Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo: 2033
A BGC Fanfic: Urban Discord
by Daniel Power
Chapter Two: For Each Demon, An Angel
(MegaTokyo: 2033)
As Ashley sped towards a veritable blockade of weaponry, slightly offset by the presence of police men, his mind raced with possibilities of escape and...
:::Cops? Why the hell are the cops after me? I'd expect this sort of thing from that bastard Lightman, but law enforcement?::: No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't see how this could be happening.
Priss sat, still astride her bike, and surveyed the whole scene.
:::He's done for.:::
Then, in accordance with what usually happens in stories of this sort, something totally unexpected took place.
Rather than stopping, as one would normally do when traveling towards imminent death, Ashley didn't slow. He continued full speed into the blockade. Smoke plumed from a brief moment of destruction as debris flew into the air every which way. Flames burst out of the carnage and engulfed anything near. Through the haze of the after effect of the blast, Ashley could be seen sailing through the air. Up and over the blockade he went, landing on his feet behind the startled police officers without a scratch on him.
"I'd like to stay and discuss property damage, but I really have to be going. Freedom beckons me to run, and so I'll see you fine gentlemen later." Having said that, Ashley broke into a run.
Priss' eyes widened as, for the second time in the past few moments, something unexpected happened.
"Run" only loosely describes Ashley's attempt at escape. He broke into a run and, when he seemed to have reached maximum speed for someone of his ability, he kept speeding up until his legs were a blur against the pavement. He shot forward at alarming speed and was gone, completely and simply. Nothing there could have caught up. The only thing really to describe it is the Road Runner from the famous cartoon.
"Well, fuck me!" One of the officers gasped in disbelief. The rest of the men present simply stared at where, only moments before, their target had been.
Priss adjusted her helmet on her head as she put her bike in gear. Ashley's escape certainly fit his description of punching her into unconsciousness while in her hard suit.
:::No question about it. He's not human, that's easy enough to see. This is something the Knight Sabers have to handle.:::
* * * * * *
"Go after him!? Priss, he hasn't even done anything against the law. Well, except maybe speed and resist arrest, but that doesn't make him a target for the Knight Sabers!"
Priss and Sylia sat alone in a suite atop the Lady633 building.
"He's going to be trouble sooner or later, so why not deal with him now?" Priss made her point as she sipped her soft drink.
"We do nothing until he's proven himself a threat to the people here in Tokyo. He may turn out to be something entirely different than you expect." Sylia fingered a small box in her hands as she spoke. Opening it, she was greeted with a view of a pair of earrings, silver laced and set with diamonds. "Oh my! They're beautiful."
Priss brought herself closer for further inspection. "Nice. Who gave `em to you?"
"Our mystery man gave them to me earlier today."
"No kidding, I saw him not that long ago evading an entire police unit. Why would he give you these, though, unless he has a thing for you."
Sylia turned an off shade of red. "Nonsense. He certainly isn't mister right. He's probably a criminal."
"He's probably a boomer."
"He can't be. No boomer would act the way he does, showing so much emotion. Although, I guess you never can tell with Genom."
"I bet your hoping he's not."
"Not what?"
"A criminal or boomer, of course." Priss stood to leave. "Personally, I hate the guy, but that doesn't mean you have to."
"Honestly though, I think I could do better with someone who isn't wanted by the police."
Priss laughed in agreement. "True. See you later."
"Bye."
As soon as Priss was gone, Sylia sat back down on her leather couch to look through her suite's living room window at the night sky. Some hours went by until she was startled when she got a knock at her door. She looked at the clock, "Two o'clock in the morning! Who could that be at this hour?"
Answering the door, Sylia almost slammed it again in shock. For who was standing in the doorway, but the man himself.
Ashley greeted her in a polite, soothing voice. "Good morning Miss Stingray. Oh, it is morning isn't it? Anyway, I need to talk to you."
"Mr. Asakiri!?" Sylia's mind screamed for her to refuse him the time of day, but she consented, playing along with him once again. "Oh, ah...come in, have a seat."
They both went into the living room to take up seats where Sylia and Priss had been not that long before.
"Nice place you have here. I'd expect nothing less from a business lady."
Up close to the man once again, Sylia had the chance to get a good look at him.
He had long black hair that hung loosely about his shoulders which was complemented with long bangs, cropped short in the middle for style. He wore what looked like black Genom army fatigues that were covered with a massive black trench coat. All the black he wore was rather perplexing, but there was one thing that stood out on the man. His eyes; they were blue and set high over fine cheekbones. They were the bluest she had ever seen; blue to the point they looked unreal.
Sylia realized that she was staring and coughed to push aside her embarrassment.
"So, what is it you'd like to talk about Mr. Asakiri?"
"I'm a rather popular person all of a sudden."
"Is that all you want to talk about? I have nothing to say about that."
"No, I just meant that everyone I run into seems to know my name before I've given it."
"Of course they would. You were on the morning news with quite a large amount on your head."
If Ashley was surprised at this, he was doing a good job of hiding it.
"Well, about the business at hand. I need your help."
"Help? I don't understand."
"I'm a hunted man, and I need some protection."
"Sure you would, you're wanted by the police for something nameless, but most likely against the law." Sylia's brow furrowed in disgust. "For all I know, you should be shot dead where you stand."
"I think that you'll trust me when I tell you that I've done nothing wrong. Most of what I've done to make me popular with the police is self defense." He sat back on the couch and crossed his legs in relaxation.
"Trust you! Why should I?"
"Oh, I think you already do. You let me into your own house for one. You let me in even though I might be as bad a person as everyone has been made to believe." He leaned forward to place emphasis on his words.
"Well, you've done nothing to prove them wrong..." Sylia began.
"...And nothing to prove them right." He countered. "I feel I need to tell you something. Something that I've told no one and have been running from for quite a while." He spoke slowly and quietly to make his words sound grave and important.
"Maybe you're not sure where to place your trust. But I, on the other hand, am sure when I give my trust to a Knight Saber, a fighter of crime and a seeker of justice." He motioned in her direction to make it clear who he was talking about.
Sylia didn't speak.
Seemingly satisfied with her lack of retort, Ashley began his oration. "It's not the police that are really after me, it's a company called BioCite. This company has been fighting with Genom for years for technological supremacy. I escaped one of their labs in Canada and now they're trying to get rid of me before I botch up their plans for a new technology. A technology which is in my body, now, as we speak. BioCite sent out the bounty on my head to find me, and it seems to follow me wherever I go, casting me into bad relations with the authorities. Despite what you might believe, I'm a really important person, just not in a way that would help me keep my life. I've been running from them for four years. That's four years of my life that's gone to waste because I was the right man to be tested. That's four years I've been living in fear of being killed. That's four years of going on without knowing if my wife and two daughters are safe from that abomination of a company."
Sylia let all this information sink in. It was all believable. She'd heard of cases where guinea pigs were plucked from the populace by Genom for their top secret experiments.
"What is this technology that you carry?"
"Sorry, that I can't tell you. Let's just say that it's important enough to kill for or to be destroyed for fear of other companies getting it. I know some of what it can do, but I've never tested its limits or possibilities." Ashley was once again back in his casual demeanor. "Um, do you suppose I could have a glass of water?"
"Uh, sure."
Sylia spoke to Ashley from the kitchen. "So, let me get this straight. You want the Knight Sabers to protect you so one, you won't be killed by BioCite, and two, so that no one else gets there hands on you. Am I right?"
"That's pretty much it." Sylia handed him a glass and set a pitcher of water on the coffee table. "Thanks."
In moments the water was gone and he was asking for another pitcher. After about another liter or so of water, Ashley was ready to leave.
:::Awfully thirsty, isn't he?:::
"I'm going to have to talk to my associates about it, there being no fee involved and all."
"No, that's not true. I'll pay with what I have. It's probably not as much as you would like, but I do have money."
Sylia seemed pleased at hearing this, but something still bothered her about the whole thing.
"I don't understand, though. You've managed to get away from them for the last four years, but now you need outside help, why?" Sylia placed her hands on her hips questioningly.
"Because BioCite has things just as big and nasty as Genom, and if Genom were to find out about my being here I could begin to take heat from both sides. It's simple, I need you to guard one side while I fight the other." Ashley stood and made his way for the door. "If you don't mind, I'll need your answer by tomorrow. If I'm on the news this soon, then Genom won't be far behind in looking for me."
"All right then, tomorrow."
"Great, meet me at Raven's garage in Timex City at two o'clock in the afternoon. I'll be picking up a bike from Dr. Raven."
He walked out the door and turned back to face Sylia. "Oh, and wear those lovely suits of yours that accent all your good looks. They add character and you may need them where I'm concerned. And see what you can do about Miss Purple, I think she wants to beat me senseless something fierce." With that, he put his hands in his pockets, winked at Sylia, and began whistling a tune as he made his way towards the exit.
Remembering something, Sylia called out to him from her doorway. "By the way, thank you for the wonderful earrings!"
"Your welcome! Think nothing of it. The box is a tracking device." He turned, gave her that boyish grin of his, and continued on his way.
* * * * * *
::He doesn't seem to be a bad guy. I wonder how it is he's supposed to be so dangerous?::: Sylia pushed the question from her mind. Looks can be deceiving and she'd had plenty of experience with the kind of scum that could act the part of a charmer. Still, there was something about him that offset him from the everyday. :::Don't bother yourself with it right now. Sleep on it, that's the way. I'll call the girls and discuss the details tomorrow.:::
With a yawn, Sylia was off to bed.
* * * * * *
"Well, didn't that go smoothly?" Ashley spoke to himself as he exited the Lady633 building. The cold night air greeted him.
After walking a few blocks, Ashley was suddenly aware of someone following him. Chills of awareness ran down his spine as he surveyed the street and the connecting alleyways. He vaulted to a nearby roof, cracking pavement as he launched and flew through the air before hitting the hard surface of the building with an audible "crack!" Producing a pair of .454 magnums from his jacket in the blink of an eye, he cast his gaze downward towards the street below. For several moments nothing moved, and then something detached itself from the shadows directly below him.
A large man stood staring directly at him over the barrel of an equally large automatic weapon. He wore a green suit, gadgets protruding in patterns from its material. He wore a black helmet and gazed at him through an all too familiar grisly yellow visor.
Ashley had only seconds to voice the word "Shit!" before shell sprayed in his direction, catching the side of the building and working its way up towards him. The gun's retort echoed through the night, consistent in its machine gun sound. Pieces of the building flew every which way as Ashley jumped from his perch on the building to the man's position on the ground. Explosions rang in his ears as grenades flew at him from his attacker and struck the building.
Bringing his pistols to bare on the assailant, Ashley fired a volley of shells. A sickening crunch could be heard as blood sprayed over the road, coating its surface like some type of vengeful paint. Hitting the ground, Ashley stood over the bullet-riddled body, triumphant.
Ashley took a close look at the body. Although a bullet had torn the man's uniform, he could still see the word "BioCite" written across the soldier's chest. A beeping, soft and constant filled Ashley's senses and, just as quickly as it had begun, it stopped.
Realization suddenly dawned on the seasoned veteran. He jumped backward just as the body exploded in a violence of fire. It sent him flying unwillingly across the street as it took out the front of an adjacent building. Debris clouded the night sky, as did the flames.
Coughing violently, Ashley stood and decided to make a hasty retreat of the scene. He decided too late, though. Sirens blared and two police cruisers filed into the area, effectively spotting him and blocking his escape route.
Four police officers poured from the cars, bringing guns out before anything else.
:::That was quick.:::.
One of them shouted. "Stay where you are!" Before pointing a mean looking gun in his direction. "Freeze, asshole!"
Ashley stared back coldly, barely containing his laughter. "You write those lines yourself?" He burst into a fit of laughter. "Hold on, let me try...ahem `raise your hands to the sky you mangy varmint befar I make you dance on yer grave, ya yella' bellied muck sucker!'" He then became very serious. "I'm sorry. I saw that in a movie once."
Yet another officer hopped out of one of the cars. Unlike the others, this officer was a petite woman and she had a peculiar mop of pink hair. She looked quite out of place standing amidst the brawny enforcers.
She looked at Ashley and a look of surprise crossed her features before she regained her formal look of justice. "State your business before we take you in for disturbing the peace!"
Ashley look mildly amused as he related his tale. "You see, officers, I was out minding my own business when this guy attacked me and then, funny enough, he exploded right in front of me, damn near burnt my best jacket!"
"Then how do you explain those weapons you're carrying?"
"Weapons?" Ashley glanced down to see that he was still holding his magnums, one in each hand, and was gripping them until his knuckles were white. "Oh, those weapons! They're...uh...oh, hell!" He broke mid-sentence in his excuse and hurled himself at the nearest building. He effectively burst through, showering metal everywhere, leaving an Ashley sized hole in the process. Gunfire rang in the night behind him as he made a quick getaway.
* * * * * *
:::That was him! That was the same guy from the other night!:::
Nene reholstered her gun as her partners ran after the guy, making their way through his escape route.
:::How did he do that? No human could do that. He must be a boomer, but he looks and acts so human.::: She knew, though, that that in itself was no excuse. Genom made a lot of model boomers that were indistinguishably human, to the point that she second guessed everyone's true identity.
She yawned a deep yawn. Man, was she tired. Good thing she didn't have to work the late night shift. For now, sleep was all that was on her mind.
* * * * * *
:::Lost them.:::
Ashley ran through streets void of life and pondered his next move. He had to lose the persistent little bastards. They were depriving him of sleep, and that was one thing he hadn't been able to get in a while. When your life's constantly being put on the line one finds little time for sleep.
Ashley's chain of thought was shattered just as he was struck incredibly hard from behind. His entire body seemed to bend under the attacker's fist and he was sent sprawling to the ground several feet away, the wind knocked completely out of him.
Struggling to get up, Ashley was met by a boot to the stomach. It sent pain through his whole upper body and pushed him several feet into the air. Before he could hit the ground, he was punched yet again, but in the head this time. Pushed to the brink of blacking out, he spun in the air while sailing, for the second time in several seconds, several feet before hitting the ground.
:::Boomer.::: Ashley thought as he stood raggedly on his feet to get a look at his attacker. It was a woman with blond hair, standing before him in purple business attire and dark sun glasses, and her finger nails had grown to about a foot in length, revealing them to be blades of the sharpest kind. She smiled coldly at him in the early morning sunlight.
"All right bitch! That was totally uncalled for!" Ashley had fought several boomers in the four years of his escape. BioCite, taking kindly to the designs put on the market by Genom, had developed several models of their own, but they could never seem to match Genom's caliber of machine. He was the result of their attempts of accessing other areas of marketable military technology. At the moment, he was quite ready to show BioCite's competitors that they weren't the only ones who could play with power, as much as he "disliked" the idea.
Cracking his knuckles, Ashley blurred in the speed of his movement. Catching the boomer in the stomach with a fist, he sent it sailing through the air where it skidded across the pavement in several jumps. It got back up and came at him, claws glinting in morning sunshine.
Steel claws raked his left arm, ripping open his flesh. Reaching out, Ashley grabbed the machine by the head. As it squirmed to break free, Ashley began to spin in circles, the boomer in tow. Increasing his speed, Ashley began a whirlwind motion and released the surprised assassin. It screeched during its flight until it connected with a building, crashing through it without slowing down.
Rushing after the boomer, the battle's defender raced to see if the thing had been dealt with. Upon reaching where it lay amidst the building's rubble, Ashley paid no attention to the people running and screaming in every direction. Picking up what was left of the thing, he ripped its head from its shoulders. Circuitry fountained out like blood, still buzzing with activity. Glaring with the most horrid and frightening stare he could muster, he spoke coldly and with determination at the head. "Leave me the fuck alone! Leave me be or I shall see your body lined up here nicely next to your bitch of an abomination!" Without looking back to the destruction that lay strewn about, Ashley tossed the head aside and strode towards his apartment and some much needed sleep.
* * * * * *
"Leave me the fuck alone! Leave me be or I shall see your body lined up here nicely next to your bitch of an abomination!" A video screen played back what an assassin boomer had only moments before been subject to.
"I knew it! I knew BioCite had fumbled and here is the result. I have the chance to get my hands on their new product. A product with incredible potential when put to the proper uses." Quincy, chairman of Genom Enterprises, looked at the video feed brought to his attention by an employee. "He's human, but amazingly strong. A human and he bested a boomer! Oh, this is too perfect. I must have it. I must have that technology!"
Tapping on a communications console, Quincy barked out orders. "Prepare a squad of assault boomers. The target is a man by the name of Ashley Asakiri. I want him brought to me alive and at all costs!" He leaned back in his chair and stared out at the sky. "Jason, my worthy opponent, you have made a mistake. This mistake will be your downfall. I will find a way to crush you!"
* * * * * *
Ashley bled all over the road as he walked down streets already alive with the daily lives of city denizens. Many people stopped to stare at him, but they were all too scared of him to offer their help and, so, they let him be. Pain surged through his body, almost as if it had a life of its own. There was nowhere he could go now. Genom had learned of his being here. They would be relentless in their desire to capture him. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't go to his apartment. That was the very place where they would first look for him.
He needed a place to stay, a place safe from things much stronger than he had anticipated.
:::You can go to Sylia. She'll understand.::: Oh, how he wanted to believe that! He was a Frankenstein's monster to her. He had to be. But, her knowledge of his situation made her an ally. Willingly or not, she was a friend.
Ashley's vision was hazy when he reached Sylia's door. That and he felt as though the Red Cross had been out to take him as a permanent donor that day. He managed the strength to ring her doorbell before he passed out, propped up against the door and bleeding on the floor.
* * * * * *
"One moment." Sylia laid down the phone, ending her conversation with the three girls. They would be here in a few minutes with some stories of their own to tell. "Coming."
She reached for the door and it opened easily. Ashley slumped from the entrance and onto her porch floor. "Ashley!?"
With a fair bit of effort, she dragged him into the house and dropped him on the couch. She knelt to inspect his wounds, for she could very well see that his blood was covering him. His jacket was sticking with it. She pulled the jacket from him, and had to work it free since it weighed a ton.
"What! Is this some kind of joke?"
Blood covered him, yet he had no wounds as far as she could see. This made her ask the question.
:::Is it his blood, isn't it?:::
Once she had gotten his shirt off for a closer look, she could see, however, that he was plastered with several large bruises. Suddenly, he stirred and sat up so quickly Sylia almost wasn't able to follow.
"Where am I?"
"Ashley, it's me Sylia. What happened to you?"
Ashley took a moment to look around and get his bearings. He stood, grabbing his ribs in pain and looked at her. "Genuine concern? For me? I'm flattered, really."
She reddened at this. "I was just..." She caught herself. :::Why was she helping him? She owed him nothing. For all she knew he could be the enemy. There was simply something about him, like she knew him somehow.:::
"You were just what?"
"I was just doing what any other concerned citizen would do."
"They didn't seem that concerned to me since they preferred watching me bleed to death." He began putting his clothes back on.
"What are you doing? Let me look at your wounds." She motioned for him to sit back down.
"That's alright. I'll be fine. It's just one of the things I often have to put up with." He ran his hands over his body, inspecting the damage. Damage? There was none. The bruises had vanished!
"How did you...how did-?" Sylia stuttered in surprise.
"It's all part of the physiological impact the technology has on my body. Given time, I'll heal. You don't need to waste your worry on me." Having put his coat back on, he breathed a sigh as he slumped back onto the couch. "I came because I need a place to stay. Genom knows that I'm here. They sent one of their assassins to...what? Test me? I don't know. All I know is that it attacked me and I made sure that it wouldn't again."
"You defeated a boomer in combat?"
"Yeah, why do you find it so hard to believe?"
"I find it hard to believe that you're a boomer. You seem so real."
He sighed in contempt. "Let me make this clear. I'm human. I'm a person like any other Tom, Dick, or Harry. I think that-" He spun around in midsentence, bringing a gun up to aim at the doorway. Linna, Nene, and Priss stood there in stark shock.
Ashley lowered his magnum. "Oh...friends of yours, Sylia?"
*End Chapter Two*
A BGC Fanfic: Urban Discord
by Daniel Power
Chapter Two: For Each Demon, An Angel
(MegaTokyo: 2033)
As Ashley sped towards a veritable blockade of weaponry, slightly offset by the presence of police men, his mind raced with possibilities of escape and...
:::Cops? Why the hell are the cops after me? I'd expect this sort of thing from that bastard Lightman, but law enforcement?::: No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't see how this could be happening.
Priss sat, still astride her bike, and surveyed the whole scene.
:::He's done for.:::
Then, in accordance with what usually happens in stories of this sort, something totally unexpected took place.
Rather than stopping, as one would normally do when traveling towards imminent death, Ashley didn't slow. He continued full speed into the blockade. Smoke plumed from a brief moment of destruction as debris flew into the air every which way. Flames burst out of the carnage and engulfed anything near. Through the haze of the after effect of the blast, Ashley could be seen sailing through the air. Up and over the blockade he went, landing on his feet behind the startled police officers without a scratch on him.
"I'd like to stay and discuss property damage, but I really have to be going. Freedom beckons me to run, and so I'll see you fine gentlemen later." Having said that, Ashley broke into a run.
Priss' eyes widened as, for the second time in the past few moments, something unexpected happened.
"Run" only loosely describes Ashley's attempt at escape. He broke into a run and, when he seemed to have reached maximum speed for someone of his ability, he kept speeding up until his legs were a blur against the pavement. He shot forward at alarming speed and was gone, completely and simply. Nothing there could have caught up. The only thing really to describe it is the Road Runner from the famous cartoon.
"Well, fuck me!" One of the officers gasped in disbelief. The rest of the men present simply stared at where, only moments before, their target had been.
Priss adjusted her helmet on her head as she put her bike in gear. Ashley's escape certainly fit his description of punching her into unconsciousness while in her hard suit.
:::No question about it. He's not human, that's easy enough to see. This is something the Knight Sabers have to handle.:::
* * * * * *
"Go after him!? Priss, he hasn't even done anything against the law. Well, except maybe speed and resist arrest, but that doesn't make him a target for the Knight Sabers!"
Priss and Sylia sat alone in a suite atop the Lady633 building.
"He's going to be trouble sooner or later, so why not deal with him now?" Priss made her point as she sipped her soft drink.
"We do nothing until he's proven himself a threat to the people here in Tokyo. He may turn out to be something entirely different than you expect." Sylia fingered a small box in her hands as she spoke. Opening it, she was greeted with a view of a pair of earrings, silver laced and set with diamonds. "Oh my! They're beautiful."
Priss brought herself closer for further inspection. "Nice. Who gave `em to you?"
"Our mystery man gave them to me earlier today."
"No kidding, I saw him not that long ago evading an entire police unit. Why would he give you these, though, unless he has a thing for you."
Sylia turned an off shade of red. "Nonsense. He certainly isn't mister right. He's probably a criminal."
"He's probably a boomer."
"He can't be. No boomer would act the way he does, showing so much emotion. Although, I guess you never can tell with Genom."
"I bet your hoping he's not."
"Not what?"
"A criminal or boomer, of course." Priss stood to leave. "Personally, I hate the guy, but that doesn't mean you have to."
"Honestly though, I think I could do better with someone who isn't wanted by the police."
Priss laughed in agreement. "True. See you later."
"Bye."
As soon as Priss was gone, Sylia sat back down on her leather couch to look through her suite's living room window at the night sky. Some hours went by until she was startled when she got a knock at her door. She looked at the clock, "Two o'clock in the morning! Who could that be at this hour?"
Answering the door, Sylia almost slammed it again in shock. For who was standing in the doorway, but the man himself.
Ashley greeted her in a polite, soothing voice. "Good morning Miss Stingray. Oh, it is morning isn't it? Anyway, I need to talk to you."
"Mr. Asakiri!?" Sylia's mind screamed for her to refuse him the time of day, but she consented, playing along with him once again. "Oh, ah...come in, have a seat."
They both went into the living room to take up seats where Sylia and Priss had been not that long before.
"Nice place you have here. I'd expect nothing less from a business lady."
Up close to the man once again, Sylia had the chance to get a good look at him.
He had long black hair that hung loosely about his shoulders which was complemented with long bangs, cropped short in the middle for style. He wore what looked like black Genom army fatigues that were covered with a massive black trench coat. All the black he wore was rather perplexing, but there was one thing that stood out on the man. His eyes; they were blue and set high over fine cheekbones. They were the bluest she had ever seen; blue to the point they looked unreal.
Sylia realized that she was staring and coughed to push aside her embarrassment.
"So, what is it you'd like to talk about Mr. Asakiri?"
"I'm a rather popular person all of a sudden."
"Is that all you want to talk about? I have nothing to say about that."
"No, I just meant that everyone I run into seems to know my name before I've given it."
"Of course they would. You were on the morning news with quite a large amount on your head."
If Ashley was surprised at this, he was doing a good job of hiding it.
"Well, about the business at hand. I need your help."
"Help? I don't understand."
"I'm a hunted man, and I need some protection."
"Sure you would, you're wanted by the police for something nameless, but most likely against the law." Sylia's brow furrowed in disgust. "For all I know, you should be shot dead where you stand."
"I think that you'll trust me when I tell you that I've done nothing wrong. Most of what I've done to make me popular with the police is self defense." He sat back on the couch and crossed his legs in relaxation.
"Trust you! Why should I?"
"Oh, I think you already do. You let me into your own house for one. You let me in even though I might be as bad a person as everyone has been made to believe." He leaned forward to place emphasis on his words.
"Well, you've done nothing to prove them wrong..." Sylia began.
"...And nothing to prove them right." He countered. "I feel I need to tell you something. Something that I've told no one and have been running from for quite a while." He spoke slowly and quietly to make his words sound grave and important.
"Maybe you're not sure where to place your trust. But I, on the other hand, am sure when I give my trust to a Knight Saber, a fighter of crime and a seeker of justice." He motioned in her direction to make it clear who he was talking about.
Sylia didn't speak.
Seemingly satisfied with her lack of retort, Ashley began his oration. "It's not the police that are really after me, it's a company called BioCite. This company has been fighting with Genom for years for technological supremacy. I escaped one of their labs in Canada and now they're trying to get rid of me before I botch up their plans for a new technology. A technology which is in my body, now, as we speak. BioCite sent out the bounty on my head to find me, and it seems to follow me wherever I go, casting me into bad relations with the authorities. Despite what you might believe, I'm a really important person, just not in a way that would help me keep my life. I've been running from them for four years. That's four years of my life that's gone to waste because I was the right man to be tested. That's four years I've been living in fear of being killed. That's four years of going on without knowing if my wife and two daughters are safe from that abomination of a company."
Sylia let all this information sink in. It was all believable. She'd heard of cases where guinea pigs were plucked from the populace by Genom for their top secret experiments.
"What is this technology that you carry?"
"Sorry, that I can't tell you. Let's just say that it's important enough to kill for or to be destroyed for fear of other companies getting it. I know some of what it can do, but I've never tested its limits or possibilities." Ashley was once again back in his casual demeanor. "Um, do you suppose I could have a glass of water?"
"Uh, sure."
Sylia spoke to Ashley from the kitchen. "So, let me get this straight. You want the Knight Sabers to protect you so one, you won't be killed by BioCite, and two, so that no one else gets there hands on you. Am I right?"
"That's pretty much it." Sylia handed him a glass and set a pitcher of water on the coffee table. "Thanks."
In moments the water was gone and he was asking for another pitcher. After about another liter or so of water, Ashley was ready to leave.
:::Awfully thirsty, isn't he?:::
"I'm going to have to talk to my associates about it, there being no fee involved and all."
"No, that's not true. I'll pay with what I have. It's probably not as much as you would like, but I do have money."
Sylia seemed pleased at hearing this, but something still bothered her about the whole thing.
"I don't understand, though. You've managed to get away from them for the last four years, but now you need outside help, why?" Sylia placed her hands on her hips questioningly.
"Because BioCite has things just as big and nasty as Genom, and if Genom were to find out about my being here I could begin to take heat from both sides. It's simple, I need you to guard one side while I fight the other." Ashley stood and made his way for the door. "If you don't mind, I'll need your answer by tomorrow. If I'm on the news this soon, then Genom won't be far behind in looking for me."
"All right then, tomorrow."
"Great, meet me at Raven's garage in Timex City at two o'clock in the afternoon. I'll be picking up a bike from Dr. Raven."
He walked out the door and turned back to face Sylia. "Oh, and wear those lovely suits of yours that accent all your good looks. They add character and you may need them where I'm concerned. And see what you can do about Miss Purple, I think she wants to beat me senseless something fierce." With that, he put his hands in his pockets, winked at Sylia, and began whistling a tune as he made his way towards the exit.
Remembering something, Sylia called out to him from her doorway. "By the way, thank you for the wonderful earrings!"
"Your welcome! Think nothing of it. The box is a tracking device." He turned, gave her that boyish grin of his, and continued on his way.
* * * * * *
::He doesn't seem to be a bad guy. I wonder how it is he's supposed to be so dangerous?::: Sylia pushed the question from her mind. Looks can be deceiving and she'd had plenty of experience with the kind of scum that could act the part of a charmer. Still, there was something about him that offset him from the everyday. :::Don't bother yourself with it right now. Sleep on it, that's the way. I'll call the girls and discuss the details tomorrow.:::
With a yawn, Sylia was off to bed.
* * * * * *
"Well, didn't that go smoothly?" Ashley spoke to himself as he exited the Lady633 building. The cold night air greeted him.
After walking a few blocks, Ashley was suddenly aware of someone following him. Chills of awareness ran down his spine as he surveyed the street and the connecting alleyways. He vaulted to a nearby roof, cracking pavement as he launched and flew through the air before hitting the hard surface of the building with an audible "crack!" Producing a pair of .454 magnums from his jacket in the blink of an eye, he cast his gaze downward towards the street below. For several moments nothing moved, and then something detached itself from the shadows directly below him.
A large man stood staring directly at him over the barrel of an equally large automatic weapon. He wore a green suit, gadgets protruding in patterns from its material. He wore a black helmet and gazed at him through an all too familiar grisly yellow visor.
Ashley had only seconds to voice the word "Shit!" before shell sprayed in his direction, catching the side of the building and working its way up towards him. The gun's retort echoed through the night, consistent in its machine gun sound. Pieces of the building flew every which way as Ashley jumped from his perch on the building to the man's position on the ground. Explosions rang in his ears as grenades flew at him from his attacker and struck the building.
Bringing his pistols to bare on the assailant, Ashley fired a volley of shells. A sickening crunch could be heard as blood sprayed over the road, coating its surface like some type of vengeful paint. Hitting the ground, Ashley stood over the bullet-riddled body, triumphant.
Ashley took a close look at the body. Although a bullet had torn the man's uniform, he could still see the word "BioCite" written across the soldier's chest. A beeping, soft and constant filled Ashley's senses and, just as quickly as it had begun, it stopped.
Realization suddenly dawned on the seasoned veteran. He jumped backward just as the body exploded in a violence of fire. It sent him flying unwillingly across the street as it took out the front of an adjacent building. Debris clouded the night sky, as did the flames.
Coughing violently, Ashley stood and decided to make a hasty retreat of the scene. He decided too late, though. Sirens blared and two police cruisers filed into the area, effectively spotting him and blocking his escape route.
Four police officers poured from the cars, bringing guns out before anything else.
:::That was quick.:::.
One of them shouted. "Stay where you are!" Before pointing a mean looking gun in his direction. "Freeze, asshole!"
Ashley stared back coldly, barely containing his laughter. "You write those lines yourself?" He burst into a fit of laughter. "Hold on, let me try...ahem `raise your hands to the sky you mangy varmint befar I make you dance on yer grave, ya yella' bellied muck sucker!'" He then became very serious. "I'm sorry. I saw that in a movie once."
Yet another officer hopped out of one of the cars. Unlike the others, this officer was a petite woman and she had a peculiar mop of pink hair. She looked quite out of place standing amidst the brawny enforcers.
She looked at Ashley and a look of surprise crossed her features before she regained her formal look of justice. "State your business before we take you in for disturbing the peace!"
Ashley look mildly amused as he related his tale. "You see, officers, I was out minding my own business when this guy attacked me and then, funny enough, he exploded right in front of me, damn near burnt my best jacket!"
"Then how do you explain those weapons you're carrying?"
"Weapons?" Ashley glanced down to see that he was still holding his magnums, one in each hand, and was gripping them until his knuckles were white. "Oh, those weapons! They're...uh...oh, hell!" He broke mid-sentence in his excuse and hurled himself at the nearest building. He effectively burst through, showering metal everywhere, leaving an Ashley sized hole in the process. Gunfire rang in the night behind him as he made a quick getaway.
* * * * * *
:::That was him! That was the same guy from the other night!:::
Nene reholstered her gun as her partners ran after the guy, making their way through his escape route.
:::How did he do that? No human could do that. He must be a boomer, but he looks and acts so human.::: She knew, though, that that in itself was no excuse. Genom made a lot of model boomers that were indistinguishably human, to the point that she second guessed everyone's true identity.
She yawned a deep yawn. Man, was she tired. Good thing she didn't have to work the late night shift. For now, sleep was all that was on her mind.
* * * * * *
:::Lost them.:::
Ashley ran through streets void of life and pondered his next move. He had to lose the persistent little bastards. They were depriving him of sleep, and that was one thing he hadn't been able to get in a while. When your life's constantly being put on the line one finds little time for sleep.
Ashley's chain of thought was shattered just as he was struck incredibly hard from behind. His entire body seemed to bend under the attacker's fist and he was sent sprawling to the ground several feet away, the wind knocked completely out of him.
Struggling to get up, Ashley was met by a boot to the stomach. It sent pain through his whole upper body and pushed him several feet into the air. Before he could hit the ground, he was punched yet again, but in the head this time. Pushed to the brink of blacking out, he spun in the air while sailing, for the second time in several seconds, several feet before hitting the ground.
:::Boomer.::: Ashley thought as he stood raggedly on his feet to get a look at his attacker. It was a woman with blond hair, standing before him in purple business attire and dark sun glasses, and her finger nails had grown to about a foot in length, revealing them to be blades of the sharpest kind. She smiled coldly at him in the early morning sunlight.
"All right bitch! That was totally uncalled for!" Ashley had fought several boomers in the four years of his escape. BioCite, taking kindly to the designs put on the market by Genom, had developed several models of their own, but they could never seem to match Genom's caliber of machine. He was the result of their attempts of accessing other areas of marketable military technology. At the moment, he was quite ready to show BioCite's competitors that they weren't the only ones who could play with power, as much as he "disliked" the idea.
Cracking his knuckles, Ashley blurred in the speed of his movement. Catching the boomer in the stomach with a fist, he sent it sailing through the air where it skidded across the pavement in several jumps. It got back up and came at him, claws glinting in morning sunshine.
Steel claws raked his left arm, ripping open his flesh. Reaching out, Ashley grabbed the machine by the head. As it squirmed to break free, Ashley began to spin in circles, the boomer in tow. Increasing his speed, Ashley began a whirlwind motion and released the surprised assassin. It screeched during its flight until it connected with a building, crashing through it without slowing down.
Rushing after the boomer, the battle's defender raced to see if the thing had been dealt with. Upon reaching where it lay amidst the building's rubble, Ashley paid no attention to the people running and screaming in every direction. Picking up what was left of the thing, he ripped its head from its shoulders. Circuitry fountained out like blood, still buzzing with activity. Glaring with the most horrid and frightening stare he could muster, he spoke coldly and with determination at the head. "Leave me the fuck alone! Leave me be or I shall see your body lined up here nicely next to your bitch of an abomination!" Without looking back to the destruction that lay strewn about, Ashley tossed the head aside and strode towards his apartment and some much needed sleep.
* * * * * *
"Leave me the fuck alone! Leave me be or I shall see your body lined up here nicely next to your bitch of an abomination!" A video screen played back what an assassin boomer had only moments before been subject to.
"I knew it! I knew BioCite had fumbled and here is the result. I have the chance to get my hands on their new product. A product with incredible potential when put to the proper uses." Quincy, chairman of Genom Enterprises, looked at the video feed brought to his attention by an employee. "He's human, but amazingly strong. A human and he bested a boomer! Oh, this is too perfect. I must have it. I must have that technology!"
Tapping on a communications console, Quincy barked out orders. "Prepare a squad of assault boomers. The target is a man by the name of Ashley Asakiri. I want him brought to me alive and at all costs!" He leaned back in his chair and stared out at the sky. "Jason, my worthy opponent, you have made a mistake. This mistake will be your downfall. I will find a way to crush you!"
* * * * * *
Ashley bled all over the road as he walked down streets already alive with the daily lives of city denizens. Many people stopped to stare at him, but they were all too scared of him to offer their help and, so, they let him be. Pain surged through his body, almost as if it had a life of its own. There was nowhere he could go now. Genom had learned of his being here. They would be relentless in their desire to capture him. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't go to his apartment. That was the very place where they would first look for him.
He needed a place to stay, a place safe from things much stronger than he had anticipated.
:::You can go to Sylia. She'll understand.::: Oh, how he wanted to believe that! He was a Frankenstein's monster to her. He had to be. But, her knowledge of his situation made her an ally. Willingly or not, she was a friend.
Ashley's vision was hazy when he reached Sylia's door. That and he felt as though the Red Cross had been out to take him as a permanent donor that day. He managed the strength to ring her doorbell before he passed out, propped up against the door and bleeding on the floor.
* * * * * *
"One moment." Sylia laid down the phone, ending her conversation with the three girls. They would be here in a few minutes with some stories of their own to tell. "Coming."
She reached for the door and it opened easily. Ashley slumped from the entrance and onto her porch floor. "Ashley!?"
With a fair bit of effort, she dragged him into the house and dropped him on the couch. She knelt to inspect his wounds, for she could very well see that his blood was covering him. His jacket was sticking with it. She pulled the jacket from him, and had to work it free since it weighed a ton.
"What! Is this some kind of joke?"
Blood covered him, yet he had no wounds as far as she could see. This made her ask the question.
:::Is it his blood, isn't it?:::
Once she had gotten his shirt off for a closer look, she could see, however, that he was plastered with several large bruises. Suddenly, he stirred and sat up so quickly Sylia almost wasn't able to follow.
"Where am I?"
"Ashley, it's me Sylia. What happened to you?"
Ashley took a moment to look around and get his bearings. He stood, grabbing his ribs in pain and looked at her. "Genuine concern? For me? I'm flattered, really."
She reddened at this. "I was just..." She caught herself. :::Why was she helping him? She owed him nothing. For all she knew he could be the enemy. There was simply something about him, like she knew him somehow.:::
"You were just what?"
"I was just doing what any other concerned citizen would do."
"They didn't seem that concerned to me since they preferred watching me bleed to death." He began putting his clothes back on.
"What are you doing? Let me look at your wounds." She motioned for him to sit back down.
"That's alright. I'll be fine. It's just one of the things I often have to put up with." He ran his hands over his body, inspecting the damage. Damage? There was none. The bruises had vanished!
"How did you...how did-?" Sylia stuttered in surprise.
"It's all part of the physiological impact the technology has on my body. Given time, I'll heal. You don't need to waste your worry on me." Having put his coat back on, he breathed a sigh as he slumped back onto the couch. "I came because I need a place to stay. Genom knows that I'm here. They sent one of their assassins to...what? Test me? I don't know. All I know is that it attacked me and I made sure that it wouldn't again."
"You defeated a boomer in combat?"
"Yeah, why do you find it so hard to believe?"
"I find it hard to believe that you're a boomer. You seem so real."
He sighed in contempt. "Let me make this clear. I'm human. I'm a person like any other Tom, Dick, or Harry. I think that-" He spun around in midsentence, bringing a gun up to aim at the doorway. Linna, Nene, and Priss stood there in stark shock.
Ashley lowered his magnum. "Oh...friends of yours, Sylia?"
*End Chapter Two*