Fictions Mentioned: Marvel
Episode 2 - Project ITEM
OP Song:
Tomorrow Never Dies · Sheryl Crow
Location:
Unknown
Insert Song: Start
Max Payne - Main Theme
Things couldn't get more irritating for Shizuri Mugino - the 4th Rank Level 5 Esper of Academy City - the Meldowner.
She was designated as 4th Rank, considered as an honor student based on the Power Curriculum Program which is a special large-scale curriculum in Academy City taken alongside a regular curriculum, designed to unlock a student's potential in gaining and improving supernatural powers. All those who have gone through the program are called espers, regardless of level, though some people may choose to refer to those who actually show powers as espers.
The designation of her rank is heavily based on a contributing part of the Power Curriculum Program which is known as the Parameter List which is a database of espers and their potential levels. It is used as a basis of comparison for esper development procedures and the efficiency of said procedures. The existence of this database is kept top secret by the Board of Directors to avoid any social unrest caused by the exposure of the information in the database.
In relation to her ability, it is known by the term "Meltdowner" which is an ability that allows her to forcibly control electrons in the "ambiguous" state of an electron where it is both particle and wave, and when they strike other objects the electrons are unable to react either as particle or a wave because of their state.
She is the leader of the organization ITEM which was an Academy City-based organization whose primary function was to monitor the upper echelons of the city-state known as Academy City, including the Board of Directors and prevent them from gaining too much power and getting out of hand. In other words, they were basically the waste holders who clean up the mess left by those who didn't properly clean themselves up.
And as of this moment, she was pissed beyond belief.
Although ever since for the past few hours or so last she checked, she could never really tell the time in this fucking place as she called it, one that had no fucking windows or even a fucking door. But she managed to at least cool off for now and was almost out of breath due to the many spewings of profanity and vulgarity that would make even a grown man blush in embarrassment due to the fact that somehow, she was rendered completely and utterly powerless; meaning that her powers are completely unuseable at this time due to something unforeseen by her.
And that would probably be one of the reasons as to why she was still stuck in this windowless prison. Otherwise, she would have just conjured up a particle wave cannon and been on her merry way.
The rest of the young girls who were also stuck in the same windowless prison along with her were three of her subordinates: Frenda Seivelun, Saiai Kinuhata, and Rikou Takitsubo, as they hid behind a silver metal bed that actually had a decent mattress, with a blanket and three pilows near the headboard. They eventually slowly raise their heads, with both hands place at the side of the mattress, sporting concerned and awkward expressions.
"Wow... I've never heard Mugino spouting curses like this like there's no tomorrow," Frenda said, sporting an almost impressed and concerned expression.
"You really super can't blame her, you know," she said, her verbal tic of inserting "super" into sentences acting up again. Then she started walking a few paces towards a nearby wall as she tried to find a way out, but to no avail. And that was making her worried and concerned. For try as she might, checking the drawers, underneath the metal beds, the nearby walls that make up the rectangular prison cell, etc... "Considering the fact that we can't even use our powers to break out of this place is already giving me the chills. The fact that this place doesn't even have windows or doors or even some kind of vent is just super concerning."
"...That's true," Frenda sported a concerned expression, glancing around her surroundings while slowly standing up and try to look for a way out just as Kinuhata was doing. "There's also the fact that someone took my dolls and tools away from me, so I wouldn't be able to do anything either."
No powers. No weapons. Nothing.
Eventually, the girls begin to realize something.
They noticed that there were a lot of metal beds that were lined up one after another from the side of this admittedly bigger-on-the-inside rectangular shape windowless prison. Counting ten at the very least.
Not just that though, but there's even what appeared to be a fridge located from somewhere a few meters away towards the right upper corner of this windowless prison. Before Mugino even uttered her profanities, the girls at least managed to check the fridge for anything suspicious. But as it turns out, the storage of the fridge was simply tremendously large, impossible as it seemed. A bigger-on-the-inside fridge from the looks of it. That's what they literally saw while checking it, containing lots of fruits, vegtables, and other delicacies so that they wouldn't even have to starve to death.
Aside from the fact that there are no doors to exit from, there was a certain exception apparently. But it was weird even by their standards. Whenever they decided that they really needed to use the restroom in order to do their private business, an automatic door would suddenly appear from out of nowhere which would lead to a very surprisingly clean restroom, with the necessary supplies that are put in place such as toilet paper and even an indoor pool to boot for recreation purposes. But as soon as they finished doing their business with the restroom, the door would disappear instantly, leaving the three girls and Mugino completely speechless.
Just what kind of prison was this?, the three girls all thought bewilderingly.
The last thing that they could recall before ending up here was that they were on a mission that their ITEM Liaison had assigned to them. And said mission involved them dealing with a local weapons exchange between members of Deadlock, an anti-esper affinity group comprising of espers whose power development had reached a standstill and would not progress any further for some undisclosed reasons, and another group by the name of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), an infamous Dark Side Organization that had been around even back before their day, comprised of a privately funded think tank organized of a group of brilliant scientists whose sole dedication is to acquire and develop power through technological means; their standard uniforms resembling that of beekeepers, complete with "beekeeper" looking helmets that have black shape visors and NBC suit uniforms, all painted in yellow color schemes with a few black trace lines.
According to the information that they had been provided with, the deal broker between the two was actually AIM offering something of interest to the members of Deadlock which was connected to a series of experiments and technologies formed by Academy City to replicate and exceed, hence the name, the powers of the 7 Level 5s.
The FIVE_Over.
By the picture that was sent to them from their phone tabs, it was a red riding suit and a full-face helmet, with small inline skate wheels attached in over fifty places: bottoms of the feet, knees, elbows, shoulders, wrists, waist, back, chest, and other parts of the body. On top of that, there were two tiny jet engines on it's back to reach over one hundred kilometers per hour. They were twenty centimeters wide and fifty-five centimeters long. There were also explosive-driven pile bunker mounted over the shoulder of the user. There were also added other onboard weapon systems such as those located at the palm gauntlets that allowed one to fire a standard particle beam weapon that can repel physical and energy-based attacks, traveling as a single stream or as a wide-field dispersal; repulsor rays they were called. The suit could also replicate Shizuri Mugino's Meltdowner, capable of psychically firing high-speed beams of light upon the opponent at any setting to the user's discretion, much to the chagrin and irritation of said Level 5 who got power copied, and was one of the main reasons as to why she was heavily invested in this mission, deeming it quite personal to her as she doesn't like any copycats and lower level rates wandering around with her powers.
The suit itself was called the Queen Diver. And judging by the title which had caught another one of Mugino's interests, apparently it was called that way based on one single purpose.
To kill Misaki Shokuhou - the designated #5 rank Level 5 esper.
Apparently, Deadlock has plans on targeting every Level 5 in Academy City based on their firm ideology that bounded their actions which were actually pretty simple to comprehend at face value. They believe that the AIM Diffusion Field that is emitted by espers, especially those of the Level 5s, affects their development, preventing them from advancing in the power curriculum program. Due to this, Deadlock keeps an eye on Level 5s and occasionally put together a suicidal plan to crush them. In order to correct the unfairness that these espers unknowingly create due to their AIM Diffusion Fields that they emit without meaning to, Deadlock believes that killing these espers is the only solution.
This reasoning would only have Shizuri Mugino snickering to herself.
"Let them try to take me on. I'll send them to an early grave as a parting gift," she thought to herself with a smile.
She found Deadlock's goals to be quite funny and ultimately futile in the end considering that even if they were to manage to kill one of their weakest Level 5s in terms of physical combat, especially ones who have a certain weakness to machines in the case of Misaki Shokuhou, then they are out of luck when it comes to dealing with the likes of her, or even one of the Level 5s, especially those in the top such as the #1 (Accelerator) and the #2 (Dark Matter) if they as much as try to attack them.
Actually, she had heard of some of the members of Deadlock targetting the aforementioned #1 and #2 before. Short answer: It didn't end well for them.
Nevertheless, a mission was still a mission, and they had to deal with this weapons exchange and sabotage them by any means necessary.
And thus, the members of ITEM were to at least take their respective positions across the various places of abandoned buildings on the pale moonlight which brightens the clear sky of the evening. For they were somewhere on the abandoned alleyways of District 10, a district at the southernmost of Academy City whose main characteristic is that it contains a few facilities and establishments that carries a certain social stigma towards people, such as nuclear facilities and graveyards, as well as having poor public order which was exemplified by the dozens of littered trash and broken windows throughout the area.
And while they took to their respective hiding places, they were simply waiting for the players to eventually show themselves, content on simply observing for now and preparing for the set of traps that are being put into place throughout the alleyway where the deal would eventually take place.
After a few moments of waiting and preparations, the ones who came early were the AIM beekeepers, armed with heavily advanced rifles, the steps on their feet being heard to echo across the abandoned alleyway as they were seen to exit the back of at least five delivery trucks that had come by and were now parking towards the side and were positioning themselves throughout every corner, guarding every way that lead to the intersected alleyway.
"Heeeh, that's a lot of beekeepers!," Frenda exclaimed with interest throughout the comm-channel, sporting a smile on her face, observing from a nearby window with the help of advance binoculars.
"Hmph. That only proves that something big must be coming down in this alleyway," Mugino smirked with interest throughout the comm-channel, also observing from a nearby window with the help of advance binoculars.
They would also see what appeared to be multiple Queen Diver suits which have been painted with a yellow-black color scheme instead of the default red color, being lead out from the truck in a tight and orderly fashion; and they were being driven by AIM beekeepers.
After a few moments came the members of Deadlock who were walking from one side of the alleyway which was somewhere from the north. The members were young men and women, the former consisting of delinquents and the latter consisting of high class ladies. One of them was a man with brown hair and a handsome face, with his clothing consisting of a black jacket, blue jeans, and white shoes with red on the side. Must be the leader of the group judging from his demeanor. And the leader was walking face to face with an AIM beekeeper who seem to be the one in charge of the rest, being their commander.
Both men would seemingly nod to each other as they and some of their subordinates would walk towards the open space where the Queen Drivers from the back of the delivery truck were prepared just as requested. And it was at that moment when the leader of Deadlock gave a gesture, turning his neck sideways, indicating to some of the members to show what was inside the silver metal briefcase that was in their hand, to which the member complied as he begins to carefully open it, showing what appeared to be about ¥100,000 yen, and this was but one set as there are many briefcases in total, with an estimated possibility of ¥11,915,700,000.00 in total.
The AIM beekeeper commander sported a satisfied nod as he begins to raise his hand towards the leader of Deadlock who also raised his hand in order to do a proper handshake to seal the deal.
"A pleasure doing business with you," the beekeeper commander said.
"Likewise," the Deadlock group leader responded.
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[City Hunter OAS Vol.2] Footsteps [HD]
And just when Mugino was about to give the order to attack just as planned, something surprising had occured that managed to put the ITEM members off-guard.
"What the?!," Mugino exclaimed as her eyes widened, feeling the floor that she was stepping on shaking in tremors.
"...!"
An explosion happens, one that practically engulfed many of the Queen Drivers first, then the trucks soon followed one after another as they explode, sending many of the AIM beekeepers flying from random directions, some landing towards nearby broken windows and trash cans. Some AIM soldiers appeared to be killed by the explosions due to being too close to the blast radius.
And at that very moment...
"Oooof!"
A strange sound effect occured throughout the area. Gunshots were being fired from the west. But these weren't the ordinary type of gunshots. Many AIM beekeepers were practically being knocked out one by one as each shot was fired, and out came two individuals from the corner of the alley who were aiming their advance pistols on the beekeepers and members of Deadlock who were trying their best to scatter and either fight back against the surprising attack that was happening or try to make their escape as some members of Deadlock were leaving the briefcases behind. Although, it would ultimately be futile to escape as they were suddenly gunned down by individuals who were sporting Anti-Skill combat uniforms, as their rifles were discharging what appeared to be a blue ring effect that managed to stun the escapees and knocking them to the floor.
The members of ITEM couldn't help but sport surprised expressions as they were seeing the sudden weapons exchange had become a warzone as the AIM beekeepers and what appeared the individuals wearing Anti-Skill combat uniforms were presently engaged in a firefight, with the former getting taken out one by one as blue ring effects managed to stun them and sent towards the ground. Yellow bursts of energy were coming out from the rifles of the AIM beekeepers which were being dodged by the Anti-Skill (?) personnel as they employed a sophisticated set of close-quarters combat that manages to knock out many of the AIM beekeepers who were at close range, while also managing to fire a barrage of ballistic missiles that managed to destroy a couple of AIM controlled Queen Drivers that managed to explode into a ball of fiery flame.
"The hell? What the super hell is Anti-Skill doing here?," asked Kinuhata from the comm-channel, sporting an expression of shock.
"Never mind that, since when did Anti-Skill became this competent in fighting? And since when can they fire ballistic missiles from their rifles?," asked Frenda from the comm-channel, sporting an expression of shock.
But that wasn't all that they noticed. There were also the two individuals who appeared to be leading them from the firefight as they presently knocked over a couple of beekeepers through the use of martial arts skills and firing their pistols that managed to stun their opponents to the ground and would fire the same ballistic rounds in order to take down the Queen Drivers that were coming their way.
The first individual was a ordinary Japanese teenager with unruly blonde hair. The second individual was an ordinary Chinese teenager with black hair and blue eyes. Both of them appeared to be wearing black shades and business suits which consisted of the jacket, pants, underwear, ties, socks, and leather shoes being all black while the dress shirts are white. Both of them were in a back-to-back position, each of them were covering each other as they fired multiple blue ring effects that managed to stun their opponents, whether if they were Deadlock or AIM.
"Umm, Mugino, what should we do about this?," Takitsubo asked, sporting a concerned expression.
"Tck," Mugino clicked her tongue in irritation due to the surprising turn of events that she was seeing from the window.
Kinuhata had raised an important question. What was Anti-Skill doing here? They were specifically told by their ITEM Liaison that the area would be clear from any sign of law enforcement in order for them to do what needed to be done. But it would appear that things were far from the case. What's more is the way that Anti-Skill seem to fight as they appeared to held their own against the onslaught that the AIM beekeepers were trying to hammer in to them, only for the former to firmly deny it by firing volleys of their own, knocking out the latter with ease and even managed to dodge incoming particle beam fire land a hit on the Queen Drivers that were firing at them.
Perhaps they should retreat for now since it seemed quite apparent that their current operation has been heavily compromised.
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Insert Song: Start
Max Payne - Main Theme
But before Mugino could order a retreat...
"Ughhh!"
She and the rest of the members of ITEM would suddenly get blasted to their backs, catching them all off-guard as they begin to find themselves hurling towards the floor.
And that was the last thing that any of the ITEM members ever knew before eventually waking up to find themselves in this place. Which leads them back to their current predicament.
And so, after Mugino decided to eventually calm down, the members of ITEM decided that it was probably for the best if they were to just wait for a moment and think. Which was why they all decided to sit down and think about their current options on the table.
There were no windows nor doors to escape from. The esper powers that three members of ITEM such as Mugino, Kinuhata, and Takitsubo have are all locked out of commission. And it would seem that no matter how they looked at it, they were trapped in this place with no possible way of escaping.
The only conclusion that was left for them is to wait things out and let their captors reveal themselves.
And it was sometime later, when something had finally occurred.
"...?"
All of a sudden, the while marble wall from the north of their viewpoint would suddenly come apart bit by bit, revealing a grey metal blast door from the center that was now slowly opening. An alarm system that seemed to mimic the sound effects of an ambulance siren was heard for a moment or two which seems to be blarring from the background.
Mugino, and the three girls who were right beside her, eventually decided to stand up and sported alarmed expressions as they see the blast door finally coming apart. Eventually they saw what appeared to be a woman with black features, denoting the ethnicity of an African-American. She appeared to have grey afro hair and her entire face appeared to be wrinkled, denoting her status of seniority that comes with age and yet appeared to be quite young; estimated about in her mid-40s to mid-60s, wearing what appeared to be a black coat and a white shirt, black pants, and silver shoes. This woman would also appear to carry a light brown folder that she would place to the right side of her chest.
But then there was the eyes to consider. Those dark brown eyes that were as sharp as a hawk, ones that spoke of a great woman of authority that was likened to that of an impenetrable wall. And those same eyes were bored down upon every one of the ITEM members that got them over the edge as they couldn't help but sweatdrop in concern, and as much as Mugino would refuse to admit, fear.
Accompanied alongside this woman apppeared to be soldiers sporting an advance type of combat armor resembling a retrofuturistic outlook. They wore black-grey military combat uniforms that seem to be incorporated with biohazard gear with standard military webbing and equipment, composed of boots, protective vests, and gloves. The black helmets on their visors have multiple installed features such as vision enchancement that determines a range of sight mode that allows one to see things that are unseen by the naked eye. They appeared to be carrying automatic rifles that sported the appearance of an FN SCAR.
Then there appeared to be a logo that was present on the shoulders of these soldiers which is composed of an outlined circle with three arrows crossing its contour and pointing to the center. The structure is closed in a thin frame, which repeats its silhouette — a circle with three protruding rectangles (around the arrows' tails).
There was a silence that reigned over the room. And a moment later, the woman in black would finally spoke in a tone of authority, sporting a professional expression.
"Mugino Shizuri, correct?," she asked, with a near perfect Japanese accent.
The question would make Mugino look to the left and to the right as she sees the soldiers just standing still, with automatic rifles on the ready. Under normal circumstances, she could have just casually left the room and eloquently pasted these people to the wall. But there were two problems. The first was the fact that her powers were suddenly stripped from her, making her powerless and potentially exposed. The second was the fact that there was something about this woman who had asked her a simple question. That she was not to be underestimated, nor was she to be trifled with.
And thus, Mugino would nod in a compliant manner, much to the surprise and the surprise of the rest of her teammates who couldn't help but draw near to her due to being completely uneased.
"And the three of you are Frenda Seivelun, Kinuhata Saiai, and Takitsubo Rikou, correct?," she asked once again, looking at the designated three girls who were asked the same question.
The three girls would glance at each other for a second before looking back at the woman in black, making the same compliant nod as Mugino. And at that moment, the woman in black would decide to introduce herself.
"My name is Councilwoman Amanda Waller, and we have much that needs to be discussed regarding your future," she explained.
"...Our future," Mugino asked, raising a dubious eyebrow.
Councilwoman Waller nodded. "I would suggest that you would all come with me and walk for a bit, since I firmly believe that in your case, in order to understand what is truly happening to all of you and for your questions to be no doubt answered in a satisfactory manner, the application of the phrase "Seeing is believing" would be more than adequate for your situation," she said, eventually walking back while carrying the light brown folder, with some soldiers eventually walking alongside her.
All of the ITEM girls would look at each other for a moment, sporting expressions of concern, before eventually deciding to move along and catch up with Councilwoman Waller.
And so, they walked out of their complex prison cellblock designated as O24/562.6, taking notice of the number from the side of the entrance wall. They noticed that there were concrete walls throughout the area as they walked further along the hallway. Everywhere they looked, they would see a couple of soldiers carrying the same logo that was attached to their shoulders, even spotting the words "SCP Foundation" or "Secure. Contain. Protect." from some of them.
SCP Foundation.
Was that where they are? But what exactly was the SCP Foundation? It was something that they never really had heard of before. They have heard of many organizations and societies throughout their time in the Dark Side of Academy City. They even met some of them of course as part of their job as the clean-up crew of the city. And yet, the words "SCP Foundation" never seem to ring quite a bell. What do they even stand for? Then there was the motto of "Secure. Contain. Protect." being found on some of the soldiers who were just passing by. But it wasn't just the soldiers. There appeared to be scientists as well as men and women wearing black suits, not just from Japan from other ethnic groups and nationalities.
It would appear that the SCP Foundation is possibly an international organization that accepts anyone from all around the world. But if that were the case, how come they never even heard of their existence, much less a rumor? But adding on to this fact was the moment that they connected the dots together was the eventual realization that these people who called themselves the SCP Foundation were the ones who were responsible for capturing them. And the more they thought about it, they recalled the last time before they were knocked out of commission.
The firefight that happened between Anti-Skill (?) and AIM, with Deadlock members getting caught in the crossfire. The fact that they suddenly got captured during said firefight wasn't a coincidence. It appeared to point to them of Foundation involvement. And if that were the case, there was a possibility that was being entertained by some of the girls in ITEM, especially for one Shizuri Mugino.
That the Anti-Skill (?) personnel that they saw that time were actually disguised military soldiers of this Foundation. That would probably explain the sudden arrival of these Anti-Skill soldiers, using CQC that allowed for easily performed takedowns and managed to destroy a couple of Queen Drivers in the ensuing firefight while dodging the particle beams with ease.
Now that got them curious. Were they part of the Dark Side? But if that were the case, how come they only heard of them the first time? For they have had their fair share of tangling with other Dark Side groups, Deadlock being the latest on the list. But this is the first time they had even cross paths with an organization called the SCP Foundation. And said organization was quite suspicious due to the fact that this was the very first time that they heard of them.
And as they continued their walk, pondering the manner, to their surprise...
"...!"
They would spot someone... No, something that was walking towards their direction. And it was quite the impossible sight that rendered their mouths and eyes wide open in shock. A 9 ft. tall ant, black in color, with roughly four arms and six legs, wearing a construction safety helmet, was seen walking by from their side of the corridor, passing by them as he moved along.
"W-W-What was that?!," Frenda asked, sporting an expression of shock and a little fear, pointing towards the 9 ft. tall ant that had passed by them.
"That was an Anthroformīca, Ms. Seivelun," Councilwoman Amanda Waller answered swiftly. "Might want to steel yourself, and the same goes for the rest of you, as there are plenty more non-humans were that came from."
And she wasn't lying...
The moment they stepped through what appeared to be an elevator shaft, they would notice the obvious non-human lifeforms that were gathered beside them. And what's more surprising enough was that the elevator was quite comfortable, with commendable wide open spaces, in other words: bigger-on-the-inside. All accompanied with the humming sound of classical music.
Then they exit the elevator and found to their surprise what appeared to be a hallway, and what they found from the dome windows were quite the sight to see for themselves.
Automobiles and ships were seen hovering from the skies, all in tight formation in accordance with the necessary traffic laws. They would see supertall skyscrapers that reminded them of those found in other countries, but unlike those other countries, they seem to be quite the ordinary sight as they appear to be all over the place. They would notice that the entire corridor where they ended up was filled to the brim with humans and non-humans everywhere, experiencing a culture shock of a lifetime as their eyes were widening in shock, unable to say a word.
They would see what appeared to be lizard-like creatures walking among them, and even capable of speech just like humans. They see what appeared to hovering cephalopods just going about their daily business. They would see short, thin humanoids with grey and hairless skin and a conspicuously large cranium. They would see what appeared to be a couple of flying squirrel actually flying in tight formation.
They would see them all as if they were ordinary civilians trying to get by at life. They would see many of them with families of their own, children to take of by the parents.
For the rest of the walk, they couldn't say anything but just stare at the non-humans and the grand architecture all around them, maybe saying a word or two every now and then in the case of Kinuhata who would mutter the following words.
"...You've got to be super kidding me," she said, her eyes widening in shock.
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ED Song:
Betcha Never from Cherie (2004)
New Characters:
Shizuri Mugino - VA: Ami Koshimizu
Rikou Takitsubo - VA: Aya Suzaki
Saiai Kinuhata - VA: Chinatsu Akasaki
Frenda Seivelun - VA: Maaya Uchida
Agent Jiang Haoyi
Councilwoman Amanda Waller - VA: Viola Davis
