The canister slid into place with ease, interlocking with a much larger machine with a loud hiss as the conjoined tubes pressurized themselves. Celebi would be next to impossible to remove from the machine without simply destroying it now, which risked the Pokemon's good health. The Time Traveler offered little resistance. It couldn't in its bronze shell.

J smiled as she watched its vital signs appear on a monitor. She could practically taste the new size of her bank account. "Like, oh my gosh!" The sound of that girl was leaving a serious bad taste in her mouth, though. She watched the pink-haired thing stare with interest at the life sign monitor, one gloved finger pressed to her lips while the other switched between windows on the screen. "Celebi is putting out just so much energy! It's so unbelievable!" She managed to chirp like nails on a blackboard in the most irritatingly chipper voice J had ever heard, even while distressed. It was all coupled with the impatient swaying of her body, hips moving back and forth in a tight dress.

"That poses a daunting problem." J thought much better of the man in the room. He seemed professional, or at least, didn't behave like a teenager at the department store. "We've never tried to convert a mythical Pokemon before. It could take a considerable amount of time. Almost ironic, considering Celebi's nature." His fingers impatiently clicked a pen on top of his deck while his eyes went over the data coming in. With a few simple keystrokes, the large machine in the room began to whir. Cables appeared inside the holding cell and anchored themselves to Cleebi's prone body. New data poured in; the man lifted his impressively long hair out of the way of his face.

J peered at him from the corners of her eyes. "I do know about XD001. The Shadow Lugia you created. Did you disavow that?"

"You are so wrong! It was Lovrina that made XD001! He was so my precious baby~" The girl chirped and cooed, and J scowled. She seriously contemplated, if only for a moment, turning her petrification arm against her. Ein stood up in time to distract her.

"We didn't capture a Lugia. We had to create one, with the help of research notes we retrieved from a destroyed Team Rocket facility." Ein adjusted his glasses while smirking with pride. "It was a work of art. The corruption was so thorough, the Lugia's very physical appearance changed drastically from recorded sightings. And it was immune to all...known...forms of purification, at the time."

"Hmph! Listen to you, taking all the credit! Lovrina did all the work." Lovrina was quick to point out, sticking her tongue out at her senior scientist. "While you were in jail, I'll remind you!"

Ein glared at her, hair fidgeting angrily. "Yes, and where is it now, Lovrina? Oh, yes. Your untouchable process was completely and flawlessly counteracted, wasn't it? And now XD001 is being held at Professor Krane's laboratory, where they are free to study our techniques at length."

"Don't blame it on me!" The girl spun on her heel, stomping on the floor once with her heeled boot, arms shot down to her sides in a show of aggravation. "It was so not my fault! My designs were perfect! Security isn't Lovrina's job!"

"Honestly. Letting a child run rampant through our facilities. What kind of criminal syndicate do you think we are?" J rolled her eyes and left the two to quarrel. Her job was done; she had to go speak with their boss about payment. She might ask for a bonus just for having to deal with those two.

As she neared the automated door, the lights in the room flashed red and an alarm blared. Ein answered her question before she could ask it. "The intruder alarm. Somebody knows we're here. You were followed." J did not care for the venom in his voice.

"...I'll handle it." She said simply, leaving the room to head back towards the largely destroyed building's entrance hall. She wouldn't allow her reputation to be marred by this. If she couldn't operate stealthily, she couldn't operate at all; it would seriously hurt her business.

And she knew all too well who was waiting outside.

================

The boat ride had been anything but pleasant. Even on the surprisingly well-designed Mecha Kyogre, Buck had absolutely no tolerance for seafaring. The bottom of everyone's shoes smelled less than spring daisies, and as a direct result, so did a particular section of Buck's backside thanks to Marley.

The smell faded as they stepped onto the shores of Citadark Isle, the smell of vomit and contempt washed away by sea air and even more contempt. "Alright. We need to stay close. Cipher isn't opposed to cheating, but as long as we travel in a group, they can't hope to-"

"UHOOOOOOO!" Leo cringed and slowly turned his head back towards the source of the sound. Any thoughts of strategizing were pushed aside by the word Really? playing in an infinite loop in his head. "I see! We've got some scallywags scamperin' about, tryin' to bust up our scam! I'll just have to put a hard stop to your man train!"

"There are just as many girls as boys..." Marley pointed out flatly, trying her best not to look at the weirdo towering over them on a rock face above.

"B., what in the name of the Creator are you doing." Leo was shielding his forehead with his hand, more out of disbelief than disgust.

"FUO! I was invited back into the ranks of Cipher, provided I helped keep our new operations safe! We've got big, strong plans here on this island! We can't have you or anyone messing with us again!"

"No, I mean...forget it." He shook his head and stepped forward, taking a Pokeball from his belt and prepping it for battle. Cheryl had been giggling innocently at the energetic and interesting man. Riley tried to not look too concerned as Mira experimentally mimicked his movements.

Miror B. strode toward them confidently, hands above his head, arms bent...frantically pounding his hips at the air with each step. He wore little better than a leather one-piece that covered his torso and waist, leaving his carefully shaved thighs and legs open for everyone to inspect. Pitch black sunglasses covered his eyes, with a black leather visor framing the bottom of his absurd, trademark afro. "It looks like you've brought a lot of friends to play, darling! Well, I've got friends of my own you know! HARDENED TROOPS, FALL IN!"

A multitude of multicolored Cipher Peons poured in from behind the rock faces, some leaping from the cliff, others simply walking down the natural ramp connecting the cliff to the ground. They assembled themselves in front of the six decidedly heroic trainers, the five Poringer units reattaching their helmets in preparation for a fight.

"Let's go at it, little boy!" Miror B. called from the cliff, leaping and staring down Leo. He did his best to ignore the pain in his shins.

"I am going to need serious therapy after this..."