Adventures in Parodyverse - Outlaws of the New Law Part 5

    Anna was the first to act when released from the Virtual Reality machine.  As close to human as her abstract computer brain was, she was immune to a few effects humans suffered...things like disorientation, when suddenly released into a new environment.

    She violently pinned Search Engineer against a wall, holding him aloft by his throat.  LOL INTERNET hit her from behind with a keyboard, the only thing he had handy.  It shattered, and she grabbed his throat with her free hand.  She kept her eyes focused on Search Engineer, and a high-pitched sound filled the room.

    “Anna, no!”  Yuki called out breathlessly.  She was the second to recover - while her mind was still confused, she didn’t suffer the numbness of limbs.  “If...you kill him...The Moderator will...will...make a new one.”  She started to dig through a box of cables.

    “I see.”  Anna understood that Yuki planned to tie up Search Engineer instead.  She threw him to the floor with a sickening ‘thud’, handling him as easily as if he were an oversized rag doll.

    Yuki caught up as quickly as she could and began tying the Search Engineer’s hands and feet.  She was fairly expert at tying knots, even with unused electrical cable.

    “You’ll never get away with this!”  Search Engineer protested.  That led Yuki to cover his mouth with an ‘X’ made of scotch tape.  She took his Bluetooth and handed it to Chiaki, who pocketed it.

    “Zelnitz.”  Anna turned her attention to LOL INTERNET, purposely using his real name to frighten him.  “Did you not get my message in the Virtual Reality System?”

    He turned pale.  He remembered her saying something to his in-game avatar.  She called him a n00b...and he still wasn’t happy about that.  “You’ll never escape this facility, you know,”  he said.  “I designed all the security systems.”

    “That’s fortunate,”  Anna replied as she dropped LOL INTERNET so Yuki could tie him up as well.  “Since you so kindly hooked me up to your own computer systems, giving me full access to them all.”

    “You said that couldn’t happen!”  Search Engineer protested angrily, causing LOL INTERNET to cringe.  His sweating caused the tape to peel.

    “It can’t!”  the hacker whined.  “It’s very high security software, military grade encrypted and firewalled!”

    “Military grade.”  Anna repeated.  “As am I...built by the military.  And I speak binary.”  She looked at Yuki, who had finished tying up LOL INTERNET, and had moved on to helping the Psychic Samurai out of her VR chamber.

    “Are you okay?”  Anna asked Chiaki.  She implied the same question for Liu Xi, as she sat up slowly as well.

    “A little dizzy,”  Liu Xi replied.  “Actually, very dizzy.”

    Anna nodded.  “You may hold on to me while we walk until you regain your balance.”

    “I think we should switch that up, Anna,”  Yuki said as she took Chiaki’s arm over her shoulder.  “We might have to fight, you and Chiaki would pair up better on offense.”

    “Agreed.”  Anna took Chiaki from Yuki, and waited for Yuki to get Liu Xi balanced enough to walk straight.

    “Zelnitz,”  Anna spoke to him again.  “You remember what I said in VR?  I meant it.  All of it.”  She quickly walked, out, carefully synchronizing her walk with the Psychic Samurai.

    “What was that about?”  Search Engineer asked.

    LOL INTERNET didn’t reply.  He took out his cell phone and attempted to text The Moderator.  The display said ‘NO SIGNAL’.  As he realized he was suddenly cut off from all technology, the room echoed with his screams.

---

    “I would like if we could locate my sword,”  Chiaki said as she walked alongside Anna.  She was only holding Anna’s arm now, trying to re-establish her own sense of balance.

    They were walking down a plain concrete hallway somewhere deep below the Iowa Death Camp.  The walls and floor were unpainted and unfinished, the lighting a single fluorescent tube running down the center, cables exposed.  There was no moisture present but it smelled musty.  Every once in a while there was a brown painted solid metal door.

    “Don’t tell me the Psychic Samurai is useless without a sword?”  Yuki taunted her.

    Chiaki gave Yuki a serious look.  “My whole body is a weapon,”  she said.  “The sword was a gift and has sentimental value.  I’d prefer not to lose it.”

    “Noted.”  Anna said.  “I will attempt to locate your sword.”

    Yuki frowned.  “Maybe we should, oh, I don’t know, try to escape this place instead?”

    Anna stopped and turned around.  “We cannot escape yet.  There will be a mass execution televised across the country.  Either it must play out without a hitch, or The Moderator will come here personally.  The alternative, of course, is The Moderator being killed before the scheduled telecast.”

    “I won’t hold my breath for that,”  Yuki responded.  “So you’re saying we all have to die?”

    Chiaki smiled as she figured out what Anna’s plans were.  “We have a room full of Virtual Reality equipment down here.  Yuki, do you know how to operate it?”

    “I can operate it,”  Anna replied.  “However, I will require actual visuals of all the prisoners to be executed to make it convincing.  Photos are only two-dimensional and won’t work.”

    “Which means we have to neutralize the broadcasting crew and jack their transmitter,”  Yuki added with a smirk.  “That should be easy enough.”  Her smirk disappeared as she quickly added, “How long have we got?”

    “Approximately an hour before the broadcast goes live,”  Anna quoted.

    Chiaki nodded, seeming to be the only one not made uneasy by the timing.  “Yuki, you hijack the television broadcast,”  she said.  “By the time Anna contacts you from the Virtual Reality lab, you must be ready to transmit.  And please record images of anyone you meet, and the broadcast hosts.  Anna will need those.”

    “Gotcha,”  Yuki replied.  And then mumbled, “Like I didn’t know that already.”

    The Psychic Samurai ignored her.  “I will go with Liu Xi Xian to free the prisoners and give them clear instructions.  They must remain inside the facility until the broadcast is complete.  Anna will go with us to record images of each of them.”

    “And provide firepower if we need it,”  Liu Xi added.

    “Yes, that as well.”  Chiaki agreed.

    “Chiaki, I have located your sword.”  Anna suddenly piped up.  “It’s one level above us, in a transfer area for new trophies for The Moderator.”

    Yuki folded her arms.  “Anna, are you still talking to the computer system in here?”

    Anna nodded silently.

    “Change of plan then,”  Yuki stated with authority.  “We don’t have to go back to the VR lab, we’ll meet in the broadcast center.  If Anna can talk to the computer in here, I’m sure that geek back there set up remote access from all over the facility so he can keep track of his prisoner torture from anywhere.”

    “Agreed,”  Chiaki replied.  “Let’s go.”

---

    Every hallway of the Iowa facility looked like every other.  The only thing keeping Anna, Chiaki, and Liu Xi from getting lost was the map Anna had stolen from the computer system.  The only thing keeping them alive and undiscovered was Chiaki’s instinct.

    Liu Xi was following them, and still hadn’t spoken a word.  She was able to, but she seemed like her mind was somewhere else.  Her face reflected her zombie-like emotionless state.  Once in a while Chiaki cast her a suspicious glance - the last time someone in their group remained silent, there was a spy in their midst.

    By that point, everyone was able to walk on their own, so Yuki had separated from the group and gone to find the broadcast center.

    Finally, Liu Xi seemed to awaken and speak.  “Where is Lara?”  she asked.

    Anna stopped and turned around.  “Lara Night is in an experimental lab.  The scientific staff apparently realized she is an endless source of energy.”

    Chiaki suddenly put one hand on Anna’s shoulder.  “My sword can wait.  We must rescue Lara first.”

    “She is under heavy guard,”  Anna protested.  “We can’t crash our way in...Yuki asked me to keep a low profile, because she doesn’t wish me to appear dangerous to the Lair Legion.”

    “There won’t be a Lair Legion...!”  Liu Xi started to become angry, but then she stopped herself.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

    “Are you okay Liu Xi?”  Chiaki asked, sensing the turmoil behind Liu Xi’s outburst.

    Anna whispered to Chiaki, telling her just what Liu Xi’s virtual reality experience contained.

    “Oh.”  Chiaki whispered.  Her glance at Liu Xi changed from suspicion to pity.  “Liu Xi, don’t let it pollute your mind.  You must concentrate.”  She realized that sounded harsh, so she quickly added, “As must I.”

    “Your sword is here.”  Anna announced.  “In this secure room.  I’m sorry we didn’t rescue Lara first...this room is on the way, however.”  They stood in front of a heavy steel door with a keypad next to it.  “Hmm,”  she whispered.  “The security pad is independent of the mainframe.”

    “Can you bypass it?”  Chiaki asked.

    “Yes,”  Anna replied.  And then she quite literally bypassed it...the pad and the door both.  She crashed through the concrete wall noisily, sending a cloud of dust to envelop Chiaki and Liu Xi.  A moment later she returned holding a sword.

    “I won’t be very useful with this...necklace.”  Liu Xi referred to the power inhibitor still attached to her neck.  Chiaki, Yuki, and Anna had none, since they would have been useless - none of them had any powers to suppress.

    Chiaki nodded.  “That’s why we need Lara.  She can remove it without setting off the explosives by draining the battery dry.”  She looked at the other two and explained further.  “That’s one reason she was taken to another lab.  They couldn’t get the power inhibitor to work.”

    Once Anna finished dusting the powdered concrete off of herself, they headed downstairs...making them all more nervous, as their journey took them farther and farther from the exit.

---

    Yuki Shiro burst into the television broadcasting center, where they were making preparations to begin the Death Camp broadcast of the execution.  There were no security guards in the center - they assumed since it was a prison, they’d be fairly safe.

    “Attention everyone!”  Yuki called out as everyone fell silent upon her arrival.  “We’ve had a little change of programming.  I’ll be your new producer...someone get me a Bluetooth.”

    “Who the hell are you?”  the current producer asked angrily.  He was apparently officially assigned to the duty by The Moderator, wearing a smart purple and black uniform with a beret.

    Yuki hit him hard atop the head, collapsing him unconscious to the floor.  She reached down and took his headset.  “Really, you can’t use that kind of language on television.”

    The others in the room were not so brave.  They were just technicians and television personalities, not soldiers or super-heroes.  Yuki knew that, so she met them with a gentle smile.  “Relax, everyone.  This is going to be the broadcast of a lifetime.  And as they say...the show must go on.”

---

    The lab where Lara Night had been stored took up    the entire fifth sub-basement level.  The only level lower than that was the power plant...which meant the entire fifth level vibrated and hummed near constantly.  It made Liu Xi nervous, her eyes darting around looking for trouble.

    Chiaki seemed to be breathing a little faster because the sound and vibration were so disruptive, but she didn’t show any outward reaction.  Anna seemed calm as usual.

    There was a narrow hallway from the stairway on that level, looking like a tunnel with double doors at the other end.  The double doors admitted some light through its cracks, making it look ominous.  The trio approached the door and pushed it open.

    As they moved into a slightly more open area, they realized why those double doors weren’t locked.  It only led into an observation area overlooking the three-story high lab, separated by thick, no doubt bulletproof glass.  There was an exit to the lab below, but it involved climbing down a short staircase in the open.  So much for a stealth approach.

    There was equipment below, in the lab, made of steel and glass that would make Nikola Tesla jealous, arcing electricity across the lab.  White-coated scientists moved around the room.

    At the rear of the lab was a large class container, lit from beneath.  Within it was what looked like the Virtual Reality machine Chiaki, Yuki, Liu Xi, and Anna had just left behind, except it was made of all plastic, and probably had a much different purpose.  That device contained Lara.

    The bad news was, there were soldiers lined up against both walls, standing at attention.  Several rows deep, in fact, totalling possibly fifty of them.

    “Fourty seven soldiers, five commanders,”  Anna whispered her quick count.

    “I wish we would have brought Yuki along,”  Chiaki sighed as she clutched her sword.  She also wished Liu Xi wasn’t wearing that collar, but she didn’t want to say so and make her feel worse.

    “How are you guys doing?”  Yuki asked through the bluetooth loudly.  

    Chiaki took it out of her pocket and held it to her ear to respond.  “We have encountered a slight setback,”  she said plainly.

    “Anna can handle that many,”  Liu Xi told Chiaki.  “I’ve seen the video Yuki brought back from the S.P.U.D. base.  She thinks it’s funny.”

    “I must keep my promise--”  Anna replied weakly.

    “There is no more promise!”  Yuki yelled through the headset, having overheard everything.  “Anna, do what you have to do!  No restrictions!  If you don’t rescue Lara, god dammit, I’m going to come down there and kick your ass myself!”

    Anna cringed at Yuki’s use of language.  “Noted.”  she acknowledged.  “No restrictions.”  She sounded a little sad as she said that.

    The android touched the glass with her palm, and the entire pane shattered, forcing Chiaki and Liu Xi to seek cover.  She leapt down into the lab, and scientists began scattering and ducking under equipment.

    Anna moved through the lab like a blur, plowing aside equipment as soldiers began firing.  They tried to radio for help, but found their communications jammed.  A powerful blue laser blast hit one group of soldiers as their commander barked orders.  Several of them were fried instantly - the others were scattered or knocked unconscious by the explosion caused by rapid heating and combustion of the air around them.

    Two of them had their guns violently confiscated by Anna.  They tried to hold on, but she simply flung them into the air like matchsticks.  She then opened fire on the rest of them, moving quickly to prevent them from targeting her.  Another blast of laser set off another large explosion...

    ...this one shattering the glass container holding Lara into tiny beads.

    There was complete silence.  Anna stopped firing, and so did the soldiers.  Smoke trailed through the lab...nobody spoke a word or moved.  Everyone in the room, scientists and soldiers included, knew just what Lara Night was capable of, and they were all waiting...

    There was a bright burst of light that forced everyone present to turn and cover their eyes.  Quite a few of them weren’t quick enough, and were temporarily blinded.  Then deafened a quarter-second later as the sound of a powerful explosion caught up.  Soldiers and scientists were thrown airborne by the rapid expansion of air...including Anna.  She landed hard, crushing a six million dollar machine next to one wall.

    Lara Night stepped out of the glass container, and looked less than happy.  She was still dressed in the black and white costume she was wearing when she was brought into the facility.

    “Any security alerts?”  Anna asked Chiaki calmly as she climbed out of the rubble.  Chiaki was on her way down the staircase.

    The Psychic Samurai shook her head quietly as she marveled at the amount of damage Anna, and then Lara, managed to cause in just a few seconds.

    “We are still safely on mission, then.”  Anna plainly said.  She started working her way back up the stairway, with Lara close behind.

    Lara touched the collar on Liu Xi’s neck, and it died and popped open.  She tossed it into the lab.  “Took you guys long enough to get me.  Should I start teleporting prisoners out?”

    “Not yet,”  Chiaki replied as she tried to get herself back to the mission at hand.  “They, and we, must all remain in this facility until the execution broadcast.  Once The Moderator believes us dead, we will be free to go where we please.”

    “We could take over the place and use it as a headquarters,”  Lara said.  “The Lair Legion...or what’s left of them...I think they’re coming here.  And they might need backup.”

    Everyone looked at Anna at the same time, save one.

    Liu Xi checked her back pocket.  The small black book was still there.

TO BE CONTINUED?

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2008 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 

--    reprinted without permission.  

-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow

--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin

--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin