads of the intersection we were in somehow. AND one of my MEN is now a member of the opposite SEX!!" he finished with a shout, making the chief retreat a little. "I'M still having trouble believing it! Verify it yourself if you want, but IT. IS. TRUE!!" Not caring at that point what the Chief thought, Leon turned and started walking away. "Right now I have to talk to the one who was changed," he said over his shoulder. "I'll give you the report for THAT later." "LEO...!" was all the inspector heard before he closed the door. Sighing, he continued walking through the corridors making a mental note not to get within shouting distance of the Chief until the jackass found out that Leon was telling the truth. Eventually, he came to the medical section of ADPolice and walked into one of the waiting rooms. Bochinski was waiting here and was seated in a chair, finished with his own examination but waiting for his less fortunate friend. Daley was still cleaning up a few things so he wasn't here, nor were the rest of Leon's team, which was puzzling. "Where are the others?" Leon asked Bochinski. The other held up his hands. "Much as they wanted to, the doctor told them to leave. Felt it would be too much for hi... her," he finished, correcting himself. "I guess the doctor was right, but I dunno. Doc said I was just fine and in perfect health." "Lucky you," a sullen voice said. Both men turned and saw that Wadderson had come out. Leon did a double take at what he saw as he hadn't seen the transformed officer yet and was considerably surprised. More like stunned from what he saw. Long and flowing blonde hair, striking green eyes, and delicious looking lips on a sensuous face. This along with a perfect complexion and body any female would die to possess, not to mention the other sex, albeit in a different way. One of the female ADPolice personnel had obviously given the unfortunate officer some ill-fitting clothing, but the full breasts and hourglass figure were still very noticeable. This heavenly vision was only marred by the morose expression she wore, and even then only by a little. Ignoring Leon's hanging jaw, Wadderson walked around him and slumped down into a chair, staring at nothing. It was very apparent that she wasn't in any mood to talk. Snapping his mouth into place, Leon tried to say something reassuring. "Ah...I'm sure everything will turn out all right." Bochinski raised incredulous eyebrows at the lame attempt. "I'm sure my girlfriend will agree with you," Wadderson replied levelly, not looking at Leon having fixed her vision at a point on the far wall. "Ahrm..." This was getting worse and worse. Leon stepped back towards the door. "Maybe later... we can talk... Tomorrow then." He fled. "Well, that was good, my friend," Bochinski commented. "Shut up!" Wadderson said angrily, looking at him with her flashing green eyes. "And I don't give a damn!" "It WAS your fault," he pointed out. "Shut...UP!" she repeated furiously. Her hands formed claws at her sides. "If I EVER see that BITCH again I'll..." Wadderson trailed off, unable to continue in her angry state. "I hope not," Bochinski said quietly to himself. He hadn't mentioned it to the doctor since she hadn't seen anything unusual but he felt... different. More... alive. His partner might not have been the only one changed. He wondered if he should be worried. Nah. "And that is what happened, you say?" Quincy said, no emotion betraying his true feelings on this rather unusual matter. "Yes, sir," Madagan replied. Despite what she had told Leon, Madagan felt that at least the director should be told the whole story, whatever he believed. He was silent, quietly looking at the blank monitors. Holding off judgement. Waiting. Then one screen blinked to life showing a rather panicked face. "Sir! There IS something... or rather nothing... on the roof of the tower! It's a... a... It looks like it's disintegrating what it touches! There's a large hole now and it seems to be slowly GROWING!!" Quincy's face tightened minutely. "Did you send in a Boomer?" "Yes! And... and half of its arm is gone so far! It's spreading faster on it than the roof!" "Try to find a way to solve this problem as quickly as possible. Quincy out." The screen blinked off before the scientist could protest. "So it's true," he said, considering Madagan thoughtfully. "As I said, sir." "Indeed. And what do you recommend?" "Do nothing." Seeing Quincy not react, she added, "I cannot predict what the consequences would be if we continue with... the store's owner." "And if we cannot find a solution to the problem already starting above us? Do you recommend we evacuate?" "I... don't know, sir." The chairman steepled his fingers together, and considered the new Madagan. Whatever she had gone through, it had strengthened her. He approved that in those loyal to him. But this new dilemma... "I shall tell you what I decide tomorrow after I see what can be done about the tower." He narrowed his eyes. "Be prepared." "Yes, sir." She wished she felt as certain of that as she sounded. Another encounter like the one tonight... Perhaps different tactics were required. The other way certainly had not worked. Chapter Twenty-Seven -------------------- Linna's van slowed as she carefully guided the vehicle into the parking space. When she was done, she looked apprehensively at Sylia, who was sitting in the passenger side. Her leader's face was expressionless: a sure sign that Sylia was thinking about something unpleasant, and most likely about Darlene. Darlene... Linna still had trouble believing what had happened earlier that night. "Let's go," Sylia said, opening her door and stepping outside into the night air, Linna doing the same. Priss and Nene, who had been sitting in the back, looked at each other nervously before copying the others. Together, they all walked towards the store's side entrance, and upon reaching it Sylia knocked firmly on the door. It was an anxious minute before there were noises on the other side of the door. Then it opened wide and revealed a worried-looking Sylvie, who seemed relieved that they had come. "Priss!" She rushed forwards to hug her friend briefly, then stepped back to view all four friends. "Thank God you came; I'm not sure what to do." "So Darlene did come back here with the dragon?" Sylia said. Sylvie gave her a startled look. "You know about Charcoal?" "We only stared at its very ALIVE looking face for a while," Priss sarcastically answered her, then peered cautiously around the sexaroid. "It that thing here?" "Well, yes," Sylvie replied, then quickly added "But it hasn't moved." when she saw Priss backing up. It was unnecessary as Linna had firmly placed a hand on the singer's shoulder, preventing the retreat and earning her a glare. "Darlene is too, and I guess you know what she now looks like." Seeing them nod she sighed helplessly. "She freed us and then ran upstairs. We've... not tried to go up yet. She crashed around for a time and then... nothing. I'm starting to get more worried than when this whole thing started." After telling the group that, Sylvie beckoned them inside. Sylia immediately entered. Priss, Linna, and Nene exchanged worried looks before following. "Darlene?" Nene hesitantly called her friend, knocking on the apartment's closed bedroom door. There was no response. "She's got to be in there," Linna said, as concerned as Nene about the lack of activity. "We've gone through every other room." All the Knight Sabers had cautiously climbed the stairs to the upstairs apartment where Darlene lived. Smashed furniture and dents in the walls, floor, and ceiling! told them all how badly their friend seemed was taking her recent predicament. In looking for her, the four had warily searched through the house, leaving only one room remaining. Surprisingly, it was Sylia who reached forwards between the startled Nene and Linna and gave the doorknob a firm twist to open it. The other three drew back a bit, uncertain as to what would happen, but nothing did. The leader of the Knight Sabers opened the door fully and stepped inside. One by one the others followed and saw that the changed Darlene was indeed here. Her room was like the rest of the apartment, walls battered, objects smashed, and generally looking like a tornado had been through the place. The bed, however, seemed to have been warped, melted, and stretched like taffy. A strange incongruity in the mess. And sitting in a corner of the room was the cause of all the destruction. From what they all knew about her, she was in a strange position for someone who should still be angry, desperate, and despairing. Still wearing that strange armour-like garb, Darlene was hugging her legs close to her body, knees just below her bowed face, purple hair concealing it as it fell down the sides of her head. The still figure didn't react to their presence. "Hey... Hey," Priss said, in a rising panic, unconsciously moving forwards before Sylia could stop her, "I don't think she's breathing!!" "WHAT?!" Nene and Linna shouted, then instantly rushed over to Darlene as well, Sylia walking quickly behind them, a trace of growing worry on her face. Priss grabbed Darlene with both hands and violently shook the elven figure. "HEY!! DON'T DIE YOU STUpid..." her voice died in her throat. Startled, the perfectly healthy Darlene had jerked her head up to stare eye-to-eye with Priss. Then what was revealed to Sylvie and Anri before was now shown to Priss and the others. For now that the eerie purple glow was gone from Darlene's eyes one could see the normal-seeming eyes. The irises were purple, half expected, but faint flecks of light slowly drifted through them. And the lights were strange, wonderful, and compelling. They seemed to bring forth all the churning emotions within Priss' heart, all together, blended in a cacophony that she could feel, smell, taste, and, most importantly, see. It grew, and then... Darlene put her hands over her face, making a sound of dismay, cutting off the sight of her eyes and Priss broke out of... of... whatever she had been under. Shaking her head, she noticed that the others had seen Darlene's eyes as well and were in various phases of recovery from the bizarre, yet oddly wonderful, experience. What the hell had happened? "No!" Darlene shouted, voice slightly muffled while trying to hide her face in her hands. "Go away! Quickly! Please!!" she pleaded behind her hands. "Let us help, Darlene," Nene said, starting to reach over to hug the distraught magic-user. "GET OUT NOW!!!" Darlene shouted, panic and desperation in her voice, reflexively pushing them away by whatever means available. It was like a whirlwind, whatever she did. Suddenly, before they had a chance to brace themselves, gales of force dragged the startled Knight Sabers out of the room, Nene giving a shocked scream, and were dropped unceremoniously in a pile outside the door, which slammed shut. "This isn't going well," Linna groaned, picking herself off the floor. "No shit," Priss said, doing the same and moved to open the door again. Swearing, she jerked her hand off the knob and gripped her palm as if in pain. When the others looked at her curiously, she explained, "Damn thing's electrified!" "I'm sorry," Darlene's downcast and muffled voice came from behind the door, "but... but that's why I didn't... want you near me." Sylia spoke up. "What do you mean?" "I can't... I can't fully control my increased powers yet," Darlene explained. "When I was... out of control, I could, and after I was too... depressed, but when I tried to calm down I found that my control... wasn't perfect. You saw what happened to my bed? I didn't mean to do that." A hint of hysteria was present in her voice. Chills went down Sylia's spine. And they had been standing right in front of her... "Is that why you were sitting on the floor like that?" she asked in a steady voice. "To get rid of distractions and not damage anything else?" "Yes." "Isn't there anything you can do?" Nene pleaded to both Sylia and Darlene. "I don't kn..." Darlene stopped in puzzlement. "I'll be back to normal in two days?" she suddenly said. It sounded like she was sure, but wondering why she was. "How do you know that?" Sylia asked curiously. "I don't KNOW!" Darlene shouted, obviously frustrated. "I just... DO. What's happening to me??" she pleaded. "I don't know," Sylia said, echoing Darlene. "But if you will be back to normal in two days then we'll be able to talk safely?" "Yes... Maybe sooner." It sounded like another certainty from unknown reasons. "And... I'm sorry about tonight," she added, sounding miserable. "I couldn't help myself." "We'll forgive you," Linna said, frustrated to have to talk to a door. "But I'm still wondering if I'm dreaming. Magic, Darlene?" she said, plaintively. "Sorry," the voice on the other side replied weakly. "I can handle it, I think, but please tell me that damned dragon isn't still working," Priss said, hoping for a pleasing answer. "He's not a watch," Darlene irritably replied, lifting out of her depression at Priss' tone. "And yes, he still is." "Damn." "What did he do?" "Never you mind. But I'll give YOU the cleaning bill." "I think we'd better go," Sylia finally said. "Until Darlene either returns to normal or gets enough control, we'd best not disturb her. It's been a long night." As they started to go, Sylia added, "And one day we'll have a talk about your sense of humour." There was puzzled silence from behind the door, then a loud musical giggle as Darlene realized what she was talking about. "Um... sorry?" "We'll talk about it later," Sylia said ominously. "Right," the other sighed. Anri and Sylvie were anxiously waiting downstairs and were relieved when they saw the four coming back down unharmed, if worried. "Is she alright?" Anri asked Priss. "Oh, yeah, she's fine," the singer replied, but then continued with a grimace, "for a goddamned ELF, for crying out loud!" She shook her head, unable to dismiss the worry she felt. Who she was worrying for was unknown, which made her even more uncertain about her own feelings. "This is just too bizarre," she complained. Sylia's face was studiously composed as she stared at one of the walls. "Nene," she said, and the concerned red-head turned her green eyes to her leader, "tomorrow I want you to find out what happened when Darlene fought ADPolice." "Sure, Sylia. It'll probably be all over the station anyway. But what are you going to do?" When Sylia didn't reply immediately, Nene felt dread seeping into her heart. "You're not planning on doing something to Darlene, are you?" "Nene..." Linna began, but Sylia waved a hand, stopping her. "I don't like thinking about it, Nene, but I must make some hard decisions on this matter. I have gotten fond of her," she admitted, "and even consider her a friend, but if she ever loses control again..." her voice trailed off, letting her listeners' imaginations fill in the details and not feeling very pleasant for having to do so. "We may have to do something... drastic in order to prevent even more destruction, even if I don't know what yet." Then an angry, bitter voice that came from nowhere in particular, snapped, "If you MUST plot my capture or death, do it elsewhere!" All six women froze as they realized Darlene must have heard every word. "I'm feeling suicidal ENOUGH without you saying I'm the Herald of Doomsday! And right now with these damn ears of mine I can't help listening to it so do it SOMEWHERE ELSE!!" She stopped talking, and an accusing silence filled the room. Sylia's face was ashen as she realized she might have worsened matters, and damaging whatever trust there was between them. "I am sorry, Darlene," she said quietly. No one expected a reply, but Darlene surprised them. "I know. You had to say it," her voice said, no longer angry and just as quiet as Sylia's response. "Besides, I was thinking along the same lines for a while. Good night, everyone." There was a brief pause, then, "Live long and prosper." There was a disembodied giggle that accompanied the various groans and sighs that filled the room. "Sorry, it's these ears. Night." Priss pushed off the wall she had been leaning on. "Let's go. She's gonna be okay." "Are you sure, Priss?" Linna queried. "If she's making bad jokes about it, then she's recovering just fine," was Priss' sour response, albeit with a small grin on her lips. The audible "Hmph!" as they left the store brought smiles to the rest of the group. Darlene sighed after her indignant response, then irritably brushed an errant strand of newly lengthened hair out of her face. She supposed she was recovering, but one look at the floor told her she wasn't over it yet, far from it. There were gashes made in the floor's material, done by her bare fingers when Sylia had made that comment and anger had flared high. She had gotten a hold of herself quickly, the night's events as a result of that fiery anger fresh in her mind had acted as a reminder of the consequences from lack of control. Darlene shuddered. "Well, I'm not tired at all," she observed aloud. "Might as well fix up the place." Looking down at the damaged floor, her eyes narrowed in concentration and slowly the carpet reformed back into its original, whole state. Darlene shook her head when finished, amazed still at not having to speak a magical rhyme, even for something as minor as fixing a few scratches. Something larger would still require it without the Wild Magic filling her, save when her emotions ran high as when she had thrown the Sabers out of her room. A sudden shift surprised her. She looked down at herself, and stared. Her elven armour getup, that she hadn't figured out yet, had vanished only to be replaced by more ordinary clothes. Gone was the cloak and upper clothing, replaced by a white blouse and...purple ribbon?!? The deceptively less armoured purple pants were now just blue jeans. The belt for them had a stylized dragon on a largish belt buckle. Her gloves were gone, as too the boots but white socks with purple stripes replacing them. She frowned, and shifting slightly she felt something she had never worn before underneath her shirt. What was there she decided she really didn't want to see after noticing the damn ribbons. Darlene hadn't done this. Or rather, she had. Only her magic had acted on a faint desire to get out of the fantasy armour and likely some subconscious part of her had decided what to do about it. And her subconscious had some decidedly funny ideas her conscious didn't approve of. This was why she didn't want company around her at the moment. This was the second time her magic had reacted without her full control, true she was more comfortable, save one... erk... no, TWO aspects, but the way it had been done was unnerving to say the least. She sighed, it was doubtful full control would come in only two days. Maybe if she worked on control tonight she wouldn't have to worry. At least fixing her home would be distracting. There were still a lot of things for her to think about. Namely: why wasn't she tired? Would she feel it later? And what was with her eyes that everyone found so fascinating? She had looked in a mirror and didn't notice anything odd other than the newly purple hue to her irises, but SOMETHING must be there. Darlene thought up a partial solution to the eye problem as she went on to clean up the damage she had caused. Simple really, she thought as created the object. She felt slightly ridiculous when she put it on, but felt it should work. The mage sighed as she adjusted the preventative measure. The whole thing was just so ludicrous! Chapter Twenty-Eight -------------------- LATE(10 A.M.) THE NEXT MORNING... BRRRIIIINNNGGGG!!! "Hello?" "Darlene? I see you've turned off your monitor." Nervous laughter. "I guess I can understand why." "Leon..." An hour later, one purple-haired elf opened the doors to ADPolice headquarters wondering if this was really a good idea. She thought her magic was behaving now, even after a few minor mishaps late at night, so she had given in to Leon's persuasive arguments. A pang of guilt also prodded her on. She still wore the clothes that had been conjured, more out of fear of what might replace it than anything else. And one addition. A young female officer, who was on reception duty behind the transparent plastic, looked up to see who had come in, and stared. Darlene's unusual nature was not obvious due to two things. One was her long, flowing purple hair that hid her pointed ears nicely. Another was the pair of dark sunglasses she had created to hide her eyes. She felt silly; 'Elf Wearing Dark Shades Confesses to Crimes.' Yaright. Still, the movements of her taller and lithe new body were flowing and graceful, attracting unwanted eyes. And this was also the reason the girl at the desk was looking at her with an expression of mixed admiration and awe, something Darlene wasn't terribly comfortable with. She finally reached the clear, bullet-proof, plastic barrier and smiled. "Hi, I believe Inspector McNichol has arranged a visitor's pass for me?" Darlene said, wincing internally at the musical quality of her voice that she was unable to repress. The girl blinked once, then blushed crimson with embarrassment as she realized she had been blatantly staring at Darlene. "Right! Ah... just a second while I verify this... um...?" She looked up again, inquiringly. "Valanna. Valanna Ellantora" Darlene replied while sighing internally, giving the name she had made up and given to Leon to use. Yet another alias; she would need a list to keep track of them all at this rate. The girl blinked at the rather unusual name but typed it in anyway and got an affirmative response. "Okay, it'll take just a second." "No hurry," Darlene said, smiling once she thought about this whole conversation. Out of Darlene's sight, elevator doors opened and a man and a woman stepped out. The woman being stunningly attractive but with an angry scowl on her face. The man had to hurry to keep up with her as she stormed out of the elevator. "'We'll inform you if we find anything positive.' Hah!" the woman muttered bitterly. "Like what?!" "Calm down, bud. You aren't making things any better," Bochinski said, trying to calm his radically altered friend. They were at the doors when he finished and there Wadderson whirled angrily on his friend. "And HOW do you suggest I make things better?" "Buying a new wardrobe for one," her friend replied, pointing at the ill-fitting clothes she still wore upon her newly-curvaceous form. "The baggy look isn't in." Despite her negative feelings about her recent changes, Wadderson shook her head disbelievingly at her partner's comments. "Doesn't anything damn well faze you? I mean..." Her voice died. "Hey, it's a survival trait. If I let everything bother me, I'd be Boomer chow," Bochinski responded glibly, then noticed the wide-eyed look of shock on his altered partner's face. "What?" "It's HER!" she whispered. "Her?" Turning his head, he saw the elevator begin closing but not before he glimpsing a beautiful, purple-haired woman standing inside... Waitasec. PURPLE-haired? "Oh, shit," he said softly, finally recognizing the woman and knowing what he would see once he turned his head back to his partner. Twisting his head back around, he looked. He was right. Outside the building, a man picked up the phone in his parked car. "Someone matching the description just went into ADPolice," he reported to his superior. "Orders?" "Wait to make sure she stays there," came the prompt reply. "There may be some wait but you will be joined by more operatives. Under NO, and I mean NO circumstances do you make contact." "Understood. Out." "Leon, just who are we waiting for that's got you so tense?" Daley said, wondering what was going on. His partner had told him that someone important was coming to talk with them, but had been very tight-lipped about details on who the person might be. Leon looked up at his partner as he was sitting behind his desk and Daley standing beside it, and gave his red-headed friend a slightly uncertain smile that was supposed to reassure. It failed miserably. "I'm expecting someone who might give us more info on what happened last night." "Who?" "Ah..." Leon began, then stood up from his chair when he saw something. "She's just arrived." Daley turned around to the same direction Leon was looking, and his jaw almost dropped to the floor when he realized who had walked into the slightly busy room. She was wearing shades, hair concealed her ears, and wasn't wearing fantasy armour, but it was definitely the Elf. Wearing a visitor's pass?? As well as looking a lot less sure of herself and slightly nervous, Daley noted to himself, which was the only reason he wasn't shouting for everyone to clear the room. "I'm sure I'll love the story about how you managed this," Daley said in a low voice to Leon as the graceful movements of the Elf brought her closer to them. He hoped no one else would notice who had just waltzed in. Leon wasn't able to manage a retort before the Elf walked up to his desk, looking at the two detectives anxiously before settling on Leon. She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Does he know?" she asked him, Leon shook his head and Daley's eyebrows rose as he wondered at the familiarity between the two. She turned to face Daley. "Okay then." She took a deep breath and began, "Daley, as my cover is blown, you deserve to know the whole truth. I am the elven High Lord for this planet and Leon is an undercover satyr, if you knew satyrs this would have been obvious. Our mission is to secure this world against the forces of the evil Grytophs. You know these magical beasts in their disguised forms as Boomers. Unfortunately, one of their High Potantors drove me temporarily insane after shattering my disguise and I went on a rampage after her. Now that I have returned to my senses, I see that we need help. We need you, Daley, to join the Yaniuu," she finished, trying to stifle her laughter at Leon's own surprised amusement and at Daley's stunned disbelief at what he had just heard. "Say WHAT?!" Daley exclaimed, incredulous. That did it. Darlene couldn't stop her laughter though she tried stifling it with her hands, Leon joined in a second later. Slowly it dawned on Daley that he'd been had. "I... I'm sorry," she managed to gasp out. "I just couldn't resist!" "That was bad, even for you, 'Valanna,'" Leon said, using the alias and grinning despite the reasons she had come here. "All right, all right, so I fell for that, but how do you know her, Leon?" Daley said, getting increasingly confused by their familiarity. Darlene's laughter died, and soberly her shades turned to him again. "You know me too, Daley. But last night I did more than breaking a table in half. I WAS insane; that much was true," she finished despondently looking down at the floor. It took a second for the reference to make sense to him, but when it did it hit him like a hammer on the head. "DAR..." he started to say, but she quickly put a finger on his lips, silencing him. "Please don't," she pleaded after taking her finger back. "I feel bad enough about last night." "Like what you did to Wadderson?" Leon said with a level tone. Darlene blinked. "Who?" she asked, confused. "Remember when two of my men were about to escort you?" he clarified, not able to completely suppress the anger he felt about that, but she still shook her head. He frowned, and Daley, recovering from the shock of finding out who the Elf really was, widened his eyes and shook his head minutely. Leon realized that Darlene actually didn't remember, and tried to backtrack. "Well, I'll go into that later but..." "No," Darlene interrupted fiercely, "I need to know what I did! It sounds bad but I don't remember what you're talking about!" She paled a little. "I didn't kill anyone, did I?" Before Leon could answer her there was a commotion at the large room's entrance. "YOU!!!!" a furious female voice screamed. Leon swore, recognizing the voice, and started around his desk. But the one who had shouted was already running straight for Darlene. Who had turned around, ready to defend herself, but froze at the sight of the transformed Wadderson. Memory flashed through her mind like a lightning bolt and if she had been pale before, she went bone-white as she remembered what she had done to the woman rushing her. Faster than those watching thought possible, the furious blonde barrelled right into the stunned elf. To everyone's amazement, they shattered Leon's desk with the force of impact and continued on to the wall where Darlene was slammed into the reenforced wall, making a crater in the structure. None of this fazed Wadderson, who was too deep in her own fury to notice what she had accomplished. She immediately started pummelling her opponent with rapid-fire punches to face and torso. "Changemeback! Changemebackchangemebackchangemeback!" Wadderson rapidly kept repeating over and over, tears she had refused to shed before now flowing freely. "Bud! Stop it!" Bochinski cried out, and tried to restrain his partner by gripping her shoulder. Blinded by fury, Wadderson swung a backhand at him, and connected with bone-crushing force. There was the sound of bones breaking and he flew backwards over the heads of the frozen audience to slam into the other side of the wall. Not comprehending what she had done, she turned back to the elf ready to begin again, but stopped. Despite Wadderson's obviously increased strength, Darlene seemed quite fine other than a few bruises and cuts on her face, which were already starting to fade for her new body was built far stronger than her normal one. Still, she had done nothing to defend herself and her eyes were closed for the glasses were crushed on the ground. "Damn you," the blonde grated, and she grabbed the elf, pulling her out of the hole they had made in the wall. Angrily, she shook the other at the shoulders. "Why aren't you fighting me!? Am I too far beneath your damn notice!?" she shouted. Darlene shook her head. "No," the captive whispered. "Look at me, damn you! Look me in the eyes!" Slowly, the elven face rose, and Darlene obeyed. Wadderson froze as the effect that had gripped everyone who saw Darlene's new eyes took hold. ALL her feelings rose to the fore, reducing the anger to merely one emotion of many. The feeling was indescribable as she continued to stare at Darlene's sad eyes, which were filling with tears. "I'm sorry," the elven woman said, a bead of moisture fell from one eye. "I wasn't myself when I did this to you." Her gaze lowered slightly. "And I don't think I can reverse it either because I think I remember doing... something to make it permanent. I know what I did was... wrong and that you probably hate me. I can understand that all too well. But I can only say that I am sorry." Between her hands she created another pair of dark glasses and put them on. That broke the eye contact, but Wadderson was slow to come out of her trance. She had looked into Darlene's eyes longer than anyone else and had begun to see something that appeared both wonderful and terrible. She dazedly wondered if it was good or bad that it was gone now. The elf's words came back to her. 'I can understand that all too well'? Did that mean...? Then Wadderson's eyes opened wide in horrified remembrance and realization. "Bochinski!!" she shouted, paling, remembering the sound of bones breaking. "Finally snap out of it, bud?" was her partner's concerned and unexpected reply. Wadderson whirled around and saw him in front of the audience of cops that had been watching the confrontation. Standing unsupported when he should have been a broken wreck. Stunned, Wadderson released the elf and slowly came over to the now grinning Bochinski. She stopped in front of him and looked at every part of his body. His clothes were a little bloodstained but that was it. "How...?" was all she was able to manage, indicating his unbroken body. He could only shrug helplessly, grinning. "Got me. I still feel sore though. Remind me never to spar with you when you're angry again." Before Wadderson could respond to that, the Chief arrived. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?" he bellowed and every police officer in the room suddenly felt hesitant to explain what had happened. However, Darlene wasn't an officer and remembered that the Chief had insulted her a long time ago. Therefore... "We were having a little disagreement," she answered him sweetly, and caught him off-guard with her musical voice. "I phoned Mr. McNichol to apologize for last night, because it wasn't really my fault but I still felt sorry for all the damage I caused." She sighed dramatically, getting incredulous looks from everyone in the room, save Leon and Daley who were grinning slightly "And who the devil are you?" the Chief demanded, trying to get back the high ground he sensed he had lost. "Well.... People have been calling me the 'Elf,'" she grinned. "I wonder why?" she said, brushing back her hair to reveal her pointed ears. The Chief, however, was not so ready to believe this and he rounded on the grinning Leon. "McNichol! Are you still trying to get me to believe that crazy story of yours?! Elf, my ass!" He didn't notice Darlene's frown and the subsequent gesture she made. "It's all a crock of bullshit!" "Chief, I didn't lie before and I'm not lying now," Leon said, defending himself. "I..." He stopped talking and stared at the Chief's head. "'I' what, McNichol?" the Chief demanded, then noticed Leon's wondering stare. He then noticed his scalp felt... odd, like a half-forgotten memory trying to make itself known. Everyone was staring at him now, or rather, his head. The female, who had called herself the Elf, giggled. "What the hell...?" he wondered and reached up to feel the top of his head, and encountered much more hair than there had been ten minutes ago. Disbelieving, he used both hands to confirm that his hair, that had been absent from his head save that at the sides, was growing once more and was now beginning to gain respectable length. "Hair to the Chief?" the Elf said innocently, and grinned. "McNichol," the Chief said, voice level and hands still on his head. "Yes, sir?" "Take care of this case, and don't tell me anything more about it." "Ah...yes, sir." "I'm taking the rest of the day off." And with that, the Chief left. Daley released the breath he had been holding. "That went well," he commented. "Right," Leon said, unable to repress a chuckle. "Okay, Bochinski, Wadderson, and... Valanna, you'd better come with Daley and me to a more," he looked around at the interested observers, "private location." He looked at his destroyed desk and sighed. "Oh, well," he mourned. Darlene looked at him curiously, then shrugged and said, "Damage done by fires of rage, Become undone at this my rhyme, Fury now contained in cage, Turning back the sands of time." Before everyone's disbelieving eyes, the shattered pieces of Leon's desk reassembled themselves and reformed whole. The hole made in the wall pushed itself back out and plaster, like a puzzle, returned piece by piece to where it originally had been. Soon, not a trace of the damage done by Wadderson's attack remained. Leon stared for a long while, before saying, "Maybe we'd better hurry." "So you want me to repair the street?" "NO!" Darlene recoiled in her chair at Leon's vehement response. They had all moved into one of ADPolice's interrogation rooms and were all seated around the room's single table. Darlene and Leon on opposite ends; Daley and the two altered officers on the other two sides. "Do you need a megaphone to make that any louder?" she said, dripping sarcasm. "My ears ARE a little sensitive, Leon. Why not?" "Sorry, but what happened last night and that display in the office should be the limit." Wadderson shrank in her seat a little because the latter was mostly her fault. "There's no telling what more public display might do, even if you fix it enough people have seen the damage so that if it magically disappears they'll REALLY start wondering. Once they might disbelieve, twice..." He shook his head. "Getting back to closer topics," Bochinski said. "Just what DID you do to us two, miss?" He indicated the female Wadderson and himself. Darlene sighed. "I was operating more on instinct than any actual knowledge so I'm not sure HOW I did it, but what I actually did... I know something about that. It felt like poetic justice at the time, for I used the insult as the basis of what I did." Seeing the two's confused looks, she explained, "You said 'bitch'. A bitch is a female dog... or wolf. I said I split it in twain and I did. One part to shape Wadderson, another to shape Bochinski. I added my own changes to that of course, but I'm foggy on most." "Wait," Bochinski said. "I think I'm getting this. You split the meaning of the word bitch and made Wadderson female for the female half of the definition. But that leaves the other and I certainly don't look like a dog." "Wolf," Darlene softly corrected, "and I expanded on that." He shook his head. "I still don't get it." "Let's just say you only have to worry about silver bullets now, instead of normal ones," she said, hinting at the truth. "Wolf..." Bochinski's eyes widened as he finally realized what had been done to him. "WEREwolf!" "Bingo." She gave him a sad smile. "And don't worry, you have, should have anyway, full control over it so don't worry about going berserk when the moon is full." She considered him thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how powerful your healing abilities are but you recovered from broken bones pretty quickly." Bochinski was silent for a moment, absorbing this news, then said, "Will I be needing flea collars?" Darlene stared at him incredulously. Wadderson groaned, and whacked her partner lightly on the head. "That's the absolute least of your concerns, idiot!" "You never know..." he protested. "Oh, shut up!" she said, exasperated at her partner's lack of reaction to their predicament. "I didn't think of this at the time but knocking you THROUGH a desk is a little hard to swallow. How strong am I now? And how come I didn't notice it?" Darlene shrugged helplessly. "I have no idea to either question. I don't know how that happened. As to the second, I can only guess that somehow you must have been given the ability to control it." Leon stepped into the conversation then. "Alright then. You two," he said, pointing at the changed officers, "go down to the gym and find out what you can do." He held up a hand to stop their protests. "I know the docs said you should go home, but don't you think you'd feel better if you know more about what happened?" At their reluctant nods, he smiled. "Hey, at least you'll have an easier time against Boomers." Wadderson snorted. "Small consolation, sir," she said before she left the room, a thoughtful Bochinski behind. There was uncomfortable silence in the room for a minute after they left, then Leon cleared his throat. "Do you mind telling us what's going on?" "Leon, Daley," Darlene began, then sighed and began again. "I can't promise to tell you everything, but... I'll tell you what I can." "One thing," Leon interrupted. "Will this happen again?" "I didn't know this COULD happen in the FIRST place," Darlene snapped, frustrated. "It surprised me too and it only happened because Madagan got me so... so furious." She shook her head. "Now that I know I should be able to prevent it. I DON'T like losing control of myself," she stressed that before continuing, "and I'll be relieved when I change back." "Does Nene know?" Leon asked quietly. "Nene?" Darlene squeaked, caught off-guard. "Ah..." "She does," he said. It wasn't a question. Suspicion grew in him. "She didn't know I could cast magic!" Darlene protested. "Besides, I've had some trouble with my spells since I got tossed into this universe." She paused when she saw Daley's eyes widen at that piece of news. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that," she said weakly. Leon managed to ignore that last revelation. "Are you human?" "Yes!" She glared at his chuckle, flushing slightly. "Not that you could tell at the moment," she muttered. "Are you enjoying yourself?" she added with an ominous voice. "Well, I have to admit this is refreshing, in it's own weird way, now that I'm getting used to the concept." "Glad you think so," she sighed, putting elbows on knees and placed her chin on her palms. "What about the Knight Sabers and the Crystal Knight?" Darlene sighed internally; she'd better start acting (the word sounded better than lying) or else Leon would start finding out more than she wanted him to know. "The Knight Sabers know the Crystal Knight and the Crystal Knight knows me." Leon exchanged looks with Daley. "How do you know him?" "Because he comes from the same universe I do, except he has psionic instead of magical powers. Because the same thing that was SUPPOSED to have killed us changed us instead and gave us our powers. Because in that way we're... related in a strange manner, having both survived the impossible. Because while he made his armour, I enchanted it to give it its power, and if you say anything about 'aiding a vigilante', Leon, I'll turn you into a frog." "You mean a toad," Daley corrected. Darlene gave him a withering glare, felt even through the dark glasses, then stood up. "I could talk all day, Leon, but I'd rather do it when I'm back to normal. Besides, I think you'll be busy with the two I... changed." Sadness flickered on her face before she got a hold of herself. "I'll be staying at home for the next two days." "Before you go," Leon said, "what did you do about Genom's problem?" "Genom? What are... you... Oh no, not again," she moaned. "What did I DO?! Did I block out everything?!" she cried out, then slumped her shoulders. "You weren't exactly yourself," Daley said soothingly. "Yeah. Small consolation." Darlene shook her head and braced herself. "What did I do, Leon?" "You mentioned something about a disintegration spell," he stopped when she staggered a bit, the memory returning to her, but continued when she waved a hand, "but before that you made some kind of monster and sent it somewhere. That's about it. Are you all right?" he said, concerned, as all color drained from her face. "Yeah," she said, weakly. If he survived, Malkon was going to be very, very pissed. Great. "I'd better get going. To Genom first, I suppose." "Are you sure?" "Do you want Genom tower, or the biggest damn parking lot in Mega- Tokyo?" Leon and Daley turned to each other and exchanged a startled look. "Is what you did THAT strong?" Leon asked, feeling slightly numb. She gave him a long, sober look, answering him. Chapter Twenty-Nine ------------------- "You didn't have to escort me out of the building," Darlene protested as she, Leon, and Daley walked out of the elevator. "We're still fixing Headquarters from an attack a few days ago," Leon cast a wry look at Darlene, "we don't want anything else happening to it." She stuck her tongue out at him as they passed through the glass doors outside. Daley was the first to notice, and stopped. "Hey, Leon." "What?" Then he saw too, and swore. "Damn." "What's the..." Darlene began, then saw the man in a suit and dark glasses who practically had 'Genom' stamped on him walking across the street, heading for them. "Oh." The three stayed where they were and warily let the Genom messenger come to them. When he got within a meter, he stopped and bowed to the elf, which surprised Darlene. "On behalf of my superior, I humbly ask that you please come with us to Genom tower." Exchanging looks with Leon and Daley, Darlene inquired, "Superior?" "Yes," the man waved to where several cars were parked. One of the car doors opened and a familiar figure stepped out. "I'm surprised SHE came," Leon said quietly. Darlene wasn't sure what she should be feeling seeing Madagan again. Certainly she had a range of options to choose from, but... there was still that matter of the spell on Genom tower. "I guess I've got my ride," she said, sighing. Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable trip with only the two of them riding together in the back of the limo. Darlene was still angry about the way Madagan had treated her, but was feeling guilty over what she had done after, even knowing Madagan might have killed her. Madagan, on the other hand, knew she needed Darlene's help to counteract whatever was destroying Genom tower, but realized she still felt afraid of the elven woman and was angry with herself about that, even though she had good reason. They stayed silent the whole way, with only occasional glances at the other. Finally they arrived at the tower and both got out of the vehicle. Darlene looked up, and up, and up, at the massive structure. "You know, it really doesn't need to be so BIG. Get a neckache just trying to see the top. Sheesh!" Madagan blinked at her, surprised at the comment, then smiled slightly, surprising herself. "It's supposed to be a reflection of how much importance Genom has in the world," she said dryly but with some pride. "SOMEone has a big ego," Darlene muttered. Then giggled at something that occurred to her. When Madagan frowned at her, puzzled, she said, "Um, I don't know if anyone's ever thought of this, but if you imagine Mega-Tokyo as the face of the world, then Genom tower could be seen as one big zit." "Really," Madagan said in icy tones. "And I might be the facial cleanser," Darlene continued, imitating the Genom exec's cold manner. A look of sudden fear arose on Madagan's face, but the elven mage sighed and shook her head. "Don't take things so personally. I didn't mean to insult you. Lighten up, Miss Doom and Gloom." Then she placed a hand over her face, and grimaced. "Look who's talking. Well, at least I'M making an effort." She sniffed haughtily. Madagan pursed her lips, uncertain how to respond. Then started walking for the tower entrance. "We'd better hurry," she said, not looking back behind her. Darlene quickly arrived at her side. "Sourpuss." Madagan's back muscles twitched. "No wonder I was thinking of doing that to you when I was insane." Pausing as she swung open the door, Madagan said, "Doing what?" "I was toying with the idea of turning you into a panther. Purple fur, jewelled collar. The works. You would've been my puddy tat," Darlene said, coyly sweet, lightly tapping a suddenly pale Madagan on the nose with a smile. The purple-haired exec jerked away, face slightly pale, and fled through the entrance. "What? The idea of becoming a cat not to your liking?" Darlene said sarcastically, following close behind. "Oh, boo hoo. Tsk tsk. I'm SO heartbroken. What's the matter? Don't like feeling heeeeelpless?" she sniped wickedly at Madagan. Who furiously turned around, face wrathful from Darlene's remarks. "WILL YOU STOP THAT!!" she shouted, finally fed up. Several people around them looked at her, startled, and those who knew Madagan's cool reputation, shocked. None were more surprised than Madagan when Darlene glided uncomfortably close to her and wrapped slender, but strong, arms around her body, drawing them close together. "But I don't want to," Darlene purred seductively, Madagan's eyes flew wide open, horrified. "You really are a very attractive woman, Madagan. We should let bygones be bygones. And maybe take things a little further, hmmm?" she said suggestively and dissolved her dark shades, letting them see eye to eye at last. Madagan, on the verge of panic, wondered momentarily why the elven woman had been covering her eyes, but when she began to see deeper things in the purple orbs that unnaturally evoked feelings within herself she jerked her head away, not wanting to fall under some spell. "Let me go! Have you gone mad again?" she cried, struggling to get out of the elf's too-solid embrace and trying not to look at those eyes. Darlene blinked. Shook her head. Then realized who she was holding, and why. "AAAAHHHHHH!!!!" If she had hugged a white hot flame, Darlene would have removed her arms less quickly than from around Madagan. Stepping back quickly, she hugged herself tightly and shivered violently. "W-What the HECK am I DOING?!?" Backing up slightly and regarding her nervously, Madagan said, "That's what I'd like to know." "My magic isn't acting up anymore," Darlene said to herself, getting over the shock of what she had tried to do, "but now my emotions are! Damn!" she swore angrily. "I thought I didn't have to worry about anything else!" "This is because of your change?" Madagan asked warily. "No, I always try seducing women who've tried to kill me," Darlene replied caustically, and Madagan's cheeks colored slightly. "Of course it is!" Trying to get a hold of herself Darlene took a deep breath to calm down and let her arms down to her sides. "I'd better remove that spell then leave as soon as I can. Elevator?" she asked Madagan, creating a new pair of glasses, strangely difficult to do but she dismissed it, and wearing them. "This way," Madagan said, and started walking again, "lover." Darlene nodded, following her, then did a double-take when she realized what Madagan had said. "Great," she muttered sourly, "NOW she gets a sense of humor." In front of the elven woman, Madagan smiled at the comment. "Y'know," Darlene commented as she stared at what her spell was doing, "I didn't think so at the time but this is REAL disturbing." She and Madagan, along with a few technicians nervously watching at the sides, were at the very top of Genom tower. The top was mostly a large flat platform. However, a huge spherical pit was being gouged from the center of the metal platform, and if you watched carefully you could see it slowly growing. "It's continuing to accelerate," Madagan informed the creator of the destructive spell. "Just great. Well, better stop it," Darlene said and raised her hands. She began to cast a spell to nullify the destruction, but staggered after a moment, almost collapsing. "What's wrong?" Madagan asked in a worried manner, for the pit WAS starting to gain worrisome speed. "Can't cast a spell," Darlene panted. "WHAT?!" Madagan screamed. "WHY NOT?!" "I've been up since early YESTERDAY morning, though I don't feel tired, I've channelled raw magical energy of a degree I've never handled before, got rid of it in an abrupt manner, and have been casting minor spells since then. I guess I should've wondered why I'm not flat on my back, not just unable to cast a coherent spell. I'm almost at my limit." She looked worried as she contemplated the growing pit. "Can't you think of anything?" Darlene paused. "Maybe..." she mused aloud, then held out a hand. A moment later her sword appeared. "What good will that do?" "My sword is linked to me and was made to act as a focus for spells," Darlene explained. "I can still direct power into IT and destroy the disintegration spell with a burst of greater power. I think." She frowned. "This is purely by instinct, but I think it'll work. My instincts have gotten a lot better in this form, but in any case I suggest everyone get back. This might not be very neat." "Do we have a choice?" Madagan dryly replied, and waved all personnel away from the ever-growing pit. Darlene didn't reply, she was too busy concentrating. Suddenly, her sword blade burst into purple flames and, after flipping the blade so that it pointed down, with both hands gripping the handle leaped high and fell, the burning blade's point first, into the exact center of the pit. From Madagan's viewpoint, Darlene vanished from her sight, followed by a moment's silence. Then the pit vanished as a burst of intense violet light erupted out of the crater. KKKKK-TOOOOOMMMM! A slim hand came over the edge of the now-glassy pit, dragging Darlene up with it. "I'm definitely staying home for a while after this," she muttered as she came over the lip of the hole. She had been wondering why she hadn't felt tired before; now she knew as she felt weariness like a big black cloud approaching on the horizon. Darlene had told the others that it would be two days before she changed back, but that was when she hadn't cast many spells. Somehow she must have retained some kind of residual charge from the Wild magic. If she had done nothing it WOULD have been two days. Now... "Stop right there, girl," someone, no, she knew that voice, said. Darlene looked up for the first time, and swore explosively. What remained at the top of the tower was now practically filled with wall-to- wall Boomers, both the combat models, BU-12s and the more general purpose 55-Cs. Quincy was the one who had spoken, but given his preference for android duplicates she highly doubted he was actually here. Madagan didn't look too happy about this development, a surprise in itself, from concern for Darlene or for the Chairman she didn't know. "An impressive display of power you gave us last night, and today as well," Quincy commented. Darlene was not in the mood for talking with Quincy, not now, all she wanted was to get back to her store and damned if she was going to put up with this bullshit any longer. Her patience quota was gone. "MR. Chairman," she grated out, Madagan stepped back a bit, having a better idea of what was going to happen than Quincy, "I'm sorry I almost destroyed your tower, even though it was pretty much Genom's fault. But now, I just want to go home and relax, and if you think this bunch of Boomers is impressing me one bit, you're dead wrong. If you WANT to discuss something with me, do it later." That said, ignoring all the androids around her, she began heading for the elevator. Quincy frowned, and gestured at two blue 55-Cs. They ran to grab the elven woman. Darlene didn't halt her forward momentum, but her sword arm BLURRED when her would-be captors got within striking range. She might be unable to cast spells at the moment, but her physical abilities had been greatly improved in her new form and her sword was a very formidable weapon. In effect, it was akin to putting a hand into a food processor. Totally ignoring the stunned Quincy as the pieces of sliced Boomer fell behind her, she nodded to Madagan. "Shall we go?" she said as she passed the gaping Genom exec. "Sir?" Madagan hesitantly asked her superior. "Get that... woman out of the tower," Quincy replied, having no illusions that someone who dispatched two regular Boomers that swiftly would have much trouble avoiding and destroying the rest. "Yes, sir." Madagan hurried after the departing mage. Not at all angry, Quincy looked over the remains of the two destroyed Boomers. "Impressive indeed..." he mused quietly. "So. Magic." The Chairman thought for a moment. Then chuckled deeply. It was about an hour later when Darlene and Madagan arrived at the magic-user's store. Darlene heaved a sigh of relief and was about to open the door when Madagan stopped her with a hand gesture. "Wait." It took her a few seconds to compose herself, but Madagan asked, "I know you must have SOMETHING to do with the Crystal Knight. Will you tell me?" Darlene grimaced, another 'my brother the Knight' story, but nodded. "If it'll get Genom off our backs, sure." She ran a hand through her purple hair before starting. "I guess we're kinda like brother and sister, in a way. We both survived something that should have killed us but changed our bodies and gave us our powers instead. Don't try finding it," she emphasized flatly, "it's not even in this universe. I, and he you call the Crystal Knight, arrived in your universe involuntarily. I started a shop to keep myself busy and support myself, he likes fighting Boomers." Darlene shrugged at Madagan's disbelieving stare. "It's true. And if I can change into a more powerful form then he probably can too. I'd remember that if I were you." The elven woman made a mental note to remember that sudden notion herself. "Oh, yeah, while he made his armor, I enchanted it to give it its power. There's no technology involved; even if you got his suit you wouldn't get anything from it. Anything else?" She arched an elven eyebrow. "No," Madagan said, trying to digest the information she was given. "Good, because if Genom comes even SEMI-near to my shop again I'll be REAL pissed." Darlene grinned rather nastily at the Genom exec, past events giving force behind her words, before opening the door and leaving Madagan to dwell in her own juices; SHE just wanted some truly desired sleep. Opening the first door, she felt a sudden, yet intense, twinge of pain that seemed to have originated somewhere in the vicinity of her guts. It left her momentarily breathless and pale, but she quickly shook it off. "Damn," she whispered, feeling dread, "I hope I didn't push myself TOO far." She opened the second door rather quickly. Anri was the first to see her and almost shouted her name aloud, then remembered the former red-head's changes and rushed over angrily instead. Seeing Anri move led Sylvie to notice Darlene too, and the brown-haired sexaroid frowned. Both their reactions left the transformed mage somewhat bewildered. She was certainly surprised when normally mild Anri gripped her wrist firmly and near-dragged Darlene over to Sylvie. "Anri, what...?!?" Darlene began, but Sylvie cut her off. "WHAT were you doing?! You shouldn't have gone out like THAT!" the taller sexaroid said, whispering furiously and giving Darlene a glare hot enough to melt steel, Anri nodding fiercely in agreement. The mage wilted a bit under the double barrage. "I had to do a few things..." she said weakly. "They just couldn't wait." Sylvie didn't let up her glare. "We were ALL worried when Anri went up and found that you weren't there!" When Darlene's eyes widened in realization, she nodded. "Of COURSE we called Sylia and the others; we thought you might have gone to one of their places. Imagine OUR surprise when Nene, who was at work today, reported the rather shocking news that you were at ADPolice! She's not very happy, and neither are the rest of us. As a matter of fact, Priss is upstairs, keeping guard in case you showed up there. We have all been worried sick considering what happened to you!" "I'm sorry," Darlene replied, looking down at the floor slightly ashamed. "I just thought...that if I left secretly then came back you wouldn't worry. There WERE things I HAD to do." Sylvie frowned, noting something wrong with Darlene's explanation. "If you got past us without us knowing why didn't you do the same thing you used before?" "I...can't," Darlene answered reluctantly. "You can't? Why not?" Anri demanded. "I overextended myself doing the things I did and..." Darlene's eyes opened wide with shock when a greater wave, not a twinge this time, of pain hit. She staggered forwards and a startled Sylvie and Anri caught her. "...And I think I'll soon be making a full payment for what I did; a little earlier than the two days I predicted," she finished weakly as she got her breath back. "Upstairs! Quickly!" a worried Sylvie ordered Anri and the two, with one of Darlene's arms around each sexaroid, dragged her upstairs. Priss had been sprawled on Darlene's couch, but quickly got off when she saw the two dragging Darlene up. "What the hell happened?" she demanded. The elven woman weakly laughed. "An exhausted elf, that's what." Her arms and legs were beginning to feel like lead, a bad sign. While she could, she tore off her glasses and looked at Priss. "See anything there?" Priss was puzzled. "No, not like last time." "Oh, shit." Those were the last words Darlene got out before the main wave of pain that the previous two were mere heralds of arrived. She jerked, nearly throwing Sylvie and Anri off her, then went absolutely rigid, eyes wider from the sudden pain than they could normally go. All her nerves were afire; muscles screamed in protest; bones pulsing in agony; and her skin felt like she was being flayed alive. Every cell in her body was in torment and it was only the sheer intensity that kept her from screaming like a banshee. Even so, she did manage a high pitched whistle that made her friends wince, not that she was able to notice them at the moment. "Jesus Christ!" Priss whispered in horror, sensing how much pure agony her friend was going through. Darlene was staring at nothing while her body vibrated like a guitar string freshly plucked. Sweat was beading on face and neck, and tears were beginning to fall from her eyes. And to Priss the worst thing about it was that the only thing she could do was wait. Sylvie and Anri were just as horrified, but Anri noticed something first. "She's starting to change back!" she cried, and indeed, the elven features were disappearing. Her hair became shorter and lost color, eyes turning bright blue once more. They had seen this before but Priss hadn't, and the singer was stunned at the rapid age reversal. Gaining speed, Darlene's body became younger and younger until she was as she was before. And collapsed. Priss caught Darlene, swiftly grabbing her before the once-again red-head fell and absently noted that the mage's clothes had changed to match her size. Looking at her friend's face, she was more than a little dismayed to note how gaunt it was and just how LIGHT the body she held had become. "Fuck! We have to get her to Sylia!" Existence has many forces that beings, intelligent or not, may use or be used by. They sometimes interact in odd ways, especially when uncontrolled. Such was the case when a powerful crystal with great magical forces attuned to space/time for the purpose of transportation, but used for containment of an evil spirit, exploded. It connected two universes together for a brief instant, a mage was caught in that convergence and crossed over, then the tear closed. But for a time, that uncontrolled tear affected a weakness in the walls of reality for those two universes. And, with uncanny luck unique to him, a traveller managed to step right into that weakness, such was the power of his aura and innate ability for ki-travel(an ability used by some beings in other universes but unknown to the traveller who uses it unconsciously). The transition was unnoticed by him, as it appeared seamless to his perception; his ability was fine-tuned, if uncontrolled. He left his universe mere hours after the mage, but he also arrived at a slightly different time and space compared to the first traveller and so he suddenly appeared in the forested regions outside Mega-Tokyo a day after the mage's collapse. The weakness healed itself immediately after, trapping him in this second universe. The bandanna-wearing traveller looked up and sighed. I wonder where I am now, Ryouga wondered. Darlene came to semi-consciousness, moaning, wondering what had happened. Her eyelids were being stubborn, crazy-glue stubborn to be accurate, and couldn't open them at the moment. Then she felt that there were several presences around her, and mumbled, "Wha...'m I?" "That sounded like two questions, so I shall answer both," Sylia's familiar voice replied. "What happened is that it appears you badly overexerted yourself to the point of unconsciousness for about, despite an I.V. feed, five days. Where you are should be familiar as you have visited the infirmary in Doctor Raven's garage before, as I could not risk normal hospitals with your unique metabolism and body structure." "Oh," was all Darlene could say, still feeling very weak. She tried again to open her eyes, and succeeded. There was Sylia, smiling faintly at her at the foot of the bed, Linna, by the side of the bed, and Nene, beside Linna. Both of them were smiling too, Nene's eyes being oddly bright for some reason. "God, this week's been pure pain. I REALLY don't want to do that again," Darlene moaned, then smiled weakly, "but thanks for helping, even when I upset you guys before I... um... collapsed," she finished, a little abashed. "Hey," Linna said, shrugging off the worry, "at least you're almost back to normal now." "Right, a male psionist/female mage combo in one is normal," Darlene mumbled, then sighed with a small smile of her own. "I guess that's normal for me." She shuddered. "I hope I don't have to go through anything like THAT anytime soon." "Priss described it; I can imagine," Sylia said, sympathetically. "Did it hurt as much as after you beat that Overlord thing from Hell?" Nene asked, wide-eyed. The recovering mage almost bolted upright, but was still too weak to do so. "Wha...?!" Darlene said, very much surprised. "How did you...??" Her gaze immediately swivelled to Sylia, who was quite unrepentant. "It was about time," Sylia pointed out, "so I told them." "Great," Darlene sighed, going limp. "As a matter of fact, Nene, no, it hadn't been this bad because I hadn't had the chance to overdo it." Sylia was an excellent interrogator, a fact the bedridden red-head had found out when telling her story, and now she regretted it. "So you actually did fight demons from Hell?" Linna said, disbelieving. "Yeah. Trust me, it's a pleasure I'd rather forgo. With one exception," she amended, remembering Malkon. She saw Nene's awed look, and grew irritated. "Nene, if you keep looking at me like that I swear I'll create a spell that will embarrass you a LOT. When you're working, at that. Static hair? Glued shoes to the floor? Vanishing undergarments?" she finished with an evil grin when she saw Nene blush beet red. "Darlene! You wouldn't!" "I WILL if you keep looking at me with starry eyes. I'm still ME. You just...know a lot more about me now. Which," she added with a twinkle in her eyes, "doesn't mean we can't have a little fun now that my spells work properly now." Nene perked up at that, Linna too a little. "Darlene..." Sylia said, frowning ominously. "What?" the mage replied, looking innocently at the Knight Sabers' leader, trying to make her tired face as cute as possible. "I'll be the soul of discretion. Really, I will. And," Darlene turned serious, "I could use some laughs for a change, Sylia." Sylia sighed, giving in. "Very well. But only when you're recovered and NOTHING in public. Is that clear?" "Crystal," Darlene agreed. "Now sleep! Priss will come later to feed you." Darlene felt a chill as she remembered something. "Sylia..." "What?" "When you told my story... Did you mention when Malkon tried to... ma... ma..." she couldn't finish the word but Sylia understood. "Yes." "Oh, God. Priss is gonna TORMENT me over that," Darlene wailed. Linna and Nene burst out laughing at the horror in her voice. "Consider it an...incentive to get better." Darlene's glare told her what she thought of that. Malkon was not in a good mood. He wasn't even in a bad mood. No, what he was experiencing was a furiously ANGRY mood as he looked over the ruin of his castle from his favorite, mostly-intact study chair. The upper portion of the backrest had been sheered off by what looked like a set of very large claws. It would take weeks to fix everything that had been destroyed by that... THING. The arch-demon suppressed a shudder; it had been a near thing, and it was all the more enraging that he had so dismissed the powers of that golem, or whatever it had been. He remembered it vividly... ...Casting the lightning bolt spell at the creation and watching with amazement as the bolt cascaded harmlessly around the metal frame... ...The thing turning towards him, freezing momentarily, as if finding its prey at last, before sending beams of energy laced with chaotic magic! The name most beings used for such magic was Wild, and it played havoc with spells. Malkon remembered this later as dodging the ravenous beams had been of a more immediate priority at the time... ...Having 'scented' him, the thing had dogged him relentlessly in his frantic retreat, sending bolts of energy that tore through his shields like wet paper and trying to disembowel the arch-demon whenever it got the opportunity. His own spells affected it minimally and not for long... ...The chase through the levels of his castle. If he had been watching and not being the one chased Malkon was sure it would have been highly amusing. It wasn't like he could leave his domain, THAT move would have been as disastrous as waiting for the thing to get him as the other arch-demons would relish him being helpless and easy prey... Malkon sourly looked at the doors to this chamber; every one had a large humanoid-shaped hole in them, and that had been done mere seconds after he had slammed them behind himself. He hadn't been that terrified since his first millennium of existence. Then his gaze turned to a sword that laid upon the remarkably untouched table in front of him. The thing had nearly cornered him when he had come across the sword, and for some reason picked it up. Malkon examined the weapon, remembering its 'feel.' It wasn't entirely magical and he hadn't known about it being in that room; it shouldn't have been in his castle at all. No, not quite agical, he thought, it has the taint of Order about it. It certainly proved that to him ,for it had guided his hand with prefect precision to strike the monstrous creation directly into the 'chest' region. The weapon's orderly energies had clashed with the wild forces in the golem, which without a true will of its own had little chance of resisting. The sword had completely assimilated and absorbed the raw power of the metal thing, leaving an empty inanimate shell behind. Where the sword had come from was a mystery to be solved. Even if it had saved him, he disliked hidden allies. Especially one who obviously dealt with Order energy, which was not one of his realms of experience. But where that creation of Wild Magic had come from... THAT being would soon find him/her/itself finding out how angry they had made a certain arch-demon of Hell. Chapter Thirty -------------- After the elf incident, Darlene made the fastest recovery she had made yet, for she had been absolutely correct in her assumption that Priss would tease her mercilessly about that...encounter with Malkon in Kirin's castle. This kept on for over a week until, as Twister, he joined one of the Knight Sabers' meetings. "Priss, I think you can STOP doing that," he said firmly, finally fed up with the amused singer's comments. Priss smirked from her chair. "Why? I thought brides ENJOYED weddings," she said, grinning as he narrowed his eyes angrily. He started to say something, but Sylia interrupted him. "I have to agree with Twister, Priss. However entertaining," she smiled at his long-suffering expression, "it's about time you stopped." "Oh, alright," Priss griped. "Thank you," Sylia said, sighing at the grateful, and overdone, bows Twister was giving her, much to the others' amusement. "Now then, shall we start the meeting?" She paused. "And Twister, sit in a couch or chair, not air." Grinning, Twister unfolded from the crosslegged sitting position he had been levitating in, repressing the impulse to say 'om om om', and plunked down beside Linna on the couch. "Sorry," he said, unrepentant. "All my repressed good humor is arising today." "'Good' humor? From whose point of view?" Priss sniped, but Twister just looked up innocently at the ceiling. "Ahem! Shall we begin?" Sylia repeated with a trace of annoyance, and the two quieted down. Nene, Linna, and Mackie, who had been watching Twister and Priss, smothered laughter and focused their attention on Sylia. "While we have not been hired by anyone, yet, I noticed yesterday that an odd thing has been occurring recently." The others exchanged puzzled looks. "Nene has told me that many personal 55-C Boomers, here and there, started disappearing over a week ago but the disappearances stopped as of the day before yesterday." Nene piped up. "I told Sylia about this on the third day. What's puzzling ADPolice is the manner of their disappearance and how it's being done over such a large area. Almost every sector has reported theft and that's making it impossible to narrow down where they've been taken." "Yes," Sylia agreed, "but another thing started up a day after the Boomer thefts stopped. I've been told that quite a few homeless have also begun disappearing, with no sign of a struggle taking place. The most notable fact is that they all had semi-violent to outright hostile tendencies." "That's weird," Linna observed. "Sylia," Twister said, "how many 55-C's were stolen?" "Nene tells me that over 28 were reported stolen." Priss whistled at the number. "That number may be inaccurate given that some people might not want it known that they had a Boomer and not reported to ADPolice." "That's practically a small army," Twister observed. "Yes, an accurate assumption given that those homeless might also be used as solders, if the right drugs are given," Sylia said darkly. Everyone turned grim when she mentioned that. Mackie stood up, consternation on his face. "Oh, sis, I forgot to bring the data you wanted. It's still in my room so it'll be a few minutes to find it," he said apologetically and Sylia nodded. "Mind if I join you? I've been wanting to ask you about your Highway Star for a while," Twister asked with a smile. "Sure," Mackie said, pleased to have a chance to talk about his creation, and they both left the room. Four pairs of eyes watched them go. "He seems fully recovered," Sylia observed. Priss' snort agreed with her. "I still have a hard time believing all that he can do," Linna sighed, slumping back into the couch. "Darlene's still Darlene," Nene said, frowning at Linna. "She's the same person that we've known for almost two years." "Why do you keep calling Twister, Darlene? That's his female name," Linna asked curiously. Nene huffed, a little red-faced. "She was Darlene when we met, and I'll always think of her as Darlene when she's not in front of me," she said primly. "That's one way of avoiding confusion," Priss said, grinning. "Besides, while he can be a pain, he's been DAMN useful at times. But don't tell him I said that," she warned after a quick glance to the door. "By the way, have you heard him singing while he's Darlene?" "No. Why?" Linna asked. "First time she did my jaw almost hit the floor," Priss confessed, and everyone stared at her. That Priss had admitted THAT meant Darlene must have impressed the hell out of the singer. "Took everything I had not to show it. SHE thought nothing was different, but MAN, she was singing in a completely different way!" "How so?" Sylia asked curiously. "Well, when he sings as Twister he's totally precise about the WAY you sing a song, but he can't seem to put much emotion into it. I admit he learned damned quick but he was missing something." Then Priss exhaled heavily. "However, as DARLENE she wasn't as precise but..." she struggled to express what she knew in words the others would understand, "...the...the FEELING was there, and STRONG. And that's what the more popular singers do; pour what they're feeling into their songs. Like I do," Priss said offhandedly, and no one objected knowing she spoke truth. "It's spooky. After hearing that, I waited until Darlene became Twister again and asked him to sing. And the feeling just wasn't there anymore. He doesn't even REALIZE a damn thing!" she said, frustrated. "As Darlene he DOES feel things more intensely, Priss," Sylia told the singer. "That must be the reason." "It's just plain bizarre," Priss complained. "Sylia!" Twister shouted, catching their attention for he sounded slightly angry. "Could you get everyone down to Mackie's room?" Surprised and puzzled, the four women looked at each other then headed for Mackie's room. When they arrived, they found Twister frowning at one of Mackie's very large posters. Sylia's brother was smiling nervously at his sister and looking like he wanted to be far away from where he was. Sylia walked a little ways into the room while the others looked on from the hallway. "What's the matter, Twister?" "Oh, nothing really," he said in a tone that meant exactly the opposite. "It's just that when I walked in and saw this poster I noticed something odd about the picture." Sylia looked at the poster. It was an image of an old Mandelbrot fractal in full color, but other than that nothing seemed odd about it and she told Twister so. "My senses are slightly more acute, including sight," he explained. "The thing seemed off-color somehow, as if something was interfering with it. I can't explain it better than that. I touched it, and when I removed my finger there appeared to be another image underneath." "Another image?" Sylia wondered, glancing at her brother, suspicion beginning to form. "Of what?" she asked. Twister didn't say a word, he just placed his hand on the poster. After fifteen seconds, a ripple beginning at the hand cascaded outwards and removed what was the image of the fractal, replacing it with another one. The Knight Sabers stared at what was shown. It was Darlene. WITHOUT any clothes on. "I figure this was when you gave me those tests, Sylia. The background was altered, I've NEVER been in THAT bedroom," he said, rather forcefully and not surprising given the room pictured. Then the fractal image came back, obscuring the true picture underneath. All female eyes swivelled to the sweating Mackie. "Mackie," Sylia said ominously, and her brother swallowed. "How did you do this?" "Ah... I have a friend who has access to temperature sensitive plastics. Y'know, like the ones billboards use to change advertisements according to outside weather?" "You better not have done US," Priss said, the glint in her eye shining in Linna and Nene's eyes as well. "Ahem," Twister said, catching their attention. And the three posters he had managed to touch while all eyes were on Mackie revealed the images underneath, backgrounds similarly altered. Nene, Linna, and Priss all flushed at the sight of themselves au naturale, then three pairs of menace-filled eyes swivelled in unison to Mackie, who was backing away nervously. "And, Sylia, there's another one of these posters behind the door," Twister added, smiling grimly as Sylia's icy gaze joined her fellow Knight Sabers. Her brother gulped, fearing what was to come. Roasting time. Mackie marshmallows tonight. AN HOUR LATER... "Can you BELIEVE that Mackie?" Darlene growled as she, Linna, and Nene walked downtown after the meeting. "I mean... REALLY!" Linna and Nene exchanged surprised and amused looks. The contrast between Twister's initial chilly anger and Darlene's current exasperated state was almost hilarious. They had all opted to wait a few days before doling out Mackie's punishment. Anticipation torture. Sylia's younger brother had paled when Twister offered to help any of the others with their ideas; the young scientist-mechanic knew all about the powers the half-psionist/half-mage had at his command and, even worse, Twister's sense of humor. "Actually, we should have expected something like that," Linna sighed. Darlene snorted, then smiled an evil smile. "But what to do about it? That's the problem; too many choices," she mock-sighed. "You won't do anything... permanent, will you?" Nene said, hesitantly. "You mean like turning him into a pillar of salt?" Darlene inquired, then waved her hands frantically in denial when they turned appalled looks at her. "I'm kidding! Kidding! Jeez! I'm more the non-lasting type of punishment person." She chuckled at their relieved expressions. "What are you two going to do?" "I don't know," Nene admitted. "I need a little time." Linna wasn't as unsure. "I'm thinking of giving him a few free aerobics lessons..." "THAT'S punishment?" Nene and Darlene chorused incredulously "...in one of my one-hour long ADVANCED aerobics classes," Linna finished. "He'll be SO sore by the end of the third day..." They all laughed at the image that produced. Then they were interrupted. "R-Ranma?" a voice stammered directly ahead of the three. Darlene froze when she heard, and saw, the person who had spoken. The trio had reached a corner of an intersection, but the person who had spoken had almost reached their side of the crosswalk before halting. Linna and Nene had walked a step or two forwards before realizing that their friend had stopped and was staring at the stranger on the street. The young man looked like he had been travelling for he looked dusty and was carrying a backpack on his back, an old style umbrella attached on top. Both women noticed he was attractively good-looking, and the bandanna wrapped around his black hair only helped this image. He appeared very surprised, and angry. Darlene was not just surprised, she was shocked beyond belief. "R-Ryouga?!?!" she said as she backed up towards the corner of the building behind her. "H-How did...?" Indeed it was Ryouga, impossible as it was, and in a very frustrated mood, not helped by mistakenly thinking he saw his rival. "Raaaaannnmmmaaa! Prepare to die!" he shouted, whipping out his umbrella as he prepared to strike. Pedestrians gathering around him looked on with mixed disbelief and amusement seeing the ridiculous-seeming weapon. Linna and Nene were wondering how Darlene knew this guy, until they remembered that Darlene had mentioned the name Ryouga before, but that was someone who was supposed to be in another universe entirely. "Wait!" Darlene cried frantically, waving her hands in denial. "I'm not..." She wasn't able to finish as Ryouga leaped towards his foe, making her dodge so as to not get hit with the umbrella that was extended. The innocent-looking weapon smashed into the corner of the building that Darlene had been standing in front of, leaving a sizable crater in the concrete and drastically changing people's minds about its effectiveness. "Ryouga, stop!" Darlene did a very dumb thing and stepped close to the angry martial artist. "I'm not Ranma!" she said. "Shut up!" Ryouga bellowed and launched a fist at the red-head. Who didn't dodge, as Ranma would've. Instead, she used both hands to block the incoming blow, digging into and ruining the cement sidewalk as she was forced backwards, wincing at the pain in her wrists. Darlene took advantage of Ryouga's confusion while keeping a grip on the other's fist. "I'm NOT Ranma, Ryouga!" she said again. "Who ELSE looks like Ranma? Remember?" she stressed the last word. The bandanna-wearing martial artist blinked, and finally noticed the lack of a ponytail in the young woman's hair. There was only one other he knew personally that had Ranma's cursed form and that was... "Twister?" he said, confused. "Shh! Use Darlene," Darlene hissed, shushing him quickly. "Yes, you idiot! Can't you TALK first before attacking someone?" Ryouga flushed with embarrassment. "Now I've got to get you out of here, c'mon!" she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him along. When she reached a confused Linna and Nene, she muttered a quick "Let's go." before walking by them, Ryouga in tow. Confused, Linna and Nene looked at each other, then hurried after the other two. Darlene refused to say a word until they all got to her store and went upstairs. After using warm water, which made Ryouga relax, Twister sighed. "You, Ryouga, are the only person I know who could do this. How long have you been here?" "Where IS here?" the eternally lost boy demanded as Linna and Nene decided to take sit down, curious as to what was going on. "Mega-Tokyo. And no, I don't mean Tokyo." Twister paused. "Ryouga, you're in another UNIVERSE." It took a moment to sink in. "Another... universe?" Ryouga said faintly. "Yes, I've been here almost two years now, but I don't think you have. When did you last see Akane? Or Akari for that matter." "A few weeks ago. What do you mean by 'another universe'??" "As in a different Earth is what I mean. THIS Japan isn't the Japan we left, and time can act oddly between two universes. Like I said, I've been here almost two years, but somehow you managed to follow me by entering this universe sometime after leaving the dojo, maybe almost the same time I left you did but arrived later." Twister ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "That's my best guess anyhow." "Can you send us back?" the bandanna-wearing martial artist asked plaintively. "I've been working on it off and on. If I increase my efforts I think I can in around a month." He didn't miss Ryouga's look of dismay. "I'm sorry, but that's as soon as I can make it, I hope, but while you're here... Ladies?" Twister inquired, Linna and Nene perked up as Ryouga registered their presence at last. "Ryouga Hibiki, meet Linna Yamasaki and Nene Romanova, two good friends of mine who know a lot about me." "Hello!" "Welcome to Mega-Tokyo." "Ah... Hi," the bandanna wearing young man said, slightly red-faced and bashful at the two women's curious examination of himself. Twister frowned at another thought. "Now, where should you stay while you're here?" he murmured. "Say," Linna asked intently, staring at Ryouga intently. "You're a pretty good martial artist, aren't you?" "Ah... Sorta," he replied, laughing a little and scratching his head. She smiled, and both Nene and Twister recognized the particular smile the black-haired aerobics teacher wore, one that appeared too often when faced with a member of human males. Standing up briskly, Linna came within a foot of the suddenly nervous and flushed Ryouga. "I'll gladly volunteer to show you around," she purred as Nene watched behind her, annoyed. Twister put a hand on his face, resigned at Linna's predictable behaviour. She fingered her own headband, and said, "Maybe I should change this to match..." Ryouga eyes brightened, and he also started sweating a lot more from an internal conflict. She's cute, he thought dreamily, but Akane... Akari... Resigned to watching this, Twister observed Ryouga's predictable indecision and shook his head sadly. Chapter Thirty-One ================== TWO WEEKS LATER... A laboratory, secretly prepared and set up with some of the most advanced equipment on the planet, started the next upheaval in the lives of the Knight Sabers and Twister. And it began with a familiar voice, one they knew well, even if they had only heard it for one night. "Our preparations are complete. Let the first move be made." The two in front of him nodded, then walked away. "Soon..." he murmured. And started to laugh. "AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!" Linna and Ryouga stopped practicing at the scream of frustration that came from the red-headed, cross-legged figure a short distance away from their mat. Linna was the one practicing really, Ryouga was teaching her as a means to pass the time and out of a growing friendship between the two. That friendship was a constant source of amazement for Linna's closest friends who knew her boyfriends never lasted more than two weeks. Of course, Ryouga never really fell into that category, even after two weeks of Linna helping him around Mega-Tokyo, she keeping close tabs on the eternal lost boy after losing him one day in a shopping mall and taking three hours to track him down. Linna had tried to take things a little further, but Ryouga was so indecisive she withdrew, finally fed up, and instead asked him to teach her some of his moves, and that calmed the fanged young man's nervousness down. Darlene was puzzled and a little hurt that her friend hadn't asked her first, until Linna confessed that she had thought their long friendship might affect training. So now Ryouga had settled into being Linna's sensei while Darlene worked on getting a trans-universal spell working. The mage's scream didn't exactly indicate positive progress. "Trouble?" Linna asked, a slight grin hovering on her lips. The red-head didn't turn around, but her hands were thrown up furiously. "No! I always yell out at the top of my lungs just for the hell of it!" she shouted angrily, not bothering to loom at them. Linna shook her head, amused. Nene walked in from the entrance to the large cavern, annoyed. She had been working on the cavern's large computer when she had heard the scream. "Darlene again?" she asked disgustedly. "Who else?" Linna sighed. Nene pursed her lips and a determined look appeared on her face as she strode towards the now-muttering mage. Walking around the seated figure and glaring down at her friend, Nene loudly said, "Hey!" Startled, Darlene jerked her head up to stare at her strangely resolute friend. "Nene? What..." The ADPolice officer interrupted her. "Darlene, for the last WEEK you've been getting more and more moody ever since you started running into problems with that stupid spell of yours." The other tried to speak up, but Nene pointed an accusing finger at the red-head, making Darlene's eyes cross as she tried to focus on the digit. "Oh, no! No excuses! Everybody's had enough of your bad temper! YOU are going to forget about that spell until you get back to normal and WE will make sure you do so! Am I getting through that hard head?" "Hard head?" Darlene protested, but Nene was unwavering in her stare and she soon gave in. "Okay, okay! I'll stop. Enough with the laser look already." "Good!" Nene grinned impishly as she watched her friend stiffly stand up. "Come on, let's get going." "Going? Going where?" "A party, silly." "Party?" Linna thought she remembered something mentioned a long time ago, and then it hit her. "Nene, you don't mean THAT..." "...party? Of course!" Nene quickly finished. "Priss got the invitations ready a long time ago and today's the date it's on." "I see I'm outnumbered again," Darlene sighed, giving the two of them a small glower. "Just a moment, I have to do something before we leave." She left normally through the hangar's only entrance. Linna came up to Nene and whispered, "You're not going to get her drunk like we had planned, are you?" "Of course not!" Nene indignantly protested. "Not now. Well, maybe a little bit if she won't loosen up," she mused thoughtfully. "How about not at all, idiot," Linna whispered firmly. To Nene's startled look she replied, "Do you WANT a drunk mage who isn't experienced at being bombed?" That reminder made the red-head pale a little. "Oh, yeah. I guess not then," she said sheepishly. Ryouga, who had stayed in the background, hesitantly said, "Ah... Should we continue, Linna?" "Sure, no problem," she said brightly, turning away from Nene. "Did you want to start with that shishi houkoudan you mentioned?" Ryouga balked a bit but reluctantly nodded. "Great!" she said, and meant it. But Ryouga had to add one important point, forgetting his nervousness as he shifted into full-sensei mode again. "However, the Shishi Houkoudan uses heavy emotions like depression to fuel it. You're not that type of person, but Ranma found a different way that uses confidence and that would be more your style." He shrugged. "There's only a very small difference so if you know one you can figure out the other." "Confidence?" Linna mused aloud as she thought about it, then smiled. "I like the sound of it." That figures, Nene impishly thought to herself, and hid her grin behind a hand. That evening, after parking their transportation and following Priss to the party's location, they arrived at the entrance. A set of stairs led up to a large and expensive-looking club's door where a line of flashily-dressed people stood. Darlene gaped up at the club's entrance. "YOU know this guy, Priss?" she demanded incredulously for she couldn't believe someone PRISS knew could afford renting a place like THIS for the night. Behind her, Ryouga, who was nervously escorting Linna, silently agreed. "Hey, I know the guy's friend." She grinned down at the slightly stunned red-head. "Close enough." "How close would that be?" Darlene innocently asked the singer, smiling impishly. Beside Priss, Nene giggled at the incoherent growl her brown-haired friend made in reply. Sadly, Sylvie and Anri had declined to come, fearing that their sexaroid bodies might attract undue attention. "Come on," the singer said irritably, striding ahead. Nene and Darlene followed, both grinning, with Ryouga and Linna behind them. The two Boomers who were acting as bouncers stopped Priss' momentum momentarily until she identified herself and the others. There was a bit of trouble with getting Ryouga in, which might have turned bad(for him or the Boomers was debateable), but Linna proclaimed that he was her escort and they grudgingly let the group inside. It was almost wall-to-wall people and the five made slow progress inside the rented nightclub. Suddenly, a tall, thin, white-haired male about Priss' age with a blue streak of color in his long mane appeared in front of Priss and smiled energetically when he recognized the brown-haired singer. "Hey, Priss! Long time no see!" he cried out, slapping a hand on one of her shoulders. "Nice set-up my buddy got together, hey?" "Hey, White." Priss smiled back and looked around at the crowd. "Yeah, it sure is. Thanks for getting us in." "No sweat," he said dismissively, then White saw who had come in with her and whistled. "I should've figured your friends would be nice but I didn't think they'd be THIS nice." The three females reddened while Ryouga frowned. "And TWO red-heads yet! I'd better check to make sure all the fire extinguishers are working." Nene and Darlene blushed even harder. "You've got to introduce me, Priss, I'm dying here," the man mock-griped. Priss grinned. "That's no surprise. Everybody, this is White-N-Blue, call him White, and if he has another name I haven't heard it. White, these are my friends Linna, Nene, Darlene, and, Linna's date for the night, Ryouga." White opened his arms wide with a grin. "Welcome to the party. Hey, cool headband and getup," he commented approvingly to Ryouga. "Unfortunately, I gotta go. I'll be back later but have a real time till I get back, then we'll really get swinging!" After a sly look at the two red-heads, he added, "Try out the punch, it's great!" That said, he disappeared into the crowd. "Hentai," Priss muttered softly; White obviously knew it was spiked. "I'm hungry. Where's the food?" Nene whined. Darlene hopped slightly and spied the refreshments along one wall. "Found it! It's on the far side of the room." "Well, c'mon then! I'm starved!" Nene almost dragged Darlene along as they set out for their objective and quickly vanished into the throng. Priss sighed, disgusted. "That's Nene for you." Now she in her turn looked around for something else entirely. "Where's the dance floor?" Linna craned her neck and pointed in a seemingly random direction. "Over there, I think." Smiling she tugged on Ryouga's arm. "Shall we?" "Bu-bu-but I don't know how to dance!" he protested, face paling. "Who dances?" said Priss with a grin. "You just rock. Let's go!" And together they brought the nervous martial artist along with them. "Oh, wow!" Wide-eyed, Nene scanned the deserts and dainties that covered most of a table. "This is great! What should I get? It all looks so good." She glanced at Darlene inquiringly, then did a double take. "Mmm... Try a little of each?" Darlene said with a grin as she casually held a plate that almost overflowed with cake and sweets. Nene was stunned. "Wha...? When did you...?" She gathered herself and glared at Darlene who stepped beside her, popping a round sweet into her mouth. "You did that just to annoy me," she accused. "Hey, you're the one who complains about her waist," Darlene pointed out. "Just reminding you, that's all." "I have control!" Nene protested, then weakened a bit as Darlene knowingly looked at the table then her. "I do," she said more feebly. Darlene sighed. "Losing battle," she remarked, then stiffened. Nene's eyes widened in shock as she too felt something grip her behind. "Hey, girls," a male, confident sounding voice came from behind them. "Do you want to party with me for a while?" Darlene's reply was in a normal volume, but with a tone of you-are- about-to-become-charcoal-and-I-don't-mean-my-dragon very much present, "Lose the hand, asshole, or else." The voice grew amused, "Or else what? My hands feel VERY comfortable where they are." He squeezed making Nene squeak indignantly. Darlene's eyes narrowed in anger. Ryouga paused in the middle of a step. Exhilarated from the dancing, Linna panted, "What is it?" "I thought I heard something." "In THIS?" she said incredulously. He listened, then shook his head. "Must be imagining it." "Do some more of those martial arts flips!" she demanded with a smile. Ryouga blushed, embarrassed, as the crowd around him echoed her loudly. The area around the refreshments was stunned into silence as people stared at the overturned table and the pair of feet that protruded from behind it. Slowly, Nene turned her wide-eyed stare from the display to Darlene, who was straightening from the position her throw had placed her in. Miraculously, she still held her undisturbed plate in one hand. "I did warn him," she said, piqued. "But did you have to toss him into the FOOD?!" Nene demanded, recovering from the shock. Darlene shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. "Honestly!" she huffed. "Um... Well, I still have this," Darlene said, displaying the plate she still held. "Let's go get something to drink." Eyeing the tempting plate, Nene decided. "Oh, all right." She made a face at the destroyed table "Bleah!" before they both walked away. There was a groan from behind the table in reply, and one foot twitched. The table with all the non-alcoholic beverages was only a little ways off and had two attendants giving people what they requested. The pair, one male and one female, welcomed the red-heads. The blonde female attendant was grinning after another look at where the unfortunate table had been overturned. "Couldn't have happened to anyone better. Nice job," she congratulated Darlene, who reddened. The woman chuckled. "Oh, don't be embarrassed. He's been doing that all night, and with this assorted crowd it was bound to happen sooner or later." The black-haired male chortled. "Yeah, but what a waste of good food." After giving her partner a grin, the blonde said, "What would you like to drink? Punch? Tossing perverts around is thirsty work." Knowing that the punch was spiked, Nene began, "Um... we'd..." "Sure," Darlene said, not seeing Nene's suddenly panicked expression behind her. Before Nene could say nay, the smiling blonde held out two glasses filled with pink-yellow liquid from the extremely large punch bowl on the table. "Here you go!" Darlene accepted one with a smile, Nene with a sickly expression. Darlene sipped from the cup, and her eyes widened a few seconds later. "Whoa!" The two attendants exchanged nervous looks, and the woman inquired, "Anything wrong?" The red-head shook her head. "No, no. I... This punch just has a wicked aftertaste, that's all." Darlene considered the flavor. "Not bad actually." "Aftertaste?" Nene said curiously and took a large sip from her own glass. She blinked in confusion. "I don't taste anything odd." Darlene drank a larger amount to better judge the taste. "It's sort of an intense pepperminty-cherry flavor. You sure you can't taste it?" Nene shook her head. The two behind the table withdrew a little. "That's what the alcohol taste-nullifier is supposed to be like," the blonde whispered. "But only in concentrated form! How can she taste it when it's diluted as much as it is?!" her companion in mischief objected. "I guess she has really good taste buds." She shrugged. "It happens." Meanwhile, Darlene had emptied her glass trying to isolate the elusive tang. She held out her glass with a smile. "Strange taste, but I like it. Kinda grows on you." The blonde blinked, but accepted the glass automatically. Strange, she thought, the punch is so spiked this girl should be feeling it by now. Must have a high tolerance for alcohol. The blonde smiled back as she filled the glass again. I wonder how high? she mused curiously. From her position behind Darlene, Nene's face was flushed, having finished her own glass. Her own tolerance wasn't nearly as high as her friend's. Good punch, she thought a little blearily, I guess one more shouldn't hurt. "I'll have one too," she said a little unsteadily, but firmly holding out her own glass. Seeing her state, the black-haired male merely smiled and re-filled it without a word. "Quite the gathering," Daley shouted to his partner as they weaved their way through the crowd. The two had been ordered to stop by this club and do some things before their shift ended. Leon grinned back at him, then sighed. "Yeah, too bad we're on duty." He stopped and looked around as his red-haired partner caught up to him. "Where do you think they have it? Nevermind, I see it. Come on." The pair started pushing through the crowd again. But as they neared their goal, Leon saw two familiar women standing by the table the officers were heading for and immediately stopped. Daley looked back, startled. "What's up?" he asked. Leon stared at two red-headed figures by the table. "Isn't that Nene and Darlene?" the brown-haired ADPoliceman said, a feeling of dread beginning to make itself known in his stomach as Daley whipped his head around to check. Leon's partner frowned thoughtfully. "Looks like them alright. They seem to be leaving though," he commented. With some concern in his voice, he said, "You think they drank a lot?" "Darlene's the one to worry about, but fortunately she has a high tolerance to alcohol," Leon replied, more to reassure himself than Daley. "We'd better make sure. Let's go." When the two officers reached the table, they flipped out their ID's to the much-surprised punch servers. Leon said, "ADPolice. I'm sorry but the substance you're using is not on the approved list of safe chemical additives yet so I'm afraid you'll have to stop serving your spiked punch." "Oh, damn," the blonde said disgustedly. "I had a feeling this would happen." "Say," Daley asked the attendants, "how much punch did the two red- haired girls who just left have? It's important." The woman blinked, surprised. "Really? Well, the green-eyed one had two glasses and was starting to look pretty tipsy." Leon leaned forward anxiously. "And the other?" The blonde shook her head in remembered disbelief. "TEN, if you can believe that! I was wondering WHEN she would start acting drunk and that was at number five. She's a head shorter than me and I would've been on the floor by then," she said admiringly. "The punch is pretty heavily spiked to test the secret ingredient you know." She took a look at their somewhat-panicked expressions. "What's wrong with that?" she asked. Leon laughed a little, hiding his concern. "Nothing! Nothing at all. We just thought we knew those two, that's all. Just stop serving punch; someone else will come for it later. Come on, Daley," he said, leaving the slightly confused attendant behind. "This is Not Good, Leon," Daley said as they plunged into the crowd again, rapidly scanning the mob for the two girls. "We'd better find them fast before anything happens." "No shit," Leon replied. "The last thing I want is another Elf-like incident." Suddenly, Leon smacked a fist into a palm in realization. "Wait a minute! Why would those two be here alone? This party is more Priss' style. She MUST have come with them. AND I have a better idea of where to find HER, then she can help us find THEM. Let's go!" Leon started ahead once more, forcing Daley to hurry to stay behind him. "Go where, Leon?" Leon turned his head, showing his grin. "Just follow the music!" Chapter Thirty-Two ================== Darlene heaved a sigh. "Are you dooonne yet, Nene?" she asked for what seemed the quintillionth time. "Almost," was the reply from the stall. The red-head sighed again; even being in female form and her current drunken state, she was still uncomfortable in the ladies room. But Nene had had to go, and, as she had been unable to walk very far at the time, had needed the mage's support. Darlene wasn't feeling very steady herself, and not just a little giddy. The closest thing to what she felt like now was drunk, but that was impossible; she hadn't even had one alcoholic beverage tonight. She giggled a little for no reason. Finally, Nene's stall opened and the silly grin the ADPolice officer wore did nothing to alleviate the giggle fit. "Sorry, had trouble with my skirt," she apologized, giggling. "Why? What was the trouble?" Nene broke out laughing. "It was on the floor!" Darlene joined in when she heard the joke. Two other women over by the mirrors who were checking their make-up looked at each other and struggled not to break out laughing themselves. Not because of the drunken joke but rather the sight of the two diminutive red-heads laughing over something only drunks could find funny. Both of the cute-looking girls seemed at a point somewhere in the middle of being buzzed or unconscious. They were hilarious. "Aren't you gonna go in?" Nene asked Darlene, but the other shook her head. "Nope!" she declared proudly. "Don't need to. Takes a looong while for me now." She snickered at the dirty look her friend gave her. Then Darlene lowered her voice, and whispered to Nene conspiratorially, "Tell you something else though." The red-head leaned forward, eyes bright with curiosity. "What's that?" Darlene didn't say anything, but smiled mysteriously and unbuttoned her blouse a little to open it up. Nene gasped in surprise. "A BRA?!" The two women who were leaving rolled their eyes, exasperated by the ongoing clothing humour, not knowing the real reason for Nene's shock. The owner of the fantasy store never wore a bra, her breasts were pretty firm and didn't move much unless the red-head moved too quickly, also wearing thick blouses, but the real reason was because of her transformations between sexes. "Why?" Nene asked curiously, fascinated by this oddity. "Well heck! If you go to a party you dance, and dancing would bounce these things around too much," Darlene complained. "Sometimes I wish Ranma's female form hadn't been so well-endowed." Me too, Nene thought enviously. "If I do change, it becomes a muscle shirt, and vice-versa. Neat, huh?" She hopped and considered. "The support IS nice," she mused, if a little guiltily. Nene ignored it completely, caught up as she was in a sudden vision of being a princess in a magical land. She sighed sorrowfully. "I wish I was a princess," she said wistfully. If their friends had been in the washroom they would have felt a sudden sinking sensation at those words as Darlene perked up on hearing them. "Let's pretend!" the mage exclaimed, and Nene blinked at her friend. "What?" "You be the princess, and I'll be your faithful court wizard," Darlene bubbled in her excitement. "It'll be easy!" "Really?" Nene said, getting excited as well, then frowned. "But what about a court?" To that, Darlene smiled impishly. "Let's work on us first, then we go to the party, I mean court, OUTSIDE." Nene's eyes widened in realization at all the people outside the washroom and her excitement welled up once more. "Do we do it?" she said, bouncing on her toes in front of a grinning Darlene. "YES!!" they chorused, and broke up giggling. Leon and Daley had found Priss shouting criticisms at the band, and after explaining their appearance and concerned looks, went off to find Linna. They found her and Ryouga on the dance floor. Ryouga having lost his embarrassment at last, though it still surfaced from time to time. Linna was surprised at the three's arrival, her bandanna-wearing escort stopped as well and came up beside her. "Priss, what's wrong?" she asked, noting the singer's expression. "Nene goofed up, that's what," the singer replied, agitated. Leon spoke up. "Daley and I saw them leaving the table with the spiked punch. We asked and apparently Darlene had drank TEN glasses of the stuff." Linna paled. "Oh no! Do you know where they went?" she asked, but the question soon became irrelevant for gasps and intermittent shrieks from one side of the crowded room advertised the fact that something was up. Then what seemed to be a visual shiver passed over the five on the dance floor, leaving them, and everyone else in the club, with an apparently radically altered set of clothing; the reason for the previous startlement of the far side of the crowd as they had been the first to be hit. Linna looked down and saw a beautiful green dress, cut in a medieval style and with a slightly below average neckline. If she had possessed a mirror she would have seen her hair was longer and held by an ornate tiara embedded with emeralds. Beside her, Ryouga stared at the changes made to her attire and quickly looked down at himself, but found to his relief that his normal clothes hadn't been altered. Priss stared at her fellow Knight Saber as well before jerking her eyes down to herself, and didn't like what she saw one bit. Feet to fingertips, the singer was dressed in deep red leather. Hugging skin close to her body, the leather pants she saw appeared laced up the sides while her 'shirt' was something that covered her back completely but laced up the front, showing a bit too much cleavage for her liking. Leather gloves protected her hands and arms up to just beyond her elbows, tall boots on her feet did the same for her legs. As with Linna, Priss' hair had changed but tied into a short ponytail. Normally, Priss LIKED leather, her biking outfit was made of leather, but not THIS way. For God's sake, there was even a belt with a frigging SWORD to complete the damn outfit! The two detectives saw the two women, then looked at themselves. Daley had on a loose, silk shirt with billowy sleeves along with a pair of matching pants that fit rather close. Along with delicate-seeming shoes, white gloves, and a circular, purple-colored cloth hat, the red-haired officer was dressed like a classic court fop, with a rapier buckled casually around the waist. Leon was dressed in similar style to Priss, but in a masculine way and a little more armoured. Black leather, along with thicker bucklers of the same material reenforced by metal, was what his outfit was made of. His sword was more massive in its sheath and his gloves were gauntlets. Their clothing hadn't actually changed, Darlene hadn't had enough concentration to alter a room's worth of clothing, but the mass visual illusion she HAD done was impressive in its results and extended to the entire party, creating a excited murmur that covered the stunned five's conversation. "Wha-What's this?!" Linna stammered as she finally spoke up, snapping out of her stunned state. "How come I can still feel my old clothes when I'm wearing THIS?!" Priss checked patted her arms and legs and sighed in relief when she too felt her clothes were unchanged. "A hallucination?" Daley queried Leon as he admired the getup he found himself apparently wearing. "More like illusion if Darlene's involved," Leon said absently. Daley wondered why until he saw his partner hungrily examining Priss' revealing getup. So did she. "Leoooon...." she started threateningly, holding up a fist and advancing. The officer backed away quickly, holding up his gauntleted hands in surrender, and feeling very glad that the sword at her side was an illusion. "Ha ha ha! Right!" he declared, turning resolutely and hoping she wouldn't punch him. "We've got to find those two before they do anything else." Priss eyed him sceptically, but reluctantly turned away to look for the missing duo. "THERE you guys are!" exclaimed Nene's excited voice. "Finally found you!" she said as she glided through the crowd into view. Literally: she was floating an inch above the floor. The ADPolice red-head wore an outrageously fanciful, fairy-tale princess-style dress. The wide bell-shape of her gown was so white it hurt the eyes, making detail was impossible to see. Luminous white silk gloves covered her hands and an extravagantly expensive necklace was around her graceful neck. "Told you, Darlene. Ah!" she exclaimed and corrected herself. "I mean, court wizard, we have found them!" "Certainly, your highness," Darlene said with a giggle as she stepped around the grinning Nene. Her outfit was the most disturbing of all; she appeared to be wearing a dress of some kind, purple of course, but everything was obscured by a long cloak that concealed whatever she wore underneath and had a high collar that framed the mage's face and hair. The disturbing part was the color of the cloak: there was none. That is, the cloak kept shifting into one eye-wrenching pattern before moving on to another just as wrenching. She held two glasses of punch in her hand and was sipping out of one of them. Ever so subtle, Priss shouted at them. "What the hell are you two doing?!?! Get rid of this stupid spell! For crying out loud, do you WANT to get caught??" "Aw, Priss, don't be a spoilsport," Darlene said, pouting. Then she brightened and held out the glass she hadn't touched yet. "Here, have some punch." Frowning, the singer took the offered drink as she tried to frame a reply, but the magic-user had already turned to Nene. "What else do we need, your Highness?" she said with a giggle. Nene furrowed her brow in concentration, then smiled. "We need a prince!" she exclaimed. "One in an enchanted sleep?" Nene looked dubious. "I dunno. Isn't that a princess' duty?" "Eh, equal rights," Darlene said, waving her hand dismissively. "Let the prince do it for a change." Nene smiled and nodded approvingly. "Okay!" "Soooo...." Darlene drawled out, then whirled around to smile merrily at Leon and Daley, startling them. "I guess we've got two volunteers right HERE!" Leon backed up a step at the look in her eyes. "Ah... hey now, Darlene, don't do anything hasty now. Just..." "DEEP SLEEP!" Darlene cried gleefully, pointing at the two ADPolice officers. The two word rhyme was sufficient to cast a sleep spell which washed over the two hapless officers. "Don't...." Daley began but lost the battle with his eyes and fell asleep, Leon a moment later. Priss, fumbling with her drink, caught the brown-haired officer while Ryouga grabbed Daley. They laid the luckless officers gently on the ground while Nene clapped heartily. "Neat!" she chirped. "Nene!" Linna protested, and the red-head became downcast at the angry look on her friend's face. "This isn't funny! Stop it! You too, Darlene!" she said, turning to the grinning mage who then mirrored Nene's crestfallen look when she saw how angry Linna was. "You're both drunk and behaving like children! Darlene, get rid of all these spells, now!" she demanded but the red-haired mage scowled. "Am NOT drunk! Only had punch! See?" she declared and drank the rest of her glass in a gulp. "I'm just..." Darlene started weaving unsteadily, "...finnnnneeee...." Her eyes rolled up and Linna had to catch her before she hit the floor. "Too much, too fast, and it finally caught up to her," Priss said with a resigned sigh, looking over the three unconscious bodies. "NOW what do we do?" "I..." Linna began to say, but stopped, startled, when Nene's princess illusion vanished and her regular clothes revealed themselves. The red-head was disappointed, but the others were relieved. "Looks like the illusions won't last long, thank goodness." She plucked at her own illusionary dress. "Though I may ask her for a real one sometime." Priss snorted. "Thanks, but I'll pass." She looked around at the excited crowd around her, the court getup was being greeted as a harmless, hi-tech prank and most people were taking the whole thing in stride, enjoying the masquerade while it lasted. Figures. "We'd better leave." She looked wryly down at the blissfully oblivious Leon. "And take the 'sleeping beauties' along." "What will we do? We all came in my van. They won't fit," Linna said worriedly. Priss dismissed the worry and waved at the ADPolice officers on the ground. "They must've brought their car. I'll drop Darlene off, then dump them at their place and take a bus home." "Awww...." Nene whined. "Can't we stay longer?" She hiccupped. "No," Linna said firmly, grabbing her red-headed friend's hand firmly. "Let's go home, Nene. Ryouga, could you pick up Leon and Daley?" He nodded and bent to gather up the two fallen men. "Thanks. Priss should be able to manage Darlene." She sighed as they started to leave. What a night! Priss parked the police car by Darlene's place, she had just gotten the unconscious Darlene in by the first story door when she realized a flaw in her plan. "Oh, man!" she exclaimed out loud to no one as she realized something. "How am I going to get the other two into their place? It's hard enough with Darlene." She sighed, tired, as she managed to open the door for the staircase to Darlene's second story home. "Guess I'll manage," she grunted. When she reached the top, still holding the out of it red-head, she was rewarded with a shock. Outstretched on the floor were Daley and Leon. "HUH?!?!?!?" A chirp to the side attracted her attention, and she nearly cried aloud again. It was Darlene's dragon Charcoal in it's miniature form, sitting on one of the couches with its wings outstretched. It chirped again before vanishing in a small puff of flame. "The damn dragon heard me," Priss said incredulously. "But it got the WRONG place! Argh! Now what do I do?!" she demanded. Holding Darlene wasn't easy so she took the unconscious mage to the mage's bedroom and put her on the bed. The singer stretched her arms, grateful to be rid of the weight. Putting a hand on her head, Priss wondered what to do. There was no way she was going to drag the two officers back down the stairs, so she supposed they might as well stay here. She started to turn away, but then an idea struck. A good idea. No. This was an EVIL idea. A full-blown grin grew on Priss' face as she looked at Darlene's still form. Oh, this was just too good, she thought. Should she do it? A chuckle escaped her. You BET! But first... Priss quickly left the room and headed down the hall again. She needed one little thing which she knew the red-head had. Chapter Thirty-Three ==================== The first thing Leon discovered upon slowly gaining awareness of his surroundings was that most of his clothes were off and that he was in a bed. Unfortunately, by the feel of the silky-soft covers on his skin, it was not HIS bed. This was not necessarily a bad thing. Nevertheless, he carefully opened his eyes, wondering where he was as his last memory ended at the party last night. And saw Darlene's peacefully sleeping face right beside him. His immediate first thought was: Did we?? Considering who slept beside him, in what was most likely her bed, his next thought was: How is SHE going to react? The answer to both was: leave and find out LATER. Leon tried ease himself out of the bed, but saw that it would be difficult as he was positioned on the side of the bed against the wall and would have to crawl over the dozing mage to escape. Shifting his legs under the covers, he brushed Darlene with one of his knees and discovered with a bit of nervousness that she was wearing even less than he was. Nothing. Wait... Something...sticky?...was on his leg from the brush with Darlene? He slid his hand under the covers to feel what was on his leg. Yes, something sticky all right...no, impossible. Cautiously, he lifted his hand and examined the clear substance in the morning light. It didn't quite look like what he hoped it wasn't. He sniffed cautiously, then more deeply to make sure and blinked in surprise. HONEY???? What the Hell...? he thought in astonishment. Then he began to get suspicious; he and Darlene in bed together, which was probably impossible for them to have done so by themselves considering what happened last night; Darlene having a sticky substance in an embarrassing position; and Priss had been present last night at the party. NOW things were beginning to make sense. All TOO much sense as he knew something about Priss and Darlene's jokes on each other. Now more than ever he had better get out of... Darlene's eyelids twitched. Leon's stomach sank as he watched her eyes slowly open, then snap all the way up in shock when she focused on the now-sickly smiling Leon. "AH!!! WHAT?!?!" she screamed aloud, recoiling from him, then blinked again in shock when she noticed that she wasn't wearing anything underneath the sheets, and instinctively covered herself more fully with the bedsheets. Before Leon could say anything she discovered the third and greatest shock, and turned pale. She shifted her legs underneath the covers a little, confirmed it, and went from pale to sheet white. Leon tried to reassure her. "Ah... Darlene... It's not what you think..." His voice died as she focused on him once more, after a moment her face started to return to a normal color and her eyes relaxed. So did he. "Leon..." she began conversationally, considering the ADPoliceman in her bed. He, in turn, was getting nervous again; she was taking this far too well, he realized. "Ah, yes?" She smiled at him. "PREPARE TO DIE!!!!!" she roared furiously, eyes blazing, and a fist, glowing brightly with ki but Leon didn't know about that part of her fighting skills, rocketed towards his head. Leon missed being hit by half a centimetre as his reflexes threw him out of the bed, years of dodging Boomers paying off. The wall where the fist landed wasn't so lucky and with a loud explosion a new hole was created in it. From the floor, Leon stared at where the fist had struck until Darlene slowly turned her enraged gaze in his direction again. He leaped up, adrenaline flowing, and sprinted for the doorway, mentally cursing Priss for trying to kill him; the only time he'd seen the red-headed mage madder was the Elf episode, and not by much. Somehow, he didn't think staying and talking was a wise idea. Priss, who had stayed, and Daley, whom she had placed on the couch, woke up because of Darlene's enraged shout and even more alertly when the explosion happened. Priss leaped up in a half-asleep combat-mode and rushed to the hallway just in time to see Leon slam the bedroom door shut and lean on it heavily as he collected his wits. The singer then remembered her little prank and grinned broadly. "Sleeping arrangements not to your liking, Leon?" she said with a smirk, Daley walked up to stand behind Priss, wondering what was going on. "For God's sake, Priss!" Leon said in an angry and panicked way as he glared at her, wearing only his boxers. "This is NOT funny!" "It sure looks like..." CRACK! Leon's gaze shot down and he paled as he saw the sharp sword thrusting out from the door just below him, positioned between his spread legs, Priss and Daley gaped. He moved frantically out of the way before the blade shot cruelly up, carving a path through the door where Leon's neither region had been. "Clothes!" Leon demanded, and raced for the pile Priss numbly pointed to. Daley was about to ask him what was going on when the bedroom door exploded outwards and tumbled to the floor in tiny pieces. The red-head felt running away and letting Priss cool the obviously very angry Darlene down was the better part of valor. After grabbing the car keys when Priss hurriedly offered them, he quickly followed a semi-clothed Leon out of the apartment. Priss stared in shock at her friend when the red-head come out from her room. A bedcover was wrapped around her body, concealing it, but the now- flaming sword she held in her hand and the murderous expression on her face told the singer that the mage was definitely NOT happy. Darlene stepped forward down the hallway to grimly follow the fled males but Priss, feeling very stupid for doing so, intercepted the furious girl's path. "Wait!" the singer cried. Not wanting to run over her friend Darlene reluctantly did so, but her eyes were almost glowing with fury. "HE DIES A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH!!!" Darlene savagely shouted at her, punctuating the remark by waving the flaming sword and started advancing again. "It was a joke! A JOKE, Darlene!" Priss cried out. It took a second, but Darlene finally heard what her friend said and blankly looked at her. "You two didn't do anything! I put you both in bed together and used some honey to make it look like you had done something." "Honey?" Darlene blinked several times in confusion, then realization. "A...joke?" She lowered the sword, flames vanishing from the blade. Priss sighed in relief, seeing that the mage wasn't going to chop Leon up into little pieces anymore. She nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, just a joke." A minute later, the singer got painfully off the floor, desperately sucking in air that had been knocked out by Darlene's lightning-fast fist. "Fuck, I really did it this time," she groaned, holding a hand to her sore midsection. "Damn, she hits hard. At least she didn't go for the face." Wincing a little, Priss headed for the mage's bedroom. She gave a hesitant glance at the blasted pieces of door on the floor before stepping through the doorway. "Any OTHER surprises today?" Darlene said bitterly. She sat on the edge of her bed, still holding her sword and hugging herself as if needing comfort, not bothering to look up at Priss, who sighed. "No." "Great. Then here's one for YOU!" And, to the singer's utter horror, Darlene threw the sword straight at her! The blade slid through clothes and flesh effortlessly, shock and the mage's quickness had prevented Priss from moving out of the way. The hilt impacted her already sore midsection severely and she staggered backwards in pain and shock. She'd just been impaled with a frigging sword! Priss thought, terrified. She was dead! Heedless of the consequences, she frantically gripped the hilt and pulled. The sword came out like nothing held it at all and for a brief moment she held the weapon high, staring at it. What the?!? She'd felt nothing?! Quickly looking down she saw a hole in her shirt, but no blood from a wound. With her free hand, Priss hesitantly checked and confirmed it. Nothing. "My sword doesn't harm human flesh. I forgot about that when I was angry at Leon. Now you know how I felt, and still feel," Darlene said bitterly, having watched Priss' reaction and then turned her gaze back to the floor. Heart still hammering, Priss couldn't say anything in response for the moment. Instead she walked over and sat on the bed beside Darlene, carefully putting the sword on the bed as soon as she could. "Guess it wasn't such a good idea, huh?" she said finally. "You KNOW my past!" Darlene angrily retorted, whirling to face the singer, tears in her eyes. "AND that I still don't know things about myself! Like when I lost control of my anger, and you know what happened THEN! It almost happened again when I thought I had..." She trailed off and shivered. "In my male form I'm in control, almost to a fault at times, but in my female form I'm NOT, I don't have the experience! Who knows what might happen if I did... that?" "You might find out some day," Priss said, realizing that the red-head still hadn't come to terms with some of the more exotic alterations to herself. It was easy to think otherwise as her friend tended to bury worries and show a more pleasant face. "Maybe, but I'm scared to death of the possibilities," Darlene whispered, and didn't object when Priss put a reassuring arm around her shoulders, deriving a little comfort from it. After a few minutes she sighed and looked up at Priss with something akin to amusement on her face. "You realize we're both going to have to apologize to Leon, don't you?" The singer looked less than pleased with that, but couldn't argue the point. "I suppose so..." "And let's not do any more practical jokes for a while, please?" Darlene pleaded. "This one frazzled my nerves a little too much." "What about impaling me with that fucking sword?!?" Priss protested indignantly. Darlene looked at her with a fake expression of innocent confusion. "But I thought would be appropriate for a vamp." "VAMP?!?!?" Priss exclaimed indignantly. "Why you!!!" Priss' friendly hug turned into something more appropriate for pro-wresting as she attacked. Darlene screeched in protest as it was unexpected. "HEY!! No fair!! I've just got a cover on!!" she protested. "I'll take any advantage I can get!" Priss pressed her attack, and started tickling her friend mercilessly. "No, no, not there! Ah! Ah-haha! Hahahahahahaha!" It degenerated from there. Nene's awakening was much less of a surprise, Linna hadn't bothered to take off the red-head's clothes and simply laid her friend on her bed. However, the hangover she had was a painful reminder of what had happened last night. She was still blurry on certain details and so she decided to give Darlene a call. She had showered as she had felt dirty and the pounding in her head was a little less intense but otherwise she thought she was presentable enough for the vid-phone. It took quite a few rings before Darlene answered. "H-hello? Oh, Nene! Hi!" Nene stared. Darlene's face was flushed, her hair was in disarray, and there was a bedsheet wrapped around her, loosely. Her response to Nene's call had been a breathless response as well. It looked like... No. Not Darlene, Nene thought disbelievingly. Then Priss, with a smirk on her face, appeared behind the mage and waved casually at the ADPolicewoman. "Hey, Nene. Recovered from last night yet?" the singer asked with a grin, reminding the red-head about her headache and making her wince. "No, I'm not," she replied petulantly. "Good!" And before the sputtering Nene could frame an indignant reply to that, Priss continued, "That's what you SHOULD get for getting drunk when you KNEW that punch was spiked. What happened is all YOUR fault!" "Okay, okay! Owwww...." Nene had to cover her ears to stop the pounding. Meanwhile, Darlene naturally heard all this. "SPIKED punch??" she growled the question out, looking alternately at the friend on the vid-screen and the friend beside her. Both looked a little nervous. "No wonder I can't remember parts of last night's party...yet," she amended, when became male she would remember it all. "I won't bother to ask how, just tell me I didn't do anything bad." "Not really," Priss conceded, Nene just continued to look guilty. "Nothing people will think actually happened, or at least connect to you." Darlene sighed with relief. "Why are you at Darlene's anyway, Priss? I thought...." Nene trailed off with a blush. "Nevermind." Darlene blinked. "Thought what?" Priss fought back a laugh. "And I thought I had the dirty mind." When Darlene turned to her with a frown, she said, "Well, you DO look like you had some male...company over." She ducked the angry swing Darlene aimed at her. "You were tickling me! And you certainly have a mind filled with IT after doing what you did this morning!" "So I'm sorry already! It's not like anything really happened with you and Leon." "Could we not mention THAT again?" Nene blinked in astonishment. "LEON?!?!" she gasped, eyes wide. Darlene looked pained while Priss grinned. "Just...forget it," the red-headed mage groaned. "Nothing happened. Priss was being funny and I STILL fail to see the humour," she directed at the singer. "Look, I'll phone you later, Nene. I have to clean up, and maybe practice some spells on a HANDY volunteer." She smiled at Priss with a glint in her eye. "Bye." The image vanished with a fading image of a worried Priss inching away from a nastily-smiling Darlene. Now I wonder what THAT was all about, Nene wondered. "Get outta here, ya bum!" A humanoid figure flew through the air into a pile of trash bags, the door it had come from slamming shut behind it. There was a groan from the form as it rose from the trash, then a snarl as a metallic arm shredded the bags it had landed in. "My, my. Rough night?" someone commented mockingly. The form whirled around when he heard the female voice, stopping in momentary amazement to the beauty standing in the alley with him. Then anger rose up. "Who the Hell are you, bitch?" he snarled. The female smiled. "My name is Yanda and yours is Steelfist. Or at least...it used to be?" she reflected, looking pointedly at his false arms. Steelfist grit his teeth at the painful memories that remark triggered. He was a far cry from the leader of the Steelriders he had used to be, and it had all started with an encounter with a trio of girls. Two were trying to wake up their red-haired companion when his pack had found them. Easy lays. The three would've been a lot of fun, or so they had thought. Even when the black-haired one had shown some martial arts knowledge he had her beat with his expensive bio-metallic arms. Then that red-haired BITCH decided to wake up. Apparently not drunk at all, she had fought him. Incredibly, impossibly, he had lost when she had SEVERED one of his fucking arms at the joint! After that defeat things had slowly gone downhill for him since. He didn't have enough money to fix his old limb and had to get a cheap, plain metal one that wasn't nearly as powerful. His pack, his FORMER pack, drove him off because of the weaker limb and his defeat. He had had nowhere to go except visit old so-called friends who eventually threw him out every time. Bastards. Now he had been thrown out of a bar into trash and run into this weird bitch who somehow knew his name. "So what the fuck you want? I got better things to do," he sneered. "So I see," she said, looking at him standing in garbage. "Very well, I offer you something simple." "What's that? A freebie?" He leered lewdly. "Power." And she held up a glass cylinder that glowed a faint crimson the color of blood from within. "You crazy, bitch?" "Who isn't? Catch!" Startled, Steelfist grabbed the vial before it hit his face. Unfortunately, it was with his cheapshit fake arm and his indelicate grip crushed the glass, releasing the liquid inside and splashing it all over his arm and himself. "Fuck!" he shouted, franticly trying to wipe the glowing stuff off and failing. "This better not be some poisonous crap or something, bitch." Yanda smiled. "I would say 'or something.' You might even say it'll make you a new...man." Steelfist's eyes suddenly widened in panic; the stuff on his clothes had begun to MOVE. He looked at his metal arm and saw it beginning to melt. "What the hell?" he whimpered, unable to comprehend what was happening. Then the places on his skin where the liquid had hit felt like they were starting to burn. He tried to say something in his panic but Steelfist had swallowed some of the strange stuff and his larynx no longer worked. The pain came quickly as something unexpectedly immobilized him. Yanda smiled like an expectant mother. Another pawn to play. Chapter Thirty-Four =================== ONE WEEK LATER.... In Hot Legs, a red-headed young woman seated at a table was occasionally looking from side to side, searching the crown around her. Her posture indicated a tenseness for some unknown reason. "Hi there." Darlene quickly looked around and saw Leon smiling behind her. She relaxed at last and indicated the empty chair on the opposite side of the table. "Hi, Leon. Have a seat," she offered. "Thanks." He sat down and looked quizzically at her. "Why so tense? Seems to me I'M the one who should be wound up." Leon couldn't help but be amused when the red-head blushed a little. "I'm here to apologize for last week. I was a little upset by Priss' little joke and I should've realized that was all it was before trying to kill you," she finished in a small voice. Leon sighed and leaned back in his chair, scratching the back of his neck. "I guess I can understand it from your perspective, and it's not like I've not been in slightly different but similar circumstances." "'Different' meaning 'guilty?'" said Darlene with a hint of a smile. Leon didn't comment but his big grin said it all. "As for being tense, just think about it." She waved at the crowded bar. "Single female, empty chair, raging testosterone levels. Need I say more?" She paused in consideration. "They did stop coming for a while after I threw one persistent idiot who wouldn't take a hint into a table." Her expression turned slightly nervous as she looked from side to side. "It's the two women who whispered in my ear that really got me wound up." Leon leaned forward with a broad grin. "Hey, you gotta admit you're not a bad looking gal." "But 'light my leather with your flaming passion'?? Come on!" Not able to prevent it, Leon howled his laughter and she looked on with a disgusted expression at his reaction. The brown-haired man got hold of himself, still wearing his wide grin. "Sorry. Just the look on your face..." He shook his head. "I guess I should apologize too for making it hard for you to set up this meeting." That was a mind way of putting it, Leon had religiously avoided any contact with the mage until she had used Nene to deliver the message that she was very sorry about the misunderstanding. "No, don't. I WAS a little pissed off. Well, WAY more than a little," Darlene amended guiltily. She looked at her watch as a diversion away from the uncomfortable topic. "Priss should be on stage soon." She saw the light of interest ignite in Leon's eyes and smirked knowingly. "Say... You don't happen to make love potions, do you?" he asked. "Sure." Leon did a double take at the quick response. "First I'll need the penis of the man you want her to fall in love with, then slice it up before pounding it into a fine mush and..." She stopped when Leon's eyes threatened to bulge out. It was her turn to laugh at his horrified, pale face. "I'm kidding!" "I should hope so!" He shook his head slowly. "Your sense of humour needs work, Darlene." "Sorry, I'm in a bad state of mind right now regarding the 'S' topic." She frowned at her watch; it was time for Priss to go on. "I wonder what's keeping her," she murmured. "No goddamn way! Not this time, miss do-whatever-the-hell-I-want-to-do! I have had it with you leaving just before the act! You either play, or else I circulate to every place in Mega-Tokyo that you're too unreliable to hire!" the club manager shouted at Priss' face, which plainly showed her anger and hesitation. Why did Sylia have to call NOW?? Priss fumed to herself. The leader of the Knight Sabers seemed to have an uncanny knack of doing this just before a performance and now the singer was facing the result. She had gotten out of her singing costume and into her biking leathers before exiting the dressing room, but the manager of Hot Legs had been waiting outside the door. He, of course, had immediately figured out what she was doing and threw a fit. But he'd never threatened her with this particular threat before. If he did she and her band would never get a gig again, no matter how good she sang. He waited with his big arms crossed for her response, and she hadn't a clue what to do, Sylia needed her or she wouldn't have called. Perform, or pummel Boomer butt and perish musically. And she had to think of the band too. Then she got a desperate idea. "What if I get someone else to sing?" Priss asked quickly. "What?!?" he shouted incredulously, and almost said more but she threw up her hands reassuringly. "She's good, she's good! I taught her myself." The manager frowned, but kept his peace. Knowing singers as he did, he knew they didn't often complement rivals on their abilities. Granted, this one was in a tight spot, but she seemed to be telling him the truth. Also, the crowd outside tonight wasn't too particular as long as there was good music, even if Priss' fan-boys would be disappointed. "Where has she performed?" "Ah...nowhere, but she really is good!" she quickly added to forestall his blowing up again. "She just owns a business so singing is just a hobby with her. I happen to know she's in the club tonight too." Looking down the hallway, the manager signalled one of the bouncers to come over. Priss almost sighed in relief, but checked herself as only half the battle was won. "Okay, what does she look like?" the manager asked. "You want me to WHAT?!?!?" Darlene demanded incredulously. Priss pressed her hands together and gave her a pleading expression. The rest of the band had found out and was gathered behind her. They just watched, having had to do the exact same thing Priss was doing right now at some point in their careers. "Just sub for me tonight, please? I REALLY need to go." The exasperated red-head put a hand on her forehead, knowing what Priss meant by that statement and knew she didn't have much choice in the matter. Bloody hell. She hadn't known this would happen when the bouncer had told her Priss requested her presence. Polite fellow. Leon had said he'd wait, but given what she knew she was going to do, she wished he had left. Gods, why me? "All right," she sighed in capitulation. "Great! I owe you! Bye!" Priss turned to leave. "WAIT!!" the manager bellowed, making Priss pause. He pointed at Darlene. "Sing something," he demanded. She shrugged, took a deep breath, and started singing one of her most favourite lines in Priss' songs. "Kon'ya wa Hurricane. Anata wa Hurricane...." Darlene stopped, puzzled, when she saw the manager and the rest of the band staring at her. What was with them? she wondered. Priss smirked, and said, "Told ya! Bye!" And then she was out the door, hoping she wouldn't be late. Noriko, a slim, black-haired woman and recent replacement for drums when the old drummer had quit, stepped up to a still-confused Darlene and gave her the once over before grabbing one of the red-head's wrists. "C'mon, girl. If you're gonna sing in this dump, you better look the part." "What?" Darlene said, wondering what she meant. Then looked at the getup the drummer wore and her heart sank when realization hit. Oh. No. Sylia was mildly relieved to see Priss come roaring into Raven's garage just in the nick of time. "Finally!" Linna remarked. "What took you?" "Oh, lay off," the singer disgustedly replied, tearing off her helmet as she quickly got off her bike. "It's not my fault you always call just before a performance, and this time the manager at Hot Legs had a bigger fit than usual." She hurried past them to get to the change rooms. "Was there any problem?" Sylia asked as Priss ran past Nene, who had just finished changing herself. "Nah, I got Darlene to take my place," was the casual reply she got before the brown-haired singer closed the door. Linna and Nene blinked at each other, and in unison both said, "DARLENE?!?!" "I wonder how that will turn out," Sylia thought aloud. Imagining how Darlene had reacted, Linna snickered. "Too bad we won't be there to see." Leon was beginning to become seriously bored when the members of Priss' band started onto the stage, prompting the crowd milling on the dance floor to start cheering, screaming, and making other less definable noises. He wondered if Darlene had decided to remain backstage; whatever Priss had wanted had seemed to be as much a mystery to the red-head as to Leon. Speaking of his most favourite singer, she hadn't come out with her band, which wasn't Priss' style; she was usually the first. As the mob below started murmuring, a half puzzled, half impatient sound, the new drummer for the Replicants stepped up to the mike at the front of the stage. "Guess you all are wondering where Priss is, huh?" she asked the crowd, getting a questioning roar from the audience. "Well, our main lady did one of her famous disappearing acts again so she won't be singing tonight." Noriko stood there smiling as a wall of groans and boos cascaded over her, unaffected by the crowd's disappointed response. Personally, she thought a small part of Priss' popularity came from those absences. Before things got ugly, she talked into the mike again. "But aren't you wondering why we came up on stage?" she said, a note of inquiry in her voice. As the crowd's noise died when that comment registered, Leon raised his eyes, impressed at the way she handled the large group of music-hungry people. Should've gone into politics, he thought as the crowd re-focused their attention on the drummer, who smiled again. "A friend of Priss, who happened to be here tonight, volunteered to take her place and sing for us. I heard a little demonstration earlier and she's great. She also knows all of Priss' songs so she'll be giving us a taste of her talent tonight." "No, she can't mean..." Leon half mumbled, incredulous at the suspicion he knew whom the drummer was talking about. "So let's introduce..." Noriko turned around and faced backstage, "...Darlene!" She paused as the crowd waited. Leon slapped a hand to his face when he heard the name. Silence. A vexed look appeared on the black-haired woman's face when she realized no one was coming onstage, there were a few chuckles from the crowd when they saw this. She spoke impatiently into the mike. "Darlene, come on! I said you don't look that bad." "That's what YOU think!" demanded a nervous and female voice from the shadows, more people in the crowd laughed and the rest were beginning to wonder what the new singer looked like. "You said you'd do it," Noriko reminded her, and waited. Apparently, that did it for slowly, and carefully, Darlene walked out into the light, looking anxiously from side to side. Leon's jaw dropped, then he had to stifle his laughter so the red-head wouldn't somehow hear and strangle him later. She wore a wig the same bright color as her own red hair, but longer and in curls. A loosely cut, black tank top covered her upper torso but left her middle bare. On her legs were what had to be the tightest set of shiny black pants Leon had ever seen, likely made from some kind of plastic, that ended between the knee and ankles. A pair of black shoes with high heels were on her feet, which was the reason for her careful walk as she'd never worn them before. Some large bracelets and makeup finished her quickly assembled stage costume. The black clothes contrasted with her whiter-than-normal skin's complexion. The crowd whooped when the gathered people saw her; while she was an unknown, she certainly young, good looking and sexy in her getup. Certainly a point in her favor with this gathering. Meanwhile, Darlene couldn't recall ever being more embarrassed and uncomfortable. The wig made her scalp itch, the heels on the damn shoes were murder, the makeup felt caked on her face, Noriko had said it was LIGHT but she had her doubts about that, and the damn pants made her feel like she was presenting her rear to the world! Priss owed her big time for this, she swore to herself. BIG time. Her smaller height was only emphasized when she reached a grinning Noriko, to whom she gave a brief glare as if this were all the drummer's fault. "Glad you could make it," she said blithely before abandoning Darlene to get back to her drums. Darlene looked down at the floor of the stage, red-faced at the whistles she was getting. I hate crowds, I hate crowds, I hate crowds, I HATE crowds! she cursed before reluctantly turning to the mass of people watching her. "H- hi there," she shakily said into the mike, trying to keep her eyes on the audience, "I g-guess I'm the entertainment for tonight." The crowd seemed a little disappointed for some reason, then an aggrieved voice spoke up near the stage, "Hey! You're the bitch who flipped me into the table!" Anger flared as she looked down, and, sure enough, it was the asshole who wouldn't give up earlier. "Since you seemed to have a HEARING problem," she said, using the mike and making her voice boom loudly in the club, "I hoped the impact would make an impression into your deadwood HEAD! Would you like another message?" And she held up a fist in his direction. He shut up. "That's telling him, Darlene!" shouted a voice from the second level. "Thank you VERY much, Leon!" was her sarcastic and heated reply. "I'm bloody well nervous enough already!" "Then shut up and sing!" cried an unknown voice from the crowd. "Fine!" she shouted back furiously. Her anger made her forget her nervousness as she turned around to Priss' band, and said, "Hurricane!" More of a demand than a request really, but used to a temperamental singer's moods, namely Priss, the band ignored the tone and started playing. Darlene glared at the audience after taking the mike out of its stand, and waited for the time to start. When it came, she was beginning to lose her anger, but started anyway without hesitation. At first the crowd didn't react when she started out, but as she went on the crowd roared their approval and began to dance. Leon felt his jaw drop again for the second time that night, Darlene was GOOD! When the hell did she learn to do this?! He knew she knew magic, and she also ran her store, but this sort of thing took time and he'd never heard a hint of anything like this before. He shook his head at the oddities the girl showed sometimes. As he listened, he could tell her style was similar to Priss', probably who taught her since she was her friend, yet oddly different. More...compelling, he decided, than Priss' singing, which always revealed the burning passionate emotions of his singer. Darlene's was more for the music than herself. Two different ways, yet both beautiful to hear. With a smile he readied himself to listen for the rest of the night, and seeing Darlene's current pseudo- blissful expression knew it would be a long one. Concentrating on her singing at first, Darlene hadn't realized what effect her voice had on everyone else. Mostly because of what was happening inside; she had only sang by herself, or with Priss, and only briefly in female form when the singer had asked her. Now she was singing a full song with music filling the air around her, the audience was incidental. At first she had been angry, but as she went on she lost that emotion, beginning to feel her heart pounding to the pattern of the beat and relaxed into it. The feeling was both soothing and energetic. She felt almost a part of it, and then...more than just a part. Time lost meaning as she willingly lost herself in the music. The world was song. Chapter Thirty-Five =================== "So, what did you mean when you said Darlene was covering for you, Priss?" Linna asked, sitting in one of the mobile command van's chairs made to accommodate her in her hardsuit. Priss sighed in a disgusted way. "The manager of Hot Legs basically threatened to blacklist me and the band from even dumps like his place." She shrugged and fiddled with her helmet. "I DO like to sing so I didn't have much of a choice asking Darlene to fill in, and I told you guys she's good; she can handle it." "Singing, yes, but while a crowd is watching her?" Nene asked dubiously. "She'll be fine, all right?" Priss growled, not appreciating the doubt that comment placed in her. "So what are we doing tonight anyway?" "I finally got a lead on those mysterious disappearances of Boomers and homeless several weeks ago and we're going in to check it out." "Why? I mean, isn't that ADPolice's job? Not that they would be much help." Priss ignored Nene's suddenly indignant posture. Sylia went on. "I'm concerned about this and we need act on this information quickly. Whomever arranged the vanishing of those Boomers and people without detection is powerful and most likely working for something that would not be beneficial to this city. I would like to prevent a mass release of Boomers and drugged humans into Mega-Tokyo. The damages would be inconvenient to say the least, more so if they are equipped with sophisticated gear." The others swallowed nervously at the image Sylia gave them. "Okay, I guess I can see why you'd want to cut that sort of thing off ahead of time," Priss said. "I'm glad you agree," was Sylia's dry reply. Priss remembered something. "Hey, Linna. Where'd you leave bandanna boy?" "Ryouga's in my apartment," then she added as an afterthought, "and I made sure to tell him not to leave." "Is his sense of direction really that bad?" Nene inquired curiously. Linna shuddered though the others couldn't notice it. "Yes, you can't let him out of your sight or else he wanders off somehow. I just hope leaving him in the apartment alone tonight is safe." "How do you manage to watch him all the time?" Linna chuckled. "Oh, some of the girls in and around my apartment complex love to help me with that. Especially when he trains. They love to see a muscular young man sweat." Nene and Priss laughed. "Linna, really," Sylia reproached, though they could all hear her smile. "I shoulda known," Priss commented. "Do you need more help?" "NENE!" shouted everyone save the red-head. "Whaaaaat?" ELSEWHERE... Ryouga paused in confusion. How did all these people get in Linna's living room? he wondered. Above the lost boy's head was a sign. It read: "WELCOME TO MEGA-TOKYO MALL - CENTRAL PLAZA" OUTSIDE KS MOBILE COMMAND CENTER... Mackie watched from the inside of the van as Sylia conferred with the members of the team. They were hidden in a back alley several blocks from their target, a wise precaution to take in case something went wrong. "All right, we'll enter the building on three sides to reduce the chances of someone slipping out the back door. Priss, take the north side, Linna, there's an alley on the east so you come through on that side, Nene and I will take the front. The west is wide open so that should not be an option for those inside if they try to escape, and if they do we'll not have much trouble tracking them. If you find the main computer wait for Nene and she'll download anything of value. And in the case of personnel, if they look important knock them out and leave them for ADPolice" "Yeah, they're great for clean up," Priss quipped. "Hey! Stop that!" Nene told her, angry over the insult to her police organization. "Why? It's true enough." "Enough you two," Sylia said, stopping Nene's retort. "Let's get to work." "You got it, Sylia. See you inside!" Priss jumped away, her air jets and powered hardsuit giving her extra bounce as she leaped away into the night. More silently, but after a friendly wave to the others, Linna followed. "Ready, Nene?" Sylia asked the power-suited red-head, who nodded affirmatively despite still being angry with Priss. Together they jumped into the darkness. Mackie stood up and closed the van door so no one would notice anything suspicious. He wished his sister and the others luck even though the mission sounded simple. They shouldn't have any trouble tonight, he thought. The shadows outside the van loomed ominous in the night. Priss landed softly with only noise around her the quiet hiss of her air jets. The building's few windows and single door on her side of the building were shown clearly on her suit's screen. "Sylia," she said as she opened a channel to her leader. "Looks quiet on my side. Can I go in?" "No, Priss, stay outside and come in if there's any trouble." "Aw, man..." Priss groaned, she knew how likely that was. "Nothing in the alley, Sylia," Linna reported. "Good. Stay outside, just in case. Nene and I are going in." "Okay, Sylia. Be careful." "We will. Out." Priss sighed, resigned to play sentry post for the rest of the mission. Sylia waited as Nene rapidly disabled the electronic security on the front door, studying the structure they were breaking into. There was no outward sign of activity, or security for that matter, which wasn't unusual if someone was trying to keep something well hidden from prying eyes; the absence of obvious and elaborate security system was almost as good as having one. She had been told a couple of kids had wandered into the building, and had never come out again or seen from again. There had been a third person with the group but he had stayed outside. After a while, several large and mean looking men had discretely searched the area but the boy had escaped notice and got away to tell his tale, which eventually reached Sylia. This, and the other information she had gathered, made her decide that this was most likely one of the hideouts of whoever masterminded the Boomer thefts. Nene, finished with her task, stood up and opened the door. Not a sound. Perfect. Silently, the two entered the large hall which was the building's main entrance. After careful scanning, Nene told Sylia there was a lot of electrical activity deeper in the structure. The leader of the Knight Sabers nodded and they cautiously proceeded in that direction. Priss had started to argue with herself whether or not it had been a good idea to get Darlene to substitute for her when she saw the door she was watching open. She tensed. And waited. And waited some more. "What the Hell?" she muttered. The door was wide open but no one was coming out and she couldn't scan anything through the doorway. Priss began to feel uneasy. "Sylia?" No response. "Nene?" "What's up, Priss?" Linna asked over the encrypted communications channel they all shared. "Something weird is going on, that's what, and now I can't reach Sylia or Nene," Priss answered her, becoming more anxious by the second. She heard Linna try contacting the others but she got no results either. "Dammit, I think something's really wrong here." "Do you think we should go in?" Priss didn't need much time to think that over. "Hell, yes!" she said, leaping out from her hiding spot and quickly coming to the open door. There was nobody she could see inside so she cautiously started in. "I'll keep talking along the way." "Wait, Priss! Let's go in to..." Linna's voice died when Priss got several feet inside the room. The singer realized that there was some kind of jamming going on, relieving her somewhat as this was probably the reason she couldn't contact Sylia or Nene. Still...worry gnawed at her as she walked deeper in. Who had opened the door? And why? "Priss? Do you hear me? Priss!" When Linna got no response she cursed a little at her friend's headstrong approach, more annoyed Priss had gone in without backup than her methods. By now Linna had a strong feeling some kind of jamming was going on inside the building, otherwise she would had heard SOMETHING from Priss, at least she hoped that was it. She had just about decided to follow Priss in when the door to the long alley opened and she hugged closer to the dumpster she hid behind. Two large men exited into the alley, looking from side to side. Linna's scanners confirmed her guess: Boomers. She decided to wait a few minutes more before springing a surprise attack on them and getting inside. She was coming to the conclusion there was more here than met the eye and had a bad feeling about this mission. The former dancer was quite shocked when the dumpster she was hiding behind had its contents practically explode from the bin when two previously hidden forms leaped high into the night air. Boomers! "What?!?!" was her startled cry before she jumped from her old spot, one of the Boomers made a small crater with its fist as it missed her narrowly. The other started shooting at her as she weaved and dodged the sudden hail of firepower. She had figured she could take these two on but then the two Boomers that had exited the building a little earlier arrived, their disguises shed and ready for battle. One Boomer was behind her now, blocking the way out while the two from the building blocked the other way, and the fourth was rising into a crouch from where it had tried to hit her. Linna's heart pounded frantically as the four began to advance. This was bad. Real, REAL bad. Sylia nodded to Nene, who nodded back, a little nervously but otherwise all right. The white-suited Saber burst through the door with Nene following close behind. The room was filled with blinking panels and screens, but was empty save for a large chair at the end of the room with someone visibly sitting in it and making unknown adjustments on the panels. "Freeze!" Sylia ordered, aiming her palm blaster at the unknown controller, who immediately stopped. And turned the chair around to reveal herself to be a very attractive blonde woman, with a distinct lack of fear and/or startlement that took Sylia slightly aback. "So," the woman said, smiling at the armoured invaders to her domain. "Knight Sabers." Nene gave a startled exclamation and pointed at two screens. "Look!" Sylia did and found herself biting off her own reaction; each screen showed Linna and Priss fighting. Linna with a bunch of Boomers in her alley and looking overwhelmed, and Priss fighting some monster Boomer in a large room that was likely somewhere in the same building they were in. "Call them off," Sylia ordered the woman in an icy tone that showed she meant business. "Really?" The woman smiled again and swivelled her chair around so that she was mostly hidden from sight again. "And you'll kill me if I don't? That would be too bad seeing as we were waiting such a long time for you to come." "What?!" Sylia and Nene exclaimed. "And we DO want you to stay." Then the floor beneath Sylia and Nene erupted with a powerful electrical discharge, freezing their systems and making them scream, before exploding. The two Sabers lost consciousness in fire and pain. They landed hard on the floor after hitting a transparent shield that they hadn't seen, which had safely protected the other occupant of the room. Yanda stood and walked over to the stronger-than-steel plastic that separated her from the two Sabers. She looked the two forms over carefully as if thinking of something else. And smiled as she approvingly patted the transparent shield. Priss cursed venomously before dodging a swing that would have taken her head off. What the FUCK was this...this goddamned THING?!?!? She had entered this darkened room and had immediately known it was a trap when the door slammed shut behind her. She had whirled around when she saw something rise out of the darkness, and rise, and rise. The Boomer was twelve feet tall, if not taller, massive as hell, and had not spoken a word or growl since its initial attack. She could see openings for laser lens on its chest, particle cannons on the arms, and even a few missile holders at the waist. It hadn't fired any of that armament though. The reason for this became painfully obvious: to demonstrate it didn't NEED them to beat the crap out of her. And the maddening thing about it was that it didn't. She hadn't hesitated using her own weapons, but its thick armour was too strong to penetrate and it was fast despite the bulky appearance; her hardsuit was dented and she was bruised underneath. The Knight Saber's main strength was teamwork, but she was alone against this monster. "Goddamn Boomer!" she shouted in frustration. She almost got hit again when hidden speakers came to life. "Ha hah hah hah hah!" cackled a male voice, "Do you like my little creation, Knight Saber?" "Who the fuck are you? Argh!!" Priss finished with a cry of pain as the Boomer connected and launched her across the room to painfully land ten feet away. "Someone who you have faced before, or at least my beautiful creations," and the voice turned ugly, "before you destroyed them!! I am Doctor Miriam!" the voice declared arrogantly. "Yeah? Go to hell!" Priss groaned out as she managed to stand again. Unfortunately, she did remember the name from the incident at ADPolice and knew things were Not Good at the moment. There was an incoherent growl over the speakers but when he spoke again the doctor had calmed down. "As much as I would like to send you there first, I regretfully cannot right now. However..." Faster than it had moved before, the Boomer leaped forwards and grabbed the blue Knight Saber by the neck and raised her slightly off the ground. The suit afforded some protection against the strangulation, but not much. Breathing was hard to do at the moment. "...that does not mean I can't have some measure of enjoyment." The last thing Priss saw was the Boomer's fist coming towards her head, after that same fist had pummled her stomach a few times of course. Then blackness swallowed her whole to the tune of Miriam's laughter. Linna was starting towards the fading edge of unconsciousness rapidly as she was continually punched by the Boomer in front of her. She had taken one of her opponents out with her charged mono-ribbons, but one had gotten a grip on one of her arms long enough for another of its kind to grab her other arm. Then the third had started pounding on her before she could retaliate, but not as hard as it could have, oddly. Why don't they finish me off? Linna thought, somewhat dazed. Then an extra hard punch doubled her over and the two androids holding her dropped her unceremoniously to the ground. The green Saber tried standing up, but stopped when she noticed the Boomers weren't attacking anymore and were even backing away. Something was up and she found out what when a familiar voice cut through the ringing in her ears. "Knight Saber." Linna jerked her head up to find the owner of the voice. Her eyes widened behind her helmet and she gasped aloud in shock. It COULDN'T be!! He was DESTROYED!! "I have a...present for you to deliver." And the one known as Largo laughed. Chapter Thirty-Six ================== He'd been told his objective was here. The information given him was correct, the bitch was in the club. What he hadn't expected was for her to be singing onstage. He never had much of an ear for music, but even he could tell she wasn't doing badly; which probably translated to excellent for people who cared. Doing what he came to do in front of everyone in this shit club probably wasn't wise, but who gave a fuck; he'd love an audience for when he confronted the bitch. No. Not bitch. Darlene. At last he finally had a name for the slut. It would make killing her far more satisfying. "Would you like another drink?" Leon looked up at the waitress with a smile and shook his head before turning back to watch the stage. I wonder how much longer she'll go, he wondered, she's almost gone through all of Priss' songs, not that it looks like she's going to be able to continue for much longer. True enough, however euphoric the music was to Darlene, it was loosing its hold on the tired red-head as she finished another song. The groans behind her when the band stopped playing echoed her own feelings. She couldn't believe she had sung for, she checked a large digital clock on one wall, two and a half bloody HOURS?!? She would have shivered but lacked the energy. Getting lost in the music had been freaky, she forcibly ignored the yearning feeling the recollection of her trance-like state caused. One more song, then that's it for me, she decided. She picked up the mike, and with a slightly hoarse voice said, "I think one more and then I gotta quit folks." She coughed. "My throat ain't used to this despite the fun." And I'm pooped to boot, she added to herself, hearing the band behind her sigh in relief. There were groans in the crowd at her words but after the longer than usual session they had little to complain about. Except for one person. "Awwww... Is the little bitch tired?" a voice called out. Most of the crowd swivelled to look for the source of the comment. A big man with a sneer on his face below dark shades was walking towards the stage, people moving aside for him when they saw his size. "Pardon me??" Darlene demanded over the mike, not a little disturbed for she felt she knew this person coming closer to the stage. "Who are you?" "Oh no, you've forgotten me. Well, I certainly haven't forgotten you, slut!" He held up an arm, making the jacket he wore slide down and expose the metallic limb underneath. The mage's blood, which had started to boil, cooled when she saw the arm. "Steelfist," she said flatly, the shades had confused her but the arm and the manner was a dead giveaway. "Bingo," was his snarled response. Uh oh, Leon thought warily as he watched events unfolding below him. What did Darlene do to this asshole? I think I'd better get closer. And the ADPoliceman left his seat, heading for the stairs to the lower level. "Yeah, well, I wasn't particularly concerned with your welfare after what you and your gang tried to do to me and my friends," Darlene told Steelfist, who had reached the area below the stage. She wasn't surprised when he vaulted up onto the stage with one of his hands; the asshole wouldn't care for him talking up to her. "You ruined my fucking arm, bitch!" he shouted. She took a breath to calm herself; any more remarks like that and she'd probably hate herself in the morning for breaking every bone in his body. "Not hard for someone trained in martial arts style I've trained in. Now get of the bloody stage! I don't want to have to do more to you." Her mood wasn't improved by his scornful laughter. "More!" Steelfist laughed again. "Oh, it's way too late for that, bitch." "Stop. Calling. Me. That," Darlene grated out. "Got to show you my big surprise first." "What??" "Yeah," Steelfist said, smiling for the first time. He reached up and took off his glasses. His eyes were the red eyes of a Boomer. Skin shredded and flew away with clothing as internal bio-technical systems expanded the former human into a Boomer's battlemode. He looked somewhat like a 55-C Boomer, but instead of a factory-made precision look his exterior was like sun-heated plastic, it was slightly deformed in appearance. More organic. Taking advantage of Darlene's wide-eyed shock, Steelfist moved with beyond human speed and caught the red-head by the throat with one of his huge metal hands. He lifted the choking Darlene with one hand, making her dangle in the air. "Like I said: surprise." The voice was now the only indication that one could tell Steelfist was amused. When the crowd had seen the transformation, people immediately started running away from the scene; Mega-Tokyo residents knew very well what a Boomer could do. Leon was hard pressed as he tried to force his way in the opposite direction. When he was through, he took in the sight of Darlene being held by the throat by an unusual-looking Boomer, swore, and pulled out his gun. "ADPolice! Let the girl go!" he ordered the machine. Steelfist laughed and aimed his free arm at the detective, who ducked behind a concrete support pillar; just in time too, as the android began firing the machine gun built into its arm. Darlene, who was starting to see spots of light, took advantage of the distraction and summoned her sword. With its usual purple flash, it appeared in her right hand and she thrust it forward. The blade plunged into Steelfist's lower torso and causing him considerable pain when she jerked the ultra-sharp blade out roughly, spilling Boomer fluids from the wound. "You fucking bitch!" he snarled, halting fire on Leon so he could cover the wound until it sealed. In furious anger, the once-human Steelfist threw the blacking-out red-head at another large concrete pillar with beyond-human strength. Darlene flew almost in a straight line at the column, until she hit. Her eyes jerked open in shocked pain as concrete slammed into her from behind with piledriver force. For a moment she hung there, the stone wall showing cracks around her slightly embedded form, then her eyes rolled up into her head and she slowly fell forward onto the ground. "Darlene!!" Leon shouted, shocked and stunned. Hearing the Boomer's malicious laugh the brown-haired officer's eyes narrowed and his face became grim. Stepping out from behind his cover, he aimed his gun and fired several rounds at the killer machine. All he managed to do was catch its attention. "If you wanted to play, asshole, why didn't you just say so?" the Boomer commented evilly, standing straight as it no longer leaked fluids and curled an arm so that a fist was pointed in a 45 degree angle from the floor. A foot-long blade snicked out from a sheath and gleamed evilly in the club lights. Oh fuck, Leon thought as the Boomer jumped off the stage and started walking confidently in his direction, now what the hell do I do now? Stall, he decided. Stall a LOT. "So what's your problem anyway, you damn Boomer?" he called out, keeping the solid pillar between him and the android. He had no illusions he would last very long against the thing with just his gun. Hell, it would likely be the shortest fight he'd ever have for the rest of his brief life. "I lost my gang because of that bitch. Now she's dead and you'll be next," Steelfist replied, smoothly circling the column that Leon was trying to keep between the two with a predator's ease. "Gang?? Since when do Boomers have gangs??" Leon was beginning to believe this thing was seriously demented. "Boomers don't, but then I only became one recently." "WHAT?!" Leon couldn't believe his ears. "Are you saying you used to be human?!" He stopped when the Boomer paused. "Yeah, cop. And loving being a Boomer." Steelfist posed his newly robotic body mockingly. "The latest secret technology: little, tiny machines that can do some amazing shit on a person. I'm not really a true Boomer because I was human but I'm close enough to make the difference not worth crap." The thing clenched a fist from remembered anger. "My own gang threw me out and my life was becoming one that was being thrown into a dumpster. Until someone...helped me." The android chuckled. "Now I'm getting my revenge." "Is revenge worth losing your humanity?" Leon demanded. "Why should I care? Humans are fucking nothing." Steelfist moved ominously closer and scraped the armblade chillingly along the concrete column's surface. "Just like you're gonna be." Leon was about to reply to that when a flying chair smashed into the Boomer's head, staggering it forward a bit from sheer surprise but otherwise leaving it unharmed. Steelfist whirled around angrily, and snarled at what he saw. Leon's expression was one of relieved surprise and renewed concern. Darlene glared from across the room, her thinking was a little fuzzy but her anger was certainly not. Her throat had been hurt by the Boomer's tight fist and she couldn't talk at the moment. The chair she had thrown had gotten her opponent's attention so she clenched her fists and charged headlong towards the blue android, a glow starting to form around her right fist. Steelfist roared his own fury, the bitch was tougher than he had thought but he had more tricks up his sleeve. His chest panels opened, revealing an array of lens for his heat weapon. His prey responded by dramatically increasing her momentum and headed straight for him! Stupid bitch! he thought scornfully as the array started to glow. Time to FRY! What happened next was too fast for Leon to see. Just as Steelfist started to fire, Darlene leaped ahead, glowing fist first. She connected microseconds after Steelfist's weapon went off and the mage started to burn. However, the ki force she had collected around her fist exploded outwards. She had experimented with the directionless energies she had aimed at Leon in her past fury at finding him in her bed. It was a new technique, fairly simple to build up, but hard to sustain until the strike. Dubbed the 'Concussion Fist' it lived up to its name as the blast it created shattered the lens in Steelfist's chest and causing massive energy feedback from the disrupted firing. The two fighters flew apart from the blast and the android's misfire. Darlene landed hard on a table, shattering it, while Steelfist slammed hard into the column Leon had been using for cover and was still. "Damn it!" Leon swore as he ran to kneel beside the slightly smoking mage. "What the HELL were you thinking of??" he demanded of the semi- conscious Darlene. She managed a sheepish, if painful, shrug as she struggled to get up. Her skin was blistered in some places, and reddish on the rest. The wig was still smoking as she weakly took it off and let it drop to the floor. When Darlene noticed Leon waiting for a reply she pointed at her throat and made a croaking sound. He understood what that meant. "Can't talk?" The red-head nodded, then put on an expression of surprise when the ADPolice officer slid arms beneath her and picked her up. She would have protested but her throat wouldn't allow that. "Yeah, I know; you don't need my help, right?" Leon said, and chuckled at the sheepish look she gave him knowing that was what she would have said if she had been able too. "Frankly, you look like hell, Darlene." "And that's where you'll both be going, you shitheads!" Even burdened by Darlene's weight, Leon instinctively ducked forwards just enough to miss being sliced in half by a blue particle beam. He knew the open area was suicide for them to be running around so he ran for backstage. "You don't get away THAT easily, bastards!" Steelfist snarled. He started forward to pursue but then he was hit by a literal shower of bullets from above. ADPolice had finally arrived. Several of them were on the second story while the rest were on the first. All firing at the once human Steelfist. The android couldn't afford being hit in a vital spot now; his internal circuits in his chest region were burnt out in a major way from the blast, limiting his mobility severely. He computed possibilities and almost laughed at the obvious solution. "Check THIS out, cops!" he cried out, and, in an apparently suicidal manouver, jumped closer to the officers on the level he was on. Now he could do what he wanted; which was to cut a huge semi-circle out of the upper floor with his mouth cannon. The loss of support caused the second story, and the cops above with it, to collapse onto those beneath. Steelfist had jumped safely back and gazed at his handiwork. "Don't mess with a Boomer when he's got a job to do, assholes," he said mockingly before turning away. He still had prey to kill. Leon sighed with relief as they exited into the night air via the back door. He'd heard the commotion as they had left and knew that ADPolice had finally arrived. The loud crash and following silence hadn't sounded good though. "How are you doing?" he asked Darlene, who was looking more alert than she had been a few minutes ago. "Beh...tah," she croaked out. "Fah heela." It was true; her skin looked a little better already. "Why didn't you blast him with a spell?" Leon finally asked as he tried to decide what to do next. Darlene's annoyed pointing to her throat clued him in on why she hadn't. "You need to talk for that?" The Look she gave him was answer enough, and he wondered how women were able to communicate that 'gee, I'm glad you finally figured it out, Einstein' message with just a facial expression. Leon decided to let her stand on her own then if she felt that good and gently placed her on her feet. She wobbled a bit on the first step, but steadied herself on the next and sighed in relief at being able to stand again. "Wih wai?" she croaked. The wall belonging to Hot Legs exploded and they both ducked for cover. When they looked up, the blue form of the transformed Steelfist stood in the hole that he had made, light from inside shadowing him ominously before he stepped into the alley. "Here we go again," Leon muttered. "You've cost me a lot of pain, losers," Steelfist announced. Leon and Darlene had to duck behind a trash bin when the android fired some bullets in their direction. "I'm REALLY gonna enjoy ripping your guts out." "Ah...excuse me?" a voice asked. The shooting stopped. "Can you tell me where I am?" Startled, Leon and Darlene looked at each other then peeked around the dumpster and saw a familiar, thoroughly misplaced person. Ryouga?!?! Steelfist was too angry to note the unusual attire of the bandanna- wearing young man. "Do you think I give a shit, asshole? I'm busy!" He shot a few bullets at the eternally lost boy, but with his lightning fast reflexes Ryouga managed to dodge. "Why did you attack me?!" he demanded, then noticed the two further down the alley. "Darlene? Leon?" Steelfist was surprised at this. "So, you know them? Then I guess I have one more piece of shit to kill." If he knew Ryouga better he would have known not to say something like that, Darlene reflected to herself as she saw the fanged boy almost visibly swell with anger. "Ooo... Ba' 'ove." Leon looked at her in puzzlement but she just smirked at him. Ryouga had been suppressing his anger and despair ever since he had found out he had somehow wandered into another universe. Now this metal thing was threatening to kill him AND the only person who could send him back home. No!!! He grabbed several bandannas from his head and started spinning them with a furious expression. "What the fuck are you doing? Waving surrender?" Steelfist laughed, not noticing Darlene pull Leon behind the dumpster for cover. The furious martial artist loosed slightly over ten of his ki-charged bandannas at Steelfist, who was just beginning to wonder where the young man had got all the bandannas from but just stood there amused. He wasn't amused for long; several sheered through sections of his legs, severing many supporting biotech muscles and moving joints. He started to fall as others went through his arms, torso, and one partly through his head. If he had moved, less would have hit but, unknowing of the deadliness of the bandanna in a Hibiki's hands, instead stood still and presented a prefect target for Ryouga. Steelfist collapsed to the ground, feeling the pain and major systems failures that his body told him about. Hearing an external noise, Steelfist looked up and saw a descending fist with his one good optic. Then he saw no more. Leon stared as Ryouga, with an expression of disgust at the greasy fluids on his hand, pulled his fist out of the crushed skull of the Boomer who used to be Steelfist. "How...?" Darlene coughed. "'Ouga berry 'ood fighter," she managed and was pleased with the results; her voice was improving. "I wonder if he's interested in joining ADPolice," he mused as the destroyer of the android came over to them after a puzzled glance at the fallen machine. Darlene snickered, knowing there wasn't much chance of that, and headed for the door. "Hey, where are you going?" Leon called out, surprised. The red-head turned around with an annoyed look and used her hands to call attention to the rest of her body. The top she was wearing was slightly charred, but the plastic pants must be painful when they were melted like the way they looked now. She was also barefoot, having lost those high heels somewhere along the way. In short, she was a mess; a fact not truly noticed by Leon until she called his attention to it. And upon seeing his sheepish look she stomped back into the building to change back into her normal clothes. "Um...Leon?" Ryouga's puzzled voice turned Leon's attention back to the young man. "What was that thing I took out doing here?" The ADPoliceman sighed and started explaining. Chapter Thirty-Seven ==================== "Oh man, I hurt," Darlene croaked as she sank into the passenger seat of Leon's car. At least she could talk semi-normally now but bruises were beginning to show on her neck where the transformed Steelfist had gripped her, she touched them briefly before flinching from the pain. Another person sitting in the back made her turn around. "By the way, Ryouga, thanks for the rescue." Her smile made the normally shy young man turn slightly red at the praise. "It was no trouble," he said, but hopeful eyes focused on her. "How long before we can go back?" "Probably another day or two." She saw joy flare in his eyes and warned, "I had a breakthrough a few days ago but I need to test it first." The driver's door opened then. "Test what?" Leon asked as he got behind the driver's seat. "The spell to take me and Ryouga back to the universe we came from," Darlene said, seeing no reason not to tell him. He turned to look at her in shock in the middle of starting the car. "You're leaving?" Darlene nodded reluctantly. "Have you told Priss and the others?" "I was tonight, but she left," she said crossly, still mildly annoyed at what the singer had gotten her into. Leon started the car and began the drive to Darlene's place without a word. The mage noticed this and asked, "Sorry to see me go?" "Well, yeah," he admitted, "I may not have been as close as the others to you but I consider you a friend. You talk like it'll be a long time before you come back and I hate those kind of good-byes." "Oh, I see." Darlene smiled mischievously. "Guess I haven't told you about the funny things crossing universes does to travellers." Leon glanced at her, puzzled. "Pardon?" "I could spend fifty years outside this universe and come back at almost the exact time I left. It will be a long time for me, but considering I have a longer than usual lifetime ahead of me I doubt you'll notice." "Really??" Leon pondered this. "I always wanted to have a year's vacation in a day," he mused, making Darlene laugh. "Maybe next time." When Leon dropped the two off at the store, Darlene certainly didn't expect Sylvie, Anri, Linna, and Mackie anxiously waiting for her. "Darlene! Thank god you're back! I... What happened to you?!" Linna exclaimed in disbelief, finally seeing the red-head's injuries. "Somebody Borged that Steelfist guy we fought when I first arrived." Uncomprehending eyes stared at her so she sighed and tried again. "Somebody, somehow, turned him into a Boomer and he attacked me at Hot Legs." She winced. "Took me by surprise but Ryouga finally wandered by and destroyed him." "But I left him at..." Linna stopped trying to understand Ryouga's presence and shook her head angrily. "We don't have TIME for this! Mackie, show her." The black-haired, younger brother of Sylia nodded and picked up some kind of remote video viewer, giving it to Darlene after pushing a button on a small keypad. The face that appeared on the monitor jolted Darlene so much she almost dropped the machine. Largo! "Good evening to those who watch this little recording of mine," the image of the long-thought-dead hyperboomer spoke, "and most of all to the Crystal Knight, to whom I truly hope sees this before sunrise tonight. Sadly, you were not with the Knight Sabers as I had hoped but I let one go in the hopes that she would be able to contact you." Largo's face smiled. "We have a score to settle, you and I, and with three of the Knight Sabers as hostages I feel you will find my invitation most compelling." He chuckled evilly. Darlene's gaze could've burned holes in the screen. "This should be amusing. Here is what I have planned: Priss, oh yes I know all their names, will be located here," and an image of Mega-Tokyo sprang up to dominate most of the screen, a flashing green dot supposedly the place Largo mentioned as he went on. "You, Crystal Knight, will go to a second location," and a red dot appeared on the other side of the city, near the edge of Mega-Tokyo ended. "Alone. And enter through the gates. If you do not, all three hostages will die and I will release all the Boomers I have into the city. If you do not come before sunrise tonight I will do this anyway. "Do come soon," he finished jovially. The image of Largo disappeared, leaving the map and the two flashing blips on the screen. "Have you located both places, Mackie?" Darlene asked in a tight voice. "Yes." The red-head nodded, then proceeded to crush the viewer between her two hands. As the pieces fell to the floor, she commented, "That felt good." The sonofabitch! she mentally growled to herself. "I guess I don't need to figure out who was behind the attack on me at Hot Legs. But it sounded like he didn't know the relationship between the Crystal Knight and I. That's something the bastard would've definitely mentioned if he knew." "So what do we do?" Linna worried. "About the part with the Crystal Knight? Not much choice there, but for Priss he didn't mention anything so he likely expects a rescue attempt, and doesn't care if someone attempts it. How's your hardsuit?" she asked Linna. "Not in good shape," the raven-haired Saber worried. "That's okay, I'll fix it before you go." "Is there anything we can do?" Sylvie said. "Priss is our friend too." Darlene hesitated. "There WAS something I...fixed, but... No," she shook her head. "No, you can't." "Fix? Darlene, if you have something I can use to save Priss then tell me!" Sylvie demanded. "Even the D.D.?" sighed Darlene. Sylvie paled and looked shaken, Anri looked at her with concern. For good reason; the D.D. Battlemover had been the weapon Sylvie had used to get the data disk containing the information to make her and Anri no longer dependant on human blood. But the battle computer's AI had taken control when Sylvie had been wounded during a battle with two security Boomers, and had initiated a timer to detonate a micro-neutron bomb that would've destroyed Mega-Tokyo. Priss had had to wound her fatally to deactivate the D.D. and it was only Twister's intervention that had saved her. Priss... The sexaroid cast off her fear and with renewed determination told Darlene, "Even that!" Darlene nodded; it was her choice. "You don't need to worry much about it, actually.. I altered a lot of the hardware and DEFINITELY rewrote certain parts of the software. It won't take over like last time. I thought of giving it to you as a joke but when I finished I realized that wouldn't be such a good idea and left it in mothballs." "So it'll be just me and Sylvie?" Linna said. "I'll help," Mackie and Ryouga offered at the same time. "No way, Mackie! You don't have the combat experience," Linna told him firmly. "I don't want to tell Sylia that I let you get killed." The teenager looked rebellious, but knew the truth when he heard it. "We'll need you in the van again." "Not you either, Ryouga," Darlene added. "You were lucky today that it was Steelfist you fought and not a true combat Boomer. They play for keeps and I don't want to tell Akane and Ranma you were killed by some crazy androids in another dimension." That got to him, and the lost boy's anger deflated. Which was good; while he was an excellent martial artist, he wasn't trained to fight hordes of Boomers. She frowned. "Two isn't enough though. Even with the modified D.D. you'll need help..." Then she got an idea. "Leon!" An officer shouted. "Phone for you!" "Got it," Leon replied as he picked up the receiver and pushed a button on his phone. What appeared on his vid-screen made him sit bolt-upright in shocked surprise. "Long time no see, officer McNichol," the Blue Bullet said, face obscured as usual by his blue helmet. "I suppose this is a bit of a shock." "Given that you are supposed to be dead, that's an understatement!" was all Leon could come up with as a retort. The Bullet chuckled. "I'd love to chat longer but I have little time. I've heard that two of your officers have acquired some...unusual abilities." "You hear some funny rumours..." Leon replied neutrally. "Well, here's another: apparently, the Knight Sabers ran into some trouble with an old enemy and were caught." Leon's stomach muscles tightened. "One was released to inform certain parties. That party will be going somewhere while another place was set up to occupy any help he might call. The bait's the blue suited Saber." Priss. Damn it! "So why are you calling me?" he demanded. "The enemy is the mastermind behind all those Boomer thefts weeks ago. Isn't that ADPolice's department, or rather, YOUR department, Inspector?" "That's right." "To ensure the survival of the Saber I've convinced the remaining Saber and...another to accept you, your partner, and those two unique officers I mentioned. I suspect they'll need the help. Do you wish to accept?" Leon frowned at the screen. "I suspect you know the answer or else you wouldn't have bothered to call." He sighed, knowing he didn't really have a choice. "All right, where?" "Meeting point being transmitted. They'll meet you there." The Bullet paused. "Thank you, Leon." The image blipped out, leaving the information that had been received behind. Leon sighed again and sat back wearily in his chair. This was going to be one of those long, long nights. "WHAT is THAT??" Linna exclaimed in disgusted fascination at the gooey concoction Darlene was scarfing down like there was no tomorrow. She had come up to tell the red-head they were ready only to find her eating...something. Darlene paused. "Honey, some sugar, chocolate sundae syrup, more sugar, peanut butter, yet more sugar, molasses, milk... Did I forget to mention sugar?" Despite her hurry to get moving, Linna turned almost as green as her suit. "My God! How can you EAT that?!?!" "I have to. I want to make sure I have enough energy for this trap." The rest of the stuff oozed out when she quickly put the drinking glass to her lips and drank. When she finished, she looked at Linna. "Don't worry, I'm almost done," she added, pointing to an extremely large cooking pot where Linna realized Darlene had mixed everything together. The aerobics instructor fled downstairs. Darlene finally relaxed and grimaced, revealing her disgust; the stuff WAS terrible, but she felt she had to have this extra energy. Still... She shuddered as she refilled the glass. She stuck her tongue out. "Yuck!" "Do you have any idea why Leon called US in particular, and to meet HERE?" Bochinski sighed at looked at his partner, definitely not an unattractive view since the changes they had both been through. Of course, Wadderson's change was more obvious than his own, which had been a constant reminder to his poor friend. Leon had managed to give them a few week's leave to come to terms with what had happened, but Wadderson hadn't contacted his...HER partner at all during those weeks. He didn't mind; he understood the change from muscular macho officer to Mega-Tokyo locker room pinup must've been a hell of a shock. She seemed to be coping though, he noticed, and hadn't requested another partner. The long blonde hair that had grown was tied in tight braids; possibly a bad idea to keep hair that long, but after that session in the gym he knew GRABBING those locks was a bad idea. Wadderson had jerked her head violently and he had went flying; her strength was unbelievable. At least she wore a uniform that fit her now. He mentally smiled; some criminals would probably beg to be arrested by his partner. For himself, there wasn't much to do, other than mailing his sister out the silverware set of his she had always admired. Bad luck; he had liked that set, but it had just driven him up the wall to have it in his house. His sense of smell had improved phenomenally, it was good that he was a bachelor who liked a clean apartment. But while he knew about the healing ability, the silver, and his sense of smell, he didn't have a clue on how to transform into a werewolf. The elf had said he had full control, but that was not necessarily a good thing if you had no idea on how to change and wanted to. I'll just have to stumble onto it, somehow, Bochinski mused. "Hey! Did you hear what I said?" Wadderson said, annoyed, braking into Bochinski's reverie. He shook his head to clear it. "Sorry, bud. Just thinking about some stuff," he apologized. "And no, I don't have a clue." "Damn." "So what DID you do all that time when you didn't bother calling me?" he asked curiously. "And what happened with your girlfriend?" Wadderson didn't reply immediately, which surprised her partner considerably as she hadn't taken being transformed into a woman very well. When she did, she spoke hesitantly. "Lynn couldn't believe it at first, but I still acted like myself and after being together for a year she knows me pretty well. We...talked." Wadderson looked away from her partner. "She still loves me, can you believe that?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Christ, you know what a looker she is, Bochinski, but I really never appreciated HER until now. Lynn's helping me cope," she turned back to look at Bochinski and her voice firmed as she smiled, "and I'm not quitting ADPolice either. It's the one thing that's stayed constant." She snorted. "Do you know how many people I had to shout at to keep on? I had to demonstrate that I could still do my job, fairly spectacularly too." "How many other 'offers' did you get?" Bochinski asked with a small grin, his partner looked at him with annoyance. "Frankly, I lost count." Her head turned as she spotted something approaching. Bochinski looked as well and saw it was Leon and Daley. "Finally!" Wadderson said, relieved to get off the topic they had wondered into. "Hey, you two. Sorry to call you so late," Leon said with a smile as he and Daley got out of the car. With a more serious tone, he asked, "How is everything with you guys?" "Dealing, sir. What did you expect?" Wadderson told him. "Ah, too bad we couldn't switch places," Daley sighed. "You would say that," Leon snorted, interrupting the blonde's response. "Alright, we've got weapons in the trunk so we'd better get them ready while we're waiting." Wadderson and Bochinski looked at each other in surprise, then Leon. "Who are we expecting, sir? And what's happening?" Bochinski asked. A hissing of air behind the altered pair caught everyone's attention. When all turned to see what had made the sound they saw a green armoured figure land gracefully on the ground. The ribbons attached to her helmet fluttered momentarily behind her before settling down. "I see you're all here. Great," the green Knight Saber said in a distorted, yet feminine, voice that sounded quite anxious. Leon scratched his head and gave a half-smile at his fellow officers' staring startlement. "I guess I should explain." "I'm glad I don't have a dull partner," Daley sighed. Leon frowned, noticing something. "I was told there'd be someone else with you." There was a heavy THUD of something landing behind them and everyone whirled again. And looked up in shock at the dark, metallic giant that had somehow arrived unseen by them. Leon recognized it despite the altered appearance and swallowed hard. "You just HAD to say that, didn't you, Leon?" a stunned Daley commented. Chapter Thirty-Eight ==================== "I still can't believe I'm doing this," Wadderson muttered as the group crept down a large and dark passageway. "Shh!" the Knight Saber hissed. The blonde woman gave the green hardsuit a glare, but quieted. She had the feeling that she had fallen into one of those weird sci-fi/action films she had used to watch as a kid. Here she was, a woman who used to be a man following a high technological combat hardsuit, and her partner beside her was now supposedly a werewolf. Probably the only normal person in the group was her boss, Inspector McNichol, who was following behind them as the group's rear guard. Their 'ally' was supposedly doing that somewhere, but he was being cautious. His partner Daley didn't count; she knew HIS reputation. Wadderson reassured herself by gripping the gun she had chosen from what Leon had brought. Leon knew about her strength so he had brought a GSB Cannon; where he had got it she didn't know and figured she didn't WANT to know. The reason for this was the raw firepower each shot the ultimate weapon unleashed. It was supposed to be a mounted weapon and each round could take out a Boomer, aimed properly or not; if it hit even NEAR a vital spot an android would be toast. No normal human could hold it up, much less carry it around. She held it like an unwieldy rifle. And that mysterious second arrival... She shivered at the memory and glanced around, but it wasn't anywhere to be seen in the large factory passageway. The factory had been shut down by Genom after some nutball scientist who had worked here had tried to blow up ADPolice headquarters. Stupid to close down the building, but she supposed it would've been bad press for someone in Genom's monolithic corporate structure so they had shut it down. Now it was being used to hold a Knight Saber, and by the same people who stole a whole bunch of Boomers weeks ago. Whoever was masterminding this was seriously cracked, or else holding one heck of a grudge. She had been told the Saber was still alive. Why? One conclusion that Leon had mentioned, and that the green Saber had agreed with, disturbed Wadderson. Bait. Give me a break! And of course we're going in like dumb fish about to swallow the hook with the worm on it. She spotted movement ahead, and stopped. Everyone else saw it too. Well, whomever these guys are, Wadderson thought as she gripped her mammoth weapon tighter, these fishies have some humungous teeth. They crept out into a large production room. Then the lights came on. The scene was shown on a viewscreen deeper in the factory. "Looks like someone showed up after all." "Waste of effort if you ask me." "True. But humans can be so sentimental." "Hmm. You may have a point." "YOU GODDAMN MACHINES! WHEN I GET OUT OF THESE I'LL RIP YOUR FUCKING HEADS OFF!!" Priss screamed at her two Boomer captors, enraged. She was still in her hardsuit, but after her ill-fated battle it served better as a straightjacket than armour. The emergency eject was disabled so she couldn't get out. Strapped to a Boomer holding slab, she was helpless to anything but talk or watch. Her smashed helmet visor was pushed up to enable her to see what was happening to her rescuers in the factory. She recognized Linna in her hardsuit, but what were Leon, Daley, and those two other ADPolice officers doing with her? Her unwelcome 'companions' had told her upon waking up that Nene and Sylia had been captured too, but were not in the factory. She'd demanded why and the answer had given her chills. Lures. That's what they all were being used as. Sylia and Nene to draw out the Crystal Knight, and herself for everyone else. But she had gotten the impression she was being used more for the case if Darlene came to help. Whomever had caught her knew the red-head had some strange abilities and wanted the mage busy. IF she survived a planned attack that should have occurred at Hot Legs hours ago. Priss had turned cold at that information, but shrugged it off; she knew Darlene could handle herself quite well. I wonder what they would think if they found out Darlene and the Crystal Knight were the same person? she thought sardonically. Suddenly, her rescuers were shown to be under attack on the screen. Priss cursed her inability to move and tried not to dwell on the other thing her captors had told her. "BASTARDS!!" she screamed, and the androids ignored her. If her friends succeeded in getting far enough into the factory... ...the Boomers would kill her. Another beam went over Leon's head and he grimaced at the closeness of the near-miss. Things were not going well at all; he and Daley had gotten separated from his people and the Saber when they had all dived for cover during the initial ambush. Leon had seen a fleeting glimpse of them hurriedly retreating into another passage with several Boomers in hot pursuit; one of whom had been subsequently blown out of same passage with the accompanying roar of Wadderson's newest toy. He himself had been too pressed to find cover to smile. "And here I felt mildly disappointed that I missed the action you saw earlier tonight," Daley commented wryly, wincing as a burst of fire shot over the their cover. "Be careful what you wish for." "Ain't that the truth." Daley took a quick peek over the steel test plates that served as their protection. And ducked back down before another volley punched holes through his head. "These guys must be programmed to keep us from advancing past a certain point, otherwise we'd be dead already." "How many you figure?" Leon asked as he checked his gun, then the larger Boomer-Killer he had brought, much smaller then the weapon he had given Wadderson, but at least he could carry this. Daley carried one as well. "About five, maybe one or two more. Hard to tell." Leon sighed, he hoped the others were dealing better than they were. Suddenly, there was silence. The two ADPolice officers looked at each other with trepidation; something was up. Cautiously peering over their protection, they found that the Boomers had emerged from cover and were arrogantly advancing on the weaker humans' position. "Damn," Leon cursed quietly. "Guess they figured they'd had enough fun." "Then we're not going to die laughing; what a relief," Daley said with gallows humor. Despite the situation, Leon cracked a grin and got ready for the onslaught, short as it would be. ***CHA-TOOM!!*** At the booming sound, a glowing projectile flew over the detectives' heads and impacted directly onto a Boomer's chest. There was a split-second stunned pause, then the Boomer that was hit exploded spectacularly, showering everything with fragments of itself. Leon and Daley protected themselves from the shrapnel as they turned to see where the powerful shot had come from. They recognized it as the Knight Saber's ally, but Leon still experienced a pang of dread. The upgraded D.D. Battlemover Mark II had arrived. The overall design was still relatively intact, Twister had only tried to improve the machine for it had originally been a prototype and still had some flaws; in the psionist's mind the neutron bomb had definitely been one. (He still wondered just WHY the designers had done that, but oh well) The most obvious change was the 'hips' of the D.D. which were wider now and allowed for a smoother walk and/or run. The armour and most parts were enhanced by molecular re-alignment by an application of Twister's telekinesis, this allowed for greater strength and speed. It was painted a deep blue, a contrast to the previous reddish hue it had originally been. Oddly, there were several crystalline diamond shapes placed in certain areas on the armour. Their function was unknown to the officers, but the diamonds served as power collectors for the few magical features Twister had incorporated into the war machine. As for weapons... The missiles and mini-cannon were gone; Twister had just altered the war machine as something to occupy his time and test the technical knowledge he had gained. A weapons system that would've required making physical bullets and missiles had been considered pointless, as well as a waste of time. Instead, two large cylinders with openings on the forward ends were mounted on the D.D.'s shoulders instead of the machine guns. These were weapons that shot intense excited particle 'balls' as a substitute for missiles, and were aimable to a limited degree. They were powerful and needed a lot of energy, but the big D.D. could handle it. For more firepower and flexible aiming, single laser cannons were placed on each arm. The weapons he made for the large machine of destruction had given Twister ideas for his current suit after his old one was destroyed. But the main problem had been the D.D.'s main battle computer, the J-1, which had overridden Sylvie's control in its last fight. Not wanting a hybrid HAL9000/Terminator in control, Twister did a real number on the re- programming of the machine; he was a programmer, and having combat computers go out of control on the user was not a Good Thing to his way of thinking. With things like Microsoft Windows, fine, it only crashed your system, not you. It took some time, despite his acquired knowledge of AI systems during his stay in Mega-Tokyo; the combat skills were jumbled in with the decision- making processes and keeping the former intact while changing the latter hadn't been easy. Driving the altered battlemover, Sylvie had quickly found out the differences, and had experienced shaking relief at the changes when Twister had told her about them. The interface now had HER in full control, as it should have been. She had been late coming to the battle for she had lagged behind to make sure there would not be an attack from behind. Also, her improved scanners were helping the much more mobile Linna find Priss, but she had to reveal herself to save Leon and Daley. The D.D. II was performing wonderfully. +Computer, fully charge PBCs. How many more hostiles are there?+ she thought, and on a screen in front of her she found targeting vectors for each Boomer. Who had not been idle with the termination of one of their fellows, they had aimed at the formidable-looking D.D. seconds after the explosion. Surprisingly, Sylvie smiled. Crackling energy in the form of two Boomer particle beams from mouth cannons, a heat wave from another, and machine gun fire from the rest rushed towards the powerful Battlemover. And passed right through it, without a scratch. The Boomers, and the two momentarily forgotten ADPolice officers, gaped at what had happened. Sylvie didn't let them recover, picking the two androids that had fired the mouth cannon, she mentally ordered, +Fire!+ Two white balls of energy were shot out of her shoulder-mounted weapons and hit their targets, destroying two more of her attackers. With her less-powerful lasers, she focused both on the closest Boomer and punched smoking holes in head and middle torso. Linked to the combat computer as she was, and in full control, she commanded the D.D. with deadly efficiency. It frightened her a little, but she knew it was mostly the altered J-1 that killed so well, not her. The alterations made direct control possible, and only if she was unconscious would the D.D. fully take over. Even then, it had a modified 'idea' of what an enemy was, which did not include humans. Twister had been very sure about that. She ordered the D.D. to rush the Boomers and the war machine complied, breaking into a smooth gait that ate up the distance between her and the 55- Cs. They continued to fire at her, but that was futile. How were they to know that the D.D. they were shooting at wasn't her, but rather her displaced image? It was one of the few things of magic that Darlene had put on the machine to make it harder to hit; the purpose of the diamond embedded onto the outside of the D.D. The computer had offered it to her as a tactical selection. Surprised, she had selected it, and the image displacement was working beautifully. One of the Boomers was facing another way entirely when she grabbed its head with a large metal hand and, after picking the startled android off the ground, squeezed. It frantically tried tearing off the crushing force, but lost the race and the hand closed all the way. Boomer armour and fluids oozed out from the victorious D.D.'s fingers. The J-1 signalled a warning and, before Sylvie could react, the D.D. jumped away from a particle burst. Staying in motion, Sylvie was fervently thankful Twister had left some control for the J-1 when it came to defense. The remaining 55-Cs had figured out her displacement trick when she had physically attacked the Boomer. Too little, too late, she thought grimly, seeing that only three Boomers remained. Even with them aware of it, it took little extra time destroying them. The modified D.D. was an unfamiliar opponent and even before Twister's modifications it had been a powerful machine. Sylvie hoped Linna was having as easy a time as she watched the two detectives uncertainly rise from their cover on her screens. "DIE, YOU STINKING BOOMERS!!!" Wadderson yelled, blasting away with her mammoth cannon at the pursuing killer machines coming down the passageway. Linna didn't dare try fighting them head-on right now; the blonde woman was blowing large holes in Boomers and walls alike, aim being impossible for the inexperienced user of the weapon. At least it was keeping them safe while the Saber collected her thoughts. "Sylvie? Have you found Priss yet?" she called on their personal encrypted radio link. "Linna!" Sylvie's relieved voice came back. She had started to become worried but her friend's call had alleviated some of it. Another of the D.D.'s mystical additions was a kind of probe which Sylvie had sent into the factory in search of Priss. And with success. "Yes, I have, but I can't get the D.D. farther into the factory. You'll have to get her yourself and there's two Boomers guarding her." "They won't be a problem," Linna assured her. "What are the coordinates?" Sylvie relayed them to her and the green Saber signalled her thanks. Unfortunately, the weapon holding off the Boomers finally ran out of ammo at that time. "Shit!" Wadderson swore, seeing the Boomers realize that the weapon was useless now and beginning to advance. "Not a good time to hang around here," Bochinski called out as he got up and started heading further down the hallway. "Come on!" "No, wait!" Linna cried out, too late, as she saw shadows moving in the darkness where he was headed. The officer turned at her cry just as one of the hidden Boomers started firing. Blood sprayed out in a stream as he was hit many, many times at close range. His chest virtually exploded as the bullets imparted some of their energy and kept him turning until he fell to the ground in a bloody heap. Three Boomers came out of the darkness and stepped over the body, ignoring it completely. "Bochinski!" his partner screamed in horror, Linna felt sick over the pointless death. "That's the first one," one of Priss' jailers affirmed. The monitor kept watch over the party in the passage as they were closer to their location than the pinned-down Leon and Daley. "I was beginning to wonder when it would happen," the second commented. "That weapon hindered things a little. The ADPolicewoman must be stronger than she looks. Think she's a 33-S?" "Maybe, she looks the type. I doubt it though." "True, ADPolice would have found out if she was. Pity. She'll die slowly now, the Boomers are programmed to do that to females. For our guest's enjoyment, I suppose." "CUT THE FUCKING COMMENTARY, YOU TIN CANS!!" Priss shouted. "Get out of here," Wadderson muttered quietly to the armoured woman who was standing back-to-back with her. The Boomers began advancing from either side. "What?!" Linna responded incredulously. "I can't..." "You're the one who stands the better chance at getting away," the blonde woman's voice turned ugly, "and I have a score to settle with these bastards." "I..." Linna didn't like it, but the woman was right. "I'm sorry." "Go!" Wadderson shouted, and ran at the two Boomers who were coming from the direction they had entered the hallway from. She came faster than expected and surprised them by actually punching one hard enough to send it flying. The green Saber took advantage of the unexpected development and ran towards the three on the other side, gathered herself, and leaped over the trio. She touched down behind them and ran without a backwards glance, not wanting to see that would happen to the woman she had left behind. She didn't look at the fallen officer and vanished into the shadows, her helmet hid her tears. If she had, she would have seen the body move. The trio of Boomers didn't pursue her; they knew what would happen when she found her fellow Saber. But the other woman... Incredibly, she was actually holding her own against the two Boomers, who were wondering how this human was strong enough to battle them physically without aid. But when the other Boomers joined in, the furious Wadderson was soon pinned down. Not without effort; the human was both angry at the Boomers that had killed her partner and fearful of what these machines had planned. "So," one of the Boomers rumbled at last, "are you a 33-S? You are obviously not a normal human." "Figure it out yourself, bastards!" Wadderson shouted. She regretted those words immediately when another Boomer extended an arm over her held form and let its armblade slide out. "We intend to. Slowly," the Boomer said with an evil chuckle that sent stabs of fear through her heart. With a quick slash, it cut through her pants on one of her held legs, and a little ways into the skin as a line of red immediately sprang up. It stung greatly and Wadderson clenched her teeth at the pain. Then the Boomer drove the blade into the front, fleshy upper part of her leg and twisted it around roughly. Blood flowed from the wound. This time she screamed loudly. A third Boomer considered her response. "Not quite like a 33-S." "Rip open her chest then to make sure," the first one offered. "If she IS human, that's too quick," the fourth objected. "Better if you take it slow," the fifth agreed. Wadderson moaned as the second Boomer slowly moved the blade around, and screamed again when it jerked the blade out. It paused momentarily, deciding where to strike next with its bloody blade. "Let...my...partner...go!!" growled an angry voice. Quickly, the Boomers looked for the owner, and drew back a bit in mechanical disbelief. Wadderson lifted her head up despite the pain in her leg. And stared. Standing in the shredded and bloody remains of his uniform, and looking mighty pissed off, was the presumedly dead Bochinski. The holes in the front of his shirt showed his blood-covered, but intact, skin. He glared at the Boomers holding his partner down. The androids registered this fact with much difficulty. Humans, or even Boomers for that matter, do NOT just stand up without out a scratch after being mortally wounded a few minutes earlier. Two stood up from the amazed Wadderson and faced the ADPoliceman. "Human, however you survived, you won't do so again," one declared. Bochinski's response was a snarl, and it didn't sound remotely human as his eyes, once blue, turned yellow. Before the astounded Boomers' eyes he started to change. His face, taut with the strain, began to sprout fur. This was occurring all over his body from what could be seen on the visible portions of his skin. Nails grew on fingers attached to what became a powerful mixture of paws and hands. The legs changed, becoming strong hind legs that could stand upright or on all fours with equal ease, his shoes were destroyed by expanding and clawed feet. The man's face stretched forwards, mouth becoming a muzzle with razor-sharp teeth and sporting a keen black nose. The ears moved position and became a wolf's ears higher on the transformed officer's head. During the change, Bochinski's form had become taller and showed lean, vigorous muscles on his new nine-foot height. The change was now complete, lupin eyes glowing yellow in the darkness. The fully transformed werewolf howled. Knowing a threat when they saw one, both Boomers immediately attacked by opening both their chests and firing their heat weapons. With a supernatural predator's speed, the wolfman sprang away from the blast of heat and headed for his prey. The first Boomer he attacked had little time to respond to the howling fury upon it. Bochinski gripped both of its blue arms and yanked with savage force, ripping the limbs free with a spray of nutrient fluids and tossed them away. The second Boomer leapt in and connected hard on the muscled stomach with a blue fist. It made the officer stagger backwards, but not without making a swipe of his claws, ripping apart the midsection of his foe. Bochinski steadied himself and readied for another attack, but then a blue beam slashed hungrily for the wolfman and cut him in two. With a gurgle, the two separate sections of the officer fell to the ground. One of the Boomers holding the female down had decided to help its fellows with its mouth cannon. "NO!!" Wadderson shouted, and began struggling. A Boomer punched her on the side of the head to stop her squirming, staggering her. Picking her up, the Boomers twisted both her arms so she couldn't escape and cruelly made her painfully hobble to the fallen werewolf. The Boomer with the torn front wasn't getting off the ground and the one without its arms was having a hard time as well. The three holding her examined the corpse cautiously. But for some reason Wadderson had quieted, for she strongly suspected something now that the shock had lessened. "Bio-genetics experiment?" one wondered. "Is that right, human?" another Boomer asked Wadderson roughly, applying pressure on her arms. "Why don't....you ask him...." she painfully gritted out, "yourself?!!" "What?!" The Boomers hadn't noticed the sluggish movements of the two halves of the body until it was too late. Then the two pieces, like a pair of magnets, jerked together; flesh, bone, and muscle reattaching both halves in a frenzy. A howl filled the air again as the resurrected Bochinski leapt up and tore the head off the Boomer holding his partner, yanking her roughly out of the way when its arms spasmed. Once she was out of the danger zone... things got REAL ugly. By the time Wadderson got up from where she had fallen and limped over to her partner, Bochinski was covered with Boomer fluids and standing amid a pile of shredded Boomer parts ready for the scrap heap. "You okay, partner?" she asked cautiously. Eyes dimmer now that the fighting was done, Bochinski regarded his friend and partner. "You know, I could really go for a Milk-Bone now," he said with a deeper voice than normal, a little breathlessly. He winced a little when she angrily punched him. "Damn it, Bochinski! I was worried about you! I thought you were dead! Twice! And then you make jokes about the whole damn thing!" She would have continued but her wounded leg made her stumble. The half-man half-wolf caught her before she fell. "Well, there's another joke." Wadderson looked up at him, face scrunched up in pain, but with the question in her eyes. "I'm... uh... not sure how to change back." After incredulously staring at him for a few long seconds, the blonde woman found that funny. She started laughing and crying at the same time, releasing the stress she had been under. Bochinski sighed, recognizing the reasons behind his partner's laughter and the need for it. Then he wrinkled his muzzle in distaste. Boomers did NOT taste good. "It's been quiet for a long time," Daley observed, warily watching the big blue mech that had saved their lives and then hadn't moved an inch since. "Do you think we should find the others?" Leon sighed. "Where do you suggest we start?" he asked his red-headed partner, who shrugged helplessly. "Besides, I have a feeling whoever's in this thing has contact with that Saber." He tiredly rubbed his eyes; it had been a long night and he wasn't really sure if he'd be able to stay awake much longer after all these adrenaline rushes. "Hopefully, it'll tell us if we're needed." Inside the D.D., all of Sylvie's attention was on a monitor, praying Linna would hurry. The remote unit only transmitted visual and not sound, but from what she was saw on the screen things for Priss were turning critical. One of the Boomers was watching a monitor that had Linna's hardsuited figure displayed, the other Boomer was standing in front of Priss and was occasionally pointing one of its arms at the brown-haired woman's head; from Priss' tight expression, that was not a good thing. My God, Sylvie realized, stunned. I think they're going to kill Priss just before Linna gets there! Deliberately! She immediately flicked a switch, opening communications with the green Saber. "Linna, stop!!" she shouted frantically. "What?!" came her friend's puzzled response. "Okay, but why? What's wrong?" "They know you're coming, and I think they plan on killing Priss just before you make it there," she explained quickly and got stunned silence for a long moment. "What can we do then??" Linna said, frustrated and afraid. "I don't know! Maybe....what?" Sylvie stared at what had come up on one of her screens. It showed: -RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION: HOMLAS- "Sylvie? What is it?" The sexaroid didn't respond, her thoughts racing. The J-1 was still linked to her and knew that she needed help. Sylvie didn't know what the battle computer meant, but whatever the abbreviation was, the J-1 wouldn't have recommended the unknown option on the screen if it didn't think it would work. Cautiously, she looked at the two Boomers with Priss, and thought, +Target Boomers.+ +Targets acquired. Initiate recommended course of action?+ +Will this injure anyone else?+ she thought, hope building. +Negative. Initiate recommended course of action?+ "Do I have a choice?" Sylvie growled, then swallowed nervously. +Yes.+ +Acknowledged.+ The D.D. started humming as the J-1 started whatever action it was about to apply. +Power up sequence: started. Computing energy requirements.+ Sylvie was startled when the D.D. raised its arms into a forward firing position and turned to face an empty passageway. Looking at the equipment indicators, she saw with no little puzzlement that the lasers were beginning to power up with no indication of firing anytime soon. Alarmed, she noticed that the normal level of energy the lasers used had just been exceeded and quickly approaching maximum safety limits. What was the J-1 planning to do?? That was a thought shared by Leon and Daley as they wondered at the position the Battlemover had placed itself in. "NOW what is it doing?" Leon said. "I don't know," Daley commented as his eyes widened, "but I think we'd better get some distance between us and it. Now." He started backing away from the mech. "What?" Leon said, puzzled by his partner's comments, then noticed what had precipitated the advice and started backing away himself. For the crystals embedded into the D.D. had begun to glow, and trails of energy were streaming from all of the crystals to the forearms of the D.D. where the lasers were mounted. Inside the D.D., the officers' panic was doubly echoed by Sylvie. The lasers had passed well beyond their maximum operating levels by a good margin and now the indicators were no longer able to measure the amount of energy the lasers were being fed. The lasers should have blown up by now! Sylvie wondered nervously, unwilling to stop the J-1's plan at this point. She saw that Priss wasn't dead yet and heard that Linna was frantically trying to contact her, but all her attention was focused on the D.D.'s arms. They were glowing blue with some kind of energy for some mysterious reason. Which was likely the reason the lasers weren't exploding, she realized, but for how long? +Energy levels at required parameters for target elimination. Beginning firing sequence.+ Sylvie was about to reply, but stopped when she saw what appeared on her monitor, and her eyes widened in shock. It read: ======================= = HOMING LASER FIRING = ======================= "That's ridiculous! It can't..." Sylvie incredulously started to say, but it was now too late to do anything. The D.D. diverted almost all its power to the lasers, and even the forces preventing the overtaxed weapons from blowing up were strained. The crystals on the D.D.'s surface shattered, releasing the rest of their force into the operation by thin, fiery blue lines of energy that wrapped around the forearms. Finally, with an explosion that sent the D.D. rocking violently backwards, the lasers vomited two blinding beams of crimson light, surrounded by swirls of blue energy and roared down the passageway the D.D. had been facing. Sylvie was slammed painfully into her seat straps by the blast, generating a startled cry from the sexaroid. Faster than the eye could track, the twin beams of destruction sliced down the hallway. Blue energy mixed with crimson light, becoming a hybrid purple lance that TURNED at a junction. Then they went up a stairway, burned through a sealed door, crossed a spacious room, burned through the opposite door, and continued down another hallway. Finally, the beams stopped and lanced straight down through the floor in two different places. They hit the Boomers guarding Priss on the top of the head, and continued down into the Boomers' bodies until exiting where their 'groins' were. The vaporized portions of the androids, having become plasma, burst outwards and destroyed the rest of the machines. A shocked Priss was not injured by the minor explosions of her captors' destruction. From firing to the targets took less time than it took to blink. "Uhhh..." Sylvie groaned, shaking her head groggily. The D.D. was on its back and from what she could see the arms were smoking, discharges of electricity sparking around the damaged areas. Nevertheless, the sexaroid tried getting her machine on its feet. "Sylvie! For God's sake tell me what you did!!" Linna's voice demanded, registering on the brown-haired woman's consciousness at last. "I think...you can get Priss now," the sexaroid numbly said, staring at the screen showing the singer and the smoking remains of what was left of the Boomers. "What did you do??" "I'm not sure; you'll have to ask Darlene that. Just get Priss and let's get out of here." And after toggling off the communicator, to herself she muttered, "Next time, I will ask that friend of mine everything she did to this thing. I really should throttle her for not telling me about this." She sighed as the D.D. finally got on its legs and checked the damage. Power levels were low, but the only real abuse was on the arms where the lasers, now hardware history, had been; the arms were about 20% operational. All in all, things could've been worse, she thought as she saw Linna arrive at Priss' room and free the relieved singer. That was approximately what Leon was thinking when he saw the forms of Wadderson, and...was THAT Bochinski??? returning. "Is that YOU, Bochinski?!?!" Daley, standing beside him, was wide-eyed as well. They both knew about what had happened to the ADPoliceman, but the actual sight of his lupin other self was daunting. "Yes, sir!" the werewolf growled in good humor, saluting. "We ran into trouble with some Boomers until I figured out how to change into my werewolf form." His tongue hung in a wolfish grin. "How were the Boomers then?" The were grimaced. "Awful; next time I bring mouthwash." His blond partner punched him hard in the diaphragm, turning the fiercesome image Bochinski was projecting into a hilarious one as he doubled over, gasping for breath. "He didn't change back because the idiot hasn't figured THAT part out yet," Wadderson told her grinning superiors with an exasperated air. "They couldn't do anything to him, sirs. No silver." "Hurt like hell though," the werewolf sighed, absently rubbing his middle. "Hmm," Leon mused, looking up at his furred subordinate and thinking of all the advantages that must have with Boomers. "You'd better figure out how to change back quickly; we don't have uniforms this size," he joked, then he saw Wadderson's bloody leg and became concerned. "Are YOU all right, Wadderson?" The blonde woman gingerly touched her leg and winced. "I guess this does need looking at." "We'd better take you to a hospital after the Sabers get here," Leon said. "Sir, shouldn't we bring them in?" the injured woman asked him. "No. I don't think we could anyways." Leon tiredly shook his head. "Frankly, I just want to go to bed right now, YOU need medical help, and your partner needs to change back or he'll be in big trouble. Let's just wait for five more minutes and then go." The rest sighed, but complied. It was four and a half minutes before the green Saber, carrying the rescued blue Saber, came back and said that they were done here. Chapter Thirty-Nine =================== Sylia regained consciousness quietly, not opening her eyes. Her body felt like it was upright, arms stretched out to either side and legs pointed downwards. She was still in her hardsuit, minus her helmet, but by minutely moving her limbs found that it was either immobilized or nonfunctional. Sadly, she was noticed. "Ah. I see you have finally awakened, Sylia. Good." That voice! Sylia thought, shocked, and immediately opened her eyes to see a familiar figure standing and smiling in front of her. "Largo," she acknowledged him neutrally. "So you were not fully destroyed." The silver-haired man smiled mockingly and shook his head. "Sylia, Sylia, Sylia... How can mortals like yourself truly kill a god?" The corners of her lips twitched upwards. "By deleting all his backups?" Largo angrily narrowed his eyes. Sylia finally looked around and wondered what was going on. Her helmet was positioned near her feet at the base of the metal cross she was attached to. Crucified? she sighed mentally in disgust at the melodrama. She saw Nene, still unconscious, in a similar position to her own on another cross beside her. The crosses were on a raised platform on one end of a large room. There was a huge metal door on her right. Two other figures working behind a bank of machines by the left wall caught her attention for she recognized both. One was Dr. Miriam, the mad scientist who had attacked ADPolice HQ with his Boomers but had escaped police hands;she had wondered where he had gone. The other was the beautiful woman who had identified herself as 'Yanda' before Nene and Sylia had been knocked unconscious. Largo noticed her interest. "My vassals," he said, waving at the busy duo. "The man was quite useful once he realized the beauty of my grand design." "And the woman?" "She was originally an experiment; I had little resources to start with so it was time to activate her." Largo smiled thinly. "Yanda is...most efficient, and she recruited the good doctor for me." "Where are my other friends, Largo? What are you up to?" Sylia demanded. Largo laughed in true amusement. "Priss, she who loathes feeling helpless, has become the bait for an amusing diversion. Your other...friend I let go to deliver a message for me." "Diversion? Message?" "All part of the game. You see....I have a score to settle with the one who destroyed my last incarnation." He turned to her and smiled a cruel smile that did not reach his eyes. "With the Crystal Knight." Twister's armoured form became visible when he turned off the cloaking option in his suit. He stood in front of the gate to what appeared to be some kind of old Genom testing facility for Boomers. Likely shut down when further Boomer development was banned, at least for the public's benefit. Secret ones likely existed elsewhere; that was like Genom. The first Boomers were even more unstable than the modern ones of today, Twister thought, which means the place is probably heavily armoured. His musing was disrupted when the gate opened with a grating sound. "Great. Upgraded haunted house. Just perfect," he sighed. Despite his misgivings, he entered the building. There wasn't much choice until he found out more about the place. Speaking of which... Normally Twister wouldn't scan with his telekinesis over a wide area if he could help it, but anything he found would be useful. He started probing. Dr. Miriam grinned evilly. "I'm getting a reading!" he crowed. "He's being cautious, but we will get more out of what he does than he," Yanda commented by his side. Sylia overheard this and was puzzled by their remarks. Largo smiled up at her. "Our guest has arrived, and the trap is prepared. Now the play begins!" "You're mad," Sylia said. Largo raised an eyebrow. "Wait and see, my dear Sylia. Wait and see." What the heck?!? There were LARGE sections of the building he could not 'see' with his telekinesis. Somehow, something was interfering with his scans. It didn't feel like much, but it was just enough to 'blind' him like a cloth over the eyes. Largo had done his homework this time, and he obviously knew that the Crystal Knight was psionic. But where did he get the technology? Another door opened ahead of him and he had to move on. Miriam frowned in annoyance. "He's stopped." "Likely discovered the 'blind spots' we've created. They won't interfere with his abilities much; he just can't sense anything beyond a few feet." "I haven't had nearly enough time to isolate what we need," Miriam complained. "You'll get plenty of opportunity in a few more minutes." Dr. Miriam furrowed his brow. "What?" "You haven't heard this part of what's planned." Yanda smiled at him. "It's a surprise." Miriam frowned, but turned back to his instruments. If the woman wanted to play games that was fine with him, but she'd better be right. Twister was finally led into a spacious staging area that had been used to pit Boomer against Boomer in order to test their effectiveness. The way in had been through a huge and thickly armoured door, slamming shut behind him. Each wall had one of the immense doors, but it was the far wall that caught his attention. Beyond the far wall was where one of the 'dead' zones was, so did the walls on either side, but there was a large vid-screen newly installed high on that wall. He walked towards it, and when he reached the middle of the testing area the screen flashed into life, displaying the architect of all this. Largo. The incarnation of Brian Mason smiled. "Welcome, Crystal Knight. It's a pleasure to see you again, despite our last encounter." "Too bad it wasn't that. Last, I mean." "Oh no," Largo disagreed. "I planned too far ahead for that." "That's obvious. All right, Largo," Twister called out as he raised his voice, "if you wanted to fight me again, why did you capture the Knight Sabers? Let them go." "Oh, I do want to fight you, Crystal Knight. That is a certainty." Largo's smile was not something Twister was pleased to see. "I've deduced you have some protective feelings towards my first foes and to ensure your coming I brought them here." The screen split in two, one with Largo and the other showing Sylia and Nene hanging helplessly in their hardsuits, but without their helmets to make them plainly identifiable. Sylia was awake but Nene was still out. "But," Largo went on, "I want to test you first." "Test me?" Twister didn't like the sound of that. He saw Largo glance off-screen, likely signalling someone else unseen. A second later, he heard the sound of large doors opening to either side of him, and what was behind them.... Boomers. A LOT of Boomers. Oh. Boy. He stopped counting at thirty and that was just with the 55-C's he saw. There were older models as well, probably from here and reactivated, but also BU-12 combat Boomers with their bazooka arms and dual rockets. Organic- looking Boomers were included as well; humans, like the way Steelfist had been converted, except they didn't ACT like humans, they looked Boomer to the core. Twister frowned; Boomers could have their memories erased, and Largo seemed to have done just that. They weren't remotely human any longer. "You call this a test?" he said, anger at what Largo had done making his tone icy. "The numbers are a little uneven." Largo looked mock-thoughtful. "Then perhaps I should provide incentive." He walked up to the helpless Knight Sabers and the dual screen became one again. "Defeat my Boomers, get though the door in front of you, and then you can fight me to save your friends." Nene choose that moment to groggily regain consciousness, she became wide awake when she saw Largo. "Ah, my other caged bird has finally awakened," he commented with a cruel smile. "S-Sylia, what's going on?" the hacker nervously whispered. "Stay calm, Nene, everything will be all right," Sylia said calmly. "Will they?" Largo replied, and without any warning whatsoever, lifted his hand towards the helpless red-head. Nene had just enough time to widen her eyes before a wave of force left his hand.... ...and punched a hole through her forehead. "NENE!!" Sylia screamed in disbelief and horror as her friend's head jerked backwards, then slowly rolled forward, lifeless. Unconcerned with her reaction, Largo turned back to address the Crystal Knight, who had seen it all. "As you see, you had best hurry before I tire of Sylia. Shall we begin?" Twister was absolutely silent, his helmet fixed on the image of Nene. The Boomers had surrounded him and were waiting for their master's command, but Crystal Knight appeared to care less about them now. Largo peered from at the Knight from the screen. "Oh? Did you like that one? That's a disappointment; I would have chosen Sylia instead if I had known. Oh, well. That's life." Twister turned from looking at the lifeless Nene, to Largo. The black crystal visor on the Knight's helmet slowly revealed two glowing blue orbs for eyes. And the Knight finally spoke. "Largo..." The power-mad, silver haired android had to pause when he heard the Knight say his name, so did Miriam and Yanda, and even Sylia lifted her impassive face as she tried to mentally compose herself. The voice that had spoken was distorted as usual, but this time there was ... SOMETHING behind it that suggested a coldness beyond even what an emotionless computer was capable of, and far more deadly. Even in her private grief, Sylia knew Largo had crossed a line that he probably shouldn't have. She knew fairly well what Twister could do when angered, and she wasn't sure what she should feel about now considering what had provoked such a reaction. The Crystal Knight spoke again in that same unnerving manner. "You will die." It was a statement of a fact that WOULD happen. Largo wasted no more words. "Begin!" he ordered his Boomers. One 55-C started the attack first and leaped straight for the crystalline figure. The armour made no move to avoid the devastating punch the Boomer was about to unleash. And the android stopped in mid-air a few feet in front of its target. The other Boomers hesitated for a moment while the Boomer found it couldn't move, and the Knight was still as immobile as a statue. Therefore, the Boomer opened its mouth to reveal the hidden particle cannon and...never got the chance to fire. For the Knight's glowing eyes had flared and the Boomer was flung helplessly towards the large vid-screen. It began to melt from the sheer telekinetic force Twister had flung at the android, its molecules given enough energy to flow freely. By the time it impacted on the screen, it was little more than a flaming fireball. The monitor shattered and exploded along with the hapless Boomer that had been decimated by the Knight. Yanda saw the destruction of the Boomer and screen and turned to Dr. Miriam, who was gaping at the sight. "I suggest you pay attention to your instruments so we can safely proceed with the plan," she advised. He stared at her for a moment, then turned to his panel and frantically continued the task he was striving to accomplish. And from what he had seen, he had better succeed damn fast. It was total war in the Boomer testing set. Seeing the demise of the first Boomer, the others attacked the crystalline armoured form en masse, and thus did the carnage began for Twister blurred into action. He was in constant motion, for with all the firepower being aimed at him to stand still would have been suicide. All the while his eyes glowed a cold blue. The first wave met glowing diamond swords created from the carbon in the air, and the preternaturally sharp blades cut deep with psi-enhanced strength backing their deadly arcs. And the machines found they couldn't swarm him; he just jumped up out of the onrush and came back down before the others could fire on him, carving more lessons into Boomer armour. When the Boomers drew back, he stood unharmed and surrounded by the corpses of twelve or so androids. Then the cybernetic AI's played smarter, seeing pure brute force would not work; Boomers could be persistent in the attack, but even they knew something needed to be changed when they were losing this badly. So they spread out and began firing from a distance, moving constantly and staying away from those swords. They needn't have worried about that; Twister knew that without massed targets the swords weren't worth draining energy from himself. Besides, he needed his hands free to help dodge the barrage of incoming fire from the masses of Boomers. Bullets were an annoyance, the occasional heat blast was helpfully absorbed into his armour, but the shells from the BU-12's and the particle beams licking close to where he had been split seconds before were the real threats. There were simply too many Boomers to dodge forever, and indeed, a bazooka blast finally caught him, jarring and slowing him enough to get hit in the foot with a particle blast. The armour was tough, and had a minor force field to add to its durability, but the beam was strong enough to shatter the front part with a sound of breaking ice and cracking the area where the heel was. Shards bit into the reddened foot revealed and blood flowed. Normally, Twister would have flinched, and that would have been fatal at this time. But with icy rage he ignored the pain, sparing enough concentration on ejecting the diamond shards from his foot, even though they were slowly becoming carbon dust. He cooly decided it was time to strike back. On his next leap, wary of the damaged but slowly regenerating boot, he spun and began his offensive. "Double C-Sphere," he ordered. His armour reacted to the command and in each cupped hand shining orbs appeared. Which he tossed with calculated accuracy at his inhuman opponents, damaging a combat Boomer with one and tossing back two converted humans with the other. Twister bounded off a partially destroyed wall of one of the mock-up buildings, directly towards a pair of Boomers still trying to machine gun him. Hands pointed at the heads of the cyberdroids, he attacked again, mentally commanding his suit this time. On each hand, five red beams of light were emitted from the fingers and were concentrated into a single intense beam of coherent light. The ruby shafts lanced through the Boomers' heads after a half-second of burning armour, insulation, and digital brain matter. He stopped firing immediately when they punched through; the lasers drained the armour a considerable degree. Then he was slammed to the floor by a force from above. Three Boomers had hidden on the roofs of the buildings and had leaped on him while he was focused on lasering the now-destroyed Boomers. His precedence always warned him in life-threatening instances, but these had not attacked with lethal force. Two gripped his arms in arm locks, making sure they were immobile and unable to aim weapons or use swords. The one on his legs wrapped its arms around his limbs to prevent struggling. The other Boomers stopped firing, thinking he was caught, and took a step forwards. Foolish, he thought clinically, I don't NEED to move. An intense fireball, pyrokinetic in origin, exploded outwards with the Crystal Knight and the three startled Boomers in the center, blowing back the others who had started to advance. "Impressive," Largo observed as he watched the monitor, "for a human. He certainly displays a great deal more skill and power when properly motivated," he told Sylia, smiling cruelly. The elder Stingray was not amused. "I'd destroy you myself if I could," Sylia said in a tone almost as chilly as Twister's had been. The heavy sorrow over Nene's death was pushed aside for the moment, leaving behind a burning resolution to obliterate the silver-haired evil fixed in her sights. "But I think the Knight will do that long before I get the chance. He's easily tearing through that army of Boomers you've gathered against him because you've enraged him to the point where he's fighting without moral restraint. WHY?!" she demanded. "My dear, he still has a formidable force left against him; it still remains to be seen whether or not he will succeed. And if he does..." Largo smiled as he turned back to the carnage unfolding on the screen, "all the better." Sylia stared at him in disbelief; was he mad?? Over by the control panels, Yanda watched the monitor with an odd and unreadable expression on her face. To Miriam, she asked, "Is it done?" "Almost!" he replied with eagerness in his voice. "He is using his abilities at a low level to increase his physical attributes, but when he uses them to a greater degree, like that fireball, I have considerable progress finding the key we need. One more use of that sort and we'll be ready!" he crowed. "Excellent," she replied absently, absorbed on the display. Twister rushed out of the smoky crater, determined to finish this fight quickly so he could confront Largo. As with the lasers, he again commanded his armour to activate one of the two weapons he had not used yet since its creation. The raised portions of his armour with the openings were there for a reason, and a Boomer found out why when they unleashed a massive volley of what was best described as energy bullets, hitting it in mid-torso. They did no damage for a second, at least until the energy density building in the Boomer's armour and internal workings passed their ability to contain the destructive forces and imploded violently. The Boomer became a tightly compacted ball and swallowed a fellow Boomer's arm in the bargain. It was weapon developed so that if a human were to be hit by a few of the 'bullets' then no harm would come to them as the energy dissipated rapidly in matter. However, past a certain point... Again, it was another energy intensive weapon and as a result Twister's armour started to gain weight. ***DANGER!!!*** Time slowed down as perceptions accelerated in response to the precognitive warning. Four Boomers had coordinated together were firing their mouth-mounted particle cannons in such a manner as to entrap the Crystal Knight in a cage of blue annihilation. To be closed with lethal results. The beams were rushing towards him and there was not enough time for a leap. Despite the situation, Twister still did not wish to teleport, it was an ace to be played only in a dire emergency when there were no other options available. And there was one for this assault. Matter is energy, energy is matter. Manipulate one, and you can do the same with the other. Focusing on the incoming beams, Twister concentrated intensely as they came closer... closer... come ON... closer... MOVE!!! And slowly, the beams began to curve. In normal time, one saw the blue shafts stab towards the black and silver figure, certainly about to strike dead on. Then they crazily angled away a half meter's distance from him, missing him completely and incidently destroying another Boomer. That was an accident, however beneficial to Twister, who had not aimed the beams. With all the Boomers in the area there had been a good chance an android would be hit. The effort had been very tiring, but there was no time to rest. "That's it! I've got the frequency!" Miriam shouted triumphantly. He reached out to push a button on the panel, but a slim, yet strong, female hand stopped him. Somewhat angrily, the scientist glared at Yanda. "What...?" "Patience, Doctor," she chided him. "We have to wait for the right moment. Which is not yet. You ARE sure it will work?" "It worked perfectly on the other one," he replied, yanking back his hand and rubbing it; the woman had a strong grip. "And it will work again." "Very well." Turning to face Largo she called out, "It is ready." Largo turned from the monitor at this, and considered the news. "Good, then I should speed things up." He did not touch a control, but when he spoke his voice was echoed in the Boomer test chamber. "Enough delay! Finish him!" The still-numerous Boomers in the chamber paused as they digested the new command. Twister, on the other hand, felt renewed wrath upon hearing the once dead, and soon to be dead again, man's voice. "Finish...or BE finished?" he stated coldly to his enemies. "This ends now. FROST!!!!!" he bellowed as loud as he could. And as the Boomers began to advance, something peculiar began to transpire. One was that the temperature in the spacious room started to drop for no visible reason, nothing major, but it steadily continued. The second was that frost WAS beginning to form on the Crystal Knight armour. As the mass of firing Boomers rushed him, Twister cut loose with his suit's weapons; the process had begun so he could afford to, wasting energy would only minorly slow it. Lasers scythed across the Boomers, melting armour, punctuated by exploding spheres and implosions. The temperature passed -10 Celsius and continued to plummet. Twister retreated towards the only door that hadn't opened, where Largo awaited no doubt. What he was about to do would be devastating and he had to face away from that door. His frosty armour, normally black, was starting to lose that light-absorbing color and was becoming a riot of multi-faceted hues that glittered luminously. When he moved, he sparkled. Temperature -40 and dropping. His lasers were going full time, along with his energy bullets, but it couldn't stop the fact that his suit was slowly becoming brighter. Now the frost was starting to melt from the radiant energy of the suit. Around him, Boomers were starting to notice the temperature drop at last; the surrounding area was turning white from precipitating moisture. His shattered boot had long regenerated from the excess energy that was quickly making the armor too bright to watch. Now! With a great leap, he arced high over the ground and landed right in front of his enemy's door, then turned to face the mass of Boomers following him. Placing arms and legs into an X formation, he roared, "FIRE!!!" Twister's second diamond-based suit was essentially a magical heat sink. Normally, it limited its normal passive energy storage because if lasers should hit it extra room was needed to absorb and store the excess energy. The FrostFire attack changed that in two ways: in that mode the armour ACTIVELY gathered heat energy, and had no limits on gathering it. The only way to stop it was to release ALL the armour's energy, save a little to sustain the armour's integrity, and throw it at the enemy. The armour could hold a lot of power. Upon his command, energy streamed from all of the armour's plates, gathering in a globe of writhing malestromic hunger and eager to burn all in its way. Still drawing life from that which had created it, the four foot plasma ball rocketed towards its prey, trailing tendrils of energy behind in its wake. The alarmed Boomers dodged out of its way, but not far enough. Not nearly far enough. A small portion of hell erupted in their midst. The flare of light burned out the camera's optics, but what had happened was clear. "I suppose we should prepare for my guest," Largo commented in the stunned silence. Twister studied the destruction he had caused. Quite a few of the structures in the chamber had either collapsed or been blown away. Most of the Boomers caught near the blast had melted into unrecognizable shapes, those further away had been hit so badly they had become non-functional. There had been one or two that had survived semi-intact, but he had dealt with them. Doing that had turned part of his arm armour into diamond dust. His protective suit had not escaped the strains of firing his weapon of last resort and was wavering between reconstitution and collapse. Turning, feeling parts of his brittle armour creak, and even rip or crack, he faced the door that stood between him and Largo. It was the same as the others he had seen open to the chamber; large, massive, and very, very thick. Little chance using his suit at the moment to open it. He tried his psi-senses, but there was that field blocking them again and it JUST protected the door. He was unsure he could just rip it open with TK. He tried melting a portion, but the time it took to get it just to cherry-red was too long. He even tried Mindfire and...metal flowed. What?? Once more with Mindfire, and again metal parted like liquid mercury. In more normal circumstances Twister would have been very surprised, but now, seeing a way to get in, he merely gathered a large ball of Mindfire and threw it into the depression. It tunnelled through the thick door, waves of blue fire radiating outwards and taking away layers of armour with them. It would soon break through. Soon.... Then Largo would die. The glow on the door was the first indication of the Knight's arrival. Then the light brightened and an opening appeared in the barrier. Like melting wax the metal flowed open, eventually making a passageway large enough to stride through. And someone with glowing blue eyes did just that. "Ah, my armour-clad foe, welcome at last," Largo said, standing by Sylia's helpless form. "I hope you weren't too disappointed with your opponents." The Knight said nothing, only lifted a hand where a sharp-looking sword appeared, burning with a wintry blue fire that flickered along the diamond blade. Fortunately, his armour was in slightly better shape now so nothing shattered on his arm. "No words? Pity. I've grown to love those speeches before fights blood enemies seem to thrive on. However..." He snapped his fingers. Dr. Miriam, unnoticed by the Knight, pressed the button he had been waiting to push. He felt quite satisfied with the results; the Knight's blade was extinguished and then disintegrated. "A fight is more interesting if the playing field is evened in my favor," Largo finished with an evil smirk. Twister lifted his armoured hand and regarded it. He tried to use his psionics, but found that he couldn't get them to stir. "Damping field," he concluded flatly. "Very good." Largo applauded politely. "While you were fighting, the good doctor and my assistant searched for your particular psi-frequency. You cannot use psionics while the inhibiter field is attuned to you." Flexing a hand, Twister felt the armour was almost back in shape, but Largo noticed the action. "And I have not gone to all this trouble just to see you try to blast me with that unusual armour you wear. Take it off," Largo pointed a hand in Sylia's direction, "or there will be another Saber to die." The Knight was still for a moment, then nodded slowly and darkness surrounded him. When it faded, a figure in a motorcycle outfit and helmet stood before the power-mad android. "Unusual method for removing a hardsuit," Largo commented, raising an eyebrow. "A friend helped me make it," Twister's normal voice shot back coldly. Both silver-haired android's eyebrows shot up this time. "Indeed? I suspect I know who... But no matter. Take off your helmet. I wish to see your face." "What does that matter to a dead Boomer?" Largo sighed dramatically. "Very well, perhaps if I offer some hope? Yanda?" he queried. The blonde woman nodded and pushed a button. A large section of wall behind Sylia lifted into the ceiling and a second later the biggest Boomer Twister had ever seen stepped out holding something, no, someONE... "NENE!?!" Twister shouted disbelievingly. And it did look like the red- head in her softsuit, struggling helplessly in the big Boomer's two handed grip. She saw him and hope flared in her eyes, "Twister! What are you doing here?!" The use of his name extinguished the coldness in his chest; it was Nene all right. "How touching. You DO know each other," Largo remarked as the Boomer stepped around the crucifixes allowing Nene a full view. "Sylia! You're all right! I..." Her next sentence died in her throat when she saw what looked like herself in her hardsuit, but with a hole in the forehead! "W-what's going on?" she asked shakily. "I wanted the Crystal Knight," he paused, "sorry, Twister here to be in a fighting mood so I switched you with an android double that I had handy and pretended to kill you." Largo smiled at the horrified Nene. "And it worked satisfyingly well." "That's HORRIBLE!!" "Thank you." He turned to Twister. "Your helmet?" Twister shrugged; it wouldn't matter much to show his face, and he was relieved Nene was alive. He lifted the helmet off his head and placed it on the ground. "Satisfied?" he asked. Largo was surprised. "A teenager?? A TEENAGER?!?" he demanded. "What, is that a problem?" The brown haired young man smiled wryly. "Ah well, 'tis sad to disappoint ye." Largo narrowed his eyes angrily. "If I defeat you, as you've apparently been itching to fight me all night, the Sabers and I get to go. Fair?" Largo's answer was to point his hand in the psionist's direction and fired one of his force bolts, but Twister was already in the air, arcing towards the reincarnated android. Dropping down near his opponent, Twister rushed the hyperboomer, knowing that hesitating would prove fatal with this adversary. He had fought and beaten Largo before, but he had the element of surprise then, and with Sylia and Nene captured he couldn't afford to pull his punches. Even without psi-boosting he was quicker than an ordinary human being, a fact that likely allowed him to be able to get a free punch in. Focusing his ki in his fist as much as he could, the strike streaked towards a surprised Largo's head, and connected. The results were surprising. Metal crumpled as false flesh gave way to the irresistible force of his fist. It continued inward halfway, crushing the manufactured brain inside the braincase, before the momentum of Twister's hand finally transferred itself to the stricken android's body. The head shot off the hand that had crushed it, dragging the body below it for a distance for a few feet before the whole lifeless mess fell to the ground. Twister stood in shock, withdrawing his hand back as it dripped Boomer fluids. "What?" he said numbly. "How...? My punch should've only knocked him back at best the way he was built last time, not destroy him!" "That is correct," a female voice said. Everyone focused their attention on Yanda, who had spoken, she in turn was intently looking at Twister. "What do you mean?" the psionist asked. Yanda smiled. "That was not the true Largo, only a duplicate installed with a weaker form of force projector to make it look like he was. No, that imitation was not him." Her next words were the biggest surprise yet. "_I_ am Largo." Chapter Forty ============= The room was silent as Twister stood above the destroyed android they had all thought was Largo. Sylia cursed mentally for not realizing it; the fake had acted less superior than the previous Largo, a fact she had attributed to the shock of being defeated once. But neither had she suspected the female Yanda to be Largo's next incarnation. Something strange was going on here. Yanda came around the equipment she had been standing behind as Dr. Miriam gaped stupidly at her; this was news to him too. "I am Largo," she repeated, then reconsidered her words. "Or at least I am the newest reincarnation of Brian Mason." She eyed the surprised Twister as she came closer. "Admittedly, you are younger than I had thought, but nevertheless, I am pleased." "Pardon?" Twister wondered if he had heard that right. "You've passed my test." "Test?!?" Nene demanded incredulously in the huge Boomer's grip, still unnerved at seeing herself, admittedly a fake in her hardsuit, with a hole in her forehead. "This has all been a TEST??" "Yes," Yanda said, confirming it. "Perhaps I should elaborate. You see, when Largo was destroyed his death activated a revival procedure. But this had been ill-prepared, for Largo had begun to think himself invulnerable and started other plans before building another body for himself. He was a God, why should he bother? But he left several test androids of himself and they had no choice but to resurrect Largo, no matter what form he wore. "You see, my current body WAS an experiment. Designed to be a 'mate' for him and Sylia to be the mind engraved into it." Sylia looked like she didn't appreciate the honour. "The androids first loaded Mason's brain engrams, but I woke up before they could download Largo's memories. "I was enraged. They tried to explain, but I had them wipe their programming and not being fully sentient they complied. So then I was left with three android look-alikes of what I had expected to look like, and HAD, but stuck in this female form...and its hardware-burned imperatives. "The most compelling was to find a worthy mate, and obey him." Twister's eyes widened as he started to realize what she was driving at. "You don't mean..." he began, but trailed off. Yanda tossed her hair back with a sigh. "The parameters Largo placed in my body demanded my mate be a superior life form, and that it possessed certain strengths and qualities. Supposedly, that life form was to have been Largo, who was destroyed." Yanda smiled at the irony. "However, I watched Largo's memory tapes to understand what had happened, and drew a conclusion: he had been mentally unfit to be my mate, and by his own standards yet! "I now faced the same dilemma the androids which had activated me had faced. I needed a mate, so I decided to create one." "Understand this, I knew what happened to Mason, and saw what Largo did. A serious self-examination showed I needed to change or else face the same insanity Largo fell into. That meant accepting this form, which I have. And now, as you have seen, I am quite different from either of my predecessors, if I have to obey my mate then I will. But if my mate is of my design and of a similar will then I will be happy for we will desire the same things. "So Dr. Miriam and I created nanomachines, based on Dr. Stingray's work." She took out a vial from a coat pocket and tossed it to Twister, who cautiously grabbed it. He was starting to get a bad feeling about all this. "The vial you hold contains an improved version of the nanites used to change humans to Boomers. It will preserve your mental abilities while changing you into a hyperboomer similar to what Largo had been. Then you will be my perfect mate and I will have to obey you, but you will also be devoted to me." "And if I don't?" Twister asked her, dubiously holding the vial. "Then it would be a pity to lose such talented humans as your friends." "... I guess I don't have much choice." Before Sylia or Nene could shout, his fist tightened and the vial shattered, slicing his palm and releasing the nanites into his system. Across town, a pair of scaly-lidded eyes blinked open... ...and glowed. Yanda smiled when she saw the brown-haired young man wince seconds after the vial was broken. Sylia kept a neutral expression, but Nene looked on with horror. "The nanites have begun their work," she observed, pleased that her plans were coming to fruitation at last. It was pity the process needed to go much slower than the ordinary conversion process, she thought, but a hyperboomer needed precision work. Twister ground his teeth together; his hand felt like it was on fire! Dr. Miriam frowned as he observed what his scanners were telling him. "The nanites are slowing down," he told the woman, who was the person he was actually working for all this time. He'd jumped at the opportunity to experiment with the nanites; the lure of becoming a powerful Boomer and gaining near-immortality had been too great to resist. Miriam would be his own best creation! Surprised, Yanda whirled to face him. "What? Why?" she demanded. Behind her, Twister gasped in relief as the pain lessened to more manageable levels. Blinking, Miriam studied his readings more carefully. "His physiology is different than what the nanites were programmed to deal with. A normal scan doesn't show it, but when I try more detailed readings I find abnormalities. Stronger skeletal structure, differently constructed muscles, more efficient immune system..." Miriam looked up, surprise in his eyes. "I don't think he's human." "Oh, you really want to make me feel better, don't you?" Twister said, grimacing at the pain. "So I had an accident a while ago that changed my body. Normal occurrence, absolutely bloody normal." "What sort of 'accident' was this?" Yanda said neutrally, turning back to him. "The sort that alters your body and gives you psionic powers." He shrugged. "At the time I didn't have much choice in the matter." "When did this..." Yanda began, but her attention was drawn by something that zipped into the room using the hole Twister had made earlier. It fluttered to a stop and perched onto the startled psionist's shoulder. "Char?!?" Twister exclaimed in surprise. "How did you get here??" The miniature red dragon chirped happily and settled down more securely. "What is that?" the blonde pseudo-sexaroid/hyperboomer demanded. Feeling better with Charcoal's arrival, Twister grinned. "A pet of another red-headed friend of mine who might be nearby." And closer than you think, he thought with rising humour. Yanda frowned. "That store owner? I'd received some disturbing reports about her. She should've been disabled, at least for one night," she muttered, pondering this new development. With his psi-powers nullified, Twister had been wondering how to free Sylia and Nene, but now the dragon provided a solution. "If you find her disturbing, this ought to be downright distressing. Char!" The mini-wyrm looked at him curiously. "Free Nene and Sylia and destroy that Boomer!!" He nodded his head to indicate the trapped Sabers. Miriam scoffed at that announcement. "How can that thing...?" The scientist's mouth dropped open when, after launching from the psionist's shoulder, Charcoal enlarged enormously in mid-flight. The gigantic Boomer Miriam had created dropped Nene so it could use its arms to defend itself as the red dragon ploughed into it with a deafening roar. The freed red-head scrambled frantically out of the way away from the two behemoths, heading for Sylia. Yanda began to lift an arm her way. "I don't think so!" Twister shouted, leaping forwards at his true foe. She blocked his kick with both arms, but fell back as she hadn't been fully ready to defend. "The nanites are in your system now. There is no point in resisting me!" Yanda shouted, responding with a barrage of punches aimed more at knocking him out than killing him. "Lady, you don't know me very well, do you?" Twister smiled grimly as he brought his hands up in front of him. Fighting the pain, he summoned his ki. His nanite-infected hand throbbed intensely, but he continued gathering power and a globe of energy appeared between his hands. "MOUKO TAKABISHA!!" he shouted, throwing his ki at the startled Yanda. The blue beam hit her with stunning force and she flew back towards Miriam, who quickly ducked to avoid being hit, crashing into panels hard enough to leave an impression in the metal. She fell to the floor before rising to shake her head; while she was much stronger than a sexaroid, she was not built nearly as well as her former self. Her chosen mate obviously had more than psionic power at his command, and whatever he had used had jarred and/or damaged a few of her systems. The setting was too uncertain now, she decided, best to retreat now and try again later. Yanda got up and ran out a small door that had been well hidden and unnoticed, Miriam following at her heels. "Sonofa..." Quickly, Twister looked to see how the others were doing before pursuing. Nene had found a release mechanism for the holds on Sylia and had freed her. The white hardsuit was opened on the ground while Sylia was quickly trying to reconnect the power supply. Nene, looking slightly nauseous, was taking her double out of her red suit. The battle between Char and the giant Boomer continued, more of a wrestling match actually, but it looked like the red wyrm was gaining the advantage. Personally, Twister was amazed the Boomer was standing up to his creation and wondered if Char was playing with the thing. He started to go after the two criminals who had fled, but Sylia's voice made him pause. "Are you well enough to go after them?" Twister held up his hand to check it. It looked different, paler than it should have been, and the pain was starting to travel up his arm. Still manageable, but barely. "I'm fine," he replied to answer her, and it actually wasn't too far from the truth. "I have to stop them or else they'll get away and do even more damage sometime later." Sylia nodded. "I'll try to find that damper keeping you from using your powers." Twister nodded, and then ran out of the room. "And be careful," Sylia added quietly. He ran down a hallway and came across an area that looked like the two's main working area from all the equipment strewn about. A sound that came from a certain direction gave him a clue as to where his prey had fled and the psionist sprinted down the hallway from which it had come. He came across an open door and rushed inside, only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight that greeted him. It wasn't the fact that Miriam and Yanda were in the room; it was the struggling, purple-haired person gagged and strapped naked to a metal table that shocked him. Madagan! Of course, he thought grimly, they would have needed a test subject for whatever they had used to nullify his power, and the purple-haired Genom executive would have been perfect. How they had found out about her powers was unknown, but he wouldn't wish being a test subject for Miriam on anyone. >From the burning look she gave the doctor, Twister felt that she had plenty to pay back for what he had done to her. On hearing him enter, Yanda fled out the room's second door. Miriam tried to follow, but the door slammed shut and would not open again. Madagan stopped her struggling on seeing Twister's arrival, but didn't know him and warily watched from her helpless position. From a pocket, Miriam pulled out some kind of device and whirled to face the male psionist. "Stop right there, Crystal Knight, or I'll kill this woman!" the scientist shouted, sweat forming on his brow. Twister could visibly see the shock and amazement on Madagan's face when she realized who had come after her tormentors; this was the first time she had seen his male face. "And how would ye do that?" he asked the doctor. "There is a device implanted in her brain. One push of this button and it will activate. It is located by the pain center and once on it will produce unending agony." Twister digested this, taking note of the rage in Madagan's eyes, indicating the man had likely used it at least once before. "You seem to like inflicting pain," Twister observed, holding up his hand that was obviously different so that Madagan could see. "Torturing women, changing humans to Boomers, or at least trying to in my case." The Genom exec's eyes widened again as she realized what the hand meant. "Kidnapping Madagan to test the psi-damper, or whatever you call it, before you used it on me? How are you damping us both?" He put emphasis on the 'how' and 'both'. "We used a smaller prototype," Miriam gloated, completely missing the direction Madagan jerked her head, towards a blocky machine with a few glowing lights. "A larger one was made for you, being more powerful than she." "READY, weren't we?" Twister said offhandedly as Miriam slid across the far wall. Madagan tensed. "We were, and everything would have gone perfectly if that blasted creature hadn't shown up!" "You mean the one on the floor you're about to bump into?" "What?!" Panicked, the doctor looked down. A fatal mistake. Twister had been gathering himself and didn't waste the chance. He forgo the shouting of his ki move, and blasted the machine he knew to be the psi-damper for Madagan to bits. Miriam was momentarily shocked, but still managed to press the dreaded button, expecting his captive to start screaming. Instead, she began to glow. "I imagine she managed to burn out your little device," Twister said quietly. Horrified, Miriam tried to run, but was slammed into the wall by an unseen hand. The bonds trapping the purple-haired woman snapped open and the gag flew apart. Freed and glowing an angry yellow, Madagan slipped off the table and stood like a vengeful spirit. "So." She regarded her rescuer neutrally. "I finally see your face, Crystal Knight." "Aye, and this is the second time you've wound up without thy garments as well." He said that more to confirm his identity than for humor's sake; he wasn't feeling very funny right then. She covered herself with her hands, more out of reflex than modesty as she was too angry at Miriam to care much about dignity at the moment. "You turned away last time." "I'm in a hurry," he replied tersely. "The door?" She considered it, then nodded. The door opened at her silent command and Twister started for it. "No! You can't leave me here with her! She'll kill me!" Miriam pleaded. The brown-haired young man paused before leaving, looked Madagan in the eye and saw the burning fury directed at the doctor in them. He turned to regard the scientist with a frosty gaze. "Turnabout is fair play." He passed through the door's opening and it slid shut behind him. Madagan smiled thinly as she looked at the pale and heavily sweating doctor. The room was soundproofed, a fortunate fact. Running down the passageway, Twister sighed at what he had done. He couldn't have stopped Madagan anyway without psi, not that he had any desire to guessing what had happened between her and Miriam. And the doctor knew the faces, if not the identities, of the Knight Sabers. It was extremely doubtful he would get the chance to reveal that knowledge now. He was heading into a more run-down section of tunnel and knew he was on the right trail when he saw footprints made when Yanda had stepped in a puddle caused by a leaky pipe. Wait. A puddle of... water? "Going somewhere?" Yanda stopped dead when she heard the angry female voice behind her. Turning, she fired a force bolt from a hand, but the smaller figure behind her dodged the blast. When she landed, Yanda saw it was the red-headed store owner that she had sent that former Outrider leader against. And the young woman looked seriously irritated. The blonde frowned; she was almost to her planned exit and now this person had to find her. She kept her arm raised, backing away as the other person slowly advanced. "I hadn't hoped to meet you," she said. "Oh, but _I_ did," Darlene bared her teeth in a small snarl. "Sending Steelfist after me, kidnapping the Sabers, playing cat-and-mouse with Twister, and other things like converting helpless humans into Boomers." She took another step. Twister's change to Darlene had seriously confused the nanites and a spell had destroyed them before they could do more damage. Her hand was still messed up, and HURT, but as Twister she'd be able to fix that later. Right now, she wasn't in a pleasant mood. "You're NOT getting away, Yanda." "I beg to differ with you, I am!" Yanda fired another, stronger bolt. "Shield Field!" Darlene snapped out, and the blast impacted harmlessly on the protecting spell, wavering the air around a circular area of calmness centred on the mage. The blond pseudo-sexaroid stared in disbelief, backing away slightly. "This isn't going to be a grand battle, Yanda," Darlene proclaimed. "You've pissed me off BIG time. I can't afford to destroy you, but neither can I let you go." She frowned, then pointed a finger at her foe, who tensed. "Kind Bind." Threads shot out from the mage's finger in a wide pattern and whipped around the startled blonde, who had jumped forwards only to be caught in the onrush of the tough material. She snapped some of the threads, but more entwined themselves around her. Arms, legs, eyes, mouth; all were being wrapped with the whitish substance. Darlene stopped the flow when she saw Yanda was too busy struggling to hinder her next spell. The mage intoned: "Thy limbs grow stiff, Freedom has fled, No buts or if, Akin to the dead. You can not stir, Nor try to flee, Like the chained cur, Stay where you be." "NO!" Yanda shouted as her struggles weakened; she found herself stiffening! There was no reason for it, but she was finding it increasingly difficult to move her body below the neck. She tried valiantly, but it was no use; she found herself immobile in the threads that had critically detained her. Darlene walked over and stood above the helpless female, regarding her catch of the day. "I'm tempted to go into clothing sales and use you as a mannikin. You'd make a lovely one." She dispelled the threads and Yanda was rid of the white bindings that were unnecessary now; the second spell was far stronger. "Let me go!" Yanda demanded. "Not bloody likely," was the response. Darlene flipped the helpless blonde over to prevent her from seeing what happened next; she wasn't above some mischievousness. "All right, Knight, send her off," Darlene said before activating the armour. When, as Twister, he was in the suit, he checked and with some relief discovered Sylia had finally found the damper and turned it off. His hand was immediately fixed as he Healed it, undoing the damage the nanites had done to him. "See you later, Yanda," his modulated voice said, and teleported her away to his underground lair before he himself teleported to where the fake Largo had been. Sylia wasn't in the room, but Nene was at the controls that Yanda and Miriam had been standing behind. She had suited up again and had her helmet on. Still, he could almost see the antenna on her helmet perk up visibly when she noticed his arrival. "Twister!" Nene exclaimed, and rushed around the panel to give the crystalline armoured figure a relieved hug. "You're okay!" "Not for long," Twister wheezed, she had forgotten her suit's strength augmentation and was hugging a little too firmly. "Oh! Sorry," she said, abashed. "I was so worried! Sylia said you'd be okay, but still..." "I know." He looked at where he had last seen Char fighting the giant Boomer. There were scraps and pieces but nothing more of either party. "How did Charcoal do with that Boomer?" "Ah... He...ate it," Nene answered, not without a little hesitation. "Then disappeared." Twister snorted with amusement. "Figures." "Sylia took the...damaged android," the red-headed hacker understandably didn't give the double of her any personal reference, "to dispose of it while looking for the machine that was damping your powers. I traced all the information in the system here and deleted everything, except other possible locations where more data and/or materials could have been stored and copied it before trashing that too." "Great." The Crystal Knight took a last look around at the place, then shook his head; so pointless. "We'd better go. Madagan is here, so tell Sylia to hurry." "Madagan?! Why??" "They needed a test subject." Nene digested that information, and he imagined her eyes widening. "Now she's free and is probably going to trash the place. I know she's usually a calm thinker, but I have a bad feeling she will make an exception in this case." He paused. "After she finishes with Miriam." Nene swallowed, and contacted Sylia who came back swiftly. Twister teleported them out of there immediately. Then he checked on the others. "You mean you actually USED the homing lasers???" Twister said disbelievingly after teleporting the group he'd met to his underground cavern. He'd found Linna, Priss, and Sylvie in the damaged D.D. near the location they had set up to meet later. They had to; the D.D. was not something easily carried around or left behind. Especially when the cloak he had made for it was gone! Which was the reason for his amazed question after Sylvie explained what had happened. "I was just trying something I saw on an anime once!" he exclaimed. "I'm not surprised you blew up the emitters. I never even set the computer to use it, that's why I didn't mention it." "How did the J-1 fire it then?" Sylvie demanded. Twister ran a hand through his hair, and sighed with a bewildered shrug. "I haven't a clue. Maybe the magic affected it somehow." "Great," Priss said. "Remind me never to ride something YOU make." She snickered at the warning fist he aimed in her direction. "Watch it, Priss," he advised. "I'd get you tomorrow for that crack, but I'll be busy getting ready so you're lucky." The others paused, then looked at each other. "Ready for what?" Linna asked curiously. Twister's face turned a little melancholy. "I'm leaving this universe in two days," he explained quietly. To say the others were stunned would be an understatement. Quincy calmly regarded the remains on his office floor of what had once been a very sophisticated android duplicate of Madagan, that was now so much scrap after the surprising arrival of the real one. Even now, the slightly haggard woman was glowing a little as she glared down at the burning remains. Her use of telekinesis was a very convincing evidence that this was indeed the original. The CEO of Genom looked up mildly. "I trust this can be explained, Miss Madagan?" Chapter Forty-One ================= "So you're really going?" Darlene stopped her packing of what little she was going to take in a large backpack and looked up at Nene, who appeared to be near tears. Her face softened and she stood up to embrace Nene in a hug that the other red-head reciprocated. "Hey, don't cry," she chastened. "I'll be back, pretty soon thanks to the quirks of the way I'm travelling." "I know," Nene sniffled as they separated. "I'm just worried that you'll never come back." "I'll be back. Count on it." The mage winked. "Then we'll REALLY turn this city upside down." She smiled roguishly as Nene giggled. "Come on, the others are waiting in the cave." The rest of the minor packing was finished in a more lighthearted mood. As Twister, he teleported them both to the huge underground hangar he had accidently made two years ago. The rest of the Knight Sabers, Mackie, and a seriously anxious Ryouga turned to them when they arrived. He'd given his sad good-byes to Sylvie and Anri at the store and asked them to keep running it in his absence. He had also told Charcoal to stay to protect the two sexaroids, hoping the dragon would obey. "You ready?" he directed to the bandanna wearing martial artist. "Can we hurry?" Ryouga demanded. Linna elbowed him, frowning. "We need to say good-bye, you big goof!" Ryouga sighed in annoyance and stepped away from the rest of the group to let them do so. "I doubt he'd be in as big a hurry if he had an idea of what's going to happen," Twister said with a grin. "The method I figured out is a little spectacular." "I can't wait," Priss quipped, grinning, then turned serious. "I hate to see a friend leave, so you better come back soon or I'll come after you, another universe or not!" "With you still owing me for subbing for you at Hot Legs? Oh, definitely not; I REALLY hate crowds, you know." "That's not what Leon told me from what he saw." She grinned as he gave her an irritated frown, then he chuckled. "You two getting together at last? Yipe!" Twister cried, avoiding the annoyed singer's swipe. She glared at him for a second, then sighed disgustedly before stepping forward to hug him. "Just come back soon." "I will." She let go to let Linna hug him as well. "Same goes for me," the black- haired woman said with a cheerful, yet sad, smile. "Thanks, Linna." When she released him, Twister turned to Mackie. "I know we haven't really talked too much to each other, but I'd just like to say thanks to you too, Mackie." He held out a hand, which Mackie accepted with a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I'm sorry we haven't talked much either," the younger Stingray said. "Maybe next time," Twister offered before releasing Mackie's hand, then frowned as he remembered something. "You know... I never did do anything for that photo you took..." Mackie suddenly started sweating. Sylia took mercy on him. "Have you prepared the 'package' yet?" she inquired, taking the psionist's attention off a relieved Mackie. "Yes, I'll get her." He closed his eyes to concentrate and suddenly a new arrival was teleported in. "Good evening, Yanda," he said pleasantly. The glare he got back was definitely not friendly. She was still in the dirty and stained clothes that he, as Darlene, had caught her in during that last battle. But she couldn't move, or make any action to initiate any contingency plans she may have made in case of capture. He and Sylia had agreed that destroying her, or even stasis, might not be wise until the senior Stingray could make sure it was safe. The others hung back, finding it hard to believe this gorgeous woman was Largo. Priss smirked at the idea of Mason/Largo becoming female, if a Boomer one. Yanda could still talk though. "Teleportation, telekinesis, levitation; all that and you waste it!" she cried out at Twister. "You and I could rule this planet and make it a better place." "I won't, because one; I have no desire to play king, two; your methods leave something to be desired, and three; there are still things about myself I need to learn about before I settle anywhere." "What are you talking about??" she demanded. For a reply, Twister took a small bottle of cold water from a pocket and splashed his face with the contents. Yanda was absolutely shocked at the transformation. Darlene smirked at her expression, and said, "Here's a hint. You would've needed a large amount of imagination to guess my two forms were the same person, hmm?" "You... you were the owner of that store?!? The one with the unknown power?!" "And that you tried to kill because I was an uncertainty? Oh, yes, I've been switching from psionics to magic for a while now." "Magic?! Don't tell me nonsense!" "Then how did I change? What keeps you still? There is nothing physical, no detectable energy, no change in your programming, nothing but the spell that I cast to keep you immobile." Darlene stepped away from the confused Yanda. "Maybe in a couple of centuries I'd even be able to turn you human. Now THAT would be ironic." She turned to Sylia. "You can take her out with the disks I made." Darlene had created small disks that allowed the Sabers to travel to the underground facility freely by means of a teleportation spell. It could come in handy for them, the mage figured. "Thank you, Darlene. And I wish you well too." Sylia smiled and gently hugged the red-head before letting her go. "Good-bye then," Darlene said, and smiled sadly at them all. She needed to get back, but didn't like having to leave friends behind. The mage sighed and turned to the one who was waiting for her. "Ready, Ryouga?" The lost boy started and picked up his pack, adjusting it into place. "Yes, let's hurry!" "Alright then, let's get a distance away first." They walked until they were ten feet away from the group watching. Then Darlene stopped, turned and waved one last time before taking a deep breath. And began her spell. "Powers of magic shall heed my call, Now's the time to pierce the wall, Of time and space, with driving force, Open the gate that starts our course!" A glowing circle seven feet in diameter on the floor surrounded the two travellers when Darlene finished. Energy discharges crackled along the edge as something began to happen to the floor enclosed within the circle. It looked like it was being pulled in a bell shape into the ground, but Darlene and a suddenly terrified Ryouga stayed standing in empty space where the floor used to be. Looking down briefly, the lost boy saw the floor becoming a tunnel, not a dark tunnel, but one that swirled images along its walls. He looked away quickly. Those watching were amazed, and a not little awed at what was happening. "Almost like a black hole was forming," Sylia observed quietly. "Time and space are curving below them, but not using gravity. And she's waiting for it to open fully..." Darlene started again, this time in a shout. "The gate is open, our path is set, Through the Void the goal is met, The link is made, so safely start, From this universe we now depart. Let us travel, without delay, Protection unending throughout the way, Magic shall gather, roil, and foam, For now begins the voyage HOME!" The energy crackling at the edges intensified, and spread a little ways from the circle, making the observers step back save Yanda, who could not. One of the bolts lanced straight for Darlene, who expected it and was ready. It was akin to plugging in a light socket when it hit; light flared from the circle. Darlene and Ryouga glowed slightly, then dropped into the tunnel below and began their journey home. But Darlene was new to this form of travel and there was some leftover magical energy where they had left that was uncontrolled. Most of it kept the gate open longer than it should have, the rest was attracted to the spells keeping Yanda paralysed. Like a neon snake, a curved line of purple energy lashed out from the circle and discharged into the android. The startled Sabers leaped backwards at the display. The meta-sexaroid jerked, but it did no harm to her systems. But now she could move. Yanda assessed options. She couldn't activate any defensive mechanisms and some lingering remnants of the spell still slowed her to normal human levels. The humans behind her could damage, or destroy, her if they had weapons, which was likely in at least two cases. Not very good conditions. And she had never made preparations for her demise. This was her third time alive, and Yanda had figured that if she failed again then there was no point in resurrecting yet another incarnation of Mason. If she had succeeded with Twister, she would have made some. Her plan had depended on finding a mate, and she still settled on Twister as the best logical choice by far, even with the startling revelations she had seen. But Yanda was free now and her mate was escaping to another universe by a means she could not hope to duplicate. There was little choice, really. She ran for the circle. Sylia and the others were too slow to react to Yanda's sudden freedom because of the spectacle they had just witnessed. Priss shouted angrily, but it was too late. Yanda jumped high, fell into the gate, and was immediately out of sight. Priss gaped. "Fuck me! She's crazy!" There was a sudden crackle of energy, another flash, and when the light was gone, there was no gateway and no trace of what had happened. All four Knight Sabers were stunned. "Do you think she made it?" Linna asked no one in particular. "Can we do a damn thing if she did??" Priss said in frustration. Sylia looked at where the three had vanished, and sighed. She pulled out the disk Darlene had given each of them for easy access to the cavern. "We'd better go." When the others looked at her, startled, she shook her head. "There is nothing we can do. Darlene should be able to handle her if Yanda survived and arrives in her universe. There's no point in worrying about what we can't help." "I guess you're right," Nene said slowly, reluctantly. Sylia smiled at her and despite what had happened the red-head cheered. "Let's go home," Sylia said. Unevenly, the four disappeared from the cavern. Leaving it empty and quiet, as if nothing had ever happened. "You can open your eyes now, Ryouga." Blinking, the frightened young man opened his eyes and viewed...nothing. Absolutely nothing. "W-where...?" he stammered out, registering the fact that he and Darlene hung unsupported in a white nothingness. The red-head chuckled at his question, but Ryouga noticed she looked tired; the effort to get them here must've taken more out of her than he had assumed. "This is the Void," Darlene explained. She took a look around, interested; it was her third time here, but the second time she had been unconscious. "For a blank slate it certainly is impressive." Daunting was more the word Ryouga labelled it. It was just too much... too much Void for him. "How long will it take? Are we even moving?" "How can you tell in this place?" she said exasperated. "I suppose we are; I can still feel the link. I suggest we close our eyes." "Why?" "The first time here I was told perception had something to do with Time in this timeless place. If we both close our eyes, we might get there faster." Ryouga immediately closed his eyes. Darlene rolled hers before following suit. Yanda's fall had been a mixture of terror and fascination. The Well had shown some sights some astronomers would kill for. The fact that her survival was uncertain left the experience rather flat. Then she had exited the Well and into the Void. The whiteness was an illusion; her optics registered no light, yet she could see herself. Obviously impossible, yet it was happening. When she looked back, she saw the mouth of the Well rapidly receding into what passed as the distance in this place. The only thing she COULD label this place was the Void. First I find out the mate I chose can become female, now this, she thought. Yanda knew of the infinite universe theory, but never expected it to be proven to her in this manner. As a test, she closed her eyes and ran a self-diagnostic. Everything was in perfect order. When she opened her eyes, she received yet another shock. There were two beings in the distance ahead of her where there had been no one before and one of them was... Twister! He was in that female form with the young man whose name she knew to be Ryouga. They floated as she did in the Void, but they were much closer to the Well she now saw ahead. Yanda kept quiet, to keep her element of surprise. As they approached the Well, Yanda wondered at the mate she had chosen. What would have happened if the nanites had transformed him completely? That was the question know that she knew about this transformation ability. If they could have. He had shown unusual resistance to the change even in the short time he had been exposed to them. She saw the two enter the Well and smiled as she herself came closer to it. Wait! "No!!" she screamed as she MISSED the opening. Horrified, she realized that she had not been meant to be included in whatever Twister had done and somehow her course had not followed the their's exactly. That exclusion had made her drift off course. And given the nature of the Void that meant she could quite possibly be here forever. Horror began filling her mental processes. "MORTAL." Yanda whirled at the sound of the booming voice that seemed to echo massively despite the Void. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped at what she saw. "YOU NEED TO BE ELSEWHERE." An incredible force suddenly deflected Yanda from her current course and she screamed as she was buffeted by it. She was gone in an instant. The owner of the voice might have smiled if the being had been human. "ALL IS AS IT SHOULD BE." =========================================================================== --END OF TP3-- =========================================================================== --TO BE RENEWED IN TP4-- =========================================================================== ================= Twister(aka Darren Steffler) e-mail at: twister@tendo-dojo.ranma.net | fmw675@freenet.mb.ca Homepage at: http://www.winnipeg.freenet.mb.ca/~fmw675/ Anime Fan!!! Must watch BGC and Ranma 1/2 to the infinite!