Part 1

Adventures in Parodyverse - Special Election, Part 2


    Twelve Hours Ago
    
    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It was a boon to Marvin Zimmerman’s campaign, as a simple press conference this morning turned into an escape attempt by one of the world’s most dangerous super-criminals...”

    Marv was watching a recording of the news one of his campaign aides brought to him.  It aired hours earlier, but he just kept playing it back.  “I like the sound of that.  But this is my favorite part.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“...caused a ten point rise in popularity.  It’s predicted now that he’s  the sure winner of tomorrow’s election.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Leave it to the Lair Legion to prove my point for me,”  he said.  He then waved out the two political aides in the room, leaving just one man.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Tom, I foresaw that this girl--”  He pointed at a blonde in a black and white costume on the television, nearly obscured by reporters as a clip from the Safe breakout played back.  “--is going to ruin my plans.”

    Tom Black leaned back on the leather couch in Marv’s office.  It made a creaking sound.  “Oh?  What would you have me do about it?  I’m not a career killer, you know.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s at a specific time, it’ll happen.”  Marv continued.  “I don’t know when yet...but I need you to make sure she’s busy somewhere else.  I’ll make it worth your while.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“If you don’t mind me saying,”  Tom noted, “This seems like an awful lot of trouble to neutralize such a small threat.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Small?”  Marv raised an eyebrow, and then sat down at his desk.  “She nuked half the city once, Tom.  It was retconned, but for some reason...I remember it.  And wherever she goes, the Lair Legion follows, and destruction with them.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So...you’re actually trying to protect the city?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No.”  Marv corrected.  “She has her own agenda, Tom, I sense it.  She’s not just here to smile for the cameras, and be friendly, and help the Lair Legion.  She has a purpose...and for some reason, it leads to me.  Which means she has to be stopped.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What about the Lair Legion?”  Tom asked.

    Marv leaned back and smiled.  “Tom, I’m going to be mayor of this city in a couple of days.  The Lair Legion won’t be a problem...they’ll under our control.”

    
---


    Four Hours Ago

    
        Liu Xi Xian arrived at her apartment with some take-out food.  Between her last couple of classes, her temporary room mate Vinnie De Soth called her cell phone.  He had a spirit-related gig, and she offered to help - she was more than willing, considering that he was working to get a new place of his own.

    She didn’t exactly hate having him as a room mate, but it was a fairly small apartment, and was starting to feel cramped.  Plus it limited his ability to have any personal items of his own.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Some food before we go.”  Liu Xi said as she placed the cartons on the counter in the kitchen.  She seemed distracted, and spoke in a very clinical manner.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What’s wrong?”  Vinnie asked.

    She sighed, and put her cell phone on the kitchen counter, and her backpack on the floor at her feet.  “Chiaki is in the hospital, hurt in some sort of prison escape.  Jay, Dream, Yuki, and Lara are there waiting.”

    After a pause, Vinnie said, “I’ll go to the hospital with you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No.”  Liu Xi shook her head.  “Chiaki is unconcious.  There’s nothing to do yet, so I may as well keep busy.  I’ll help you.”

    He nodded, and then picked up one of the cartons.  “Actually,”  he said, “the gig is at the hospital.  You’re in luck.”

    Not sure why, Liu Xi was alarmed by that.  “What kind of gig is it?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Some of the machines at the hospital are supposedly possessed.”  he said.  “Nurse O’Mercy said one of the MRI’s blew a fuse for the whole wing after trying to microwave a patient to death.  Then they reset it and it went back to normal again.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Vinnie,”  she asked, “Were the incidents close to intensive care?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes, I believe so.”  he replied.  He looked at her, seeming intrigued by her question.  “Why?”

    Liu Xi whispered softly, her eyes narrowed.  “Because I think it was a distraction.”


---


    Now


    Lara Night sat quietly in an unused, tiny waiting room at Phantomhawk Memorial Hospital.  The television was turned on, but she wasn’t watching it.  Instead, she was sitting on the cheap couch, leaned back.  Her eyes were closed...she had been awake so long, and so stressed, that she was now fighting the urge to sleep.

    So much so that she didn’t hear a man enter the small room, until he sat across from her.  The ‘whoosh’ the couch made woke her up, and her eyes snapped open.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’re Tom Black.”  she recognized.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I just happened to be in the hospital.”  he said with a shrug.

    Lara narrowed her tired eyes and asked, “Visiting who?”

    Tom found himself unexpectedly tongue tied.  He opened his mouth, then closed it and wore a disarming smile.  “Okay, you caught me, I was lying.  I dropped by to size you up, Miss Night.  My latest sponsor believes you’re going to derail his destiny.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I don’t suppose you can tell me who that is?”  Lara asked.

    Tom chuckled at that.  He crossed his arms and shook his head.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And he wants you to hurt me, I suppose.”  she guessed.

    No answer again.  Tom was stonewalling.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Well, look.”  Lara said as she slowly stood and faced him.  She wasn’t smiling.  “I’m already having a bad day, I don’t have patience for this, and I’m not going to fight you and your weird dark energy in a hospital.”

    He looked concerned all of a sudden.  Partly because the blonde seemed so calm, and partly because she sounded alarmingly like she was one step ahead of him.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So I’m just going to send you away.”  Lara concluded with.  She reached down and grabbed his arm.  He reflexively grabbed hers in return, expecting some kind of assault...but that’s what she was counting on.

    The next thing Tom Black saw was a gift shop on Santa Monica Pier, in Los Angeles, as he tumbled to the damp wood planks without anything to sit on.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Damn.”  he cursed quietly.  “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It usually is,”  someone standing along the railing facing the ocean responded in a British accent.  The trenchcoat-wearing man took a long drag of his cigarette before tossing it into the churning water.  “Question is...what are you willing to do to make it easier?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Who are you?”  Tom asked as he slowly rose to his feet, realizing the man wasn’t there a moment ago.  “Where did you come from?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Name’s Con.”  the man replied as he pulled out another cigarette and lit it.  “And I’m everywhere.”

    Back in the waiting room, Lara sighed and nearly sat back down, before she was interrupted again.  This time by CSFB!.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She’s awake.”  was all the Wired Wonder said.  It was from his triumphant smile that Lara knew what he meant.


---


    Chiaki Bushido smiled as Lara Night entered her room.  Yuki and Hatman were already there, and CSFB! followed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“There you are.”  Chiaki said.  “The beloved friend who saved me...another I owe my life to.”

    Lara moved closer, and was surprised that Chiaki sat up slowly and hugged her across the neck and shoulders for a moment.  She felt all the guilt and worry she suffered the last few hours simply melt away...it was as if the Samurai knew exactly what she needed to feel better.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I requested the use of the room next door.”  Chiaki told Lara, “so that you may catch up on sleep.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Um...thanks.”  Lara whispered.  She smiled, and kept her eyes focused.  She was indeed very tired.  She looked at Hatman, and could tell what he was going to say before he said it...she was already on her way out of the room when he spoke the words.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Guys, can you...give me a few minutes?”  he said.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What for?”  CSFB! asked just before Yuki grabbed the back of his shirt and hauled him into the hallway.

    Hatman walked closer to the bed and gently held her hand.  He stared into those dark eyes of hers for what seemed like an eternity, and she stared back.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...I was worried.”  he stumbled.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Because you thought you were going to lose me forever.”  she finished for him.

    He nodded, and looked down, half embarrassed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t be embarrassed.”  Chiaki told him with a smile.  “I still love you too.  If I didn’t, we wouldn’t be friends.”

    She offered him both her arms, and hugged him as well...only more tightly, and for a longer time.

    Outside, Yuki peeked in through the partially open door, with CSFB! looking over her shoulder.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“This is a hospital, you know.”  Yuki whispered to him.  “Not much is going to happen.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know.”  the Wired Wonder said plainly.

    Yuki smirked, “I didn’t know you were such a romatic, Dream.”

    Dream took Yuki by both her shoulders and turned her around.  He grabbed her around her waist and gave her a kiss right on the lips.  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

    As soon as he let her go, Yuki laughed, wiped her face, and insulted him briefly with, “Deviant.”

    Dream smiled too, and as he walked away, he said, “Freak.”


---


    Six Hours Later


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I hate this part.”  Marv grumbled as he drummed nervously on a wooden desk in a sparse office.  

    It was a hastily set up room, partitioned from a much larger area by a glass wall and door.  The aluminum vertical blinds were open and the lights were off so he could see what was going on in his campaign headquarters - a highly active and stressful environment full of large flat panel screens carrying updates from the mayoral election, and news bulletins.

    He realized that he was talking to himself.  Tom Black, who he hired to make certain...guarantees...about the election had gone missing six hours earlier without a word.  He wondered if he should have trusted Tom.

    Marv was ahead in the polls...far ahead.  But he didn’t feel like he was far enough ahead to prevent any surprises.  Visionary pulled out of the election days ago, but it was possible he had plenty of write-in votes.  Police Commissioner Don Graham tried to make a run, but was forced to drop out when there was an outcry in the press about his loose connection with Goldeneyed and the Lair Legion.

    The only semi-serious contenders were the current vice mayor, and Deanna Burns, wife of a police detective with a squeaky-clean record.  The former had has campaign rocked by scandals - the latter, so little known, and so little money, that she would be a long shot.

    And then, just like that, it was over.  The preliminary count showed that Marv Zimmerman was the winner by a twenty percent margin.  Marv smiled as he looked out from his office at his campaign staff celebrating in the next room.  The people of Paradopolis were such suckers for a familiar name from television.

    Now it was time.  He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number he had on the back of a business card.  “Velma Klein?  Let’s talk...about the Lair Legion.”



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