March, 2007:
I threw myself forward, tumbling and twisting down between the robot's legs, my sword flicking out to sever armored hydraulic lines and electrical cables. As the metallic monstrosity collapsed behind me, I leapt up to the catwalk and silently made my way deeper into the formerly-abandoned factory.
It had been a fairly simple run so far. DHS had pinpointed a lot of unusual electronics thefts in the area, and after some investigation had come to the obvious (and correct) conclusion. Then they hired an expert - me - to sneak into the factory, bring down the mad scientist type, and see if I could leave some useful salvage for the Army types.
The guy was crap, really, a fairly vanilla Robotics mastermind, no roleplay overlays that I could see so far - his 'bots were all the pixel-standard, and there was no sign of any real security systems around. (Not that I'd have had too much trouble getting past that, Misao's infiltration and stealth skills were none too shabby. And she was fully conversant with modern technological means.)
So there I was, looking out over the factory floor, watching the 'bots put together the assembly line. Damn, I thought, If he's actually worked out how to mass-produce the things... okay, he's got to go down.
Two hours later, I left the factory behind me, watching from the roof of a nearby building as the small explosions took out key components of the assembly line and its control computer. Sorry, guys, but this one's not a freebie. I hoisted the bound and unconscious wannabe over my shoulder and headed off to the local police station to drop him off, and decide which of my false ID's to have them send the reward to. Probably... mmm. Misato Katsuragi, Tatsuki Arisawa, Anastasia Romanova... why not... hah. Akane Kanisawa it is. A quick henge, and I knocked on the police station door...
January, 2007:
Ahhh, the joys of plentiful cash, a larcenous heart, and the figure to make wearing the cool clothes worth spending it... I mused, sauntering down the mall with Nogi and a few other friends. Time to expand the wardrobe, bask in the envy of the local chippies, and maybe, just maybe, convince Nogi that platform shoes were just SO not her.
I smiled, a bit wider, almost predatory, as I looked out over the mall. "So, then. Necessities first, then the fun?" The smiles I got in reply were dazzling. Shades of Ranma and Usagi "let's go terrorize an all-you-can-eat place"...
An hour later, I had four pairs of jeans, two weeks' worth of underwear, had learned my bra size, and was leafing through a stack of anime-themed t-shirts and picking out ones I liked... and Nogi still hadn't changed out of those damn boots. On the other hand, we had yet to visit a real shoe store, either - I'd just gotten sneakers, and the like, to go with the jeans. I wanted something special, and it was going to be expensive... but then, leather always is.
"Here we are," I was saying to Nogi as we found the shop I'd been hoping would be here. 'Goods and Bads' was the name, and the scent of it was rich with leather and cedar. Nogi's nose twitched at the first taste of the air inside, and I grinned. "Let Misao be your guide, Nogi-chan, we'll pick you something spectacular to wear."
Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and I smiled, confident, not quite a smirk. "Trust me," I said, grinning, and turned to head into the store.
"That is a remarkably dangerous thing to ask, my dear, especially for one in our profession." But her smile was as warm as mine, and the gleam in her eyes... oh, yes. She wanted to try it. Just as much as I did.
I lead her back into the store, and started picking out items. "With that russet coloring... forest green, I think, would work well for you, as would gold..." I found a rack of velvet skirts, nicely long, silk-lined, that were absolutely gorgeous.
"One must agree with your choice of color, Misao-chan," she said as she held it up to her, "But it requires something more elaborate in the way of a 'top'."
"Oh, I have something in mind, Nogi-chan, don't you worry yourself about that." Complete with plenty of places to hide a few useful weapons, I mused, as I looked over the rack of matching jackets, and picked out what I thought was her size. Now we just needed a blouse to go with it...
"Ahem." I turned back to her. "This is... somewhat small," she explained, and I had to agree - it was definitely tight across the shoulders, and in front, well... corsetry just isn't my style. Or hers, it seemed.
"I have to agree," I admitted, "Let me see..." I flipped through the rack, looking back and forth between her and the size tags on the jackets. "Why don't you pick out a blouse you'd like, and I'll find my own size in these? Then we can get some shoes to go with them."--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
I threw myself forward, tumbling and twisting down between the robot's legs, my sword flicking out to sever armored hydraulic lines and electrical cables. As the metallic monstrosity collapsed behind me, I leapt up to the catwalk and silently made my way deeper into the formerly-abandoned factory.
It had been a fairly simple run so far. DHS had pinpointed a lot of unusual electronics thefts in the area, and after some investigation had come to the obvious (and correct) conclusion. Then they hired an expert - me - to sneak into the factory, bring down the mad scientist type, and see if I could leave some useful salvage for the Army types.
The guy was crap, really, a fairly vanilla Robotics mastermind, no roleplay overlays that I could see so far - his 'bots were all the pixel-standard, and there was no sign of any real security systems around. (Not that I'd have had too much trouble getting past that, Misao's infiltration and stealth skills were none too shabby. And she was fully conversant with modern technological means.)
So there I was, looking out over the factory floor, watching the 'bots put together the assembly line. Damn, I thought, If he's actually worked out how to mass-produce the things... okay, he's got to go down.
Two hours later, I left the factory behind me, watching from the roof of a nearby building as the small explosions took out key components of the assembly line and its control computer. Sorry, guys, but this one's not a freebie. I hoisted the bound and unconscious wannabe over my shoulder and headed off to the local police station to drop him off, and decide which of my false ID's to have them send the reward to. Probably... mmm. Misato Katsuragi, Tatsuki Arisawa, Anastasia Romanova... why not... hah. Akane Kanisawa it is. A quick henge, and I knocked on the police station door...
January, 2007:
Ahhh, the joys of plentiful cash, a larcenous heart, and the figure to make wearing the cool clothes worth spending it... I mused, sauntering down the mall with Nogi and a few other friends. Time to expand the wardrobe, bask in the envy of the local chippies, and maybe, just maybe, convince Nogi that platform shoes were just SO not her.
I smiled, a bit wider, almost predatory, as I looked out over the mall. "So, then. Necessities first, then the fun?" The smiles I got in reply were dazzling. Shades of Ranma and Usagi "let's go terrorize an all-you-can-eat place"...
An hour later, I had four pairs of jeans, two weeks' worth of underwear, had learned my bra size, and was leafing through a stack of anime-themed t-shirts and picking out ones I liked... and Nogi still hadn't changed out of those damn boots. On the other hand, we had yet to visit a real shoe store, either - I'd just gotten sneakers, and the like, to go with the jeans. I wanted something special, and it was going to be expensive... but then, leather always is.
"Here we are," I was saying to Nogi as we found the shop I'd been hoping would be here. 'Goods and Bads' was the name, and the scent of it was rich with leather and cedar. Nogi's nose twitched at the first taste of the air inside, and I grinned. "Let Misao be your guide, Nogi-chan, we'll pick you something spectacular to wear."
Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and I smiled, confident, not quite a smirk. "Trust me," I said, grinning, and turned to head into the store.
"That is a remarkably dangerous thing to ask, my dear, especially for one in our profession." But her smile was as warm as mine, and the gleam in her eyes... oh, yes. She wanted to try it. Just as much as I did.
I lead her back into the store, and started picking out items. "With that russet coloring... forest green, I think, would work well for you, as would gold..." I found a rack of velvet skirts, nicely long, silk-lined, that were absolutely gorgeous.
"One must agree with your choice of color, Misao-chan," she said as she held it up to her, "But it requires something more elaborate in the way of a 'top'."
"Oh, I have something in mind, Nogi-chan, don't you worry yourself about that." Complete with plenty of places to hide a few useful weapons, I mused, as I looked over the rack of matching jackets, and picked out what I thought was her size. Now we just needed a blouse to go with it...
"Ahem." I turned back to her. "This is... somewhat small," she explained, and I had to agree - it was definitely tight across the shoulders, and in front, well... corsetry just isn't my style. Or hers, it seemed.
"I have to agree," I admitted, "Let me see..." I flipped through the rack, looking back and forth between her and the size tags on the jackets. "Why don't you pick out a blouse you'd like, and I'll find my own size in these? Then we can get some shoes to go with them."--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.