Of all the things Kimiko might have expected to see behind a huge, heavy
metal door in the research and repairs bay of the MHHQ, a triceratops
hunched over a computer and touch-typing was definitely not one of them.
But he was there nonetheless. As she and X stopped a few feet back from him, Turk the reploid triceratops straightened up and turned slightly to look at them out of one squinty eye. All three of his horns were gleaming silver titanitefloalloy, and his skull shield was a magnificent pale red, almost pink. The rest of him was all heavily armored, unlike with most reploids, so there were no cables and no bodysuit areas showing past his pale blue hide. On either hand was a strange extendor, obviously extra, that gave him a second, human-sized pair of hands that mimicked the movements of his own massive manipulators. Using one false hand, he removed the other one, extending his real left hand to Kimiko.
"Good afternoon kid. I'm Turk, the resident technical genius."
A little doll with an 'A' on its shirt popped up on one of his shoulders. "The greatest scientist in the universe!" It squeaked.
Its mirror, with a 'B' on its own shirt, popped up on Turk's other shoulder. "Yes indeed!" It piped in, in the same voice as the first.
Turk had the grace to look embarassed as he hit a button, shutting off the dolls, which he then placed on the desk.
X chuckled. "You watch Tenchi Muyo way too much, Turk."
Turk shrugged. "What can I say? It's inspirational." He extended his hand again. "I believe we were at 'Good afternoon, kid'."
Kimiko looked at his hand, puzzled.
Turk sounded distinctly disappointed. "Don't you know how to shake hands?"
Kimiko blinked. "Shake hands?"
Turk sighed. "Put your hand in mine."
Kimiko did so. The much larger hand of the head of the Repair/Construction division of the Tech department engulfed her own, clasping gently around it. Turk pumped her hand twice, and let go, putting his own hand back down at his side.
Kimiko blinked, and shrugged. Then she bowed. "I am Kimiko. It is good to meet you." Straightening, she continued. "Sorry, if I offended you."
Turk chuckled. "No problem, kid. Anyways, I've got your armor finished for you. You can use it anytime."
Kimiko nodded, and turned to X, quirking up one brown eyebrow. The blue Hunter nodded back, and Kimiko closed her eyes for a moment.
Armor warp.
Complying.
There was a flash of green, and her armor appeared on her, simultaneous with the disappearance of her clothes.
X stared at her helmet for a moment, while Turk and Kimiko inspected the armor, one for mistakes, the other to get a good idea what it looked like.
Kimiko was still wearing her green Dash Boots, but now the tops could be seen. Where most reploids had a small outcropping on the front of the top of their boots to protect their knees, she instead had one on the outside of either knee. Either one of the upwards-jutting pieces of material had a shallow, conical metal disc on the outside of it. Her thighs were thick with myomer 'muscles', nearly as wide as the tops of her Dash Boots. Where X's pelvic guard had a dip in the center of it, hers stuck upwards slightly, with a band of silver running from front to back between her legs to the width of the upcropping. The rest of the pelvic piece was green. Either arm was equipped with a Buster sleeve, with typical elbow guards. Marking them as different were a pair of lavender, ovoid crystals on either side of the sleeves, near the elbows. Also, the wrist guard extending from the front of either one came to a point and a blunt edge at the same time. Her chest plate was slightly more intricate than a typical one. Either breast was covered by a distinct layer of metal, divided by a line down the middle, and a set of parenthetical seams marking off the center half of the chest plate. The layers of armor over her breasts continued over her shoulders, overlapping in the back, before coming down to end at her sides, at the bottom of the chest plate. Most interesting to X was her helmet. Where most human-type reploids had a downward-pointing triangular crystal Control Chip cover, hers, a soft lavender, pointed up. She had a crest much like X, but where his was a solid piece, hers had seams along it, dividing it into sections crosswise. Her 'ear' vents were slightly higher and farther back than normal, both a solid silver in color. The bottom back of her helmet was missing, allowing her braid to hang free. The braid itself had had its tie replaced by a green armor ring with a spike protruding from it to either side. Her helmet, while similar to X's, was slightly different- while his curved down to brace against his jaw, Kimiko's helmet went straight down, ending just above her shoulders, even with her small shoulderpads. Additionally, the opening for her face was more curved, flat along the bottom of the purple crystal before arcing up and over either eye, then dropping straight down to the end of the helmet. The entire thing was in shades of light green, over a soft lavender bodysuit.
X blinked, and snapped out of it. She really was based off the same designs- her armor was only a slightly more complex design than his, and the helmet was very much like his own.
Turk nodded to himself. "Good, looks like I got that right. Something interesting you should know about, though, kid."
Kimiko looked up at the large reploid. "Yes?"
"Well," began Turk, as X looked over to listen to him, "Most reploids have the chest compartment opening in the center of their chest- hence the name 'chest compartment'."
X nodded. "It's different for her?"
Turk shook his head. "Almost too different. When I figured it out, though, I was surprised. Kimiko, raise your arms and open your compartment, please."
Kimiko nodded, and raised her arms. With a slight hiss of hydraulics, a piece of armor from under either arm separated and slid outwards, revealing two 'drawers' reminiscent of a filing cabinet, with a series of connector ports lining the bottom.
The green reploid blinked, and looked under one arm, into the drawer, examining the connections.
X rubbed his chin. "Interesting. Certainly a bit safer, I think."
Turk nodded. "Plus, it's hard to break open, so…"
X looked up at the dinosaurian reploid. "What about the other armor?"
Turk gestured to where the formerly outer layer of armor was hanging on a frame, the large chunk still missing. The armor was almost totally covered with a network of cracks and burns, and the fins, toe, and knee-spikes hadn't been replaced. "I can't repair that. It's totally toast. Even if I knew which materials to use for what, that part of it's been totally vaporized. There's no way to know how to rebuild the circuitry, or reconstruct the data. By the way, are you done with the cape-pin? I wanted to see what it was for."
Kimiko closed her chest compartment-drawers, and looked over at the Armor Set, hanging there in three pieces.
X shook his head. "Sorry- it kind of self-destructed."
Turk blinked. "Any clue why?"
"Not really." Answered Kimiko. "Turk- what is this?"
Turk looked at X, who nodded. "That," began the large dinosaurian, striding over to the armor, "Is the armor you were wearing when you came here, outside the armor you have on now. It's a very strange design. It's like someone combined an assault suit with infiltration-style equipment, only not very well."
X followed him, standing a ways behind Kimiko, as she continued examining the defunct Armor Set.
"Have you figured out any of the stuff in it yet?" He asked, staring at the helmet.
Turk chuckled. "Only so far as what it's supposed to do. This is Light- level technology. I can no more reproduce this than that lovely Gold Hyper suit that you got. Heck, I'm still trying to figure out the Mark 20 Buster upgrade from that Retribution set. I tell ya, X, Light really knew what he was doing- this stuff is COMPLEX."
The New Blue Bomber nodded. "But who could have made something up to the degree of technology Light used?"
Turk shrugged. "Beats me. Whoever it was wasn't quite sure what they were doing, though. This suit is far from seamless. That's why the Buster came off at the end of the fight- it's a separate, plug-in system."
X looked up at Turk. "Then it still works?"
"Nope. This thing fried it's own circuitry once the user was knocked into stasis."
"Deep Shade." Said Kimiko.
The other two Hunters looked over at her.
Kimiko nodded to herself. "Call it Deep Shade. I would like this stored somewhere."
"A dead suit of armor?"
Kimiko nodded to Turk. "It's something that we don't know where it's from. It reminds me of Otoosan, for some reason. Maybe if I keep it around, I can look at it from time to time, maybe regain a few memories."
Turk shrugged. "Your storage space, if you really want to use some of it for that, go right ahead."
Kimiko bowed once. "Thank you, Turk."
Turk shrugged. "Aaah. Alright you two, out of my lab. I've got work waiting. I'll see to it that the armor is stored in your personal space, Kimiko."
Kimiko nodded. "Thank you again."
She and X turned and stepped out of the lab, the door sliding back up into place behind them.
Okay, so the next chapter right away. I just got in the mood to write.
And didn't stop.
So, Kimiko's keeping the armor, now called Deep Shade, even though it's defunct.
Did she remember anything from looking at it?
When will she begin training?
What about the vaunted Island Maverick plot?
Are there going to be more missions for X and Zero in the meantime?
What will they do if both of them have to go on a mission at the same time?
Who did make Kimiko?
Will Stamp, Arnie or Turtlava make a return appearance ever?
Will I tell you why I put these questions at the ends of my fanfics?
Probably not, 'cos I don't know myself.
Oh, well.
If it gets too annoying, say so.
By the way, in answer to that one review, I have to ask…
What Doppler connection?
Till next time- Ja ne!
"When criminals in this world appear
And break the laws that they should fear,
And frighten all who see or hear,
The cry goes up both far and near
For Underdog!
(Underdog!)
Underdog!
(Underdog!)
Speed of lightning!
Roar of thunder!
Fighting all who
Rob or plunder!
Underdog!
(ooh-aah-aah-ahh-ahh- Underdog!)
When in this world the headlines read
Of those whose hearts are filled with greed
Who rob and steal from those in need,
To right this wrong with blinding speed
Goes Underdog!
(Underdog!)
Underdog!
(Underdog!)
Speed of lightning!
Roar of thunder!
Fighting all who
Rob or plunder!
Underdog!
(ooh-aah-aah-ahh-ahh- Underdog!)
Underdog!
- Theme song, "Underdog" (a really cool cartoon).
But he was there nonetheless. As she and X stopped a few feet back from him, Turk the reploid triceratops straightened up and turned slightly to look at them out of one squinty eye. All three of his horns were gleaming silver titanitefloalloy, and his skull shield was a magnificent pale red, almost pink. The rest of him was all heavily armored, unlike with most reploids, so there were no cables and no bodysuit areas showing past his pale blue hide. On either hand was a strange extendor, obviously extra, that gave him a second, human-sized pair of hands that mimicked the movements of his own massive manipulators. Using one false hand, he removed the other one, extending his real left hand to Kimiko.
"Good afternoon kid. I'm Turk, the resident technical genius."
A little doll with an 'A' on its shirt popped up on one of his shoulders. "The greatest scientist in the universe!" It squeaked.
Its mirror, with a 'B' on its own shirt, popped up on Turk's other shoulder. "Yes indeed!" It piped in, in the same voice as the first.
Turk had the grace to look embarassed as he hit a button, shutting off the dolls, which he then placed on the desk.
X chuckled. "You watch Tenchi Muyo way too much, Turk."
Turk shrugged. "What can I say? It's inspirational." He extended his hand again. "I believe we were at 'Good afternoon, kid'."
Kimiko looked at his hand, puzzled.
Turk sounded distinctly disappointed. "Don't you know how to shake hands?"
Kimiko blinked. "Shake hands?"
Turk sighed. "Put your hand in mine."
Kimiko did so. The much larger hand of the head of the Repair/Construction division of the Tech department engulfed her own, clasping gently around it. Turk pumped her hand twice, and let go, putting his own hand back down at his side.
Kimiko blinked, and shrugged. Then she bowed. "I am Kimiko. It is good to meet you." Straightening, she continued. "Sorry, if I offended you."
Turk chuckled. "No problem, kid. Anyways, I've got your armor finished for you. You can use it anytime."
Kimiko nodded, and turned to X, quirking up one brown eyebrow. The blue Hunter nodded back, and Kimiko closed her eyes for a moment.
Armor warp.
Complying.
There was a flash of green, and her armor appeared on her, simultaneous with the disappearance of her clothes.
X stared at her helmet for a moment, while Turk and Kimiko inspected the armor, one for mistakes, the other to get a good idea what it looked like.
Kimiko was still wearing her green Dash Boots, but now the tops could be seen. Where most reploids had a small outcropping on the front of the top of their boots to protect their knees, she instead had one on the outside of either knee. Either one of the upwards-jutting pieces of material had a shallow, conical metal disc on the outside of it. Her thighs were thick with myomer 'muscles', nearly as wide as the tops of her Dash Boots. Where X's pelvic guard had a dip in the center of it, hers stuck upwards slightly, with a band of silver running from front to back between her legs to the width of the upcropping. The rest of the pelvic piece was green. Either arm was equipped with a Buster sleeve, with typical elbow guards. Marking them as different were a pair of lavender, ovoid crystals on either side of the sleeves, near the elbows. Also, the wrist guard extending from the front of either one came to a point and a blunt edge at the same time. Her chest plate was slightly more intricate than a typical one. Either breast was covered by a distinct layer of metal, divided by a line down the middle, and a set of parenthetical seams marking off the center half of the chest plate. The layers of armor over her breasts continued over her shoulders, overlapping in the back, before coming down to end at her sides, at the bottom of the chest plate. Most interesting to X was her helmet. Where most human-type reploids had a downward-pointing triangular crystal Control Chip cover, hers, a soft lavender, pointed up. She had a crest much like X, but where his was a solid piece, hers had seams along it, dividing it into sections crosswise. Her 'ear' vents were slightly higher and farther back than normal, both a solid silver in color. The bottom back of her helmet was missing, allowing her braid to hang free. The braid itself had had its tie replaced by a green armor ring with a spike protruding from it to either side. Her helmet, while similar to X's, was slightly different- while his curved down to brace against his jaw, Kimiko's helmet went straight down, ending just above her shoulders, even with her small shoulderpads. Additionally, the opening for her face was more curved, flat along the bottom of the purple crystal before arcing up and over either eye, then dropping straight down to the end of the helmet. The entire thing was in shades of light green, over a soft lavender bodysuit.
X blinked, and snapped out of it. She really was based off the same designs- her armor was only a slightly more complex design than his, and the helmet was very much like his own.
Turk nodded to himself. "Good, looks like I got that right. Something interesting you should know about, though, kid."
Kimiko looked up at the large reploid. "Yes?"
"Well," began Turk, as X looked over to listen to him, "Most reploids have the chest compartment opening in the center of their chest- hence the name 'chest compartment'."
X nodded. "It's different for her?"
Turk shook his head. "Almost too different. When I figured it out, though, I was surprised. Kimiko, raise your arms and open your compartment, please."
Kimiko nodded, and raised her arms. With a slight hiss of hydraulics, a piece of armor from under either arm separated and slid outwards, revealing two 'drawers' reminiscent of a filing cabinet, with a series of connector ports lining the bottom.
The green reploid blinked, and looked under one arm, into the drawer, examining the connections.
X rubbed his chin. "Interesting. Certainly a bit safer, I think."
Turk nodded. "Plus, it's hard to break open, so…"
X looked up at the dinosaurian reploid. "What about the other armor?"
Turk gestured to where the formerly outer layer of armor was hanging on a frame, the large chunk still missing. The armor was almost totally covered with a network of cracks and burns, and the fins, toe, and knee-spikes hadn't been replaced. "I can't repair that. It's totally toast. Even if I knew which materials to use for what, that part of it's been totally vaporized. There's no way to know how to rebuild the circuitry, or reconstruct the data. By the way, are you done with the cape-pin? I wanted to see what it was for."
Kimiko closed her chest compartment-drawers, and looked over at the Armor Set, hanging there in three pieces.
X shook his head. "Sorry- it kind of self-destructed."
Turk blinked. "Any clue why?"
"Not really." Answered Kimiko. "Turk- what is this?"
Turk looked at X, who nodded. "That," began the large dinosaurian, striding over to the armor, "Is the armor you were wearing when you came here, outside the armor you have on now. It's a very strange design. It's like someone combined an assault suit with infiltration-style equipment, only not very well."
X followed him, standing a ways behind Kimiko, as she continued examining the defunct Armor Set.
"Have you figured out any of the stuff in it yet?" He asked, staring at the helmet.
Turk chuckled. "Only so far as what it's supposed to do. This is Light- level technology. I can no more reproduce this than that lovely Gold Hyper suit that you got. Heck, I'm still trying to figure out the Mark 20 Buster upgrade from that Retribution set. I tell ya, X, Light really knew what he was doing- this stuff is COMPLEX."
The New Blue Bomber nodded. "But who could have made something up to the degree of technology Light used?"
Turk shrugged. "Beats me. Whoever it was wasn't quite sure what they were doing, though. This suit is far from seamless. That's why the Buster came off at the end of the fight- it's a separate, plug-in system."
X looked up at Turk. "Then it still works?"
"Nope. This thing fried it's own circuitry once the user was knocked into stasis."
"Deep Shade." Said Kimiko.
The other two Hunters looked over at her.
Kimiko nodded to herself. "Call it Deep Shade. I would like this stored somewhere."
"A dead suit of armor?"
Kimiko nodded to Turk. "It's something that we don't know where it's from. It reminds me of Otoosan, for some reason. Maybe if I keep it around, I can look at it from time to time, maybe regain a few memories."
Turk shrugged. "Your storage space, if you really want to use some of it for that, go right ahead."
Kimiko bowed once. "Thank you, Turk."
Turk shrugged. "Aaah. Alright you two, out of my lab. I've got work waiting. I'll see to it that the armor is stored in your personal space, Kimiko."
Kimiko nodded. "Thank you again."
She and X turned and stepped out of the lab, the door sliding back up into place behind them.
Okay, so the next chapter right away. I just got in the mood to write.
And didn't stop.
So, Kimiko's keeping the armor, now called Deep Shade, even though it's defunct.
Did she remember anything from looking at it?
When will she begin training?
What about the vaunted Island Maverick plot?
Are there going to be more missions for X and Zero in the meantime?
What will they do if both of them have to go on a mission at the same time?
Who did make Kimiko?
Will Stamp, Arnie or Turtlava make a return appearance ever?
Will I tell you why I put these questions at the ends of my fanfics?
Probably not, 'cos I don't know myself.
Oh, well.
If it gets too annoying, say so.
By the way, in answer to that one review, I have to ask…
What Doppler connection?
Till next time- Ja ne!
"When criminals in this world appear
And break the laws that they should fear,
And frighten all who see or hear,
The cry goes up both far and near
For Underdog!
(Underdog!)
Underdog!
(Underdog!)
Speed of lightning!
Roar of thunder!
Fighting all who
Rob or plunder!
Underdog!
(ooh-aah-aah-ahh-ahh- Underdog!)
When in this world the headlines read
Of those whose hearts are filled with greed
Who rob and steal from those in need,
To right this wrong with blinding speed
Goes Underdog!
(Underdog!)
Underdog!
(Underdog!)
Speed of lightning!
Roar of thunder!
Fighting all who
Rob or plunder!
Underdog!
(ooh-aah-aah-ahh-ahh- Underdog!)
Underdog!
- Theme song, "Underdog" (a really cool cartoon).