A Mechanic and a Plumber
Eve sat in the passenger seat of a Plumber issue patrol car, in other words an alien built armored jeep, waiting for the red light to change.
Glancing around the large buildings of Bellwood and crowded side walks made her wonder how it had taken them so long to realise a place like undertown even existed. peeking to her left Commander Dreade sat behind the wheel, patiently waiting for the light as well.
"Commander, sir could you run this plan by me again?"
Matthew to his chargin, let the title slide. "Well it's kinda simple. We are gonna pose as buyers at a black market sale meet, and hopefully find out who organised it so they can be braught in for interogation."
Eve nodded. "Sir? if I may, Why are we doing such an important job so early on? shouldn't we just be on patrol or something?"
Matthew, In a rare moment around the female, grinned. "I tend to think learning from the big things first then the small helps paint the whole picture a little bit better."
Once again Eve nodded. The light flashed green and her C.O. pushed the car into a steady drive, a few short turns later and they had arrived at an old pawn shop on the south side of Bellwood. Exiting the car, Matthew made his way to the door and, upon finding it locked took a step back and rammed the door with his shoulder. The door gave way under the pressure, old wood splintering into the room. Eve was quick to follow and after finding the room almost pitch black morphed a small light out of her shoulder, quickly lighting the room.
"Good job rookie, What you can't see can hurt you." Matthew patted her back as she walked ahead.
"Sir what are we looking for?" Eve glanced over her shoulder at the mechanic.
In reply Matthew stopped beside a large fridge and pulled the door open revealing a long set of steel stairs. "This, most places like this have multiple entrances about four blocks from the main entrance, mostly for ecscape in case of a bust."
Quickly following him down the steps, Eve traveled in silence for quite a while untile they cam to a large empty room. Where Matthew stopped her from going any farther.
"Okay here is your first pop quiz, See that door over there?" He pointed to the laser light door ahead. "It has a scanner equiped, designed specificly to locate plumber tech and set of an alarm. So rookie How do we get past?"
Eve studied the door, noticing a small panel to the left of the doorway. Crossing the room she raised her hand and merged witht the controls. After about four seconds she removed her hand and turned to her C.O.
"I recoded the door to accept plumber tech for the next few minutes. Is that a good move?"
Matthew nodded. "For someone so new its a great place to start, But remember if we have to come back this way we will need to hack the door again from the other side, otherwise it will just set the alarm off anyway."
Eve Blushed a bit, acepting the praise, and warning with confidence in her abilities. Passing through the door behinde Matthew she set her own personal goal to become the best possible Plumber she could, Mabye even to the point she could teach someone her skills one day.
'And now I feel like a four year old.'
Now that they had entered the main hall the entire stadium sised area was full of criminals and peices of illegal alien and human tech, all lined up like a market place. Most of the stall sold small items things that could be picked up and concealed on your person, but some larger peaces were avalible.
"Okay rookie listen carefully, the harder to hide it the more paperwork has to be done to get it in and out of here, so! Lets find the largest piece here and start bidding."
Eve tenativley nodded, and started trying to find something massive.
Matt spent a good thirty minuets trying to find something big enough to warrent the benefactors attention.
"Sir! I think I found something Huge ever here!"
Following Eve's voice, he found himself standing infront of a Mark-3 Supercharged VTOL Skyrazor, A ship that was made illegal due to the engine being a miniature sun. And that was whole new can of worms just in itself.
Matt wisled, signaling underhanded for Eve to pay attention. "Now that is a fine ship, any chance it aint sold yet?"
The sudden change in Matt's demenor suprised Eve, but she understood the reson behind it. In reply a small red implike alien, jumped up onto the craft's wing.
"Well good sir I'd say not quite my last buyer had an unfortunaye accident witht the one before him, but as it was already paid in full I think if someone such as yourself could file the peperwork, I may be so kind as to leave it in your possesion?"
Matt nodded slowly. "Well I'd say that sounds good! So where do I get this paperwork?" The alien jumped for joy.
"Go on up to that tower over their and talk to Boris he's running this show and has all the papers you need. "I'll just leave her here until you get back. the security code is. 1-20-35."
In a rushed red blur the tiny alien gathered up his entire stall and disapeared, leaving only the Skyrazor behind.
"Alright, Eve I want you to Possess this thing and get it ready to take off, I'm gonna go find out who Mister Boris is working for."
Eve was tenative to move. "Uh sir? I don't think seperating is very...wise."
"Relax rookie." Matt smiled. "I'll comm you to come pick me up."
Without warning Matt sprinted off leave an annoyed Eve highand dry beside the Skyrazor.
Matthew Managed to wade through the crowd and make it to the tower's entrance. Approching the two android guards outside, the Plumber blaster inside his jacket comforted him a but."
'I may not be a full time plumber but I sstill graduated the acedemy with flying colors."
"Good mornin fellas I need to talk ta mister Boris a mite quick."
without hesitation the androids opened the door and one of them led him inside and up a larger-than-normal elevator, into a penthouse-like office.
Behind a half-circle desk was a lanky elephant trunked green man.
"Well, well. It seems that either someone, A told you who I am, or your a stall vendor that never cleared with me. So which is it?"
Matthew smiled a bit. 'Okay now for my little act to dissapear.'
Matthew quickly spun pulling the blaster from his jacket and blasted the android. turning back he aimed the gun back at Boris.
"Neither I'm a Plumber, and if you press that alarm switch I will paint your brain over that window."
Boris paled. "No need for that kid just ah...tell what you'd like to hear."
Matthew kept the smile from forming. "Well I'd like to know, who paid for this operation to be set up. I won't bust this one up too bad if you tell me."
Boris luaghed. "Kid this whole thing is just a bankroll for my employer, he needs the money to stay off the radar long enough to finish his big plan."
"Well thanks for that info but I need a name!" Matthew pushed the muzzle of the gun into Boris' face.
"Now kid hang on I never said I wouldn't tell ya!" the gun started humming. "It's the Mastermind He set this up!" CLICK
"You just set off the alarm didn't you...oh well" Matthew vaulted off the desk and busted through the glass, just in time to dodge the blaster shots the androids sent his way. "EVE PICK ME UP NOW."
His partner came tearing around the base of the tower, the cockpit of the Skyrazor opening up just in time to catch him as it passed.
Matthew settled himself in the seat, Eve's face appeared on the dashboard.
"I really hope you know how to get us out of here!"
Matt nodded. "Okay just give me a sec and I'll get us out.
"Sir I don't feel so good, I usually don't fullmerge for this long."
Matt thaught for a moment he couldn't let his reqruit hurt herself like this. "All right I'll fly this thing just, let go of it and I'll find an exit."
"S-sir theirs only one...one seat." Matt could hear the strain in her voice.
"Just let go I'll be here to catch you...Rookie? Come on don't quit now." The black and green pattern slowly shrunk of the jet-like craft until Eve herself melted out of the consol. Grabbing her shoulder he pulled her into his lap, once she was situated Matt grabbed the controls and turned the ship twords a grate in the ceiling, blasting it open he flew the ship out of an abandoned apartment and quickly made way for the plumber headquarters.
Eve woke up on a bench in the commons area of the Plumber HQ, looking around she found Matthew sitting beside her snoring softly. Trying to sit up most of her body protested with a jolt of pain, her newfound headache causing her to wince. Harinns words came back to her in full force.
"I told you once already, You arn't as strong as the others Fullmerging for more than ten minuets at a time can seriusly hurt you."
Wishing she had heeded the warning, Eve stood careful not to wake her C.O. Glancing at her internal clock it was well past midnight and she still had no where to go.
"Damn it all I'm 18 I should lknow my own limits."
She nearly jumped out of her metal skin when, with a whistle her C.O. addressed her.
"Eve I gotta say you earned my respect Today, But I want to know why you didn't tell me you can't merge well?"
Eve blushed again. "When my mother adopted me, it was because my parents had been fighting off a virus that caused Galvanic Mechamorphs to lose all control of their bodys until they either passed or killed themselves. Miss Harinn was treating them and, almost cured them. But my father died first and so did my mother. Harinn couldn't save them, but she had enough information to stop the virus in me. A cure was given out and everything was fine, until we found out the virus had really hurt me, in response my body rejects any forign material when I try to merge. The only way around it is to not fully merge."
Sitting there Eve almost started crying, she could barley remember her parents, Harinn being the one who raised her was her mother in almost every way. With an upset huff Eve stood.
"I've got to find a place to stay, so I gues I'll see you later."
A hand stopped her. "Hang on I have a solution to that, but right now we need to go see Magister Tennyson. So come with me and then We'll get you situated on a place to sleep."
Eve nodded, wanting to protest but seeing no reason too. Following Matt they found Magister tennyson waiting in the command center.
"Matthew I told you to take her on patrol, not try to crack a cold case like that."
Matthew nodded. "I know but we took your cold case and fired it up again. The guy organising these markets is called the mastermind, apparently he is staying below the radar with the extra cash and using it to further some plan."
Max sighed. "Allright you can work this one, but after its over it's back to patrols deal? Good. Now I'll get some people looking into this Mastermind and report back if we find anything."
Matt nodded, and Eve in a state of awe followed him in silence until they made it to the hallway to the hangar.
"Sir, how well do you know Magister Tennyson?"
He luaghed. "Better than you think, he was friends with my mother, in fact he trained her. When I was a kid I used to hang out with Ben Ten himself."
Eve had awe written on her face, unfortunalty Matt couldn't tell. Eve found herself standing before the another standard Plumber Jeep. Climbing into the passenger side she waited for Matthew, and they set off for undertown.
Matthew Drove them both back to his garage and parked the vehicle outside the shop, typing the code back into the panel he whent inside quickly followed by Eve.
"Okay so, upstairs their is a room to the left, center, and right. Center in a bathroom. Right is my room, and the left." He lead her to it. "Is yours."
"Sir."- "We are off duty."- "Matthew, I can't just take this room, I'd feel guilty mooching off you like that."
Matt smiled again. "Now Eve I can't just let a pretty girl go out on the streets alone, besides you can make it up by running the redgister in the shop until Max gets us our intel."
Eve blushed not used to such compliments. "Alright I guess...I'll see you in the morning." she rushed into the room and shut the door behind her.
'This will be way too much fun.'