Undisclosed Location, 6:00 AM

The small black alarm clock started buzzing as soon as its red LED switched over to 6:00,
but the only response was a weakly flailed hand that totally missed the source of the annoying buzz.
The person raised her head after missing the alarm, reached out again, and snagged the power cord
with two fingers. Almost instantly, she yanked the cord out of the wall, spun the alarm over her head,
and smiled when a satisfying crunch heralded its death as she let go of the cord and let the alarm fly
into the nearest wall.
Rolling over onto her back, the woman closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.
However, life in general intervened, and muffled noises from outside her room interfered in letting
her get back to sleep. Soon enough, she rolled out of bed, accidentally cracking her knees against the
hard floor and making her cry out involuntarily. Wincing as she stood up to her full height, the
woman flexed her right leg for almost a minute to try and work out some tension, then looked at
herself in a small mirror.
Her hair, once dark red, had changed to a colour more commonly seen in an albino's eyes.
The pinkish white strands covered the right side of her face, obscuring the mechanical replacement
for her right eye. She swept her hair back, allowing her to look at the mechanical eye, and sighed in
resignation. Her reflection glared at her balefully, with the black and red replacement almost
accusing her of failure.
She looked away from the accusing image as she rubbed her left hand, then started to
rummage around in a small locker for some clean clothes. She eventually collected a clean black
tanktop and camo pants, and after putting them on, she went into the hallway outside of her small
room. The hallway had emptied in the short time it had taken her to get dressed, and she smiled
grimly, alone again. She walked towards the familiar hallway to her left, quickly passing a small,
dark stain on the ground which was being slowly eaten away at by a small cleaning robot.
She walked through a pair of automatic doors, giving her access to a room with several very
ugly-looking rifles stacked up in small racks along a far wall. She walked to the nearest rifle, which
was encased in glass, and placed her right hand on a depression in the base of the rifle's slot. The
glass split open and hinged outwards, and the woman picked up the ugly gun.
Flicking a switch near the trigger guard, she noticed a green light blink at her just before a
faint hum started to emanate from the gun. She grabbed a long, but very thin, ammunition magazine
and loaded the rifle, then turned to the firing range that took up most of the room. Punching a button
for several more magazines to be placed in the first firing slot, which she then walked over to.
The woman checked the spare magazines that had been automatically supplied through a
computerized dispenser and smiled slightly before she punched a red button in front of her. Three
blaring honks echoed through the room as she raised the rifle to her shoulder and sighted through
the ancient scope that had taken several hours to properly fit.
The first target in the range popped up quickly, and the woman smiled slightly as she aimed
at where the head would be if it was human.
KRRRAAACKK!! The rifle spat a half-centimetre wide spike out of the barrel at Mach
Eight, making a sound like a tree had been split open by a bolt of lightning. Downrange, the bottom
half of the target spiralled off towards the solid stone wall fifty feet behind it, but the upper half of
the target remained in the air as a cloud of almost microscopic sawdust. The second target popped
up, and it met the same fate, only the entire target disappeared into a puff of smoke.
Six more targets in a row were shattered in quick succession, then another target, made of
stainless steel instead of plywood, popped up. The metal target took one shot, but instead of being
turned into expensive dust, a two-foot wide hole was punched through the centre of the steel plate.
In about thirty seconds, the woman had emptied all three magazines she had with her, and the firing
range was littered with piles of sawdust, molten gobbets of metal, and several shattered target stands
that had been warped by the impacts.
She replaced the rifle in its glass case before leaving the room, but as soon as she was
outside, she tapped a small red button next to a monitor inset in the wall. The monitor hummed for
a second, then beeped twice as a readout scrolled slowly up the curved glass. She read the readout,
frowned, and walked to a door across the hallway. Waiting for a few seconds after poking a stud on
the wall, the door opened slowly, allowing her to squeeze through after several seconds.
Inside, she punched a button that closed and locked the door, and leaned against the wall of
the small room. After breathing slowly for a few minutes, she pushed the top button on the panel
beside her. Closing her eyes, she felt the elevator lurch upwards towards the surface.

Dr. Zack's House, 9:20 AM

Cybersix groaned as she opened her eyes, trying to remember why she wasn't in her own bed
at the time. Turning her head to the left, she dimly noticed the heavy bandage covering her shoulder
and most of her arm.
"Ouch." She groaned as an injudicious movement caused a rather large twinge of pain that
ran up her arm, then managed to struggle into a sitting position without inflicting too much pain
upon herself. After she finally managed to sit up, she noticed that she was still wearing her loose-fit
pants and t-shirt, but her leather jacket had disappeared. Six stood up without too much trouble, then
walked over to the door. Going through, she found herself in a rather familiar hallway, which was
easily followed to a living room which immediately twigged on some memories.
"Hey Tony, are you here?" Six walked into the living room, and glanced towards the small
kitchenette that was to her left. Seeing nothing, she walked into the kitchen, hunting for a glass so
she could have some water. After she had a drink, which revitalized her enough to feel awake, she
walked into the basement laboratory, where she found Dr. Zack, bent over something on one of his
worktables.
"Hello Tony. You seem to be in good health." Dr. Zack looked up from the object, letting
his eyes refocus quickly on his good friend. He then smiled and shook his head. "Well, I was luckier
than you. You should be happy that you only caught the fringe from that rocket's shrapnel."
"That may be so, but I still fell like someone abused my arm with a pneumatic drill. Got
anything to dull the pain?" Six winced as she flexed her wrist slightly, pulling a few bandages around
at the same time.
"Stop that, please. Reba patched your arm up while you were unconscious, so be grateful to
her. Otherwise, you'd be 'tenderly' cared for in that group of tents in the middle of the park. By the
way, I got a rather agitated phone call about an hour ago, from Mikae's mother no less. Apparently,
she managed to get a concussion just before you got ripped up, and neither Kreubens is terribly
happy." Six chuckled slightly at the sudden mental image of Mikae being railed at by her mother,
then turned serious for a few seconds.
"Well, I'm glad she's okay. When the attack started I was torn between protecting you and
finding our little friend., who had managed to make herself invisible." Dr. Zack motioned Six over
to what he was poking at, then gestured grandly at the small object.
"Well, what do you think? A rather complicated piece of machinery if I'm so inclined to say."
Six poked at the object, wondering what it was, and got zapped on the hand by a few sparks that
suddenly spewed from the lump. "Ouch! Well, I'd tell you what I think this thing is, but I'm not
really sure what it is in the first place..."
"Don't worry about it's habit of spitting sparks at anything that moves right now; I'm trying
to fix it. Anyhow, to answer your question, this little machine is a portable scanning device."
Six shook her head, rubbing her hand where the little thing had zapped her. "Like those
police frequency scanners that criminals usually have?"
Dr. Zack frowned at the comparison, then shrugged. "That's a pretty good guess on what it
does, but it seems to work along the lines of a biological scanning system. My guess is that it's used
to keep track of where a member of that team may be at any time, but it could also be used to track
down beings with specific chemicals in their bloodstream, such as sustenance based beings like you
or Mikae."
"Well, that's just great. So, if someone has something like a vial of sustenance or a cellular
sample of one of us, they'd be able to track each and every being in the city with the same chemicals
in them? Talk about invasion of privacy."
Dr. Zack frowned, rubbing at a few stray bristles from his mustache. "Yes, I see what you
mean. That could be construed as a breach of privacy by some, but others may decide that the
setbacks are worth being able to track each and every Fixed Idea, Techno, and Type in the city."
"Putting it that way, this little piece of tech could be a godsend for those who are desperate
for a midnight snack." Six smiled at her statement, then looked over at a hulking monstrosity
sprawled over two workbenches that had been shoved together. "Speaking of a snack, how's your
generator? Still on the fritz?"
Dr. Zack nodded, then picked up a rather large wrench and began to adjust some bolts on the
massive machine. "Yeah. Every time I get the charge to go through the entire thing without a hitch,
something manages to seize up in under five minutes. I still haven't figured out a few things, and
maybe one of those 'minor' niggles are why this lump of junk still isn't working correctly. Still, I
have about half a gallon in a metal jug back there."
"Gee thanks. I bet it'll taste just as odd as Chinese food does." Six walked over to the gallon-
sized metal jug, and carefully poured out about half a cup's worth into a ceramic mug. After putting
the rather heavy jug down, she gulped down the contents of the mug without spilling a drop. "Now,
that hit the spot. Sadly, it tastes slightly coppery this time."
"That might be a side effect of the tubing it had to go through. Well, at least it works right?"
Dr. Zack finished adjusting the bolts that he had been playing with, and popped off a metal cover so
he could peer into the guts of the contraption without having to use his special abilities. As he
reached inside to fiddle with the wiring, Six decided to get some air, and went back upstairs.
She also took the mug with her, planning to wash it out in the sink. Just as she got to the top
of the stairs however, a dull thumping on the front door caused her heart to lace on a pair of track
shoes and go tearing around her chest cavity. When her heart got the message from her brain that the
door was still standing, it calmed down, and she looked through the peephole to see who it was.
Leering into the hole from the other side was none other than the person she had decided to make
a life with.
Opening the door, Six grabbed Lucas by the hand with her good arm, pulled him inside, and
closed the door. She then pulled him into a muscle-straining hug, and didn't let go for almost a
minute. "Umm, Six? I know you probably missed me and all, but I've never seen you act like this,
even when... well, you know."
"Lucas please, just be quiet for a few more minutes." Lucas decided to not think too hard
about the unexpected gift, and squeezed Six slightly with his own bearish arms. Eventually he
disengaged from his significant other and tried to talk to her.
"Well, you look pretty good for someone who nearly got roasted by a rocket. Now, let me
get you up to speed on what's been going on. After that abortive little assault, most of the surviving
Fixed Ideas took to the hills like their heels were on fire, and their butts were catching. After the last
one had disappeared, the team that held them off set up an emergency MASH station in just under
five minutes and called in the entire ER ward of Meridiana General. That's why there's a small tent
village in the middle of the park near city hall."
Six looked at Lucas with a bemused smile peeking out from behind her right hand as she
interrupted him. "Lucas, I'm sorry, but what is a MASH? I thought that's what you do to potatoes
every once in a while."
Dr. Zack had managed to appear again by this time, wiping some oil from his hands with an
old rag. "A MASH is the abbreviation for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and I'm actually
somewhat surprised to find out that our new agency has them. Each one is totally portable, and costs
upwards of ten million dollars apiece. How are you Lucas?"
Lucas smiled slightly, then nodded. "I'm fine Tony. Look, I actually came here so Six can
get home without worrying about her arm that much, and besides, I think she needs some fresh air."
"Well, you may be right about getting her home, but before she escapes, I'll give her back
her jacket." Dr. Zack opened up the small closet by the front door, rummaged around for a few
seconds, and found Six's jacket, which was stained around the left shoulder, with several small holes
running the length of the sleeve. Giving the jacket back to Six, Dr. Zack opened the door and
gallantly bowed as Lucas led his significant other out to the battered red sedan parked just outside
the outer wall. After seeing that Six got in the car safely, Dr. Zack closed the door, locked it, and
walked downstairs to continue working on both the generator and the tracking device.

MASH Unit 01, 10:47 AM

Mikae was sitting up in her cot, idly fingering the bandage still wrapped around her head
when her mother walked in with Dr. Pearce and Wilson. Seeing Mikae's fingers twitching at the
bandage, Dr. Pearce mock-growled at her patient to stop prodding at the delicate fabric, then moved
to Mikae's side to examine the head injury.
"Well, I can say that you're somewhat back to normal, despite your head injury probably
scrambling your brains." Mikae responded to the ribbing with a rather sharp poke to Dr. Pearce's ribs
and a grunt. "Maybe I spoke too soon. If you keep that up, we'll keep you here for another night of
observation."
Mikae grimaced, then submitted quietly to the rest of the medical exam. After Dr. Pearce was
finished poking and prodding Mikae's head, neck and shoulders, the diminutive doctor gave the
slightly annoyed teen a clean bill of health and walked off to check on the other patients. After Dr.
Pearce had left, Mikae's mother gave her a small bag which contained some clean clothes, then both
Wilson and her mom turned around and left the tent so Mikae could get something clean on.
Five minutes later, Mikae walked outside and looked at the park for the first time since she
had been knocked out. The park's statues had been scorched or destroyed by the FI's assault two
days earlier, and several tents had popped up around the perimeter to temporarily house the less-
injured people who had been at the mayor's introduction of the special team. Wilson had been
talking to Mikae's mother until she had appeared, when he suddenly excused himself to go and talk
to a government official that was wandering around.
"Hey mom. Can we get out of here before my brain decides to leave? I've already missed
some school right?"
The two started walking towards the family car, and Mikae was soon up to speed on news
from the outside world. Oddly enough, the crime rate had spiked for a day and a half, but had
suddenly dropped to almost half the levels from the previous week. As they talked onwards, Mikae
soon realized that her mother had arbitrarily grounded her for two weeks for going off and getting
walloped upside the head with a chunk of cement.
"Two weeks! Mom, I have a social life, you know. C'mon, do you want me to be stuck on
the computer for a while?"
"Sorry kiddo, but you have to come home right after school's over, and no parties on the
weekend either."
Mikae kicked a pebble through a nearby car door, grousing about being cut off from most of
her friends. She then perked up and let a canny grin pop onto her face for a few seconds. "Mom, you
forgot something. I need some green stuff once a week, otherwise I'll be in really dire straits."
"You have at least ten plastic bottles loaded with the stuff under your bed, so you can't pull
that stunt with me. Oh yeah, if you sneak off, I will ground you until you're eighteen."
"Mom! Geez, that's in two years! Can't you cut me some slack?"
Mikae's mother grinned, and opened the passenger door of her car, allowing Mikae to slump
into the passenger seat, with the bundle of dirty clothes being carelessly launched into the back seat.
"No. Now, buckle your seatbelt. The care given you for the head injury was free, but if you go
through the windshield when some moron cuts us off, our medical insurance won't cover the glass
removal." Mikae growled slightly, but did as her mother told her to do, which turned out to be
sensible, as two punks on motorcycles instantly cut the car off, causing her mother to slam on the
brakes.
After Mikae could breathe again, she looked at her mother, raised an eyebrow, and simply
said "Kids. What are you gonna do?" The response was a wave of laughter. Seconds later, the car
continued on its trip towards Mikae's home, even though it's driver was partially convulsed by
waves of laughter.

Undisclosed Location, 2:52 PM

The woman was lying on a small hillock, letting the cool grass tickle the back of her neck
as she looked up at the clear sky through the broad leaves of an ancient maple tree. As a cloud slowly
scudded its way across her field of vision, she felt something nibble at the back of her mind again.
This time, instead of fading, the nibble began to intensify, and it felt like it was trying to force its
way to the forefront of her mental processes.
Sitting up, her real eye suddenly lost its focus and seemed to look inwards as she curled up
into a ball, rocking back on her tailbone. Inside her mind, a mental floodgate had been released, and
several dozen images swarmed into her conscious mind. Her mind seemed to dwell on all the images
of happiness, skipping over massive heaps of images that flipped past like pages in a photo album.
Many of the 'happy' images dwelled on a young girl with bright blue eyes, long blonde hair, and a
perpetual smile on her face. As more images flipped towards her mind's eye, the woman tried to
speak a name that was unfamiliar to her, and eventually succeeded. "S-Sebena? Where are you? I-I
want to see you." Her voice was hoarse and strained, but she didn't notice, especially as outside
voices began to intrude on the little flashes popping around inside her brain.
"She's going into total cardiac shutdown! We need some adrenaline to restart her heart!" A
six-inch long needle was raised over a small red dot on her chest, and jabbed downwards into her
heart. The sudden injection of pure adrenaline caused her heart to restart its normal rhythm,
especially when combined with a powerful electrical jolt that raced through her heart and lungs at
the same time.
Her eyes opened, and she gasped for air through a long plastic tube stuck down her throat.
Surrounding her on all sides were masked faces, one of which had been pulled down to reveal an old
man wearing glasses.
"Good. Her heart rate's back to acceptable levels, but she's not breathing on her own. Keep
her under observation, leave her hooked up to the respirator, and if she has any episodes, tell me
immediately." He turned his attention from the nurse, and looked down at the woman. "Please, don't
scare us like that. When we found you, you had been unconscious for almost ten minutes. Now, just
be careful, and try to stay alive."
The woman nodded, then dropped into unconsciousness, lulled along by the thump-hiss-
wheeze of the artificial respirator
Several hundred kilometres north of where she was resting, a young girl paused for several
seconds as a cold shiver ran down her spine.

Top
Next
Previous