Adventures in Parodyverse - Within These Walls Part 2 (UT#315 tie-in)

Adventures in Parodyverse - Within These Walls Part 2 (UT #315 tie-in)

    The garage at the Lair Mansion was unsecured when Lara Night entered. No surveillance, no guards. That told Lara that whoever was in control of the island simply figured that there was no one who could make it to the garage. It was fortunate for her.

    She climbed up to one of the high, narrow windows and looked across the thin drizzle on the island toward Visionary's lighthouse. The lights were all turned off, nobody was home.

    Lara dropped back to the floor and turned around. Parked under a protective alcove was Yuki's precious racing bike. How the Baroness could have missed that opportunity to destroy Yuki's spirit by trashing her beloved bike...Lara guessed she simply didn't think of it.

    But then she smiled to herself and slid into the alcove to sit on the bike carefully. She tapped her fingers on the rubber handlebar grips. It felt fun even just parked in the garage. Out of a sense of guilt she slid off of the bike quickly.

    Her smile disappeared quickly as she looked at the bike, and she felt an even deeper sense of guilt. Yuki was somewhere with the Lair Legion, locked away or in trouble. And Lara felt like she was treating the Lair Mansion like a playground instead of doing something useful to help.

    In the mean time, however, it was time to check on Sir Mumphrey and make sure he's still safe. Her heart raced whenever she went that way - because if he was in trouble she'd have to reveal herself by saving him. If she's the Lair Legion's last hope, that last hope may not last long.

---


    Lara was shocked when she returned to the infirmary. There was a puddle of liquid from the two I.V.'s on the floor, and Mumph was gone. A few beds over her avatar was missing along with both of those I.V.'s. Fortunately the doctor and the guards were nowhere to be seen, so Lara slipped back out through the wall and the abandoned boiler room again.

    At that point, while it was still worth being cautious, it wasn't worth hiding herself completely anymore. The guards would eventually figure out she's missing and start looking for her, and she'd be forced to confront a few of them. Besides, if she were to find Mumph she'd have to even search rooms that were guarded or under surveillance.

    Someone strong suddenly grabbed both her arms as she tried to stealthily move down a hallway. She gasped, almost too loudly, and one of the hands moved up to cover her mouth.

    "Don't go all staticy," a female voice she recognized quickly whispered as a charge began to build on Lara's skin as a deterrent. "It's just me."

    It was fairly dark in that hallway corner but Lara recogized purple hair. It was Yuki Shiro, the cyborg detective Legionnaire.

    "What the heck is going on?" Lara asked quietly trying not to sound panicked.

    "We were all locked in some kind of dark energy cube," Yuki told her as she let Lara go. "But we're out now."

    "Where's everyone else?"

    Yuki smiled slightly. "They went to the bathroom. I heard a couple guards talking about Mumph escaping so I'm waiting near his office to see if he turns up and needs some help."

    "He did escape," Lara confirmed. "So did I. He won't come back here, though, because I saw the guards come here earlier and install some kind of death lasers and a new monitoring system."

    Yuki shook her head and laughed. "That Zemo and her high tech toys. Too bad none of them seem to work anymore after I mess with them." She suddenly frowned and grabbed one of Lara's hands, smelling her fingers. "You touched my bike, didn't you?"

    Lara lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry. I was hiding in the garage so I decided to take a look. I just sat on it for a second."

    "I'll deal with that later." Yuki quickly dismissed the confession. "Look, when the other Legionnaire's get back we have a score to settle. I want you to go to the Library and stay there."

    "I can help too, you know--" she started to say.

    "Listen carefully," Yuki replied curtly. "Zemo knows how to beat us. All of us. Well, maybe not all at once, which is what we're counting on but...the point is, she knows absolutely nothing about you. If she gets you too she'll be free to go after the kids, and Marie, and Visionary."

    "Oh." Lara frowned as she realized what Yuki meant. She had to remain hidden because she was the last line of defense for those who had none.

    "Yeah, 'Oh'," Yuki both confirmed and maybe mocked a little. "Stay hidden, okay? But watch closely this time, you need to know what's going on. When the time's right you'll know it. Probably because this place will be leveled."

    Lara watched Yuki walk away, unsure if she was joking about that last part.

---

    Yuki found herself in trouble soon after as she joined the Lair Legion to confront Baroness Elizabeth Zemo. It wasn't unexpected - but the timing of it caught her by surprise. Fortunately she was a master of improvisation.

    And improvisation was badly needed when the Parody Master appeared, froze the Lair Legion in place, and began gloating.

    It was the gloating part Yuki took advantage of. Struggling was useless, as whatever force the Parody Master used to bind her and the others prevented any movement. But he just had to let them hear him gloat. Meaning that he had to leave all senses intact, so everyone could hear his voice, see his self-satisfied smile, and smell his rancid breath.

    'I'll show you ingenuity,' Yuki thought to herself as she was trapped in that artificial body of hers. Because having access to her senses meant she could send a signal. Just a small one, with a very specific purpose. And the Parody Master was so busy talking, he'd never know until it was too late.

---

    "I heard a rumor that all the city leader types were replaced by robots," Jack said, partly to the Psychic Samurai and partly within earshot of Commissioner Don Graham.

    "They were," Graham replied ominously.

    Jack looked at Chiaki, who didn't react at all. He put one hand on his gun holster.

    "Chill, Jackie." Graham said, the voice remaining the same but the inflection changing. "We needed the face of someone trusted."

    Jack squinted and looked at Graham. He didn't see Chiaki's slightly amused look as he moved closer. "Vicky? How did you get in there?"

    "I'm not in there, dork." This time it was Vicky's actual voice. She slipped through the doorway and entered the room laughing. "I got you good." She was carrying a laptop with some kind of transmitter attached.

    "I thought you went home." Jack seemed kind of pale at that point.

    "I was going to," she said, "But then the curfew began. And y'know, since people think I look like a kid I was kinda afraid they'd shoot me on sight so I hid in here. Then Chiaki found me and asked me to help her."

    "She asked you to remote control a robot?" Jack asked.

    "It was kinda scary," Vicky admitted. "She hauled in this robot that looked like the Commish through the parking garage. I think she killed it. So we used this kit she got to fix and control him with my laptop. And then she pulled out some explosives and said she was going to find you."

    Jack was finally starting to calm down. "How long do we have to keep up this charade?"

    "Not long," Chiaki interrupted. She was looking at a slightly thick plastic card, but then quickly put it back in her pocket. "In fact I believe it's time we open the doors so the Paradopolis Police can restore order to the island around the Lair Mansion. I hear it's overrun by minor villains the Baroness hired."

---

    "Are you okay?" Liu Xi Xian gently asked the man she was asked to guard by the Manga Shoggoth. They were holed up in the Lair Mansion Library.

    The muscular man looked up slowly, like he was redirecting a stare more than changing the direction of his gaze.

    "I said, are you okay?" Liu Xi repeated.

    He still seemed confused by her question. But just before she asked again, he finally replied. "Nobody..nobody else asked me that."

    "I know." She smiled and nodded. "I believe if you're about to go into possibly your last great battle someone should at least care."

    Premiere finally smiled slightly. "Thank you, young lady. What's your name?"

    "Liu Xi Xian," she replied quickly.

    "You're from...China, aren't you? I recognize the accent."

    She nodded again. And then she wondered if she was something of a foreign curiosity to the man.

    Her attention was diverted, however, when Lara Night entered the Library.

    "Liu Xi!" Lara hugged her gently when she entered. "I'm so glad you're back, I was worried about you."

    "And I was worried about you." Liu Xi returned the hug quickly. She then let go and seemed surprised as she looked at a small card she produced from her pocket. "Hallie needs you. She needs a lot of power for something. And I have something important to do." She looked at Premier sadly.

    "Okay. But we really have to catch up later." Lara turned to leave again, noting that CSFB! was on a soft bed in the Library hooked up to a monitor. "Is he going to be okay? And why is he in here instead of the infirmary?"

    "I wanted to keep an eye on him," Liu Xi said, "So I brought him up here."

    Lara nodded, she trusted Liu Xi's judgement. She raced out into the hallway and headed for the operations room to find Hallie. Something told her she should hurry.

    "I'm sorry to tell you this." Liu Xi turned to Premier again. "You were brought here for a purpose. To fight the Parody Master for us." She sighed and looked downward, seeming ashamed as she added, "You might not survive. I thought I...I owe it to you to tell you at least."

    "Young lady," Premier said, sounding sure of himself as he spoke, smiling reassuringly. "I already know. I doubt I would have been brought here at all if there wasn't some dangerous purpose to it."

    "I'm sorry to do this to you." Liu Xi whispered. She waved, and half the room faded and disappeared, changing into another. The two of them could see the trapped Lair Legion and the Parody Master in that section - but it was one-way, they couldn't hear anyone on the other side and they couldn't see the Library. "I have to send you there."

    Premiere frowned as he looked at the Parody Master soundlessly gloating and holding the Lair Legion hostage. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said. "Whatever happens to me...I want you to know you've done the right thing."

    He gently placed one hand on top of her head for an instant before strolling right through the barrier and slamming the Parody Master with a solid right hook.

    Liu Xi turned abruptly and waved away the gateway she had created before she saw the Parody Master retaliate. She couldn't bear to watch.

---

    When Lara returned to the Lair Mansion Library she found Liu Xi curled up in the large window sill, watching the rainy gloomy spring weather outside and sulking. Lara herself was exhausted. She had barely the energy to move to the window herself, and collapse on the velvet padded sill.

    "Are you okay?" Liu Xi asked in a small voice.

    "Yeah, just a little drained." Lara smiled. She was also sore and on the verge of blacking out, but she didn't want to worry Liu Xi. She seemed to have enough on her mind already.

    "Why am I always sending people to their death?" Liu Xi asked. "I feel like an executioner. It breaks my heart."

    Lara leaned closer to Liu Xi so their heads were nearly touching, and she she smiled. "You sent me to help Hallie and I'm still alive."

    "That's good, I suppose." Liu Xi sighed anyway.

    "You want to hear something to be scared about, Liu Xi?" Lara told her. "Hallie says my type of energy is key to changing Earth back again. So that puts me and Hallie in charge of saving this whole planet. Scary, eh?"

    That finally earned a slight smile from Liu Xi. Then she sat up suddenly as she noticed something across the room. "Dream is waking up!"

    Lara and Liu Xi both hopped out of the window at the same time and rushed to Dream's bedside. They watched as he stirred a litle more, and then finally opened his eyes.

    "Welcome back," Lara said with a smile. She let out a half-shriek when Dream grabbed her suddenly and hugged her with both arms so she was flat on top of him.

    He then reached out and hugged Liu Xi with one of his arms.

    "This is great!" he beamed, "I wake up and find two of my favorite girls looking after me!"

    "I'll get you something to eat," Liu Xi offered. "You must be starved."

    "Thanks, Liu Xi, that's sweet." Dream smiled at her and watched her rush out to get food.

    "Anything I can do for you?" Lara asked. She rolled her eyes when she got a look from him that made it clear she was about to walk into a certain response. "I mean to help you get back on your feet."

    "Yeah, you know where Beth Zemo is?" he asked. "I owe her something."

    "You're not going to kill her, are you?" Liu Xi asked as she returned with a couple of sandwiches she had refrigerated earlier for just this occasion. "I honestly don't want to see anyone else die."

    "No, no." Dream sat up and took the plate of sandwiches. "I have something much, much better planned." He had an almost evil look as he said that.

    Lara decided to poke fun at him. "I know you like...taming...girls like that, Dream, but I don't think it'll work."

    "Shut up!" Dream laughed and shoved Lara gently. "Hey, are April and my mom safe?"

    "Yes," Lara replied. "They had a little trouble with Wexford but they're safe now. Chiaki says she's going to give him some time alone to think about what he's done, whatever that means. And she sounded kind of cold when she said it."

    "It scares me when she says things like that," Liu Xi noted.

    "Yeah, me too." Dream replied. "I'm glad she's on our side." He finished off the sandwich and sat up, noting that he was still in a hospital robe, and that his hair was lopsided. "I'll get changed and take a shower so I'm at my best when I talk to Beth. Want to join me Lara?"

    Lara thought for a moment, and giggled, but then she shook her head. "No, I'm way too tired. I'll probably hang out here and take a quick nap."

    Dream shrugged and slid out of the bed. "I'll see you girls later, then." he said as he left the Library.


TO BE CONTINUED?

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2007 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

Post By Anime Jason Thu Jun 14, 2007 at 01:21:19 am EDT	Subject Adventures in Parodyverse - Within These Walls Part 2 (UT#315 tie-in)

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