Part 1
Part 2

Adventures in Parodyverse - Special Election, Part 3


    Lara Night awoke slowly in a darkened room, lying on her side.  She looked up because she could see a slight glow coming from above her.  She smiled, because Dreamcatcher Foxglove was waiting patiently for her to wake up.  The glow was how the chaos energy emanating from his body looked in a perfectly dark room.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Have a good nap?”  he asked.

    She sat up slowly, shuffling her legs beneath her.  “Yeah.”  she replied quietly.  “What are you doing here?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Jay’s having a heart to heart with Chiaki, and Yuki said she needed to investigate something and left.  So I’m keeping you company.”

    Lara slowly smiled.  “That’s sweet, Dream.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I also have some bad news for you, Lara.”  Dream whispered.  “Marvellous Marv won the election.  His first act is to bring an old vigilante law back into effect.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Meaning?”  Lara asked.

    Dream started speaking quickly in his unique way, almost breathlessly.  “You’re sidelined, Lara.  I know it sucks.  Hey, it sucks having to tell you--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Wait wait--”  She sat up straighter and waved her hands to stop him.  “What do you mean I’m sidelined?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The Lair Legion is under U.N. jurisdiction, or something like that, so it’s exempt.  But since you’re not a member--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I get it.”  she whispered sadly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It means you can get busted for taking the law into your own hands.”  Dream explained further.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I get it.”  Lara repeated.  “I guess I just have to keep a low profile while I’m here, at least for a while.”  She paused as a thought occurred to her.  “What about Liu Xi?”

    Dream saddened suddenly.  “I’m...a little worried about her.  I mean, she has nowhere to run and hide to, like you do.  And she has a much more...checkered past.  I hope Marv doesn’t know about it.”

    Lara thought hard about that last part.  She eventually shook her head slowly as her mind went through every scenario she could think of.  
    
    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No,”  she finally whispered.  “I definitely don’t think he could.  Though I suppose if things got too rough for her I could take her somewhere safe.”

    He nodded once sadly.  “She knows what to do.  Liu Xi has good instincts, and she knows how to go into hiding best as she can if it looks like she’s busted.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I guess Chiaki taught her that, eh?”  Lara said with a slight smirk.  “It doesn’t sound like something Jay would tell her to do.”

    A mischievous grin from Dream was all the answer Lara needed.  “Too bad Jay and Chiaki aren’t together anymore.  It was kind of funny, those two always like Spy vs Spy, with stuff one couldn’t tell the other.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.”  Lara agreed with a slight laugh.  Then after some silence, “Do you think they’ll release Chiaki soon?  I’d like to catch a shower and some clean clothes, but I don’t want to go and miss something.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s the guilt talking, Lara.”  Dream accused, but in a good-natured way.  “It’s a half hour, and you don’t have to worry about travel time or traffic.  Just go, I’ll wait for you.”

    She nodded slowly and smiled.  Dream was right - only he could be so serious and so cheery at the same time.  “Okay.”  she said.  “I’ll...be back.”

    Lara gave him a small wave before vanishing in a flash of light.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s so cool.”  Dream commented to nobody in particular.


---


    The MRI machine was located in a room much larger than itself.  The walls and floor were completely covered in large, white metallic tiles.  It showcased the machine, as if it were some sort of centerpiece.

    On the machine itself were blackened areas from when it misbehaved earlier.  There was also a blackened area on the metallic ceiling tile above, which the operator couldn’t explain.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Looks like the exit point.”  Vinnie De Soth explained cryptically.

    Liu Xi Xian was used to him talking that way while working.  She paid it no mind.  “This room gives me a headache.”  she commented.

    Vinnie focused his attention on her suddenly.  “Oh?  Why’s that?  Some kind of psychic signal?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, it’s so bright, and the machine hums.”  she replied.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.”  He shrugged.  “At any rate, the place we want to go is upstairs.  There’s going to be a matching burn mark on the floor somewhere.”

    That somewhere turned out to be an electric utility room upstairs.  The MRI operator brought Vinnie and Liu Xi up there to unlock it and show them around - except the door was already unlocked.  There was no other burn mark above or around the room, meaning whatever the source was had to have been in that room.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Next door there’s a waiting room and a nurse’s station.”  the MRI operator said.  “The nurse station is always staffed, so they would have seen something or someone up here.  That waiting room though...it’s hardly used, since this floor is almost empty of patients.”

    Vinnie walked out of the utility room and around the corner to the waiting room, with Liu Xi following.  It was empty.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Something has been in here.”  Liu Xi whispered.  “It makes me...nauseated.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Well, this is a hospital.”  the MRI operator commented.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s not what she means.”  Vinnie replied.

    Liu Xi then changed the topic suddenly and asked, “Is Chiaki Bushido on this floor?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...believe so.”  the MRI operator replied.  “I can check and make sure.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Please do.”  she said.  Then she looked at Vinnie.  “I think whatever was in here had something to do with the Lair Legion.”


---


    The Psychic Samurai looked tired and bored sitting up in her hospital bed, watching the television suspended from the opposite wall.  Her hair hung down to her shoulders, a tangled mess.  The Asian brightened when she saw her younger friend Liu Xi Xian enter the room.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I wondered where you were!”  Chiaki exclaimed.  She hugged Liu Xi as she approached.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sorry I wasn’t here earlier--”  Liu Xi started to say.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t apologize.”  Chiaki was eyeing the door as she spoke, noticing Vinnie De Soth lurking there.  “I see that you were working.”

    Vinnie’s smile disappeared, and he was a little taken aback at how well Chiaki lived up to her nickname.

    Liu Xi ignored that and asked, “Are you going to be okay?”

    Chiaki nodded.  “I should be released soon.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hey um--”  Vinnie tried to interrupt quietly.  He was surprised when his stumbling beginning did manage to get Chiaki’s attention.  “Do you know anything about the fried MRI downstairs?  And the connection to the waiting room down the hall?”

    After a long pause, Chiaki said, “Ask Lara.  I believe she was in that waiting room earlier.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Do you think she...?”  Vinnie asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She wouldn’t damage an MRI...or hurt someone.”  Liu Xi interrupted.

    Vinnie became silent and looked embarrassed.  He didn’t like being scolded by Liu Xi, it made him feel like he was in trouble.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Someone must have visited her while she was there.”  Chiaki suggested.  “Perhaps you should ask her about it.”

    There was a commotion of conversation just outside the room then.  Chiaki sat up to listen, and then she said, “It’s fortunate you’re here Liu Xi.  It seems I’m about to be released.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, cool.”  Liu Xi replied.

    Vinnie was confused about how exactly Chiaki knew, and Liu Xi’s response, until a moment later, Jay Boaz entered the room with a doctor.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, Liu Xi.  You made it.”  Jay said.  He looked at Chiaki, “The doctor says he’s releasing you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So I heard.”  the Samurai replied.  “Jay, did you bring the clothing I requested?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Of course.”  He gently placed a small backpack on the bed beside Chiaki’s legs.  Then he guessed what she wanted next.  “Do you all mind waiting outside so she can change?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sure.”  Liu Xi took Vinnie’s arm and pulled him along.  As soon as she entered the hallway she whispered to him, “You know, I’m not mad at you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, good.”  Vinnie sounded relieved.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m not angry every time I snap at you.”  she pointed out with a smile.

    Her smile disappeared quickly when she saw what could only b described as an entourage approaching     from the elevator.  It was led by Baroness Elizabeth Von Zemo, wearing a long fur coat.

    Liu Xi bravely stepped in front of the small mob.  “What are  you doing here?”  she asked.

    Two larger men in the entourage looked like they were reaching for weapons, but the Baroness waved them off.  “I came to...offer my regrets for what happened to Ms. Bushido personally.  And to congratulate her.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“On what?”  Vinnie asked.

    The Baroness looked down at Vinnie as if he were lower than dirt, a lower class to which she would never speak normally.  She answered the question anyhow, only directed at Liu Xi instead.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“On becoming free.”  she replied.  “You see, her pet project is coming to and end.  The Safe’s funds mysteriously dried up.  And with Mr. Zimmermann becoming mayor, it hasn’t much hope of new funding...so it has begun to close.”  That last part she said in a mocking, sing-song manner.

    Chiaki was standing in the doorway of her hospital room in her newly obtained clothing.  She didn’t look happy, but she wasn’t particularly shocked either.

    Hatman stood behind her, arms crossed, as if expecting some kind of assault.

    But the Baroness wasn’t finished, she had more salt to rub into the wound.  “And of course, thanks to some generous contributions, I managed to earn myself a pardon.  Imagine that?”

    As the Baroness turned and walked away, laughing and gloating, one member of her entourage lagged behind for a moment, his eyes locked with Chiaki’s.  Neither blinked for a moment, but then the Von Zemo employee turned and quickly caught up.

    He was a tall, thin man with dark hair and very intense eyes.  He stood out in her group because he wore an all-black suit, tie and shirt, and very shiny black shoes.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s him.”  Chiaki whispered as the small mob vanished into the elevator.  “He’s the reason Marv won the election.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Who is?”  Hatman asked, confused.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The thin man in black.”  Chiaki explained.  “He is called the Spin.  He alters public perception.  That’s why Marv’s somewhat criminal activities never came to light during the campaign.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Why is the Baroness involved?”  Liu Xi asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The Spin works for the highest bidder, not the most altruistic.  He grew up poor and vows never to be again.  The Baroness needed Marv to win so she could get out of the Safe.  It’s a natural fit.”
    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You forgot something important, mate.”

    Immediately following the sound of that British accented voice was a smoldering cigarette being tossed to the slick hospital hallway floor.  It bounced in a scattering of ashes.  That alone made it so Con Johnstantine needed no introduction.

    Liu Xi cursed at him in Chinese, but he paid it no mind.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sure, you found Marv’s strategist.”  Con said plainly as he leaned against a wall and lit another cigarette.  “But you know, there’s always a pair.  Funding and beneficiary.  Strategist and enforcer.”  

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Enforcer?”  Hatman asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You!”  Lara Night called out in a threatening voice, pointing over the shoulder of CrazySugarFreakBoy!.  Everyone turned in time for the person in question to introduce himself.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Me.”  Tom Black said, his hands smoldering with dark Khaos energy.


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