Somebody asked me to tackle Axl next, so I did. I'll admit that I've not played X7 or X8, but I am a big fan of Command Mission. After checking the Megaman wikia, I recalled a discussion about that game wondering why Axl can copy some bosses, but not others. For instance, he can copy the optional boss and uber-girly-cute music idol Rafflesian, but can't copy the more... uh, mature whip-wielding female story boss of Ferham. It might be that Axl can copy female reploids like Ferham, but he doesn't want to.

A Negative of Copying

Today's mission: find out why women spend so much time in the bathroom.

Okay, Axl admitted to himself, that wasn't really a mission. It was a curiosity which, quite frankly, would not leave his mind once someone had mentioned it. He wasn't doing anything else today, though, as he had a day off while the Red Alert smarties (as he called the intelligence workers) reviewed evidence and looked for cases to take. Although they kept telling him that he seemed to be designed with espionage in mind, he'd never really been interested. But in this case, spying would be better than just going in and interrogating some woman. Bathroom topics weren't really good for conversation between strangers, after all.

The place he had in mind: Nine Oaks Mall, a shopping center in the middle of a large city. It was ideal for the mission. There would be lots of people around, so his snooping about wouldn't be as noticeable. There was security there, but they knew him and wouldn't hassle him as much if he somehow got caught. In the mall's design, there were a lot of narrow halls and small hiding spots where he could transform without drawing much attention to himself. And he was familiar with the place, which was a huge plus.

The time: middle of the afternoon on Saturday. Again, there would be lots of people, both humans and reploids, so more distractions were available. Axl had considered later in the evening so he could make the excuse that it was a silly dare… but then he was a reploid and so he couldn't get drunk. The 'dare' reason was still there for last resort.

That left one major thing to decide upon: how to infiltrate the women's restroom. His basic appearance was that of an adolescent boy, with long brown hair, large eyes, and a slim masculine build. However, that was his basic appearance. He possessed a unique 'copy chip' which allowed him to alter his appearance and voice to any reploid he had taken DNA from. It wasn't really DNA; older scientists used to call it EPM, or Electronic Programming Map.

And taking that data didn't require hacking. Conscious hacking, anyhow, as he just knew he had to observe the reploid or mechaniloid in action for a while. It wasn't a perfect ability. The more complicated the machinery, the longer it took in observation for Axl to get the transformation right. And when reploids achieved a certain level of complexity, he just had no patience for observing that long.

In his data logs, he had a form that would be ideal for this mission. He didn't have many female forms that looked enough human to not get noticed in a bathroom, but there was one he had picked up on a mission some time ago. It was an odd one and he considered deleting it from time to time. The abilities of that 'bot were puzzling; he wasn't sure how they could be useful. Or even how to use them. But he didn't need the abilities. He just needed the look.

At two-thirty, Axl entered the mall in his normal appearance. The security guards up front had stopped him to make sure that he had all weapons locked or otherwise inactive; he had cooperated. There was a large crowd, as he expected. Among the chatter, music, and blaring ad screens, Axl checked around and considered looking in some stores he liked later. But Red had taught him that to be professional, one had to deal with business issues first, personal later. This was all personal on some level, but it was good to practice the professionalism. People would respect him more if he did.

Axl headed over to a food court; there were always restrooms near the food court. And there was a small hallway that, while meant for employees, allowed him to slip out of view for a little while. There, he shifted into his assumed form as a female reploid. The transformation always caused a momentary light; the smarties said it could be because the shapeshifting required melting his body metals to reform into the new shape. Axl didn't understand that. If he had to melt himself to change form, why didn't he toast his data every time he did it? Sometimes those smart guys missed obvious stuff.

This form was a nice one, he reflected. It had nicely styled red hair, light weight green armor, and a pretty face. The skirt part of the armor was different, with a hem at mid-thigh to legs that had synthetic flesh and tall green boots. However, each form had oddities and his natural programming allowed him to be flexible in adapting to new moving styles. He then slipped back into the crowd and went over to the ladies restroom.

Glancing about, he saw a number of guys giving him interested looks, which utterly creeped him out. Sure, his form might have been female, but his mind had a masculine slant. He didn't want to take a lot of time with this because of that. But at least his target location would have only women in it.

The entrance to the restrooms was offset from the hall, with a group of drinking fountains in between. Picking the door with the stick figure in a dress, he found the usual privacy hall that turned around to make it harder to look inside. There was a dark brown bench on one wall with a potted plant as decoration. Making a complete turn, he spotted a baby changing table. But the plastic station was closed and he knew a similar thing would be in the men's restroom. Then there was the room itself.

To his disappointment, it looked much like the men's half minus the urinals. There was a row of closed-off stalls done in an inoffensive yellow cream color, with a few larger handicapped stalls at the end. There were tan tiles on the floor and a smooth ceiling above. Opposite the stalls, there was a long row of automated sinks under a long mirror. There were some smaller plants on the ends of the sinks, but otherwise it was plain and generic.

There were women and girls in here, but most of them were in the stalls. A pair of teen girls was talking about where to buy clothes as they waited on an opening. There was one woman at the sink area doing some work on her makeup. Nothing really intriguing, just normal everyday stuff. At that, he wondered if the simple explanation was true, that feminine clothing styles and their biological structure made them take longer in the bathroom than men.

Although he worried that this might have been a waste of time, he didn't want to look suspicious by leaving right away. Axl went over to the sink area and washed his hands, taking a paper towel with him to take care of a non-existent spot on his face. That looked innocent enough; as a reploid, there wasn't much else he could do in this restroom. At least the question wouldn't bug him anymore.

The woman near him looked to him curiously. As he tossed the paper towel away, she clicked her make-up kit shut and followed him out. "Odd to see a model like you around here."

Puzzled, he looked to her. "Oh? Why?" His voice came out as a charming feminine speech, matching this form's look well.

"Aren't you a call girl from the downtown bars? I thought pleasure bots like you didn't wander far from your workplace."

Oh. That was why this form had really strange skills and was getting all those lustful looks. Blushing, Axl mumbled, "I, I'm getting some modifications. That's not who I am." Then he hurried out to leave the bathroom ahead of her.

Thankfully, there was a turn near the bathrooms that led to a group of offices. Axl went that way and breathed silent thanks when he found the hall empty. Then he shifted back to his normal form. Now that he knew what that female form was, there was no way he was going to use it again.

He buried his face in his hands. "I've got to be more careful of who I copy," he whispered to himself.