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Adventures in Parodyverse - Training Session Part 3


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, fu--”  Yuki got out before a powerful arm slammed her hard across the entrance hall of the Lair Mansion.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hey!”  Flapjack growled.  “You can’t treat Master Yuki like that!”  He ducked when a piece of torn off trim was thrown at him by the Destruct-O-Bot.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sonova--”  Yuki mumbled as she quickly drew her connection cord and launched herself at the ‘bot, hoping to hook up to it and shut down its computer brain.  She grabbed on tight around the neck of the tall female robot form with solid metallic fake hair, as it tried to throw her off.  “What the hell...?”  she exclaimed.  It lacked any interface ports.  Whoever designed her anticipated Yuki’s interference.

    She was then thrown over the robot’s head, and into the opposite wall again.

    Hatman appeared in the doorway in shining solid steel, wearing a Steelers cap.  He charged at the Destruct-O-Bot.

    It was fast.  Very fast.  At just the right moment, it grabbed Hatman around the throat with a huge hand, snatching off his cap with the other, leaving him defenseless and choking, before dropping him to the floor.

    A bright blinding flash of blue laser drastically heated the room as it crossed through, causing Yuki to turn away suddenly, and Hatman to cringe, feeling as if the skin on his right side was being burned while he gasped, trying to catch his breath.  The sudden heat hit the Destruct-O-Bot like an explosion, smashing part of the doorway as the robot was tossed out onto the front steps.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Anna!”  Yuki called to her, recognizing the laser blast.  “Stay back!  We’re handling this!”

    Anna ignored Yuki.  She blasted the Destruct-O-Bot with her lasers again, hitting it with another explosion of heat, this time sending it tumbling out of sight to the bottom of the stairway.

    There was an head-splitting high pitched noise.  Anna covered her ears first, having the most sensitive hearing of anyone present.  Then Yuki did, and then Hatman.  The Destruct-O-Bot began to stand again.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You cannot beat me.”  it said as it continued generating the noise.  “I am programmed with multiple ways to defeat each of you.  I have considered every scenario.  And...there is more than one of me.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh yeah?”  Hallie announced as she appeared in the doorway of the mansion, ignoring the high-pitched sound assault.  “Well let’s see how you stand up to me, miss delusion of grandeur.”

    With a snap of Hallie’s fingers, the Destruct-O-Bot collapsed motionless on the ground in front of the mansion.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What happened?”  Yuki asked as she recovered from the phantom ringing in her ears and stood.

    The green avatar smirked.  “I keep a virus in my files, just in case.”  she explained.  “Soon as I found out this thing was using a wireless connection I triggered the virus she got along with the files.”  She sighed as she looked at the motionless robot.  “She’s still actively trying to delete it.  It’s only a matter of time before she regains motor control.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Right.”  Hatman acknowledged as he stood too.  “Let’s get her locked up safely then.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“On it.”  Yuki said.  She grabbed both of the robot’s arms and began dragging it inside.  It proved a lot heavier than she thought.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I will assist you.”  Anna offered.  She grabbed the feet of the robot and lifted, so it was being carried instead of dragged.

    A few minutes later they carried the Destruct-O-Bot into the basement of the Lair Mansion, and carefully put it in one of the vaults.  As soon as the door for it was latched shut, Yuki turned and headed back up.  Anna was still staring at the door.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What’s the matter?”  Yuki asked.  “Don’t worry, she can’t get out.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It could have been me in there.”  Anna whispered.  “I could have been judged too dangerous...and locked in there, alone.  Scared and alone.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Anna--”  Yuki gently gripped her shoulder to get her to turn around.  The android faced her, but looked at the floor.  “If anyone would dare even suggest that?  They would be forced to lock me in there with you.  And I wouldn’t make it easy for them either.”

    Anna smiled and looked at Yuki again.  “Thank you.”  she said.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’re different from the Destruct-O-Bot, Anna.”  Yuki pointed out.  “Right now she’s in there thinking nonstop about how to get out and kill us.  You...get depressed, worried, sad.  Like me.  It would be too cruel to lock you in a room like that.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What if you’re wrong about the Destruct-O-Bot?”  Anna asked suddenly.

    Yuki paused, and her smile disappeared as she looked at Anna again.  “Then I hope whatever god looks after the undiscovered souls of robots will forgive us.”


---


    It wasn’t more than a half hour before Hallie reported that the Destruct-O-Bot downstairs was trying to get out.  Yuki and Hatman met again in his office, with Anna trailing along, to discuss what was foremost on her mind - the Destruct-O-Bot’s claim that there was more than one of her.

    Only ten minutes after that meeting began, Hallie detected the Destruct-O-Bot downstairs communicating with another like it.  The other was in Gothametropolis.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The best defense is a good offense.”  Yuki responded to that.  She turned to Hatman.  “Right Hatty?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Right.”  Hatman replied with a smirk.  Sometimes he really liked working with Yuki.  He pulled out his Rockets cap.  “I’ll fly over there and scout ahead, and I’ll stay in touch with Hallie.  We’re going to do this very carefully and precisely.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The bike’s too slow for this one.”  Yuki added.  “We’re going to take the Lairjet.  Anna, you know how to fly, don’t you?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...I thought I was to wait here.”  Anna responded.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You earned your wings when you kept that ‘bot off of Hatty.”  Yuki informed her.  “Besides, there’s nothing dangerous about piloting a plane.  Unless Al B Harper is on it.”

---


    Anna proved to be a quite competent pilot of the Lairjet, having flown simulated jets of similar construction at SPUD.  She was able to read all the instruments and understand them.  And she made a much smoother takeoff than Yuki usually did, but that was more an issue of impatience on Yuki’s part.
    
    It was fifteen minutes into the flight when Anna realized something was wrong.  Being trained on military hardware, she recognized the source of the signal she heard, and the console device emitting it.  “We’re being followed.  Something is in the air behind us.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s probably just Hatty.”  Yuki said.  But then she unbuckled her belt and took a closer look at the radar...the object was much larger than Hatman.  “Those Destruct-O-Bots can’t fly, can they?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I don’t know.”  Anna said.  “The one we locked up is the first I’ve--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Evasive maneuvers!”  Yuki barked an order quickly, interrupting Anna.  She contemplated taking over the flight controls, but instead barely held on as she was tossed toward the ceiling for a moment when Anna began a rapid and violent descent.  She quickly buckled herself into the co-pilot’s seat.

    Just in time, too.  Anna began a stomach-churning barrel roll as she descended, and then just as violently pulled up and fully opened the throttle.  “There’s Hat!”  Yuki pointed to him as he whizzed by.

    Anna had a horrifying thought.  Hatman was badly outclassed out there by himself.  “Take the controls.”  she said suddenly.  “I’m going outside.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Anna, what the hell...?  How can you go outside?”  Yuki asked as she rushed to switch on the auto-pilot.  Anna had already left her seat, and since Yuki forgot she was buckled in, she was too slow to stop the android.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Electromagnets in my feet and hands.”  Anna quickly replied.  She opened the door, and blast of powerful wind filled the aircraft, blowing her deep blue hair around rapidly.  Yuki tried to follow, but didn’t have time to even object before Anna left.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I need to get magnetic feet.”  Yuki mumbled to herself as she shut the door to stop the wind.  She listened carefully, and could hear clicking across the hull of the aircraft, moving toward the front.  She leaned forward to look up...and couldn’t see much, except she saw Hatman whiz by again.

    Then Yuki was alarmed to realize that the Destruct-O-Bot was chasing Hatman.  It apparently figured out that the capped crusader wasn’t armed, and couldn’t switch caps while airborne for risk of falling.

    A blue burst of light lit up the skies, hitting one of the Destruct-O-Bot’s rockets and sending it spinning out of control.  Anna was acting as a precise targeted weapon for the Lairjet - it also had missiles, but there was too much risk of an explosion from one harming Hatman as long as the Destruct-O-Bot followed him so close...or possibly the Lairjet itself.

    While the Destruct-O-Bot fell and fought to regain control, Anna realized that Hatman was dazed, and struggling to maintain control himself.  She waited until he got close, and felt grateful that Yuki could tell what she meant to do, and steered the Lairjet toward him.  She snatched him out of the air, feeling her titanium alloy skeleton strain under the inertia, and she pulled his cap off to stop the rocket effect.

    Hatman’s momentum knocked her magnetics off of the hull.  She tumbled, gripping him tightly with her left arm.  Anna and Hatman both skidded across the hull like a stone on a pond, until she reached out and slapped her right hand to the surface of the aircraft, sticking it with magnetics, and then her left foot, so it looked like she was hugging the plane.

    Yuki quickly set the auto-pilot and raced to the rear aircraft door.  She pulled it open, and hung on tight to a loop above the door to keep from being sucked out...and then she reached up with her other arm to pull Hatman inside.  He collapsed to the floor, out of breath.  Yuki then aided Anna inside, but it seemed like she didn’t really need it.  She then slammed the door shut.  Anna quickly returned to the cockpit.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Use the missiles, Anna.”  Yuki called after her.  “No more going outside.”  She kneeled next to Hatman.  “That goes for you too,”  she said as she helped him to his feet.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m okay now.”  Hat said, still trying to catch his breath.  “She hit me once, knocked the wind out of me.  Those Destruct-O-Bots hit hard.”  He looked toward the cockpit and added, “Anna did good.”

    Anna turned around for a moment to smile at Hatman, taking a momentary break from trying to lock on to the spinning Destruct-O-Bot to target.  It was jamming the radar, so it had to be targeted manually.

    An alarm went off in the aircraft, indicating that it had been locked on as a target.  Just as Anna opened her mouth to say something, she collapsed out of the pilot’s chair.

    And then the lights went out.  And then the engines began to spin down.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Uh-oh.”  Hatman said.  He turned to Yuki, but she had fainted as well.  “EMP.”  he quickly diagnosed.


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