Adventures in Parodyverse - Saving the Future Part 18.1.1

    “Hey!”  a male voice growled as Lara Night left a bakery two blocks from the Psychic Samurai’s hideout.

    She stopped and turned slowly to look at him - he was carrying a pistol.  Lara supposed that since she was in civilian clothing - salmon colored short sleeved shirt, jeans, and sneakers - he had no idea who she was.

    Normally that neighborhood was upscale and mostly crime-free.  But since the big jailbreak at the safe, a few opportunistic criminals decided to move into new areas of the city while the cops were busy working on the busier areas.

    Lara looked at his eyes.  He was already extremely jumpy, the type of robber who would probably shoot if someone sneezed.  Normally she would have argued with a robber, but it was far too dangerous this time.  Instead, without warning, there was a quick, bright flash of light, and the robber collapsed on the pavement.

    She then picked up the gun and dropped it into her bakery bag, so he wouldn’t find it when he regained consciousness, and no passerby would pick it up either.  She walked away shaking her head - next time, maybe he wouldn’t try to rob a living taser.

    As she headed into the hotel which housed Chiaki’s hideout, she was still fuming.  She carried the anger with her all the way up the elevator ride to the penthouse.

    “I have to do something about the crime in this neighborhood.”  Lara announced as she entered the penthouse.  She put the grocery bag on the counter of the kitchenette and pulled the gun out, tossing it on the counter.

    Chiaki approached, and seemed amused by the presence of the weapon.  “Have a little run-in on the way back?”

    Lara gave her a tired smile while crossing the room to the lounge chair, dropping herself into it.  

    “I had a little personal crisis while carrying that here.”  she said.  “I dunno...hiding out here while the city falls apart and is taken over by criminals...it feels a little distasteful to me.”

    “The police will catch up in time.”  Chiaki replied.  “They are a little overtaxed by the recent prison escape.”

    Chiaki then looked up, though she didn’t have to do so to realize Lara was giving her an icy look.  Blaming her for the crime wave.  “I know.”  she relented.  “Perhaps we should be helping.  It is taking the police far longer than I anticipated to clean up.  The many new Lair Legions are giving them even more work.”

    “Listen, Chiaki--”  Lara began, sitting up in the chair.  “I know...even though you don’t say so, I know it’s a little scary out there for you.  Dozens of super powered villains who want you dead wandering the streets, and no backup.  I’m your backup now.  There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.”

    The Psychic Samurai nodded and rose to her feet slowly, picking up her sword.  “I suppose it is time to take a more active role.”

---

    “What is that?”  the Navigator aboard the Heart of Light asked as the external tracking system came on automatically.  

    It was a lot like an air traffic control display except as a full color three-dimensional hologram.  To control it, she simply had to reach into it and touch items to get identifying information, initiate communication, or target with weapons.  It could be panned around and zoomed as well.

    Captain Shen Rae moved toward the hologram and looked as well.  “Hmm.”  she exclaimed as she looked at the long, flat object in the display.  She tapped it and read some of the information.  “Nuclear fission power source, crude assemblage of Technopolitan propulsion source.  I’ve never seen one before.  The lettering on the side...in Earth English that’s...a type of vegetable?”

    “It’s transmitting on Earth radio frequencies.”  the Navigator noted.  “And it’s carrying an impressive array of primitive armaments.  They are bouncing radio frequency into the ocean.”

    “They seem to be doing the same thing we are.”  the First Officer commented.  “Trying to find out where the Lair Mansion went.”

    The comms officer turned around suddenly with a contribution.  “The computer has finished translating their transmission.  They seem to be looking for another ship like theirs that vanished along with the Lair Mansion.  They are checking to see if it crashed.”

    Shen Rae looked at the navigator.  “If they are in danger of colliding with us, increase our altitude.  Otherwise we leave them alone and remain where we are.”

    “Captain!”  the navigator suddenly exclaimed.

    Shen Rae turned around, and her navigator was pale, and pointing at something toward the rear of the bridge.  The Captain wheeled around, and saw a fair-skinned woman with yellow colored hair common to Earth, but hardly anywhere else.  She wore a black and white outfit common to super-heroes on the planet.

    The woman seemed confused.  It only made sense she would be, since she didn’t understand their language.

    Cleverly, Shen Rae switched to broken English, as she kept her left hand on the tiny multi-tool-weapon she carried on her belt.  It was a combination communicator, knife, and laser pistol that could radically change size and configuration in a moment.

    “Who are you?”  Shen Rae asked the intruder as the rest of the bridge staff slowly rose.  “And how did you get here?”

    “I’m Lara Night.”  the blonde explained calmly, yet she stood frozen.  “I could sense a lot of energy coming from above where the Lair Mansion used to be.  I decided to investigate...so I came in straight through your hull.”

    “Interesting.”  Shen Rae replied.  She took her hand off of the combo weapon.  There was something about this Lara’s honesty and comforting demeanor that made the Captain want to trust her.  “Do you know where Sir Mumphrey Wilton might be?”

    “He was in the Mansion when it vanished.”  Lara responded.  “You...wouldn’t know anything about it, would you?”

    Shen Rae thought for a moment before deciding to educate this Lara to what was going on, from her point of view.  Perhaps then she’d be more willing to share.  “Come with me,”  she said.

    Lara Night followed the Captain into her office.  The door slid shut automatically behind her, but she didn’t feel like a prisoner there.

    The Captain touched a glass case near the door, and it lit up.  Drawn to what was inside it, Lara moved closer, and began examining its contents through the glass.

    “This is--”  Lara pointed at a small pocket watch.

    “The Chronometer of Infinity.”  Shen Rae nodded.  “A model of it, actually.  I cannot tell you its origin, or how it works.  But I can tell you my family’s company was involved in part of its manufacturing.”

    Lara was confused again.  “Doesn’t it change form depending on who owns it?”

    “And the model reflects its current form.”  

    Before Lara asked how that was possible, Shen Rae removed a small circular object that appeared attached to her uniform belt.  It looked like a jewel surrounded by a metallic ring, and fit into her palm.  She pressed two fingers into the center and pulled outward and downward, and the tiny device took the form of a handheld metallic pistol.

    But Shen Rae didn’t threaten Lara with it.  Instead, she handed it to the blonde super-hero.  “This is a weapon.”  she said.  “This multi-tool can take many forms based on the needs of the owner.”  The Captain’s eyes narrowed and she said, “Our ships can change configuration as well, only less so to avoid harming its occupants.”

    Lara nodded as she began to understand.  She looked at the interior while on the bridge, and understood something else.  Everything was so bright and clean, this had to be a culture that valued comfort over conquest.  But why did they need to talk to Sir Mumphrey?

    Fortunately, Shen Rae answered that question next.  “Sir Mumphrey Wilton is your last known Commander of Earth Forces.  I need to speak with him about a drastic shift of power in your galaxy, which may result in more frequent and dangerous attacks upon Earth.”

    “Hmm.”  Lara bit her lip and looked around the office as she spoke.  “Sir Mumphrey isn’t the Commander of Earth Forces anymore.  He handed power back to the world governments after the Parody Master died.”

    That seemed to distress the Captain.  She paced around her office, and brushed her fingers through her hair.  “That’s unfortunate.”  she finally said.  “I need this information to be useful...yet remain secret.  Your world’s governments are paranoid and fearful, and would never allow our protection.”

    “So you want to protect Earth but you want it to remain secret?”  Lara asked.

    Shen Rae nodded.  She gently pushed up a device lying on her desk, much like the one on her belt.  “Since we cannot remain her indefinitely I had something to give Sir Mumphrey so he may contact us if an attack is imminent.”

    “You know, I’m a contact too.”  the blonde super-hero pointed out.  “I can cross the entire universe in an instant.”

    “That could prove valuable.”  Shen Rae mused to herself.  Her eyes looked as if she had something in mind, and she could tell from the change in Lara’s body language that the Earth super-hero knew.

    “What do you have in mind?”  Lara asked.

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