Team Chaotix: On the News

Chapter 2: Missing Persons

Acting calm and cool, she collected herself and headed toward the figures coming down the alleyway. If this was who she thought they were, she'd need all the strength she needed. What, did they think that she couldn't handle such a case!

The first figure was tall and bulky. His green and scaly skin showed clearly on his face. He had a long muzzle stretched out from his face, and a fat tail sleeking out from behind him. He also had red spikes sticking out along his tail, and on top of his head.

A linked, chain necklace of clearly fake gold hung around his neck. An unusual pair of headphones covered his ears. The irony of that is that they sent a group of fools to help her. Clearly, he was the leader, as he marched in front of the other two.

Just to the right of the leader, the second member of the agency walked professionally. His hands in his pockets at all times, he showed a, "I don't care what we do, so long as it gets done" look. His skin was purple, and also slightly scaly. He had special wristbands, and high-tech shoes. A yellow horn stuck out from his face.

The final member showed a different face, though. He revealed a more 'care-free' and 'childish' attitude. He flew along the left side of the lead member. He actually had fur—black and yellow, striped fur to be exact. Two antennae stuck out from his head.

All three of them wore black cloaks, covering up much of their bodies. Was this meant to show off a 'cool' nature, or something? The third one also had the addition of a helmet, though, and was the only one to wear clothing under his jacket.

The three approached her, and then stopped. The 'leader' of the group stepped one more step closer. "I presume that you're the person in charge around here?"

He grinned slyly, and held out his hand. "I'm Vector the Crocodile, and we're Team Chaotix."

She grabbed Vector's hand and shook, trying to hold back her frustrations over this meeting. "Janelle; Future City chief of police," she explained.

Janelle gritted her teeth. Well, at least that was over with…

XXXXX

Shaking… Shivering… Endless cold and despair… Tremors echoed through the entire building. She was afraid to open her eyes. Finally, she did. She was lying upon a cold floor. Her head ached in pain. She grabbed it with her hand and moaned, rubbing along the wound. A trickle of blood was on the floor, but it was tiny. Wait, where was she?

A loud noise revved nearby. A warm air came, but dissipated upon reaching the cool air ahead. She looked behind her into a corner, but saw nothing. At the same side of the room, but on the opposite corner, a door lay.

She looked back in front of her, and realized that the room was rectangular. Up ahead and to the right, opposite from the other door, was yet one more door. Other than her, four walls, and two doors, it was completely blank—the room was empty. Nothing but metal walls surrounded her, and no sound was heard except the faint noise of an engine nearby.

She stood up, but a sudden tremor knocked her off of her feet. She tried once more, this time spreading her arms out on either side of her and using her wings as balance. She managed to carefully edge forward and reach the door in front of her. She reached out for the handle with her right hand and turned. It didn't budge.

She sighed. 'It must be locked,' she thought.

She turned around and edged to the opposite side of the room. Again the tremors came, and again she used her wings as balance. She reached out for the handle, and… the door slid open.

Suddenly the noise from the engines got extremely loud. She glanced inside, and collapsed to her feet, crying out. It was an engine room, with no other way out.

XXXXX

Vector knelt along the ground and examined the board lying on the ground. He pulled out a pair of plastic gloves, the shape of his hand, and slipped them over his own gloves. "What is her name?" He asked without looking away.

Janelle, the feline chief of police of Future City, was standing just a couple feet away. "Her name is Hannah Swift. She started off as a reporter a few months ago, and is already really popular among the people," she explained. While stating this; however, she failed to mention her opinion on the matter—as she felt that Hannah was acting more like a superstar than a reporter. At least she did her job, though…

Vector carefully lifted up the board, not wanting to smudge any possible prints. He turned it over in his hands and examined it in detail. It mostly was a light brown color, with some gold. The board was rounded in the back, and was triangular in the front with a rounded tip.

The designs painted onto the top of the board resembled that of a feather, ironically. Lines etched down the board, and off to the sides toward the back, depicted five 'quills' along the feather. As they approached the back of the board, they narrowed along the outside, until they were down to the size of one.

Instead of going straight to the end, though, they rounded around a couple of golden-brown circles. There were two casings—a brunette, then orange, down to the golden-colored eye of the circle. The 'quills' around the edge didn't end right there, but instead circled completely around the circles and met at the way back of the board.

Just then he noticed it. Something was off on this. The board was a little dusty. Strangely, there was a faint mark along the eye on top of the board. It looked like… a large handprint! Vector, holding the board in his right hand, put his left hand on top of the mark. It was about the same size, but it obviously didn't match up exactly.

He stood up and handed the board to an officer nearby, making sure to point out the mark. He turned back towards the ground, and then noticed yet another thing. There was a mark the same shape as the board on the ground. Actually, there were two. One right where the board was, and another a few feet away.

As usual, they were faint. It had been a day since the disappearance, so some of the dust had faded. However, it was still noticeable on the ground. The first mark, though, was a little wider than the second. In fact, it was too wide for the board. Maybe… it had slid a bit?

As he pondered this, a voice called out to him. He looked back, and noticed Charmy and Espio down one of the alleyways. "Hey, Vector, check this out!" Charmy called out.

Vector stood up in surprise. Charmy wasn't known for finding stuff, but Espio was with him, so… well, it wouldn't hurt to take a look at it. He ran off toward them. Janelle, also curious, decided to follow.

XXXXX

Espio was standing near the wall, flicking a few particles of white dust between his thumb and his index finger. He sniffed it, but smelled nothing.

Just then Vector arrived. "So what's going on?" he asked.

Espio turned toward Vector and lifted up the dust between his fingers. "Take a look at this," he commented.

Vector examined it closely, but found nothing as to hint what it was. "What is it?" he finally asked.

"It was on the ground," Espio replied. He pointed up at the building above them. "Take a good look."

Vector examined the building wall. The building was the one that was right in front of them when they had first entered the alleyway. It was in the right alley, and along the wall, a faint scratch mark good be seen along the side of the wall.

Janelle walked into the alleyway and examined the dust Espio was holding. She nodded. "Yeah, that is glass marble. It's commonly used in the buildings in the city. While light and often transparent like glass, it's as hard as stone."

Vector nodded in reply. "And like glass, it can easily be scraped like metal. A piece of thin metal slides across it, and it will flake off."

Janelle looked at him in surprise—a confused look visible on her face. "What are you saying?" she asked.

Vector grinned slyly. "This kidnapping was done by Extreme Gear specialists. By the looks of it, they were in a pack of three."

Now it was Espio's turn to be stunned. "W-wait a second, you're not thinking of…"

Vector's grin widened. "That's exactly what I'm thinking."

XXXXX

A large, four-wheeled vehicle drove along the highway. Off to the right, a sign read 'Future City – 46 Miles.' The vehicle contained two passengers; a single, bulletproof windshield; no roof; and a cargo area in the back.

The vehicle was painted almost completely black. The frames for the wheels were mostly red, with a dark gray area, also. Some of the trimming was also red. The front tires were connected with a white bar that spanned the two tires. The bar was, in turn, attached to a metal covering on both tires.

The two figures in the vehicle were both anthros. The first, in the passenger's seat, was a female bat. Her fur was white, but her wings were purple. She was wearing a purple outfit with a pink, heart-shaped bra. She leaned along the door and rested her head along her arm, looking off into the grassy plains.

The other figure, in the driver's seat, was a black hedgehog with red stripes. He was sitting straight, driving with his left hand, but with his right hand by his side. He face was emotionless. He wore no clothing, but had rings over his wrists and ankles. His shoes were black in the back with red heels and trimming along the end of them. The rest of his shoes were white.

The bat finally pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and examined it. "Y'know, Shadow," she stated, "I can't help but feel that I should've rescheduled this when I learned about this new mission."

Shadow shook his head, but didn't turn away from the road. "Don't worry, Rouge, I took care of it for you," he said. "You're now going this Saturday for dinner."

Rouge looked up in surprise. "Wait, you rescheduled for me?" she asked.

He nodded, avoiding a grin. "Yep, I took care of everything. I told him, and he had it rescheduled."

She blinked, and then glanced back at the note. "Well, it's awkward. I still don't even know who he is."

Shadow hid a smile. "Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough."

He looked up ahead, and the lights grew brighter. The city was getting closer. "Looks like we're almost there." He said.

Rouge nodded. "Yeah, looks like it. First, though, I have a question for you."

Shadow waved it off. "Spill," he said.

"Well, I was just wondering… if you have that ability to teleport anywhere in the world, why didn't we use it? I mean, Chaos Control would have been a lot quicker than driving all the way up here." She explained.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Simple. I can't teleport that far with multiple people unless I have a Chaos Emerald with me. When we were in the forest, I warped back with quite a few people, but it wasn't nearly as far. My power isn't strong enough to go such a distance."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I was just a little curious, that's all."

He nodded. "That's perfectly fine—I would be surprised, too."

Now finished with conversations, they just sat back as the city quickly grew closer and closer, until finally they drove past the city limits and into the depths of the futuristic city

Author's Notes: Yes, yes, yes! I finally complete this. And now I can finish up Hannah's profile, too! I now I have the description of her board complete, which is the last thing needed to complete her profile.

As for her board--I couldn't give you a better description unless if I actually gave you a picture of it, so don't ask for anything better. If you ever want to try and draw it (which I don't mind if you do, but I doubt will ever occur), you'll have to guess. ;P

Disclaimer: Chaotix, Babylon, and Future City are all copyright SEGA/Sonic Team. Hannah and Janelle are owned by me. You can use them without permission if you want to, BUT DON'T CLAIM THEM AS YOUR OWN! I WILL hunt you down if you do! ;P If you use them, CREDIT ME. Alright? That's all I ask. Thank you.