Part 1

Adventures in Parodyverse - Past Preperation, Part 2


    Lara Night and Jay Boaz quickly switched tasks.  Upon reaching the end of the underground path they were exploring beneath Hell’s Bathroom - a solid stone brick wall - they were all prepared to turn around and head back.  But a hunch changed Jay’s mind.

    The blonde switched to the task of being a light source, sparking a neat arc inside her partially closed hand to use as a bright spotlight.  Meanwhile, Jay switched to a miner’s hard hat.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“There’s something on the other side of this wall.”  he said.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The Fatal Toilet?”  Lara asked.  “Or another building?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No.”  Jay replied louder, his voice becoming more urgent.  

    He used the miner’s power his hat gave him, and he punched the wall as hard as he could.  His fist hit like a stick of dynamite, and pieces of stone flew.  The light in the cavern suddenly disappeared when Lara had to switch to a shield to protect herself.

    There were two gentle red glowing points coming from a dark hole in the wall.  They became quickly brighter, and there was a distant, high pitched whine.

    Lara reached out with her other hand, wrapping a second invisible energy shield around Jay - just in time, as the air around both of them violently combusted in a bright red flash.

    A few rocks tumbled out of the hole, pushed by an unseen force.  Then a small black boot emerged.  Out of the hole climbed someone Lara immediately recognized, dressed in a nearly skin-tight black body suit, offsetting her dark blue hair and eyes.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Anna?  How did you get in there?”  she called after the android.

    As the area lit up again, Anna looked embarrassed and mortified.  “I’m sorry.”  she said quickly.  “I didn’t know it was you.  I just remembered to fight back when he...when he came back.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“He?”  Jay asked.  “Anna, please...tell us what happened.”

    Anna took a deep breath and began.  “I’ve been on Earth for weeks.”  she explained.  “I was returned here by Yo.  But before I reached the Lair Mansion I was intercepted...by Marvellous Marv.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Him again?”  Jay asked angrily.  “That does it...this time I’m bringing him down.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Jay, you can’t.”  Lara pointed out.  “He’s running for mayor...that means anything you do to him...you need lots of solid evidence.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I have Anna.”  he replied angrily.  But then he started to understand what Lara was talking about, and he sighed and shook his head.  “Who’s a fugitive from government custody.  You’re right...I guess I can’t prove he’s broken any laws.”

    Without speaking a word, Lara gently reached across his shoulders and squeezed his opposite arm with her free hand.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It makes you very angry, doesn’t it?”  Anna asked calmly.

    Lara quickly summarized, “Marvellous Marv once subjected Jay to a lot of humiliation and got away with it.  He aways seems to get away with it.”
    
    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Doesn’t it make you angry?”  Jay asked the android.  “He did seal you up in a wall for weeks.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“He also used some sort of magic to shut me down.”  Anna added.  “It took me almost the entire first week to reset myself.  After that I went to sleep to conserve energy.  Yes, it does make angry...that’s why I shot at you by accident.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How did Yo send you home, anyway?”  Lara asked.  “And why did you end up in Hell’s Bathroom?”

    Anna replied quickly, “I asked if I could return home.  Yo said, ‘I am to be thinking you can go home.’  I blinked, and I was in Hell’s Bathroom.  I suppose Yo was thinking about it.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Do you know why Marv intercepted you?”  Lara asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“He said...he foresaw that you would rescue me.”  Anna said.  “Apparently he meant to use me as bait.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Bait for what?”  Lara asked.

    Anna shook her head sadly.

    Just then, Lara jumped back when she realized her shoes were getting wet.  There was a thin layer of water on the ground, flowing, and rising quickly.  “Oh.  I see.  Clever...because now I can’t use lightning to blast our way out.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I still can--”  Jay felt behind him and realized that his backpack full of hats was gone.  He looked at Anna.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It disappeared.”  the android explained.  “He seems to have underestimated one of us, at least.  He didn’t expect me to be conscious.”

    Anna turned so she was facing away from Lara and Jay, to keep them safe.  She looked upward...

    ...and there was a blast with such force that it shook the cavern, and caused an avalanche of stone and dirt.  Anna’s preparation worked, however - none of it came near either of her two friends, though the noise made it seem like it might.

    From a newly created hole in the ceiling, light cascaded in from twelve feet up.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Nice one, Anna.”  she said.  She looked at Jay and added, “I can still fly.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And I can jump that high.”  Anna offered Jay a hand gingerly.  “You carried me in flight once.  It’s time I returned the favor.”


---    


    Anna looked defeated and embarrassed when she emerged from the hole, gently dropping Jay behind her.  

    The hole she blasted from below turned out to be in the middle of Zero Street, just before it turned a corner and led to the Fatal Toilet.  Fortunately, Hell’s Bathroom wasn’t known for heavy car or pedestrian traffic, so no one was hurt.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t worry about it, Anna.”  Jay tried to reassure her.  “It’s your first collateral damage incident.  It happens.  We’re insured for it, in fact.”

    He then looked down and saw his backpack lying on the pavement, halfway between where he stood, and where a limousine was parked.  Marvellous Marv was leaned against it in a dark suit, looking at a jeweled pocket watch.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hmm.  You escaped.”  was all he said.  He then opened the back door and climbed in.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Would you like me to stop him?”  Anna asked, her eyes glowing a dim red.  “I’m fairly sure I can accurately disable the car--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No...it’s not worth it.”  Jay said with a frown.  “He’s running for mayor.  All it will do is make trouble for the Lair Legion.”

    Lara smiled at him, and gently nudged him.  “You really are a good team leader.”


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