Undisclosed Location, 8:37 AM
The small room was populated by two people, and one of them was expertly throwing knives
into a wooden board shaped like a person. The knife thrower stopped suddenly when a knife
rebounded from the board, and she started swearing vigorously.
"Goddamn, son of a bitch! I want that fucking knife to stick in that board, but it won't!" The
person raged for a few more minutes, then began to calm down. By that time the second person in
the room had gotten up from behind a table, and looked at the heavily pockmarked board.
"Actually, other than that one knife, you've routinely nailed this target in the knees, elbows,
and neck. All those would have disabled or killed your target." The person who had thrown the
knives laughed, and whipped three knives into where a person's head would be on the target. The
other person, who revealed a white lab coat and a clipboard as he stumbled backwards, shuddered
in fear, but kept his composure.
"Okay, you win! Look, you may be physically healed, but your actions are beginning to
concern everyone else here." The woman rolled her eyes and started to pull the knives out of the
target, quickly flipping them over her shoulder as she removed each one. Behind her, most of the
knives landed around the other person, causing the hapless observer to yelp in fear.
After all the knives had been removed, the woman turned around, looked at her handiwork,
and grinned. "Have fun. I'll be back tomorrow..." With that statement left floating in the air, the
woman walked out of the room, looking like a cat that had eaten the canary.
Outside the throwing range, the woman walked down the hallway, looking like she owned
the place, but suddenly paused mid-stride. As her face slowly leached itself of all colour, she
staggered, then sagged against the corridor wall. At such an early time, nobody would be coming
down to the ranges until 9, and the woman moaned in remembered pain.
Her face dead white, with one hand clutching at her forehead, she tried to remain standing,
but sagged downwards, eventually sitting on the cold concrete and steel floor. Her thoughts were in
turmoil, with quick flashes and images tormenting her as sweat rolled down her face. One image kept
on reappearing, and a single voice reverberated inside her mind. 'I don't know!'
The quick flash of images slowly faded into nothingness, but the agonized voice continued
its anguished cry. The woman rocked back and forth on her tailbone, oblivious to the blood that
poured down into her right eye from a gash opened up by one of her fingernails, just above her
eyebrow. Tears mixed with the blood, diluting the stream, and leaving a pinkish-silver puddle on the
floor. Eventually, the woman staggered to her feet, tears and blood leaking down her face, and she
slowly limped towards a white door with red trim.
The door opened on pneumatic servos due to a proximity sensor, and the woman entered a
small room with an automatic medical system installed in one wall. She pushed a button on the AMS
with her thumb, letting her genetic code be scanned into the database. Within seconds, a small bottle
of pills had dropped into a dispensing tray and a laser had cauterised the small head wound. The
woman scooped up the pills with one hand, popped the top off, and slashed open the foil covering
the opening with her left thumbnail.
She quickly downed the entire mix of pills in the bottle, and slowly calmed down. Her
breathing evened out quickly, and some colour returned to her face. Tossing the empty bottle into
a nearby trash can, she continued along her way.
Mikae's House, 9:19 AM
Mikae rolled over at her mother's insistence, letting her arms flop loosely over the edge of
the bed, revealing the black tattoos that marked her as 'altered'. Mikae's response to her mother's
urging to wake up was a weak moan, a few seconds of muttered cursing, and eventually a groaned
'yeah, sure' that got her mother out of the room.
After several minutes, Mikae sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she stumbled over
to her smallish closet, where she collected a pair of black cargo pants, which she wiggled into,
tucking her black tank top into the waistline as she ran her right hand through her hair,
simultaneously sensing that her morning breath could be considered a weapon of mass nausea.
After finishing the necessities, Mikae stumped downstairs like a lump of rocks in human
form, and gave her mom a hug and a peck on the cheek. "Hey mom. I have to do something later
today, so I hope you understand."
Mikae's mother, sighing slightly, let Mikae tuck into a large breakfast before the teen would
run off for the day. "Well, If you stay out of trouble, go right ahead. By the way, say hello to your
friends and nocturnal mentors for me, okay?"
"I will mom." Mikae rolled her eyes quickly, then suddenly allowed a halo to appear before
her mom turned around from buttering a slab of toast. After finishing off the breakfast, Mikae got
up, helped her mother for a few seconds by dumping her dishes in the sink, then ran out of the small
house like her butt had caught fire, pausing only long enough to grab her ever-present jacket in order
to hide the tattoos.
In about five minutes, Mikae was on a bus heading towards city hall, and was creeped out,
primarily by a person who kept on looking at her like a piece of meat on a string. She got off at the
next stop and cut through an alleyway in order to try and avoid that unnerving person. However, the
person got off the bus at the same time, and followed her into the alley. Passers-by took no notice
of the unintelligible words that echoed from the small passage, but a few noticed when a dull thud
followed by a groan of pain finished the short conversation.
About ten minutes later, the man came out of the alley, nursing a huge lump just above his
right temple. By that time, Mikae had quietly landed in an alley a few metres from the park in front
of city hall, and was walking purposely towards the two people she recognised in the gathering
crowd. She threaded her way through the crowd easily, but had to dodge a few government knuckle-
draggers who were checking out the crowd for any subversive elements.
When she finally got to her destination, her slightly older counterpart was speaking with Dr.
Zack, and keeping a watchful eye on the raised podium at the same time. A gust of wind rustled
through the crowded park, whipping Six's loose pants against her legs, earning her a few
appreciative looks from the younger men milling around. "Hello Mikae. You've already met our
esteemed doctor from school, and now we wait."
Mikae shrugged, absently brushing at a small rip in her jacket. "Fine with me. How long will
it take for these people to show up?"
Six shrugged, accenting her shoulders, even through the leather jacket she was wearing.
"About twenty minutes. Go and get a hotdog or something while you wait." She smiled slightly,
allowing Mikae to grin evilly. "Don't worry about me. You have more problems on your plate than
I do. I'll be back in a few minutes." Mikae disappeared into the press of humanity crowding the park,
leaving Six and Dr. Zack alone for a few minutes.
"So, did you find out anything about the team that came in? Hopefully, you didn't risk your
neck."
Dr. Zack chuckled in response. "No. Erin took the risks, all in exchange for about fifty dollars' worth
of junk food and a modem."
"Heh. She thinks with her stomach and her computer, but she's one of the best friends you
can have in the city." They both chuckled at that, then noticed that several APCs were moving
towards the podium. "Well, look at what we have here. I t seems our new friends are slightly ahead
of schedule." Dr. Zack watched as the nearest APC trundled to a stop less than twenty feet from him,
and closely observed the nearest door pop outwards by six inches before sliding open.
As the door stopped, three people got out of the APC, and moved in a small phalanx towards
the podium. When they got there, the two people flanking the third person stopped, turned around,
and observed the crowd. The third person, looking like he'd rather be wrestling bears right now
instead of being stuck with diplomatic duty, walked right up to the mayor, shook his hand, and
smiled slightly. Dr. Zack was too far away to hear the words spoken, but the mayor's face lit up like
a hundred-watt bulb.
Then, the mayor turned to the microphones set in the middle of the stage and nodded. "Good
morning, citizens of our fair city! We are here to welcome a new division to our police force, a
division whose sole purpose is to hunt down and prosecute the pervasive and dangerous beings
called 'greenskins'," The mayor paused for the crescendoes of cheering to die down, then continued.
"Also, these men and women have long and distinguished records as humanitarians and are skilled
at disaster relief, so you may see them repairing damaged buildings or giving food and blankets to
the homeless. Now, without further ado, here's the commander of this elite team, William Wilson!"
The hulking man walked to the podium, waved at the crowd, and smiled for the cameras. He
then turned to the microphones and, grinning sheepishly, fumbled inside his coat for a second. He
soon pulled out a few cue cards, and held them up so everyone could see. "This is why I hate public
speaking. I always forget my lines!" The short statement caused a ripple of laughter to fall through
the crowd, and Wilson waited until the laughter had ended before he started on his very short speech.
"Well, from the reception, I can guess that you'll like us as much as we like your city already.
Anyhow, as some of you have guessed from my accent, I hail from the USA, but don't really care
to be ordered around by a retard in the oval office." Everyone laughed at that, for the current
president's stupidity was known worldwide. "Anyhow, I'm actually the second-in-command of a
larger group, but our commander is currently very ill. However, she should make a full recovery, and
may be down here in under a month.
"As mentioned by Mayor Harris, we will help out the poor or homeless, but our primary
mission is to keep the streets and homes of the city safe from those green freaks that have been
attacking kind and decent people like you." Wilson beckoned the mayor forwards, and stepped to
the background so he could scope out the surrounding buildings.
City Hall Park, 9:37 AM
Mikae was leaning against the base of a statue, barely paying attention to the mayor's speech.
However, she noticed something happening to her left and decided to investigate with all the subtlety
of an elephant being airdropped. Mikae eventually got close enough to see what was happening, and
instantly pulled a one-eighty and ran off to where she had talked to Six for a few seconds.
Behind her, in a solid wave of green flesh, were almost two hundred Fixed Ideas, almost all
of them carrying rocket launchers. Six of the elite team sprang into action, just as the crowd noticed
that they were in danger. The six members of the team had armed themselves with their favoured
weapons, and all were wearing heavy-looking suits of scale mail covering everything except their
faces. Of the six, four of them had ugly-looking rifles out, and the other two were carrying belts of
grenades and pistols.
The two carrying the grenades pulled the pins on one each, and tossed both belts into the
advancing greenskins. The subsequent explosions of superheated gas blew apart at least fifty Fixed
Ideas, sending body parts, gore, and the contents of several shattered vials flying in every direction.
The body parts and blood weren't much of a problem, for they mostly evaporated in midair, but the
highly reactive chemical composition making up sustenance instantly corroded anything organic it
came into contact with, excepting a those designed to resist the corrosion or happening to be dressed
in saran wrap.
The resultant spume of 'acid' splattered over several civilians, who immediately started
screaming in pain as the liquid began to eat into their flesh. The four troopers who had held their fire
raised their guns to their shoulders and carefully drew beads on the nearest green heads in their sight.
All four squeezed the triggers simultaneously, and the heads of four separate FIs flew apart as four
loud, flat cracks split the air.
Mikae saw the Fixed Ideas begin to respond by raising their rocket launchers, but they
weren't ready to fire until the sixth fusillade of fire from the six people in front of them. One Idea
managed to fire a rocket before it was cut down, and the heavy explosive slammed into the statue
she was sheltering behind. The explosion blew the statue into heavy stone chunks, one of which
slammed into the back of Mikae's head hard enough to crack her skull.
The last thing she felt before falling into unconsciousness was strong arms supporting her
back as she crumpled to the rubble-strewn ground.
The small room was populated by two people, and one of them was expertly throwing knives
into a wooden board shaped like a person. The knife thrower stopped suddenly when a knife
rebounded from the board, and she started swearing vigorously.
"Goddamn, son of a bitch! I want that fucking knife to stick in that board, but it won't!" The
person raged for a few more minutes, then began to calm down. By that time the second person in
the room had gotten up from behind a table, and looked at the heavily pockmarked board.
"Actually, other than that one knife, you've routinely nailed this target in the knees, elbows,
and neck. All those would have disabled or killed your target." The person who had thrown the
knives laughed, and whipped three knives into where a person's head would be on the target. The
other person, who revealed a white lab coat and a clipboard as he stumbled backwards, shuddered
in fear, but kept his composure.
"Okay, you win! Look, you may be physically healed, but your actions are beginning to
concern everyone else here." The woman rolled her eyes and started to pull the knives out of the
target, quickly flipping them over her shoulder as she removed each one. Behind her, most of the
knives landed around the other person, causing the hapless observer to yelp in fear.
After all the knives had been removed, the woman turned around, looked at her handiwork,
and grinned. "Have fun. I'll be back tomorrow..." With that statement left floating in the air, the
woman walked out of the room, looking like a cat that had eaten the canary.
Outside the throwing range, the woman walked down the hallway, looking like she owned
the place, but suddenly paused mid-stride. As her face slowly leached itself of all colour, she
staggered, then sagged against the corridor wall. At such an early time, nobody would be coming
down to the ranges until 9, and the woman moaned in remembered pain.
Her face dead white, with one hand clutching at her forehead, she tried to remain standing,
but sagged downwards, eventually sitting on the cold concrete and steel floor. Her thoughts were in
turmoil, with quick flashes and images tormenting her as sweat rolled down her face. One image kept
on reappearing, and a single voice reverberated inside her mind. 'I don't know!'
The quick flash of images slowly faded into nothingness, but the agonized voice continued
its anguished cry. The woman rocked back and forth on her tailbone, oblivious to the blood that
poured down into her right eye from a gash opened up by one of her fingernails, just above her
eyebrow. Tears mixed with the blood, diluting the stream, and leaving a pinkish-silver puddle on the
floor. Eventually, the woman staggered to her feet, tears and blood leaking down her face, and she
slowly limped towards a white door with red trim.
The door opened on pneumatic servos due to a proximity sensor, and the woman entered a
small room with an automatic medical system installed in one wall. She pushed a button on the AMS
with her thumb, letting her genetic code be scanned into the database. Within seconds, a small bottle
of pills had dropped into a dispensing tray and a laser had cauterised the small head wound. The
woman scooped up the pills with one hand, popped the top off, and slashed open the foil covering
the opening with her left thumbnail.
She quickly downed the entire mix of pills in the bottle, and slowly calmed down. Her
breathing evened out quickly, and some colour returned to her face. Tossing the empty bottle into
a nearby trash can, she continued along her way.
Mikae's House, 9:19 AM
Mikae rolled over at her mother's insistence, letting her arms flop loosely over the edge of
the bed, revealing the black tattoos that marked her as 'altered'. Mikae's response to her mother's
urging to wake up was a weak moan, a few seconds of muttered cursing, and eventually a groaned
'yeah, sure' that got her mother out of the room.
After several minutes, Mikae sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she stumbled over
to her smallish closet, where she collected a pair of black cargo pants, which she wiggled into,
tucking her black tank top into the waistline as she ran her right hand through her hair,
simultaneously sensing that her morning breath could be considered a weapon of mass nausea.
After finishing the necessities, Mikae stumped downstairs like a lump of rocks in human
form, and gave her mom a hug and a peck on the cheek. "Hey mom. I have to do something later
today, so I hope you understand."
Mikae's mother, sighing slightly, let Mikae tuck into a large breakfast before the teen would
run off for the day. "Well, If you stay out of trouble, go right ahead. By the way, say hello to your
friends and nocturnal mentors for me, okay?"
"I will mom." Mikae rolled her eyes quickly, then suddenly allowed a halo to appear before
her mom turned around from buttering a slab of toast. After finishing off the breakfast, Mikae got
up, helped her mother for a few seconds by dumping her dishes in the sink, then ran out of the small
house like her butt had caught fire, pausing only long enough to grab her ever-present jacket in order
to hide the tattoos.
In about five minutes, Mikae was on a bus heading towards city hall, and was creeped out,
primarily by a person who kept on looking at her like a piece of meat on a string. She got off at the
next stop and cut through an alleyway in order to try and avoid that unnerving person. However, the
person got off the bus at the same time, and followed her into the alley. Passers-by took no notice
of the unintelligible words that echoed from the small passage, but a few noticed when a dull thud
followed by a groan of pain finished the short conversation.
About ten minutes later, the man came out of the alley, nursing a huge lump just above his
right temple. By that time, Mikae had quietly landed in an alley a few metres from the park in front
of city hall, and was walking purposely towards the two people she recognised in the gathering
crowd. She threaded her way through the crowd easily, but had to dodge a few government knuckle-
draggers who were checking out the crowd for any subversive elements.
When she finally got to her destination, her slightly older counterpart was speaking with Dr.
Zack, and keeping a watchful eye on the raised podium at the same time. A gust of wind rustled
through the crowded park, whipping Six's loose pants against her legs, earning her a few
appreciative looks from the younger men milling around. "Hello Mikae. You've already met our
esteemed doctor from school, and now we wait."
Mikae shrugged, absently brushing at a small rip in her jacket. "Fine with me. How long will
it take for these people to show up?"
Six shrugged, accenting her shoulders, even through the leather jacket she was wearing.
"About twenty minutes. Go and get a hotdog or something while you wait." She smiled slightly,
allowing Mikae to grin evilly. "Don't worry about me. You have more problems on your plate than
I do. I'll be back in a few minutes." Mikae disappeared into the press of humanity crowding the park,
leaving Six and Dr. Zack alone for a few minutes.
"So, did you find out anything about the team that came in? Hopefully, you didn't risk your
neck."
Dr. Zack chuckled in response. "No. Erin took the risks, all in exchange for about fifty dollars' worth
of junk food and a modem."
"Heh. She thinks with her stomach and her computer, but she's one of the best friends you
can have in the city." They both chuckled at that, then noticed that several APCs were moving
towards the podium. "Well, look at what we have here. I t seems our new friends are slightly ahead
of schedule." Dr. Zack watched as the nearest APC trundled to a stop less than twenty feet from him,
and closely observed the nearest door pop outwards by six inches before sliding open.
As the door stopped, three people got out of the APC, and moved in a small phalanx towards
the podium. When they got there, the two people flanking the third person stopped, turned around,
and observed the crowd. The third person, looking like he'd rather be wrestling bears right now
instead of being stuck with diplomatic duty, walked right up to the mayor, shook his hand, and
smiled slightly. Dr. Zack was too far away to hear the words spoken, but the mayor's face lit up like
a hundred-watt bulb.
Then, the mayor turned to the microphones set in the middle of the stage and nodded. "Good
morning, citizens of our fair city! We are here to welcome a new division to our police force, a
division whose sole purpose is to hunt down and prosecute the pervasive and dangerous beings
called 'greenskins'," The mayor paused for the crescendoes of cheering to die down, then continued.
"Also, these men and women have long and distinguished records as humanitarians and are skilled
at disaster relief, so you may see them repairing damaged buildings or giving food and blankets to
the homeless. Now, without further ado, here's the commander of this elite team, William Wilson!"
The hulking man walked to the podium, waved at the crowd, and smiled for the cameras. He
then turned to the microphones and, grinning sheepishly, fumbled inside his coat for a second. He
soon pulled out a few cue cards, and held them up so everyone could see. "This is why I hate public
speaking. I always forget my lines!" The short statement caused a ripple of laughter to fall through
the crowd, and Wilson waited until the laughter had ended before he started on his very short speech.
"Well, from the reception, I can guess that you'll like us as much as we like your city already.
Anyhow, as some of you have guessed from my accent, I hail from the USA, but don't really care
to be ordered around by a retard in the oval office." Everyone laughed at that, for the current
president's stupidity was known worldwide. "Anyhow, I'm actually the second-in-command of a
larger group, but our commander is currently very ill. However, she should make a full recovery, and
may be down here in under a month.
"As mentioned by Mayor Harris, we will help out the poor or homeless, but our primary
mission is to keep the streets and homes of the city safe from those green freaks that have been
attacking kind and decent people like you." Wilson beckoned the mayor forwards, and stepped to
the background so he could scope out the surrounding buildings.
City Hall Park, 9:37 AM
Mikae was leaning against the base of a statue, barely paying attention to the mayor's speech.
However, she noticed something happening to her left and decided to investigate with all the subtlety
of an elephant being airdropped. Mikae eventually got close enough to see what was happening, and
instantly pulled a one-eighty and ran off to where she had talked to Six for a few seconds.
Behind her, in a solid wave of green flesh, were almost two hundred Fixed Ideas, almost all
of them carrying rocket launchers. Six of the elite team sprang into action, just as the crowd noticed
that they were in danger. The six members of the team had armed themselves with their favoured
weapons, and all were wearing heavy-looking suits of scale mail covering everything except their
faces. Of the six, four of them had ugly-looking rifles out, and the other two were carrying belts of
grenades and pistols.
The two carrying the grenades pulled the pins on one each, and tossed both belts into the
advancing greenskins. The subsequent explosions of superheated gas blew apart at least fifty Fixed
Ideas, sending body parts, gore, and the contents of several shattered vials flying in every direction.
The body parts and blood weren't much of a problem, for they mostly evaporated in midair, but the
highly reactive chemical composition making up sustenance instantly corroded anything organic it
came into contact with, excepting a those designed to resist the corrosion or happening to be dressed
in saran wrap.
The resultant spume of 'acid' splattered over several civilians, who immediately started
screaming in pain as the liquid began to eat into their flesh. The four troopers who had held their fire
raised their guns to their shoulders and carefully drew beads on the nearest green heads in their sight.
All four squeezed the triggers simultaneously, and the heads of four separate FIs flew apart as four
loud, flat cracks split the air.
Mikae saw the Fixed Ideas begin to respond by raising their rocket launchers, but they
weren't ready to fire until the sixth fusillade of fire from the six people in front of them. One Idea
managed to fire a rocket before it was cut down, and the heavy explosive slammed into the statue
she was sheltering behind. The explosion blew the statue into heavy stone chunks, one of which
slammed into the back of Mikae's head hard enough to crack her skull.
The last thing she felt before falling into unconsciousness was strong arms supporting her
back as she crumpled to the rubble-strewn ground.
