Adventures in Parodyverse - States of Consciousness Part 3


    Two SPUD helicopters landed on the lawn of Dr. Lia Anne Paul’s cabin.  It was an moment laced with fear and foreboding, especially because within that cabin was Anna, seen by SPUD as government property that she was forbidden to have contact with.

    Yuki Shiro stepped outside to watch as soldiers unloaded from the two helicopters rapidly.  They raced across the lawn in formation, surrounding the cabin.  They looked like they were on a military operation.

    Then Dan Drury exited, and looked directly at the purple-haired Legionnaire.  He didn’t look happy to see her.  His cigar was unconsciously crushed nearly into oblivion by his clenched teeth.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“This aint any of the Lair Legion’s business!”  he growled without any prompting.  He moved closer and puffed some smoke in Yuki’s face.  “We’re not here for Anna.  Dr. Paul violated the terms of her contract, and the law, so we’re arrestin’ her and confiscatin’ her equipment for evidence.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Whatever.”  Yuki replied with a shake of her head.  “I didn’t see her perform any violations.  If anyone violated anything, it was us.”

    Drury moved threateningly closer to her.  “Oh?  You’re givin’ me a reason to take you in, too?”

    Hatman approached then, seeming a little impressed that Yuki kept her temper in check.  He guessed that it was to protect Anna, and he contributed in kind.  “We can settle this without turning it into a big deal, can’t we?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I got a job to do, Hatty.”  Drury said.  “If I keep goin’ out and comin’ back empty handed, my bosses will start wonderin’ just what it is I do for SPUD.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Tell them a situation came up, but it was resolved.”  Yuki suggested.  “Sometimes bad communication happens.”

    Drury frowned at her.  She was unusually calm, and it made him very uneasy.  He then saw Anna standing in the doorway, and he smiled.  He now knew too that Yuki was trying to avoid escalating things to keep her safe and out of the way.  It gave him leverage.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t you think I’ve done you enough favors?”  Dury asked Yuki and Hatman, obviously glancing at Anna as he said that.

    Anna looked away, avoiding his gaze.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The way I see it Drury,”  Yuki said, casting aside her overly polite facade, “We did you a favor.  And the rest of the world, too.  Anna is a good citizen now, not the killing machine you intended her to be.”

    Hatman tried hard to suppress his smile.

    The SPUD man chomped his cigar and said, “Hmph.”

    And then he yelled, “Ow!”

    Yuki looked down.  One of the plastic dolls from Lia’s lab had just kicked Dan Drury in the shin.  “Now that wasn’t very--”  she started to scold the small android.

    Before Yuki had a chance to finish, Dan Drury drew a pistol and fired a bullet through the doll’s head, shattering it.  The tiny doll fell over.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Geez, what the hell’s the matter with you?”  Yuki yelled at Drury suddenly, finally losing control of her temper.  She felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned around.

    Hatman was the one who did the tapping.  He pointed at the doorway of the home, where the other two dolls had emerged.  One of them tossed a rock almost too big for it to lift, barely missing Drury.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Stop, you two.”  Anna ordered the two dolls.  When they seemed to ignore her, she stepped into their path.  “I asked you to stop.  You’re going to bring harm to Lia if you continue, you aren’t helping.”

    Drury eyed the scene between Anna and the dolls as he said to Yuki, “You were askin’ to see contract violations?”

    The two dolls looked ashamed and saddened as the one dropped the rock, and then they both turned and headed back into the house.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s an amusin’ scene.”  Drury laughed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And you should not have killed the one doll.”  Anna scolded Drury too, as if she was on a roll after her first scolding.

    The SPUD man stopped munching his cigar, and stared at Anna in disbelief.

    Anna moved closer to Drury and continued, “You have no respect.”

    Yuki and Hatman looked at each other.  Anna had obviously been learning from the Psychic Samurai.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Look.”  Hatman finally spoke up.  “The Lair Legion has as much authority to arrest as you do.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah?  So what?”  Drury growled, and blew smoke in his face.

    Jay crossed his arms and faced off against Drury.  He said, “What if we take Lia into custody?  Make sure she goes to trial.  That way you get the job done, and Anna and Yuki are satisfied that she’s safe.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh yeah, the same way you took Anna into custody?”  Drury asked.

    Anna ignored him and asked Lia, “Would you agree to temporary confinement to the Lair Mansion?”

    But Dr Lia Anne Paul wasn’t where Anna remembered her standing calmly.  The android raced into the house, through the ground floor and then the upper floor.  The Doctor, her remaining two dolls, and her mechanical dog were gone.

    Anna emerged from the house, after her search, looking as if she’d failed somehow.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m not sure how you two did it.”  Drury growled at Yuki and Hatman, “But when I found out...you two are in big trouble.”

    With that, he turned away and signaled to his troops to pile back into the helicopters and leave.  As he left, he glanced back at the two legionnaires.  For just a moment, it looked as if in spite of all the posturing, he was actually happy to have avoided a confrontation with them.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yuki?”  Hatman asked, as he looked at the purple-haired Legionnaire.

    Yuki shrugged.  “Don’t look at me.  And don’t look at Anna either, she’s been truthful with us so far.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It appears that genius inventors are not to be underestimated.”  Anna concluded as she stared at the now empty cabin.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No kidding.”  Yuki commented.  It was unclear if she was referring to Lia or the many times she had to threaten Al B Harper.

    The three headed back to the Lairjet, Anna following Hatman and Yuki.  Anna tripped over something in the grass, something very solid.  She looked down for a moment, almost reached down, to investigate.

    Her mouth hung open for a moment when she made a quick decision.  Whatever that was in the lawn, if it led to Lia, it let to trouble for Yuki and Hatman.  It was better to pretend it’s nothing for now.  A judgement call, just like Legionaires made all the time.

    As she boarded the Lairjet, she mentally reminded herself to confess her secret to Yuki later, so she wouldn’t be keeping more secrets.  But there was something in the way Yuki looked at her and smirked just before she started the engines.  Perhaps she knew already.



-- 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