Lastation Ghost Game
A Hyperdimension Neptunia & Digimon Crossover Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Episode 11: Chasing The Batmobile
*That night, at Paler Sunscreen Industries...*
Lisa Paler sighed in despair, standing in her office as she brooded over recent events... (How could fate have turned against us again, so soon after poor Dimitri's murder...?! Oh Vlad, my love... perhaps it would have been better had we never met and fallen in love...) A single tear ran down her cheek...
Just then, she suddenly became aware of a subtle tapping sound coming from the window. (A bird...?) But when Lisa turned to look, she gasped upon seeing the Batman outside! He put a finger to his lips, then made an upward gesture... Nodding in acknowledgement, Lisa went up to the window and unlocked it, then slid it open, the Dark Knight slipping through quietly. "Who are you...?"
"I'm with the Lastation Guild. Lady Uni sent me," Batman said, his voice just above a whisper.
"Dear goddess, no! You have to leave!" Lisa insisted. "If they catch you with me-"
"I'm not alone," Batman cut her off. "I have an escape route, trust me. Now, what's going on with your husband?"
"...I don't know. They just say he won't die as long as I cooperate," Lisa lamented. "All I know is that he's likely somewhere in this building..."
"But why target you? Is this revenge for the last vampire?" Batman pressed.
"No, they have nothing to do with him," Lisa said. "I don't know where they came from, or what they really want..."
"There has to be some reason they infiltrated this place specifically," Batman pointed out.
"Oh, there is," another voice spoke up. "Not that you'll ever find out..." The duo turned to see AB standing there, dressed in a security guard's uniform, her long hair pulled into a braided ponytail. "Seems we have a bat in our belfry. Any last words before I exterminate you?"
"I'll see myself out," Batman said defiantly, dropping an item that exploded into a cloud of smoke, obscuring him from sight...
"A smoke bomb? Really?" AB sighed, waving with her hand and conjuring a breeze that blew the smoke away... just in time to see both Batman and Lisa dropping out the window! "What?!" The blonde ran up to the window, looking down to see Batman swinging away on his grapple. "Oh no you don't," she hissed as winds whipped up around her- only to get kicked in the face! "Gah-! What?!"
"Oh yes we do," Erika taunted in her Hudiemon form. "Infinity Dream!" she intoned, flapping her wings and spreading poisonous scales, causing AB to double over in a coughing fit! She then let herself drop, before turning and gliding down to the street where Batman and Lisa had landed safely. "We need to go! That won't hold her for long!"
"Right," Batman nodded as he pressed a button on a fob... not a few seconds later, his custom black car sped into view and stopped before the trio. "Let's go!" Lisa got into the shotgun seat while Hudiemon jumped in the back, the car promptly peeling off into the night!
(Music- 'Batman To The Rescue', Batman (1989 film))
Meanwhile, AB had recovered from her coughing fit, sending a telepathic message... (My lord, a man dressed as a bat just absconded with Lisa in his car! And a butterfly Digimon threw poison powder in my face!)
(Say no more, AB. Deploying modded Anklyomon,) her superior responded. With that, three Anklyomon materialized in the parking lot, swiftly curling into balls and spinning after the Batmobile with the speed of a race car!
Fortunately Hudiemon was keeping a vigil at the rear windshield as the Anklyomon spun into view... "We've got incoming; three bogeys!"
"I see them," Batman acknowledged as he looked at the rear view mirror. "Hold on!" he said to Lisa as he began making evasive maneuvers, Lisa bracing herself against the car frame from inertia... one of the rolling Digimon hit the rear bumper, but Batman managed to compensate and regain control. Another one pulled up on the car's right side... "Big mistake," Batman smirked at seeing the road ahead, before suddenly turning the steering wheel to the right, ramming the Anklyomon and sending it off-course, soon smashing into a pickup truck and hurling into the air, uncontrollably flailing before smashing upside down into another car's roof, denting it and setting off the alarm. "One down," Batman smirked in triumph.
Lisa cried out as the car was clipped by one of the remaining two Digimon. "What if they run US off the damn road?!"
(Wait, I just got an idea,) Hudiemon thought. Aloud she said, "Batman! Is this car armored?"
"Of course it is!" the Dark Knight shot back.
"Then hit the brakes... NOW!" Batman did just that, the trio shifting forward from inertia... one Anklyomon zipped right by them, while the other hit the back bumper, getting launched into the air just like before, uncurling and flailing as gravity reasserted itself, glancing off the Batmobile's hood as it crumpled to the ground in a heap. "Good work; I'll take it from here," Hudiemon said as she promptly exited the car. "Get going, I'll catch up!"
"Good luck," Batman grunted as he turned the steering wheel and peeled off down a side street. Hudiemon watched them go for a second, before turning her attention to the last rolling Anklyomon, which had turned and was now speeding toward her...
"Flying Kick!" Hudiemon cried as she took to the air, then brought her right leg down in a forward swing, kicking the downed Anklyomon into the oncoming one, the latter crashing into the former and uncurling, both skidding and a fair distance as Hudiemon flew out of harm's way, the former soon dissipating into 1s and 0s.
Smiling to herself as she touched down, Hudiemon pulled out a mobile phone, tapping a few buttons... "I got this idea from a sentai show on TV. Confinement Time!" She pointed her phone at the remaining Anklyomon, the Digimon promptly dissolving into data and flowing into said phone, a picture of a padlock appearing on the screen soon after. "Digimon captured. Now to meet back up with the others..." Flapping her wings, she took off into the night sky...
*Back with the Batmobile...*
"We should be at the rendezvous point in five minutes," Batman said to Lisa, having slowed down to the speed limit as he made a left... only to see a familiar figure down the street. "Wait, the guard from earlier...?"
"Look out!" Lisa screeched as AB suddenly fired a lightning bolt from her hands, zapping the vehicle and causing it to stall! But then it started back up a second later...
"Good thing we insulated this car with anti-magic wards!" Batman grunted.
"In that case, hit the gas!" Lisa advised, causing Batman to look at her like she was crazy. "Trust me, you won't kill her! DO IT!"
"All right," Batman reluctantly agreed, putting the pedal to the metal, the Batmobile shooting forward as AB prepared another thunderbolt... but then she realized what was about to happen, stopping her spell and bracing herself as the vehicle slammed into her, causing her to tumble a fair distance down the asphalt!
"All right. Now let's move before she gets up!" Lisa ordered, Batman turning the car around and peeling off in the opposite direction.
"Oh- no you don't-!" AB grunted in pain, managing to rise to a sitting position, one hand crackling with electricity... but then a report sounded through the night air, AB crying out as she was floored by a shot from above! Looking into the sky, she saw a glowing figure with white curled twintails and angled wings, who promptly flew off into the night. Meanwhile the Batmobile had rounded a corner, out the blonde's firing range.
(music fades out)
"...right, of course, I forgot. You're a sniper... You were hiding yourself until you were needed." Taking a deep breath, AB felt her pain ebbing away, slowly getting to her feet and brushing herself off. "Fine, you win this round, Little Miss Goddess. But next time, we'll be ready for you..." She then waved a hand over herself, her hair unbraiding and flowing freely as her uniform changed back into her white evening gown and long gloves. Pulling out a cigarette, she lit up, taking a deep drag and exhaling as she began making her way back to the factory... (Lord Aviel will NOT be pleased with this turn of events...)
*Rendezvous Point*
The Batmobile came to a stop at a lit street corner, next to a party store with a homeless vagabond standing outside, looking at nothing in particular, occasionally glancing into the sky. "I don't trust that man," Lisa commented.
"It's fine, he's one of us," Batman assured her. "A lookout for criminals or suspicious people, just in case..." His attention was drawn to the man as he began babbling nonsense and making odd gestures...
"What is he saying?" Lisa couldn't help but ask.
"He's signaling. Incoming from above..." Batman then smiled and relaxed. "Ah, it's Lady Uni. Nothing to worry about." Sure enough, the HDD form of Black Sister came into view and touched down, reverting to human form soon after, though she kept her rifle equipped, resting it on her shoulder as she approached the car. Rolling the window down, Batman said to her, "I heard the gunshot. I assume you kept that AB from following us?"
"Yeah, that's right," Uni nodded. "Wasn't expecting you to run her down like that, though... I thought Batman didn't kill!"
"That was my idea, Lady Uni," Lisa cut in. "She's much more durable than she looks, believe me."
"Oh. Okay, I guess you're off the hook this time," Uni nodded to Batman. "But it better not happen again!"
"So you were watching the whole time?" Lisa asked.
"She was our last-ditch backup in case we were overwhelmed," Batman explained. "We had no idea what to expect, after all." Suddenly the 'homeless' man started babbling and gesturing again... "Incoming from above, unknown!" the Dark Knight relayed.
Uni was instantly in firing position, pointing her rifle upward- only to swiftly lower it again. "False alarm, it's just Erika," she called out, the 'vagabond' promptly falling silent, though he couldn't help but stare as the butterfly Digimon touched down gracefully. "Where were you? I saw you get out of the car, but then I lost track..."
"Just taking care of the Anklyomon. I deleted one and captured the other." She held up her mobile device, showing the unconscious Anklyomon in a digital cage. "It was obviously modded, because they can't usually roll like that- only their Rookie stage, Armadillomon, can."
"Which means whoever's running this operation isn't your run-of-the-mill Digimon," Batman supplied.
"Um, what exactly is a 'Digimon'?" Lisa asked, perplexed.
"Digital Monster. You're looking at one right now, actually," Hudiemon answered. "I'll explain more once we get back to the Lastation Guild."
"Well, at least our attention-drawing operation was a success," Uni stated.
"Attention drawing?" Lisa gasped. "You mean..."
"Yep, this whole thing was just a decoy to get security looking in the other direction," Uni nodded. "I already got a text from Steamax saying he managed to get in..."
"With all due respect, Lady Uni, are you sure that's a good idea?" Lisa fretted.
"Trust me. Intel gathering is his specialty," the CPU Candidate smiled. "How do you think AffiMAX became such a thorn in our side back during the Gamindustri Rewrite Crisis?"
"Anyway, we'll be heading back to HQ and wait for his report," Batman spoke up. "We'll see if we can't get a sleeping bag or something for you, Miss Paler..."
"I'm not really sleepy," Lisa sighed. "I could really use a smoke after all that, though..."
"I'm not going to buy cigarettes for you," Uni said bluntly. "But if you want something like milk or water to calm your nerves, I can do that..."
"Right. Well, in that case, could you get me some red Gatorade instead?" Lisa requested. "I know it sounds odd, coming from me..."
"Sure, no problem," Uni nodded. "You want anything, Erika?"
"Just some water would be fine," the Digimon said, changing to her human form. "I'll ride back with Batman and Miss Lisa..."
*Inside Paler Sunscreen...*
It felt strange to Steamax, infiltrating a location while not wearing his trademark armor. But seeing as that Wizardmon and Socerimon had detected his presence easily, he decided it was safer to go native, so he could ostensibly pass himself off as a factory worker... (First things first, need to find a map...) Fortunately there was one by the elevator, albeit only for the current floor... (No offices. Must be on the next floor up...) After a moment's consideration, he decided to take the elevator instead of the stairs, when he would usually do the opposite. (Of course, a purple robot looks far more suspicious then a man with mismatched eyes...)
Upon exiting the elevator, he found another map nearby... (Bingo. Administrative Offices, just what I was looking for.) Memorizing the location, Steamax set off, noting that some of the hallways were dark... (Then again, it IS the night shift...) He kept his ears open for any sign of footfalls nearby, just in case...
Fortunately, he managed to reach his destination without issue, seeing a larger room filled with cubicles. (All right, let's see if we can find a cubicle with a working computer...) It didn't take long for Steamax to find one, though he heard a snoring sound nearby, peeking into the next cubicle and seeing an NPC slumped over in his chair, clearly asleep. (Going to have to stay quiet while I work... a piece of cake.) So he sat down in the unoccupied cubicle's chair, waking the computer from sleep mode and pulling out a memory stick, plugging it into the port to hack the password... (Let's hope this one didn't make a very strong password, or this might take a while...)
Thankfully that wasn't the case, the computer logging in to the desktop after a few minutes. "Okay, let's see what we have here..." Steamax whispered to himself as he opened the internal website. (We'll check the recent news first...) But suddenly he heard footfalls from the right. (Uh-oh.) He minimized the web browser and opened the Documents folder, looking for a word processor file...
"You! Wake up!" said a stern male voice from the next cubicle over, the NPC jerking awake. "What do you have to say for yourself, sleeping on the job?!"
"Ahhh! M-Mr. V-Vice President!" the NPC stammered. "I-I was just resting my eyes a bit...! You know from staring at the screen!"
"You were snoring!" the vice president exclaimed angrily. "Unacceptable! I expect everyone do their jobs, no matter if it's the day shift or night shift! Is that understood?!"
"I-I'm so sorry! I'll get right back to work!" cried the NPC, starting to type away at the keyboard.
"Good, because if I catch you sleeping again, you're fired!" the vice president threatened. By this time, Steamax had managed to find a word file and began typing as the man came to his cubicle... "Ah, good. At least someone is taking their duties seriously..."
"Of course, Mr. Vice President," Steamax said as he turned to look at the man... he was tall and handsome with pale skin, his face framed with pale orange hair, dressed in a button-up business shirt and dark slack with black leather shoes. (Nothing to suggest he isn't human,) the ninja observed. "Ah, what was your name again? I keep forgetting, sir..."
"Kyokoku," the man replied.
"Right, Mr. Kyokoku. Is there something going on? I thought I heard a commotion earlier..."
"Nothing that concerns you," Aviel Kyokoku rebuffed him. "Just focus on doing your job, understand?"
"Yessir," Steamax nodded, turning back to the screen and starting to type again... he waited until the man's footfalls had faded, before closing the file without saving and returning to the internal website. (Now to see what I can find out about this vice-president... and maybe that AB woman as well...)
*Guild HQ*
Lisa took a long sip from her bottle of Gatorade, sitting in a conference room with Uni, Erika and Brian Duane, who had doffed his cowl and gauntlets. "So we're just waiting for word from this Steamax?"
"More or less," Brian nodded. "Even though he used to work as a villain, he's been a great asset for the CPUs here... Hopefully he finds some information on your husband."
"I don't like to say it, but someone has to... what if they decide he's a liability now that they've lost Miss Lisa?" Erika suggested.
"I doubt it. They know Miss Paler wants her husband back alive, and that she loves him dearly. As long as they have him, we can't just go in all guns blazing, so to speak," Duane argued. "No offense, Lady Uni."
"None taken. I'm a sniper, not a machine gunner," Uni said.
"I sure hope you're right..." Lisa sighed as she took another sip. Just then, a tone sounded in the room. "What was that?"
"My phone!" Uni realized, pulling out her Sand-Song device... "Oh, good, looks like Steamax got in and out without trouble. Says he found something."
"What did he find?" Erika asked.
"He didn't say. We'll find out when he gets here," Uni shrugged, sending back an acknowledgement.
"In the meantime, is there anything you can tell us, Miss Lisa?" Brian inquired. "Like I said before that AB found us, there must have been a reason they targeted your business specifically..."
"There is," Lisa sighed. "It's because of me, actually..."
"You? Why would they target you specifically?" Erika asked quizzically.
Lisa looked conflicted for a moment, before heaving a resigned sigh. "...Try not to be too shocked when I show you this." She opened her mouth slightly, her canines suddenly extending in length as her eyes glowed blood red.
"What the...?!" Uni's eyes went wide. "M-Miss Lisa... y-you're...?!"
"Yes. I am a vampire," Lisa finally admitted. "The reason my husband was so adamant about making an example out of that hunter in the previous case, was because he feared that I was her true target."
"Ah, ahh..." Unable to comprehend the revelation, Uni fainted out of her chair and collapsed to the floor in a heap.
"...To be fair, I might have done the same thing in my younger years," Erika said, looking a bit shaken herself.
*Episode 11- End*