Eternal City, Crystal Tokyo
Chapter 46
It was never quiet in Roanapur, there was always something going on, going down or blowing up. Case in point was the warehouse on the docks, a battered looking exterior that hid inner armor and weapons, all of which had activated when the four women attacked. Gun emplacements on the roof and concealed on the walls spat fire and bullets, lighting up the sky.
"Keep the guns off me," Cyber Six said as she sprinted forward, "I'll get the doors." The black suit she wore fluttered as she moved, gesturing with one hand as energy crackled in her palm. Some years ago the mad scientist Washu had upgraded Cyber Six, and one of her gifts was limited energy manipulation.
"What is she doing?" Alita asked, the black haired young woman in the tan overcoat calmly kicking a android guard in the head, shattering it's face.
"Blowing the doors," Naomi Armitage grinned, the brown haired woman slamming two guard robots together in a explosive crash of sound.
The energy in her palm blazed brightly as Cyber Six hit the door, the armor platting groaning loudly as it crumpled inward with a loud crash. There were shouts of alarm as the men and women inside saw the intruders, their guards mostly disabled.
Twin pistols blazing Jo lead the charge inside, her eerie red eyes narrowed as she blasted away. Blood flew as she dropped her targets one by one, often with only a single shot. Many of her shots were lethal, only her opponents scrambling to cover saved any of them.
"Damn it, ease up," Cyber Six grabbed at Jo's arm as she said, "we wanted some of them alive."
Jo quickly swung a pistol towards Cyber Six, her eyes almost glowing as she growled, "Don't touch me."
Cyber Six let her go but stood her ground, meeting the woman's eyes. "We need some of them to question," she said firmly.
Jo stood there a moment, gun still pointed at Cyber Six then visibly reigned herself in. "Let's go," she said flatly, putting her pistols away in their holsters under each arm.
Stepping over the bodies that littered the floor they swept the room, taking in the androids casually on display for sale. Unlike the usual regulated types there were some very unusual models, from common sex slave types to creatures with multiple sexual organs and strange body types. All fetishes and perversions were present, from the common to the deeply obscene.
"Ugh," Naomi visibly shuddered, looking away from the display. While she had thought she had become jaded as a cop, it appeared there were still things that could unnerve her.
"Come out come out wherever you are," Alita murmured, reaching the crates where the survivors had ducked for cover. A bodyguard leapt at her as she came around the corner, his gloves sparking with energy, but Alita was ready. With a unearthly grace she dodged the blow, grabbing him by the arm then swiftly swinging the massive man around and slamming him into the wall with a loud crash.
"Not bad," the blonde woman noted as she rose from her place of concealment, "but I thought Crystal Tokyo wasn't allowed in Roanapur?"
"We're not here," Naomi said coldly, "at least, not officially."
'Ran Asuka?' Cyber Six thought in shock, gazing at the blonde scientist in shock. Thought to be dead the renegade geneticist had caused the Beast Evolution in the early twenty first century, triggering animal mutations in Tokyo and causing untold loss of life. 'But she's supposed to be dead?' she thought.
"Ryo Asuka," Alita recognized her instantly, "head rep for Mesa here, I believe."
"Indeed," Ryo smiled coldly. "So if you're not here officially," she sniffed as she gestured to her associates, "you can't arrest me, either."
"We're not here to arrest you," Jo's voice was flat and dangerous as she pointed her pistol at Ryo's face, her finger tightening on the trigger.
Ryo's blonde hair fell around her face as she met Jo's eyes. "You can't kill me," she said confidently, "the coding we implanted when we made you is too good for that."
Jo's fingers whitened on the trigger as she grit her teeth in frustration, fighting programming implanted in her mind before birth itself. With a incoherent yell she swung the gun over to a Roanapur arms dealer and fired, splattering the back wall with blood as she shot his ear clean off.
"Urgl," the suddenly pale guard moaned as he collapsed in a boneless faint.
Seizing the distraction Ryo moved, her entire body shifting eerily as she swept forward with a clawed hand. With a growl Jo used her pistol to block the claws as the suddenly wolfen women leaped with inhuman power and speed.
"She's a shape shifter?" Cyber Six yelped as Ryo bolted towards the doors.
"Get back here!" Naomi yelled as she raced after her. Ryo reached the door before her and slammed it shut as she raced by, delaying the other woman a long moment.
"No!" Jo cried angrily, realizing the woman had gotten away.
"You want to hurt her Jo?" Alita asked gently as she met her partner's despairing gaze. "I think I have a better idea."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"I don't like just destroying her stock and letting her go," Cyber Six said flatly as Ryo's personal shuttle soared up into the sky from where it had launched off the docks.
"We're not just letting her go," Alita smirked. "Her employers are very, very unforgiving to failure," she said, "you can bet she's going to wish Jo had just killed her. Especially after I sent them a recording of tonight's fiasco."
Naomi dropped her voice, "What's Jo's story?"
Alita smiled a little sadly, "Jo is the product of a super soldier bioengineering project created by Mesa. They used DNA from several very dangerous subjects and spliced it together to create Jo. Sadly for them, they did a bit too good of a job."
"I guess she rebelled," Cyber Six guessed.
"Yup," Alita agreed, "she escaped from her owner after causing one hell of a lot of damage. She fought her way off the planet and stole a personal skimmer. After a few months she ended up here, and I've been sort of keeping a eye on her."
"She's pretty violent," Naomi noted with a slight frown.
Alita shrugged as they walked away from the wearhouse and back towards the Yellow Flag. "She's functional," she said quietly, "and considering the hell she must have gone through I think that's pretty good."
"Have you thought of taking her to Tokyo?" Naomi asked softly, "Maybe we could help her deal with everything..."
"She has some serious trust issues," Alita shook her head firmly, "she doesn't really trust me or anyone else."
They pushed through the gate to the yellow flag as conversation quieted a moment, then swelled back to full volume. Jo gracefully stalked to the rear table she and Alita had been in before and sat down, gazing around the room with catlike wariness.
"Grab a seat," Alita said dryly, "I'll get us some drinks."
Up at the bar Shasti wiped the counter off, the baretender's red hair falling around her face. Once a terrorist, outlaw and government agent she now just ran a bar while keeping an eye on the situation in town. "Alita," she nodded a greeting, "how did it go?"
"Mesa's gone for now," Alita nodded, "let the Balalaika know I've paid my debt."
"Will do," Shasti agreed. "So when are you going to pay off your bar tab?" she winked.
"Busy tonight?" Alita smiled.
"I always have time for you," Shasti grinned back.
Notes: Ryo Asuka is a new character but is probably the descendant of Ran Asuka, from Devilman Lady. "Jo" is probably a clone of the heroine of Burst Angel, mixed with a generous amount of Revy from Black Lagoon. Shasti may or may not be the same woman as from Adam Warren's Dirty Pair. 'The Balalaika' does not necessarily refer to Balalaika from Black Lagoon, instead it may now be the hereditary title of whomever controls the gangs in Roanapur.