Chapter 3 – Lost in New York

Idly, Jezibel Kimitan watched the sparring match below. As she reclined slightly to the side of her seat, her jade eyes followed the blond Nerti Ro dodging and striking at her male adversary, her instructor. The man's spikes of green hair barely slipped from the hook of her wooden scythe as he spun the length of his spear at her legs. His feline amber eyes followed his student as she ducked and rolled to the side, soon regaining her footing, weapon held ready. He stepped back, taking a defensive posture, drawing his spear's length slowly along his free hand, observing her closely, his elfin ears listening intently for her next attack.

Jezibel, however, yawned. Such physical conflict bored her when no blood was shed. She loosened her control on Nerti during these practice sessions, letting the girl's subconscious and analytical faculties learn from the exchanges while keeping her free will suppressed. In so doing, the blond young woman could neither rebel against instructions nor flee from the influence of the Kimitan witch. Nerti was simply a caged bird, singing on command, in preparation for the great chorus to come.

Yet, the bird's talons were growing quite sharp as shown by how her instructor sweated in the next exchange. Her blunt weapon swooped close to his neck twice, only narrowly dodged or deflected. Her physical training was nearly complete, and the next phase would commence soon.

Jezibel did smirk to herself as she thought of giving the girl a slight nudge, to be more aggressive, to slay her opponent.

How entertaining would that bout be? she asked herself.

Before she could consider this scheme any further, an alert flashed on the arm of her seat. Her lip curled at the annoyance while she lightly tapped the alert icon. In front of her, a translucent rectangle appeared, displaying the insectoid face of the caller. While his visage was twisted and stretched by the genetic treatment, Jezibel recognized Illirg's compound eyes and the eager loyalty they expressed.

"Mission report, your highness," the creature's voice grunted with a vaguely male tone.

Jezibel grinned to herself. Controlling a bug seemed very easy since they already were genetically predisposed to following orders. Their biological hierarchy demanded that a worker caste like Illirg submit to any member of the royalty class, such as the queen. All Jezibel needed do was supplant the image of the queen in his primordial brain with her own, and dominance immediately resulted. While the genetic treatment administered by Nerti made his body exhibit traits of the royal and soldier castes, his brain remained purposefully unchanged to ensure his loyalty. Now, he would obey any command, suffer any wound, only to earn the telepath's favor. Moreover, she did not even need to be in close proximity to maintain her sway over him.

"Very well," she replied. "Make your report."

"As instructed, I have arrived on Earth. The active cloak prevented even the Arquillian battle cruiser from detecting my approach."

"Good," the Kimitan witch answered. "I assume then that you are on the planet's surface."

"I am, royalty," he stated before adding, "but an issue has come up."

"Oh?" she inquired, a brow rising with her interest.

"While I flew unnoticed with the Arquillian ship, I sighted a Ryoan Ohki-class organic ship coming from the planet."

A smile stretched across Jezibel's lips.

"Ryo-Ohki, yes?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, your excellency," he answered. "As you commanded, I shot her down while the Arquillians fired on Earth."

While the galaxy at large heard conflicting accounts of Ryoko's demise on Jurai, some interested parties knew well that she had survived. Though she could have fled back to the pirate guilds of her home-world, she instead flew to Earth, following her heart's desire.

And, a heart full of desire is fertile ground for the seeds of corruption, Jezibel reminded herself. All as my Lady has foreseen.

"Well done, Illirg," Jezibel praised. "This changes your targets' priority. Be sure to have the 'seed' ready when you encounter Ryoko."

"I will, my queen."

"Carry on."

With a wave of her hand, the communication screen vanished, ending the call. Pleased, she smiled widely. While Liaens thought only of his conquest of Jurai, Jezibel had far larger aspirations in mind.

Should Illirg fail, she reminded herself, he will still have purpose in acquiring the pirate.

Meanwhile, the mutated bug lightly slid his claws down a cylindrical container. Within its transparent walls, a black flame writhed and flickered, burning higher as Illirg approached. Against the wall nearest to the insect, the flames pressed against the surface and mimicked a face, smiling knowingly back at him. Marked simply as "II", the container was one of a pair, the other empty and marked "III".

"Anything for my queen," Illirg reiterated.

X X X

Sunlight crept along the cheek of Jurai Ayeka, causing her to stir from her most uncomfortable sleep. She raised a hand to her eyes not only to shield them from the encroaching sunbeam, but also futilely to settle the throbbing headache crushing her brain. She rolled away from the light and cracked open her ruby eyes in the shadow, letting her pupils adjust more readily to the dimmer illumination. Before her, she found a dingy beige wall, seemingly neglected for some period of time. She laid upon a very stiff bed with a most unappealing pattern for the comforter: plaid stripes interweaving between red, yellow, and orange at right angles.

Sitting up, the princess of Jurai immediately felt disoriented and steadied herself with a hand against the wall. Her skin crawled as she felt the icky texture of the surface, dusty and clammy, though she tolerated it in order to remain aloft. Focusing through the throbbing of her head, the regal-tressed lady panned her eyes across the room, a most distasteful place to her sensibilities: a splintering wooden door, lights with yellowing shades, poorly maintained furniture, and a ragged shag carpet.

Where am I? she naturally asked herself.

"The princess awakes, does she?" Washu's voice remarked.

Her eyes finished panning to the quite familiar figure of Hakubi Washu sitting within a levitating chair. The redheaded genius turned away from the translucent computer terminal floating near her left hand and slid from her seat to stand at the Juraian woman's bedside.

"Feeling any better?" the scientist inquired.

"Washu? Where are we?"

"I guess the impact rattled you more than I thought," Washu commented as she leaned closer and examined Ayeka's left cheek and temple. "Do you remember anything from last night?"

As the princess closed her eyes, her thoughts cleared slowly. She remembered boarding Ryo-Ohki and heading into orbit, to confront someone. The Arquillian battle cruiser drifted through her mind's eye as she then recalled the pirate battleship shuddering around her, falling. She manifested a barrier around herself and Washu, clinging to one another before blackness took her memory.

"Yes," the noblewoman acknowledged, "mostly. There was an Arquillian ship in orbit, and we went to it."

"Right so far," the researcher affirmed, meeting Ayeka's gaze. "Do you remember what happened?"

The princess's ruby eyes widened as the memory materialized. "We were shot down!"

The clouds of her mind parted, and the Juraian could vividly remember the atmosphere burning on all of Ryo-Ohki's screens, reentry. She heard the urgency in Ryoko's orders to hold fast, her uncertainty when asked what hit them.

Then, she realized another truth. Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki are not with us here.

"Where are Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki?" the regal woman asked. "Why are we in this… hovel?"

While Ayeka flicked her hand away from the wall, disgusted, Washu answered, "When Ryo-Ohki crashed, she teleported us to a beach nearby. Your barrier protected both me and you from the impact, though the feedback from your barrier disoriented you pretty badly. You basically had the psychic equivalent of a concussion."

Rubbing her clean hand through her violet hair, Ayeka nodded. She knew well the psychic pressure caused from an impact on one of her barrier constructs due to her many spats with the cyan-maned pirate. Usually, the stress incurred by her mind from one of these barriers was comparable to a pin-prick, an annoyance easily pushed aside.

However, the force of a crashing starship is another matter entirely, and her consciousness reeled as a result.

"Ryoko, on the other hand," Washu continued, "was not in your barrier. While she did steer Ryo-Ohki into a bay rather than into the ground, or a city, she only protected herself right before impact. She took a nasty hit and lost consciousness. Likewise, Ryo-Ohki was not in any shape to move after the crash."

"So, where are they?" Ayeka insisted. "They were our transport, and our defense, on this excursion."

Irritated, the genius replied, "I'm getting to that. On the beach, I tended to both you and Ryoko until some black vans arrived. Several teams of men in black suits poured out, armed with some rather heavy and violent-looking equipment, and headed right for us. Also, several similarly painted boats started circling Ryo-Ohki in the bay, tying what looked like tow cables around her hull. Rather than be caught, I used my dimensional door to transport you and me to this cheap old hotel."

The princess recalled the scientist's useful tool. Seemingly a free-standing door, it served to link two locations in normal space via a shortened subspace corridor, an artificial wormhole. The technology was not unlike her subspace laboratory and the other-dimensional onsen connected to the bathroom.

Yet, the regal lady pondered, only two of us are here.

"Why didn't you bring Ryoko with us?"

"It wasn't a matter of 'didn't' as much as 'couldn't'," Washu retorted. "While you were very dazed, Ayeka, I could at least lead you into the doorway. Ryoko was unconscious, and if you haven't noticed," she added motioning to her short stature, "I can't exactly carry her by myself. Moreover, you weren't exactly coherent enough to help."

Feeling some shame, the princess hung her head. "I'm sorry, Ms. Washu. I didn't mean to…"

The scientist just waved the issue aside. "Don't worry about it. Your bell was rung enough for you to sleep half the day away. The point is that these 'men in black' have likely taken Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki into custody, so we can't just fly home. However, I'm not too worried about either of them at the moment."

"Why is that?"

"I have been passively scanning the area, and I have noted well over a thousand non-Terran life signatures scattered around this island. Some of them are not humanoid, so I expect they have some 'local help'. Also, many of those signatures only appeared in the last few hours."

"As the planet was under siege, perhaps they left until the danger passed."

"I expect so, which means the battle cruiser probably isn't an issue any more. Since these people investigated Ryo-Ohki's crash, they probably act as some policing agency for extraterrestrial visitation."

"Might these people be the same ones for whom the battle cruiser's message was meant?" Ayeka considered.

"Quite possibly," Washu agreed. "From the tone of the message, they seem to have some amicable ties with Arquillia. They are probably holding Ryoko for questioning about what happened last night. Still, I haven't called back to Okayama, just to be safe. We don't need to get caught along with Ryoko."

"Yet, I would like an explanation for the situation," Ayeka insisted, "as well as knowing why we were shot down completely without provocation."

"Me too," Washu concurred. "Given how Ryoko reacted, I don't think the battle cruiser attacked us."

The regal-tressed woman folded her arms. "Well, Ryoko is notorious as a space pirate, as is Ryo-Ohki."

"If Ryoko's reputation was the only reason," the researcher argued, "the battle cruiser would have fired on her when we first approached, not waited for you, a princess of Jurai, to hail them three times. Whoever fired on Ryo-Ohki last night waited until the battle cruiser fired a warning shot at Earth before attacking."

Dark thoughts crept into the noblewoman's mind. Waiting to attack during the Arquillian's warning shot demonstrated misdirection, stealth, premeditation. Someone meant to fire upon them last night, purposefully. While Ryoko likely had plenty of old rivals from her piratical days, most of them were across the galaxy, except perhaps Nagi. However, the infamous bounty hunter would challenge Ryoko overtly, not snipe from the shadows. Likewise, Washu's criminal record was seven centuries old, mostly forgotten to anyone in modern times.

On the other hand, Ayeka's return to Jurai in early 1995 did cause a lot of stir, and many people left their jobs when the coup d'etat was revealed. Despite Ayeka's generous edict of forgiveness, rumors even persisted that some may have fallen on their swords in private from shame and dishonor. Familial revenge has proven to be a powerful motivator amongst royalty in many cultures, including Jurai's as proven by Kagato's very rise.

Deep in the Juraian's heart, a dark chamber opened, revealing a fear she had hoped never to feel again.

"What should we do, Ms. Washu?" Ayeka asked.

"Ultimately," Washu answered, "we will have to deal with whatever this Terran group is. During my scan, I found someone I think could give us some information on them. I say we speak with him and learn more about who we're facing."

"Agreed," the princess dubiously acknowledged, "but isn't it possible that these Terrans may well be searching for us already?"

"Oh, I have a plan for that," the scientist retorted with a devilish grin.

Sweat beaded on Ayeka's temple and rolled down the side of her face, debating whether an assassin would be worse than whatever scheme Washu had no doubt concocted during her recuperation.

X X X

Dr. Laurel Weaver had had a busy morning. Since she had accepted Agent O's invitation to join the Men in Black, the good doctor had been pushed through a battery of tests, ranging from problem solving to marksmanship. Considering her doctorate, the written exams had constituted little challenge. As she had worked nights routinely in Manhattan, she knew her way around a pistol, though her score could have been better. Afterward, she had been given a uniform black suit, had had her fingerprints burned off, had had her few pieces of jewelry confiscated, and had been designated "Agent L".

And, some would think mind-wiping people was bad enough, she remarked to herself, still rubbing her fingers.

Assigned as her training partner was Agent R, a rugged man in his late-40s. Like most of the MiB personnel, he wore the standard issue suit, as well as sporting a crew cut, though his receding hairline did not flatter the style. While Kay had been clean-shaven, and Jay and Zed sported a well-maintained mustache or goatee, Ar had a prickly layer of stubble along his cheeks and jawline. Unlike Kay's chiseled granite features or Jay's baby-face, the sagging features of Elle's mentor demonstrated his age more overtly.

Admittedly, she might not have caught him at his best. Judging by the bags under his hazel eyes and the gravel to his voice, he had been working through the night after all the excitement at Flushing Meadows. Her evaluation was only reinforced by the numerous cups of coffee he downed while giving her the tour of the facilities under Battery Park.

Interestingly, the vast complex seemed empty. Offices and desks were vacant except for a few staffers. Arranged much like an airport, the main hall surrounding the so-called "Egg Display" stood manned by a scant handful of ticket checkers. Considering the threat of planetary annihilation, Elle could understand why so few visitors were present. However, she did wonder where all the agents needed to supervise this type of service had gone.

She was taken aback when she first met "the Twins", Blblup and Bob. The two squid-like siblings monitored the Egg Display, a giant projection screen displaying any number of images transmitted from across the globe. While Ar stated the display usually showed surveillance of visiting nationals, the screens were notably tracking incoming spacecraft rather than in-house camera feeds.

While the Twins' appearance initially surprised Elle, she immediately became curious about them: how they managed so many appendages, how they kept so much information sorted for the agents. Likewise, the gadget room caught her eye with all the different technologies donated, or confiscated, from extraterrestrials. The crystalline mini-discs and momentum enhancing orb were intriguing ideas, but the universal translator grabbed her attention. She truly wondered why it was not implemented among the MiB personnel.

Sadly, on all points, Ar was quite uninformative. While Kay had been dense and terse, he had handled her as a "neutral", uninitiated to this world. On the other hand, Elle's partner merely shrugged, just going through practiced motions very mechanically, disinterested. She recognized that he had done this act many times before by his well-rehearsed path, actions, and monologue. Unfortunately, she had already given him a pass on his attitude for being tired, but now she was growing irritated with him. She wanted the secrets to the universe, not a dullard showing her a complex and trying her patience.

Finally, she stopped and confronted him. "Alright. Where is everyone else?"

"Busy," he curtly replied. "We still have to visit the lock down in the lower levels."

"This place is the size of La Guardia, but hardly has the personnel to handle the passengers from just one airliner."

"It's nothing for you to worry about."

"Okay, look," she frankly retorted. "I might have only just been recruited, but I don't need to be babied. I'm very well aware of the Arquillian battle cruiser that threatened to blow up the planet last night."

His brows furrowed as he began to scold her. "That's not your case, rookie."

Her hand rested on her hip as she barked back, "Funny. It didn't feel that way when the bug had a gun to my head, or when I blasted it to hell."

His eyes widened at her remarks. "You remember that?! You should have been neuralized by the agent in charge of the case!"

Before Elle could fire another verbal volley at her trainer, an announcement sounded over the internal address system of the complex: "Agents R and L, report to Oh's office for assignment." While Ar scowled at his subordinate, she folded her arms and grinned to herself.

"Maybe you can take it up with Oh when we see her," she added.

With a snort, Ar spun away from her and stormed up the stairs to the offices on the floor above. Elle just followed quietly behind him, smugly claiming a victory over him, and anticipating another soon.

Oh's office laid across from Zed's along the catwalk close to the gadget room. While the chief's workspace had a full view of the entire main hall, the assistant chief kept within reach of all the research projects and file archives. As second-in-command, her role to balance and check the chief required her to provide him informed advice and critique.

As Ar and Elle entered, the Englishwoman was seated at her desk shuffling through several files and data tablets scattered on the tabletop. She glanced toward them and greeted them, motioning to the chairs across from her.

"How are we getting on, Agent L?" the assistant chief inquired casually.

"A little eager to get out of this building," Elle admitted as she and Ar seated themselves.

"I have little doubt of that," Oh admitted. "Usually, a person with your expertise would be assigned to the labs here, but Zed and I thought you might be interested in field work."

"Where are all the other agents anyway?" the good doctor asked, her eyes briefly glancing to Ar. "It's pretty vacant here."

While her training partner scowled back, the assistant chief answered, "That is actually why I have called the two of you here. Almost all of the on-duty agents have been assigned to the dignitaries returning from last night's crisis."

"I figured as much."

"However, another matter requires our attention. During the chaos last night, a pirate battleship approached the Arquillian vessel and was shot down. While we have the pilot and the craft in custody, two passengers escaped into the city. I am assigning the two of you to join the search."

"Who are the targets?" Ar requested.

"They're not 'targets', per se, Ar," Oh corrected. "The pilot herself is a renowned space pirate, which is why we have her in custody. However, we have yet to identify her two accomplices. As yet, they may merely be civilian acquaintances of our little menace."

"Do we have any descriptions of them?" Elle inquired.

The supervisor slid a few still photographs to the pair. Each image showed the cyan-maned Ryoko lying unconscious a short distance from her two companions, Ayeka and Washu. The pictures portrayed the Juraian princess visibly disoriented, weary, leaning on the genius for support.

Examining the images, Elle raised a brow that all three were clearly very humanoid, nearly indistinguishable from Terran humans. While Ryoko and Washu might be identified by the feline eyes and elfin ears, Ayeka could easily fade into the populace, if not for her eye and hair color. She also took note of the kimono worn by the noblewoman, not unlike the traditions of Japan and other Eastern cultures.

"They aren't that different from normal humans, are they?" Elle commented.

"No," Oh replied, "they really aren't, at least not on the surface."

Memories crept into the former mortician's mind, of the bug assassin ripping its skin apart, revealing its true insectoid nature.

"So, are they hideous underneath like the zombie farmer?"

"No, no," the assistant chief clarified, "nothing so grotesque. Biologically, they are nearly identical to us. See for yourself."

She passed Elle a copy of Ryoko's medical chart. Reading the chart, the good doctor noticed the similarities immediately: body temperature, blood pressure, among many others seemed normal to her trained eye. However, she did see a few differences: heart rhythm, electrolyte levels, a few minor details that would raise suspicion or concern. After seeing the bug assassin and the Twins, Elle had not expected an alien so "normal".

"That is Ryoko Ryua, our current 'guest' downstairs," Oh explained. "She is very much like us in most respects, with one important difference."

"She's an exhibitionist?" Elle quipped, motioning to the pirate's low-cut and tight-fitting attire.

"Her taste in clothes is the least of our worries," the English lady replied gravely. "She has the ability to manipulate some kind of energy, forming constructs like barriers or swords."

"How does she do that?" the medical doctor pondered. "All of her scans list her organs in much the same configuration as ours, with nothing significantly different."

"Evidently, it's a racial trait for the humanoid species on her home-world, Ryua. However, we haven't dealt with her species until now, so our data on her is rather limited."

"I take it we're using someone else's data then?"

Oh nodded. "Yes. As you might imagine, MiB has diplomatic ties with several extraterrestrial organizations. In particular, our data on Ryoko comes from the Galaxy Police, one of the largest police forces in the Milky Way. Our liaison with the GP is en route now to transport our prisoner to their courts for trial."

"While this is all interesting," Ar interjected impatiently, "what kind of resistance do the two fugitives pose? Are they Ryoan too?"

Elle glared at Ar. I was getting to that, asshole.

With an exasperated sigh, the assistant chief answered, "Possibly. Zed spoke with Ryoko before he left the office. According to her, one of her accomplices was Dr. Washu Hakubi," she explained pointing to the redheaded girl in the pictures, "the self-proclaimed 'greatest scientific genius in the universe'. Dr. Hakubi was a professor at the Universal Science Academy before being excommunicated for weapon development, twice. While she's not as notorious as Ryoko, she is Ryoan and potentially has the same abilities."

"She looks like a child," Elle bluntly commented.

"I realize that, but apparently, Dr. Hakubi is peculiarly childlike," Oh noted. "However, the main issue is the violet-haired woman here." Pointing to the final member of the visiting party, she elaborated, "According to Ryoko, this is Princess Ayeka Jurai, formerly heir apparent of the Jurai Empire."

"So, she's like the Arquillian Rosenberg?" the new agent inquired.

"Very much so," Oh confirmed. "The planet Jurai had a coup d'etat a couple years back while the princess was courting to be married. Her small band overturned the coup and restored order to her planet. She is the person of interest here."

"Wait," Elle interposed. "What was she doing with a space pirate like Ryoko?"

"Good question," the assistant chief concurred, "though our issue with them is why they were shot down over our planet."

"So, we're supposed to find and babysit this princess?" Ar surmised.

"To put it simply, Ar," Oh stated, irritation becoming plain in her voice, "yes. If something happens to her, Jurai will hold us responsible. As such, I don't want you bringing a deatomizer or a carbonizer on this mission. Am I clear?"

"As crystal," he passively accepted, raising his hands in a placating gesture, "but I did have an issue to address while we were all here."

"If you want a better assignment," Oh began, anticipating his complaint, "you will have to demonstrate that you can successfully complete those given to you."

"No, that wasn't my immediate problem," Ar retorted, before he pointed at Elle. "Why does she retain her memories of an alien encounter before her induction to MiB? That's a breach of basic field protocol."

Elle glared back at her training partner while the Englishwoman across from them cracked her knuckles with a calming breath. Visibly, a vein throbbed on her forehead as she maintained her professional demeanor, despite the petulant subordinate before her.

"Agent R," she carefully enunciated, choosing her words quite carefully, "your partner was offered a position because of her performance in the crisis last night. The chief and I decided it would be best for her to remain as she is, so that her experience would benefit her career and others'. While the situation is unusual, it is not unheard of. One of the original Men in Black was inducted in much the same way."

"Then, why am I assigned to train her?" he argued.

Coldly, Oh's eyes met Ar's as she said, "Agent L, would you mind stepping outside for a moment? I would like to share a few words with your partner before the two of you depart."

"Certainly," the new agent answered as she stood and made her through the door.

The door sealed behind her, and she did not hear what was said on the other side. Considering what she had already heard, she did wonder what Ar had done to be saddled with this job. Admittedly, the organization seemed shorthanded at the moment after the Arquillian crisis, so perhaps he was the only one available. On the other hand, he seemed very familiar with the testing process and the new agent tour. Maybe he had trained several agents who ultimately failed to perform. Given his curt and terse answers, she could see the latter possibility quite clearly

Regardless, she reasoned, it was best that I kept my mouth shut about him anyway. He said more than enough to hang himself anyway.

Soon, the door opened, and Ar exited, his face pale and his eyes wide with fear. Behind him, Oh stepped out, her motions very fluid and calm, unlike the anger dancing in her eyes.

"Now, do find our two missing individuals," she reiterated, expertly keeping her emotions locked away.

"Yes, ma'am," Elle answered while Ar just silently nodded.

X X X

In downtown New York sat a small kiosk painted bright yellow with large, black lettering which read the following: "LOCKSMITH", "KEYS", "AUTO-HOUSE". Surrounded by keychains, padlocks, and blank keys, a pale and haggard man stood, leaning on the kiosk's narrow counter. His white hair fell haphazardly on either side from his balding scalp while his glazed eyes stared out toward the busy street. Many passersby would compare the figure to a corpse as opposed to what actually lay beneath the surface.

In truth, the man was a fixed position android, preprogrammed with a few responses for lingering customers. Instead, the real proprietor was the small creature perched atop the counter just to right of the fake human. Well-known to the Men in Black, he has earned the nickname "Frank the Pug" due to his physical resemblance to the pug breed of dog from Earth. Members of his Remoolian race were naturally quadrupedal, distinguished from Terran dogs by four antennae and a triple-branched tail, to say nothing of the green skin. To conceal his identity, Frank wore a faux-skin suit, custom-made by the MiB to give him the appearance of the fawn pug.

As with most extraterrestrial inhabitants of Manhattan, Frank also had a story. Before coming to Earth, the Remoolian had risen into the lower ranks of the Afmai crime family near the Alpha Centauri system. However, shortly after becoming a street boss, he had been captured by the Galaxy Police in a raid on his headquarters. With the threat of a century of jail time, the pug made a deal, informing on his superiors in exchange for a lesser sentence. His testimony lead to multiple arrests, seriously hurting the family's hold on the system.

Thus, Frank landed in Zartokla Prison for five years, sharing a cell with a certified psychotic. His cellmate, Drekk, came from a magma-dwelling people who can generate heat and project fire from specialized organs on their wrists. Drekk resented everyone who ever crossed him, obsessing about how he would "boil them alive, real slow". Frequently, he would threaten other inmates, including Frank, regardless of the guards in attendance. Thankfully, this behavior forced the fiery felon into solitary confinement, giving Frank a break from the incessant ramblings about revenge.

Then, there was how Drekk always picked his feet, absolutely disgusting.

Once his sentence was completed in 1963, Frank was under threat from the Afmai family due to his testimony and, therefore, relocated to the newly established apolitical zone on Earth. There, he took on the guise of a dog and first found a job at Coney Island as the "Amazing Talking Pug" alongside Roman the Fabulist and several other early residents. However, after Boris the Animal's murder spree in 1969, the Remoolian demanded to be moved closer to the protection of the MiB headquarters. As a result, he was established in his present locksmith front.

Due to his location, Frank the Pug overheard his share of gossip and rumors, and he had informed the Men in Black on several occasions over the past 30 years, for a fee. On the other hand, as an opportunist, he had been known to squeal for the criminal element also, earning him the ire of several agents, including Kay. Brokering information in this way had earned the small creature years of experience in the politics of the cosmos, and his own share of notoriety. As such, his last suit upgrade was to an XL-2000, which featured, among other amenities, a coating that resisted temperatures in excess of 1500ºC.

Naturally, when the bug assassin killed Rosenberg, Frank caught wind of the incident and immediately made plans to leave the planet. Before he could leave, Kay and Jay arrived to squeeze some information out of him: the bug's goal, Rosenberg's purpose, and the meaning of "the Galaxy". After being manhandled by Kay, the pug rushed to his flight and got off-world as quickly as he could. Once the danger passed, Frank promptly returned to his usual perch in downtown New York, well ahead of all the dignitaries.

After spending the morning napping, the pug was planning to resume his weekly poker game with three other local informants. However, as the sun returned to touch the New York skyline, two people approached Frank's kiosk, casting a pair of shadows over him.

To his left stood a young woman in a halter top and hot pants, which clung tightly to her smooth skin. Her long black hair was tied in a long ponytail behind her head, her bangs teased and spiked around her brow. Blushing, she stood apprehensively, glancing from side to side, holding her arms close, notably embarrassed about her appearance.

Upon her brow rested a tiara composed of intricately woven branches of a smooth-barked tree. Set into the apex of the decorative item was a violet crest, elegantly blooming from the ornament. As beautiful as the item and young woman were, neither seemed to fit with the immodest style of dress she wore.

On the other hand, a preteen girl stood to Frank's right. Dressed more simply in a t-shirt and shorts, her red hair flowed down her shoulders and back. On her nose were a pair of rectangular glasses that highlighted her piercing green eyes, which shone with far more intelligence than her small frame would admit.

Considering their attire and human appearance, Frank momentarily thought the two were simply an odd pair of tourists visiting the Big Apple. However, the redhead directly addressed him, not his mechanical associate, in English.

"Frank, is it?"

He raised a brow at her and angled his head to the side, playing his dumb dog act as he would with any normal human. With any luck, she might leave him be. Sadly for him, the short girl could see past his disguise.

"Remoolian physiology might be similar to Terran canines," she said before poking at his chest, "but your heart is beating far too slowly, to say nothing of the foreign spectral pattern."

He placed his paw on her hand and pushed it away. "Hey!" he retorted quietly. "Are you trying to break my cover here? I'm trying to run a business."

"Which one," she quipped, "opening locks or giving information?"

"Who's asking?" he demanded.

Her eyes met his as she replied, "Dr. Washu Hakubi. I'm sure you know who I am."

His eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I've heard of you, and I know MiB is looking for you and your friend here. Three cars have already stopped here so far."

"The men in the black suits, I take it?"

"You got it, sister. They are the police force for the alien element here on Earth. Considering your record, I'm surprised they didn't come for you sooner."

"So, I assume you know these 'Men in Black' quite well then?"

"What's it to you?" he asked.

"My associate and I are in the market for someone to mediate our situation with said Men in Black," Washu explained.

"And, why would I help some whack-job Ryoan?" he argued. "I doubt the Science Academy wants you back a third time."

"What about helping a Juraian princess?" the genius inquired, motioning to her companion.

Frank blinked and narrowed his eyes at the taller woman before him, focusing on her face. The more he looked, the more she blushed and turned away from his gaze. Her shy demeanor and features caught on his memory, as well as the tiara sitting atop her forehead. That item in particular appeared to be Juraian-made, though he did not remember it so openly worn. Instead, he remembered it shrouded by violet hair, a more traditional hairstyle around the young lady's face.

Then, he staggered back, recognizing Jurai Ayeka, the former crown princess of the Jurai Empire.

"What the hell is she doing here?!" Frank demanded from Washu.

"You remember that Arquillian battle cruiser from last night," she reminded him, "the one threatening to destroy the planet?"

"Yeah?"

"The two of us and another associate of ours went to investigate, but were shot down."

"By the Arquillians?"

"I don't think so," the scientist explained, "which is our reason for coming to you. You know the town and the MiB."

While the mystery did intrigue Frank, the pug would hardly move sheerly for the good of helping others. Moreover, Washu had been known to manipulate others for her own advantage as well. All this could easily be a scam to dodge the MiB with an Ayeka lookalike. Back during the coup d'etat on Jurai, a few such women appeared and gained momentary popularity, like the one who competed in a swimsuit competition on Heliotropis.

"How do I know you're not playing me, Hakubi?" the Remoolian asked.

"Spectral trace," Washu answered. "I'm sure someone in your profession has a spectral analyzer close at hand."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to whip it out here in public. This isn't Ryua, for the gods' sake. Follow me around back. We can talk more freely there."

With that, Frank jumped to the sidewalk and lead Ayeka and Washu into a secluded alley, away from prying eyes. There, the small extraterrestrial sat upright and pulled open his fake skin, revealing his true green flesh, while he produced a small silver device. The pen-like item had a chrome finish with several nuanced display meters, registering different aspects of the subject's being, ranging from genetic composition to over-dimensional aura. Thanks to some of his contacts, the device also had a copy of the GP database used by the MiB to identify known offenders.

While Washu stood with her arms folded, waiting with a tempered patience, Ayeka eyed the dark alley apprehensively. Such covert dealings were far from her usual affairs, to say nothing of how the minute Ryoan had dressed her. The wig had caused her scalp to itch, and these immodest clothes were embarrassingly tight. Then, this dog-like creature lead them into this alley, speaking in an unfamiliar tongue, this "English". Its hammered together tones and staccato rhythm irritated her ears, and her tolerance for the entire situation grew quite thin.

Finally, once out of the earshot of bystanders, she addressed the other two members of her party in Cerulian.

"So, what is our purpose here?"

Frank turned to her and replied in kind, "Good to see you aren't completely mute, lady. I want to be sure you are actually who you claim to be."

He waved the device at Washu, whereupon it whirred and clicked as it scanned the environment around the great scientist. Its display showed a profile and outline of her, listing pertinent data such as sex, species, and age. For Washu, it clearly stated that she was a female Ryoan, though it listed her age as "12 years".

The pug scratched his head. "Something's screwy with this thing. It says you're only twelve."

Washu grinned slyly and answered, "It must be my youthful face and enthusiasm."

"Whatever," the Remoolian retorted.

After a moment more, the scanner cross-referenced the scan data with its database, returning her identity as none other than "Hakubi, Washu". He then turned to Ayeka and repeated the same process. For the princess, the device showed she was a female Juraian, roughly 22 years old. However, as he continued to scan, the device failed to identify her. Frank slid closer to her and scanned again, scowling at the machine.

Ayeka, on the other hand, glared impatiently down at him. "Are you satisfied yet?"

"Cool your heels, lady," he responded. "I can't get it to register right."

"It might not," Washu noted. "If it's pulling from a GP database, she doesn't really have a record with them, let alone in this sector."

"Well then," he argued, "how am I supposed to believe she isn't just some Juraian chick you duped into scamming me?"

A vein bulged over Ayeka's temple. "Come again?" she said, pretending to mishear him.

"No offense, lady," Frank weakly apologized, "but I've seen enough impersonation scams in this town to be cautious."

The princess's lip curled at the insinuation. How dare he! she thought to herself.

"My name is Jurai Ayeka," she declared as she folded her arms over her chest and glowered down at him. "I am princess of the Jurai royal family, and I demand an apology."

"Come on, toots," he placated. "Let it go. I'm not putting my hide on the line for Hakubi, let alone some random Juraian babe."

At that, chimes rang out throughout the alley. With each tone, a small wooden cylinder appeared in the air around Frank, each seemingly composed of the same aspen-like material as Ayeka's tiara. These miniature guardian logs continued to multiply until ten hovered around him, circling him. A white lightning sparked along the surface of each small construct, her power of Jurai manifesting concretely. As an extension of her will, these device obeyed her mental commands, capable of generating a barrier to defend or a static field to attack.

Nervously, Frank's eyes darted between the floating objects, his hairs standing on end due to the ambient energy nearby. He met Ayeka's gaze again and could see the insult burning within her face. In his paw, the spectral analyzer started to beep loudly, warning him that the potential field growing around him could discharge at any moment.

"Shall I repeat myself?" the insulted woman asked.

Frank glanced to Washu. "What the hell is this?!"

Washu just shook her head and grinned. "You wanted proof that she was a Juraian princess? This demonstration of Jurai's power should be more than enough." She spun on her heels and headed back toward the street, commenting, "You might want to apologize, unless you actually want to get fried."

As the genius reached the street, she could hear Frank pleading with Ayeka, who stood silently and ominously over him.

X X X

The day dragged by Ryua Ryoko as she lounged in her shielded cell with nothing to do but wait. However, experience had taught her ways to pass the time, as well as to find liberation. Idly, she would create a ball of her scarlet power and fling it at the four walls, watching it ricochet. Using a slow lob, she could predict its behavior and avoid the pulse while she noticed how much punishment the shield could sustain. Considering that a prolonged struggle with her sword did not manage to penetrate the barrier, she was not surprised that her blasts ricocheted so many times.

As no one barged through the door to restrain her or flooded the cell with gas, the Ryoan woman grew a little bolder and lobbed a small blast at the ceiling. Not surprisingly, it bounced off and flew toward a wall, where it reflected down to the floor. Upon impact with the metallic floor, the energy did not ricochet or immediately dissipate, but rather burned into the gray surface.

Her amber eyes cut to the door, waiting for a guard to run inside the room. After a minute or two, she turned her gaze to the mirrored glass, her lips stretching into a devious smile.

They aren't watching me, she noted. They're probably too busy chasing Ayeka and Washu. The princess always did make a good distraction.

She walked to the one-way glass and lightly tapped on the surface, listening to the quiet reverberation. Again, no guards stormed inside to tie her down. Just out of the sight of the mirror, she summoned an orb of light and formed her ruby sword, lowering it to the floor. Slowly, she drew the weapon's tip along the floor behind her, watching it cut into the floor with very little effort. Once more, she eyed the door and glass, observing no reaction.

They must not care about what's below this cell, she reasoned. It's probably impractical to tunnel out of here then. Besides, I don't have days to burrow a hole either. I just need out of this room.

Zed had said that he would eventually give her to the Galaxy Police. The lady pirate needed a quicker exit, and she had just the way. She levitated into the air and drifted away from the glass, gathering filaments of her crimson light in her hands. Pressing her wrists together, she pushed the power in her grasp before her, her muscles straining as the energy at her command grew more wild. Once the fiery light between her palms nearly licked at her fingers, she released the blast to fly at the floor at the foot of the one-way mirror.

The impact rocked the entire floor of the complex, flickering the lights and spewing dust from the joints in the building. Startled, the agents manning the security checkpoints steadied themselves and checked their monitors, finding Ryoko's cell filled with clouds of particles. Then, a second quake rippled through the building, spurring one guard to slam his fist into the alarm signal. Red lights and sirens blared throughout the headquarters as agents rushed to arm themselves, grabbing deatomizers and carbonizers from the armory. A third and a fourth strike shook the agents while they hurriedly opened the barricades leading to the cell below.

Meanwhile, Ryoko breathed heavily, four attacks of such magnitude testing her endurance. A thin barrier around her kept the particulate matter from entering her lungs as she knelt to inspect her handiwork. The heated bursts of power had cut a thin corridor under the defended wall, allowing her to see into the other half of the interrogation room. Now able to visualize her target, as well as having an undefended avenue, the Ryoan woman used another of her many innate talents, teleporting herself to Zed's side of the mirror. Once inside, she could hear the sirens screaming throughout the complex.

Kicked a hornet's nest, didn't I? the lady pirate thought to herself.

Outside, she heard the storming feet of the agents drawing nearer. With only an oval table and a couple oddly shaped chairs, the room had little in the way of camouflage for a young fugitive. However, with a glance upward, she chose another trick from her arsenal.

Both the door in the cell and the door in the interrogation room were breached with a hiss of the pressure seals breaking. Four agents rushed through each portal and searched the respective rooms for the space pirate. The dust settling quickly, the cell team found the tunnel, but no other sign of Ryoko herself. Likewise, the interrogation room discovered no immediate signs of the rogue, save the small exit of the tunnel.

Then, above them, a whoosh of air caught their ears. All four men turned their deatomizers to the ceiling only to sight an afterimage of the culprit. Before they could react, the doors to both rooms closed and sealed, Ryoko's smug face looking back through the minute window at them. Forming a small dagger from her ruby light, she melted and fused the controls to the doors, locking the agents inside.

The Ryoan woman tapped on the glass as she mocked them, the Cerulian words singing from her lips, "I'll see myself out, boys."

While they pounded on the door, the space pirate cursorily investigated the corridor surrounding her. Pressing her hand against the wall, she attempted to phase through it, using her ability to become incorporeal. Unfortunately, as with the walls of the cell, the structure resisted her, likely due to immense density or its construction. Moreover, she still could not sense her partner Ryo-Ohki.

So much for a quick way out, she surmised.

Ryoko noted the corridor was inclined, rising in the direction from which the agents had come. Reasoning that to be the most probable exit, she levitated into the air and darted forward through the hallway. Soon, she reached a sealed bulkhead, quite sturdy and heavy, impossible for her to move with her physical strength. Nearby, a guard station sat unmanned, likely because they were now locked in Ryoko's cell. However, all the computers and monitors had instructions in English, which was sadly not a language the space pirate knew.

On the other hand, one of the displays showed the other side of the bulkhead, where some ten agents were gathered, weapons drawn. A couple of them were gathered at a terminal, typing away at the keyboard. Then, the sirens suddenly went silent, and the bulkhead's locking pins loudly retracted before the portal began to lurch open.

They're breaching, Ryoko realized as she ducked under the guard's counter, just out of sight.

The agents flooded into this antechamber, searching for the fugitive. Listening, the rogue could hear as they rushed past the guard station, barking orders amongst themselves. Thankfully, the desk and counter of the station reached to the floor, hiding her from their immediate sight. Nevertheless, if they searched behind the counter, they would easily see her.

In that moment, a familiar voice whispered to the Ryoan's mind.

There you are!

Ryoko immediately recognized Ryo-Ohki's presence and responded in kind.

Where are you? Are you safe?

Yes, though I still feel weak.

The lady pirate could feel the lack of energy in her partner's psychic link, sensing the aching structure of her crystalline body and the weariness of her recovery. On the other hand, the immediate danger of the agents searching for the young woman took priority.

Can you image where you are? Ryoko asked.

No problem, Ryo-Ohki responded, but I don't think I can bring you here.

Don't worry about that.

Through their mental connection, the gemstone craft sent a visual of her environment to her mistress's thoughts. The angular vessel rested in a hangar filled with numerous other spaceships, ranging from a trite flying saucer to a machine with two forward-swept wings in a nearly vertical position. Moorings held all of the vehicles in place, and some, like Ryo-Ohki, were actually restrained to prevent any movement whatsoever.

Seeing the vision, Ryoko willed herself to vanish from the guard's desk and reappear in the hangar near her ship. In another instant, she warped herself onto Ryo-Ohki's bridge, where the glass-like surfaces displayed the surrounding hangar as clear as a window. Below, she could see several agents scurrying around the deck, checking the moorings on the Ryoan vessel and grabbing weapons from nearby racks.

We can't stay here long, she mused. Considering her options, she asked her companion, Can you fly?

I don't think so, the ship answered wearily.

A window opened before her, listing the status of all of the craft's systems. From the attack the previous night, the balancer and main anti-gravity components were still regenerating. The energy necessary to heal each has sapped most of Ryo-Ohki's strength, leaving her incapable of flying safely, let alone blasting the hangar doors open.

Ryoko's eyes hardened, infuriated that someone would dare harm her furry partner, especially without provocation. She had no intention of letting this trespass be ignored.

However, the practical matter of their escape remained her highest priority. They needed to become inconspicuous, to blend into the crowds outside quickly. Sadly, her cyan mane and cabbit companion, to say nothing of her fashion sense, would identify her immediately. They could not just run outside and disappear like on Heliotropis or Ryua, or even Jurai.

We need a vehicle, Ryoko reasoned.

Being surrounded by the Men in Black's repository of impounded conveyances, the duo had their choice, but most were moored just like Ryo-Ohki. While Ryoko could cut through such moorings with her energy sword, the agents would likely notice and fire upon her in short order. Moreover, some of these vessels were foreign even to her, meaning she might not be able to pilot them.

Then, she found her ride.

Alright, Ryo-Ohki, her thoughts spoke to her partner. Are you okay to transform?

Yeah, the ship answered her, but I don't think I'll be able to fight with you.

You shouldn't have to, she reassured her compatriot. Just follow my lead.

Okay. Are you sure about this?

Mostly, the fugitive admitted.

Again, Ryoko vanished, a whoosh of air filling the void left by her body. She reappeared across the hangar in the driver's seat of a Crown Victoria, one of many parked along the chamber's wall. Sinking low into the seat, she kept out of sight from the agents around her. Scanning quickly over the vehicle's controls, she found them reminiscent of some roadsters she boosted on Todain long before she came to Earth.

And, admittedly, the larcenous woman had considered stealing a Terran car once or twice.

Meanwhile, Ryo-Ohki's hull shrank as she began her metamorphosis back into her cabbit form. The shift in mass freed her from the moorings, letting them swing free and clank noisily against the wall and nearby craft.

As the furry creature descended to the floor, several agents turned and took notice of the large crystalline spaceship replaced by a cute little animal. While dumbfounded at first, they soon raised their weapons at her and shouted in English for her to halt. Quickly, the feline-like hare darted to the concrete below and scurried under the nearest vehicle in the motor pool, an armored van.

As the agents flocked around the conveyance, reaching and yelling for Ryo-Ohki, Ryoko slowly peeked at the side mirror of her car. After shining flashlights under the van, the agents started arguing amongst themselves, seemingly lost.

Ryoko grinned. Are you inside? she asked Ryo-Ohki telepathically.

Yes, the furry creature replied, though I doubt they'll take long to realize where I am.

Then, let's give them something else to worry about, the fugitive answered.

With a thought, Ryoko teleported outside of the car and hovered over its top, as she called out to the agents.

"Hey, cops!" her Cerulian words hit their ears, spinning them toward her. "I think you're looking for me!"

Promptly, the law enforcers forgot about the cabbit and focused on the Ryoan woman, her hands glowing a deep crimson. Their weapons trained on her, their English orders falling on her uncomprehending ears. With a smirk, she vanished, only reappear amongst them. Promptly, she punched the nearest agent in the gut before breaking the nose of the next.

The farthest agent raised his sidearm at her, but her golden eyes caught the motion and immediately teleported away. Her voice called to them from a door across the room.

"I'm over here, dumbass!"

Infuriated, most of the agents aimed and fired at her, but she slid into the open doorway, avoiding the shots and disappearing from sight again. As the agents charged through the door after her, she faded back into existence next to the van, shaking her head in amusement.

"So damned gullible."

Snatching a vehicle key from a valet stand near the door, Ryoko flew to the corresponding vehicle and phased inside. No longer under siege, Ryo-Ohki passed through the wall of her hiding place and hopped her way into her mistress's automobile. With a roar, the Crown Victoria awoke, the Ryoan woman squealing the tires as she peeled out of the parking space. Within moments, she screeched to a halt at the ramp leading out of the complex, blocked by a lowered metal barrier.

Calmly lowering the window and aiming her hand at the gate, the lady pirate summoned her red energy once more.

"Let's check out of here, Ryo-Ohki."

With a relieved mew, the cabbit concurred. Without hesitation, Ryoko blasted a hole in the impediment and zoomed her stolen Crown Victoria out onto the streets of Manhattan.

Elsewhere, Elle and Ar were returning to headquarters due to the alert that Ryoko had broken free. In transit, their transceiver squawked to life with Oh's voice.

"Ar, we have a problem."

"What's happened?" he asked.

"Ryoko has fled headquarters in a stolen LTD. We are tracking the car on Church Street. You are the closest unit to intercept her."

"Has she used super-speed system?"

"No, the car hasn't transformed. You should be able to cut her off at 14th Street and detain her until backup can arrive."

"I'm on it."

With a glare to her partner, Elle added, "We're on it."

Once the transceiver went silent, Ar glanced to his trainee and retorted, "You don't have a weapon, rookie. Take notes and stay out of the way."

"You were ordered not to carry a weapon to keep from hurting the princess if we found her," the good doctor barked back.

"The chief said no carbonizer or deatomizer. She didn't say anything about my sidearm," Reaching into his seat, he produced a copy of Jay's chirping weapon, the Noisy Cricket. "Or this."

"We're only supposed to detain her until backup arrives."

"We won't need backup once I bring the pirate in myself."

"Are you serious?" the former mortician asked incredulously. "After everything Oh told us about her, you think you'll catch her solo?"

"She's just one human woman," Ar hissed in return. "She won't be that much trouble."

Insulted, Elle rebuked him, "Are you really that full of yourself? You're going to chase after an enemy who just broke out from the fortified prison at headquarters, and is likely far more powerful than you, by yourself?"

"Just enjoy the ride," he growled as he suddenly turned the car, shoving his trainee into the door frame.

Asshole! Elle mentally cursed as she recovered from his arrogant maneuver.

Meanwhile, Ayeka and Washu were hailing a taxi with Frank the Pug in tow. However, before they entered the vehicle, a beeping arose from Frank, giving the two women pause.

From his skin suit, the Remoolian produced a small device he placed to his folded ear. Not unlike a police scanner, the illicit tool monitored the transmissions used by MiB. Normally, these signals would appear to be unintelligible static between standard emergency bands and, thus, would be subsequently ignored. However, Frank's scanner decrypted the signal, overhearing Oh's exchange with Ar.

Curious, the princess inquired, "What's the matter?"

"Sounds like your pirate pal broke out of MiB headquarters," Frank relayed. "They're going to try and snag her on 14th Street."

Dammit, Ryoko, Ayeka cursed to herself. You've only made this situation worse. Turning to Frank, she asked, "How long would it take us to reach this 14th Street from here?"

"About 10-12 minutes, depending on traffic," he answered. "What? Are you thinking of heading them off?"

"Exactly," the princess acknowledged. "Ryoko may be a ruffian, but she isn't in the wrong here. Tell the driver to make haste."

"You do know what New York traffic is like, right?"

"Irrelevant," she retorted, quite determined. "We need to rendezvous with Ryoko before this incident escalates any further than it has."

The pug spun to Washu and asked, "Could you talk some sense into her? I mean, this is MiB we're talking about, on their own turf."

Plainly, the genius rhetorically stated, "Have you ever known royalty to change their mind? Besides, she's right. Likely, her presence could have enough sway to fix this before someone gets too hurt."

"Fine," Frank grumbled. "This still sounds like a stupid idea."

The two women piled into the cab while the Remoolian instructed the driver, another alien resident, to make all haste to Union Square Park, the nearest open area to the intercept point. After Frank slipped the cabbie a 100$-bill, the driver slammed down the accelerator and fishtailed into traffic, dodging cars as he went.

On University Place, Ryoko's speeding Crown Victoria had attracted the attention of a couple of squad cars, both chasing her as she weaved through the early evening commuters. Her lip curled at the red and blue lights in her mirrors, as she schemed of ways to elude these officers.

Unfortunately, once she reached 14th Street, another vehicle plowed into the rear of hers, sending the car into a spin. Her tires cleared the curb and landed her in Union Square Park, the car awkwardly placed on a hill between two trees. Fortunately for Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki, the MiB unit deployed air bags and emergency harnesses, saving them both from any injuries more serious than a bruise or scratch.

Outside the car, the other vehicle, a second black Crown Victoria, hissed steam from its busted radiator. Its occupants had long since ejected themselves before the crash and were approaching the scene, one with weapons drawn.

Ar proudly smiled to himself. Though he sacrificed his conveyance, he had caught the infamous space pirate. There she was, dazed inside her stolen car, ready to be cuffed and returned to headquarters. Finally, both Zed and Oh would have to acknowledge his talents and skills. No more would he live in the shadows of the original agents like Kay or Dee. Bringing Ryoko back in chains would force everyone to respect him. There would no longer be talk of "overzealous", "glory hound", or "loose cannon".

Behind him, Elle followed at distance, looking at all the chaos his stunt has caused. For a secret agent, she thought, he sure doesn't give a damn about collateral damage.

Ar flashed his fake identification to the gathering crowd, declaring, "Federal agent, Division Six! Everyone stay back!"

Most of the people kept their distance, though sirens could be heard approaching the park. Soon enough, emergency services would be here, both from the city and from MiB. The determined agent had little time to take his captive.

Ar reached the stolen Crown Victoria when the door blew off its hinges with a burst of crimson light. From the vehicle, Ryoko emerged, her palms burning bright with her ruby energy, her amber eyes glaring coldly at the agent. Arriving a second later, Elle was taken aback by the sight of the infamous space pirate, strong and unbroken.

"Persistent bastards, aren't you?" Ryoko remarked in Cerulian.

While Elle had seen a few subtitled films from Japan, she could not understand the Ryoan woman's words. On the other hand, Ar had had plenty of training in the most common languages used by Manhattan's extraterrestrial residents, including Cerulian.

"Put your hands up and come quietly," he ordered in the same language as he raised his weapon, adding, "or I will put you down."

Ryoko smirked and dared him, "Try it."

With little hesitation, Ar fired his sidearm, sending a bolt of blue light at the pirate, who stood firm. The mass of energy impacted a spherical barrier around her, ricocheting the blast into a nearby tree.

Ryoko raised her hand toward the agent, her ruby power coalescing into a single orb. "And, we're done here."

Before she could attack, Ar fired his Noisy Cricket, shooting a large blast of green light at the pirate. Though the determined operative was knocked onto his rear by the recoil, Ryoko's eyes widened at the incoming wave of energy. Dissipating her own attack, she focused her might into a barrier around herself, meeting the grand shot head-on. The force of the impact bowed her barrier and rent her from her feet, throwing her hard into the side of her damaged Crown Victoria.

Winded by the unexpected shot, Ryoko took a moment to recover, aching from the impact with the car. Ryo-Ohki mewed and hopped to the window of the vehicle, voicing her concern over their mental link. On the other side of the conflict, Elle came to Ar's side to help him back to his feet. However, he refused her help and rose from the ground on his own, though slowly. Still, having seen the lady pirate deflect a shot from one weapon and take the brunt of another, the good doctor would not remain silent again.

"Ar," Elle began, "she's not simply an ordinary woman. We should wait for backup, like the chief ordered."

"No!" Ar barked back. "She is my collar, and I'm not going to share it with you, or the cleanup crew."

Pushing her aside, he leveled the Noisy Cricket at Ryoko again when another barrier manifested between the two parties. Surprised, both Ryoko and Ar turned to see Ayeka standing only a few meters away with Washu and Frank close at hand.

"That's enough!" the Juraian princess demanded. "There is no need for any more violence!"

Ryoko looked over Ayeka in her current state of dress, still wearing the halter top and hot pants, and chuckled to herself.

"Ayeka? Is that you?"

"Yes, Ryoko," the noblewoman answered. "Have you forgotten me already?"

"No, but I don't remember you dressing like a slut either," the pirate needled back.

"How dare you!" the princess fumed, and blushed. "I came to save you, and this is the thanks I get?!"

Although Elle did not understand their bickering, she did hear the name "Ayeka" amongst the Cerulian words. Despite the very out-of-character attire and dyed hair, the good doctor recognized the princess's face from the pictures Oh had shown in their briefing.

"Hold on," the former mortician said in English as she stepped toward the barrier, addressing Ayeka specifically. "You're Princess Ayeka?"

Naturally, the princess recognized her name amongst Elle's foreign words, but she too did not understand the other woman. Thankfully, Washu did.

"She is," the genius declared in the same tongue. "There's been a rather big misunderstanding here, and we'd like a chance to clear the air."

"Our chief would like to do the same. We were assigned to find the two of you and escort you to her."

Frank turned his eyes to Ar and shook his head, commenting, "Zed must be really low on manpower to put this loose cannon on a scratch-and-sniff like this."

At the sight of a talking dog, Elle folded her arms and thought to herself, Only a matter of time, I suppose.

"Shut it, you Remoolian mutt!" the botched agent growled back. "We were sent to stop the space pirate Ryoko!"

"Only after she broke out of headquarters," Elle corrected, "and only because we were the nearest unit."

He glared at his temporary partner. "Whose side are you on, lady?"

"Apparently, not yours," she quipped.

"While I have no doubt Ryoko's been causing you a lot of trouble," Washu admitted, "we think it might be best to discuss the situation a bit more civilly." She glanced to Ar's weapons. "Without shooting at each other."

"I'd agree with that," Elle responded before turning to her training partner. "What about you, Agent R?"

Without a word, she could see plainly in his eyes that all his aspirations were crumbling before his eyes. All the glory he wanted was fading away, all the recognition lost to the winds. His angry eyes slid from Elle to Ryoko, the prey he could have apprehended. He gripped his weapons tightly, wishing he could take another shot at her, frustrated at being blocked by not only this rookie, but also the princess he was to babysit.

Meanwhile, Washu explained to Ryoko and Ayeka that she had smoothed relations with the female agent, and that all should be well. Though the princess was pleased, the pirate remained skeptical, considering how the male agent was reacting to the situation. However, free from her bonds, she held solace in her ability to teleport or fly away in this open park if needed.

Then, blood splattered across Ayeka's barrier and over Elle's face and clothes. Startled, everyone turned to see Agent R look down at a hole cauterized through his chest. Another blast of energy vaporized his head from his shoulders before his body could slump to the ground. The princess screamed in terror while the pug resisted vomiting from the sight. The scientific genius and mortician were both stunned into silence while the pirate's gaze grew distant, rising to meet those of the assailant.

Behind the agent's remains stood a man, his eyes slightly glazed, his hand outstretched toward Ar's corpse. Dressed in military fatigues, the new arrival moved unnaturally: elbows and wrists bending where they should not, body bulging notably where it should not. Despite the shock of the blood splatter, Elle recognized this type of motion, the same as her attacker from the night before.

"Y-you?!" she stuttered. "You're a…!"

The murderer ignored her and instead focused on Ryoko, only on her.

"There you are," he uttered in Cerulian, "Ryua Ryoko."

The Ryoan's skin crawled as she summoned her bravado and rhetorically asked, "Why does everyone want me today?"

"Old debts need to be paid," he replied cryptically as he lurched forward.

Before he could proceed far, another Juraian shield manifested around him. He turned his glare to Ayeka, who, though still shaken by the murder, had regained her senses.

"No farther, murderer!" she declared.

"Ah," he hissed as his eyes narrowed on her, "a Juraian noble."

Beneath his skin, a glow emerged, shifting to a deep purple as he extended his hand to her barrier. Talons of black energy spawned from his fingertips, which he thrust into her construct. Once his power touched hers, filaments burst forth, red and blue, as the two powers dueled with one another. Ayeka strained to maintain her field, but the foe ripped apart the defensive shell within a few seconds, startling the princess.

How could he cut through my shield so easily? she asked herself.

Immediately, a ruby bolt flew from Ryoko's hands into the strange man's face, clouding him in particles from the impact. Forming her energy sword, the space pirate darted at him, drawing her weapon back to strike, when an identical weapon swung back at her. The two red blades ground against one another as the cloud cleared, showing the damage to his face.

Ryoko's attack at severed the man's jaw and ripped a gash of flesh off his face, revealing what was beneath. Instead of sinew and muscle, insectoid mandibles clacked and hissed at her, Illirg's true body compressed inside the corpse of his host.

"Ryoan bitch!" he growled as his monstrous strength thrust her back, giving him room to swing his own scarlet weapon.

Teleporting out of range, Ryoko too was taken aback by his power, his sword nearly a twin of her own, to say nothing of the horrifying image of a bug wearing a man's skin.

Illirg, this nightmarish creature of torn flesh and hard carapace, then levitated, his stolen skin illuminated by a crimson glow beneath its surface. He flew at Ryoko, imitating her attack from moments ago. The lady pirate cursed under her breath as she dodged his first swipe and clashed with his second, teleporting behind him to cut along his back. The wound revealed more of his insectoid carapace, but did not actually harm the true beast inside, as he turned to strike at her.

Then, Ayeka's mini-guardians chimed into existence around Illirg, encircling him and separating him from Ryoko. He roared at her as the glow beneath his skin changed from red to purple again. When the princess ignited her mini-guardians with bolts of her Jurai power, he created a barrier of his own, black in color, which expanded and shattered her constructs. The psychic backlash staggered the regal lady while the pirate reengaged her enemy.

Meanwhile, Washu had already summoned her phantom laptop and was scanning the newly revealed foe. However, even the great genius was surprised by what data she was receiving from him. Though her findings were preliminary, the creature was exhibiting characteristics of both Juraian and Ryoan races, encased in a giant insect's body, as well as…

No, she argued with herself, that can't be right. How the hell could he also have…?

This situation had escalated far beyond her expectations, battling an unknown creature in the middle of the city, a man murdered before their eyes. Ryoko and Ayeka alone might not be enough to handle this creature, let alone the agents who were starting to arrive.

Washu grabbed Frank the Pug and asked, "What's the nearest large hotel?"

As the conflict continued, Elle gathered her wits, accepting the bolts of energy and inhuman monster. She turned to the body of her fallen partner, where his weapons had fallen a short distance from his hands.

Ryoko and Illirg's swords clashed time and again until the hideous creature slid away and throw his weapon at his opponent, forcing her to protect herself with a shield. As she recovered, Illirg outstretched his hand toward her, the skin ripping open as his true claws emerged, burning with a black aura.

"Now," he hissed with a pleased tone, "as my queen has decreed."

Then, Elle called out to him, "Hey, bug!"

He turned to her to see Ar's Noisy Cricket in her hands, aimed directly at him.

"Remember me?" she asked rhetorically as she pulled the trigger, firing a large green blast at him.

His mandibles flared as he roared, the shot plowing into him, sending him into the sky. However, the recoil of the weapon threw Elle to the ground, knocking her head against the dirt. Concussed, the good doctor lost sense of her surroundings and, within a few moments, her consciousness.