Author's Note: If you wish to comment on my story, either positively or negatively, don't hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. Sailor Moon and all related characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation and DIC. Sailor Sirius is the property of Sharon Williams. Any references to Vulcan are the province of Gene Roddenberry and Paramount Studios. So, please, don't sue me because I haven't any money. I do this strictly for entertainment purposes, not copyright infringement.
Girls Just Want To Have Fun
by Jeffrey C. Branch
Part Eight: Converging Girls
Rating: PG-13
The monstrous, biomechanical spider, now eight feet tall came towards Sailors Vulcan and Sirius who stood in front of Inspector Haneda, Officer Shidou and eight fully armed SWAT cops.
As the Scouts leaped at the thing, the spider's front legs swatted them like flies and they were slammed hard against the far wall. Before they could move, the robot opened it's mouth and unleashed thick, bone white strands of ribbon at the assemblage, easily entrapping them. A high voltage charge of energy arced through the ribbons, causing them all to scream from agony.
"A pity we didn't incorporate our extraction equipment into that machine," Okada said. "It would have been interesting see just how powerful the heart crystal of a Sailor Scout is. Gentlemen, it's time to leave."
Bagwell and Hawthorne hit keys on their laptop computers, as did Okada, and the battalion of heartsnatcher robots turned and quickly moved out through a large, double doored exit at the far end of the laboratory and into a tunnel. Once the assemblage had left, the doors closed shut behind them.
"This....really....sucks!" growled Sirius. Ignoring the pain and the sickening smell of her cooking flesh, she slowly raised her left arm while her body began to glow a bright red. "Sirius....Infrared....Laser....DISINTERGRATION!"
A powerful beam of crimson red energy shot out from her open palm and hit the robot squarely in the chest. The resulting blast knocked the robot off its feet while releasing her and the others from the deadly tendrils.
Sirius, weak and aching, crawled across the floor to where Vulcan was struggling to sit up. "Hey, stone face! You all right?" she asked.
"Compared to what?" asked Vulcan. Her uniform smouldering like Sirius'.
Surprised to hear a flippant remark from the normally taciturn girl, Sirius grinned. "At least your sense of humor's returned." She turned to Haneda and the cops who were stirring. "Are you guys okay?"
"Other than feeling like an overcooked burger, I'm fine." Haneda croaked. The cop then turned to his companions. "Sound off! Anyone hurt?"
Officer Shidou and the other eight cops replied in the negative to Haneda's question. That pleased the Inspector.
A rumbling sound made the Scouts and the cops turn, and they saw the spider, it's chest smoking rise unsteadily to its legs. The cops raised their rifles and opened fire. The cacophony of gunfire was deafening as bullets bounced off its hull while it slowly approached them.
"My turn!" snarled Vulcan, crossing her arms over her chest and a golden energy sphere enveloped her. "Vulcan Shockwave....STRIKE!"
The Scout of Order thrust her arms forward and released the sphere, impacting head on with the robot, slamming it against the doors which Okada, his associates and the androids departed from and the wall collapsed. The Scouts and the police warily watched the robot, half-buried in the rubble.
"Looks like you got it," said Shidou to Vulcan.
Vulcan's eyebrows knitted. "It would so seem, Officer Shidou. But, I am not entirely convinced."
"That makes two of us, partner," said Sirius. "Let's finish it off!"
"I got a better idea! Let's finish you off!" growled a voice from behind the group. The Scouts and police whirled around and found themselves facing Agent Silver and her two cohorts who barged into the entrance of the lab, leveling their weapons at them.
In a place that was not a place, one that was beyond time and space, the disembodied spirit of Serena Tsukino lay unmoving in an eerie, empty void.
Naked, curled in the fetal position, Serena was awake, but didn't want to open her eyes. She felt safe here, far removed from her torturous life as Sailor Moon. A life filled with pain and fear and suffering which she hated.
"Serena," came a soft, feminine voice from all around Serena.
"Open your eyes, darling. Please," said the voice again.
Cautiously, Serena did so and gasped from shock at seeing a very familiar woman standing before her. The woman's silken hair, tied in twin ponytails that fell to her ankles with tightly woven buns on both sides of her head was silver instead of blond while her face was strikingly beautiful with large, crystal blue eyes filled with infinite wisdom and tranquillity. The woman's feathery bangs were parted in the middle to display a golden crescent moon in the middle of her forehead. Dressed in a flowing, elegant snow white gown with a train that stretched for several yards behind her and gossamer wings in back, the woman's petal pink lips parted in a warm smile.
"Hello, dear heart," said the specter of Queen Serenity.
Serena's eyes widened. "Mother?"
Serenity nodded. The long dead ruler of the Silver Millennium held out a hand to help Serena to her feet, then stared at her daughter. "While the human body is a work of art, it's undignified for a princess to be nude." The crescent moon on Serenity's forehead glowed brightly, and in a flash of light, Serena was garbed in the brilliant white formal gown she regularly wore on the Moon.
"Much better," Serenity said with a smile before enveloping her daughter in an embrace. After an initial hesitation, Serena hugged Serenity back.
"It's good to see you again, Mother," she said, her face wet with tears. The last time Serena saw her mother's ghost was just after the Scouts' initial battle with the heartsnatchers. After breaking the embrace, Serena stared quizzically at Serenity. "What happened to me? Am I dead?"
"No. But you are dying. A bullet entered your lower left side, riddled your kidneys, stomach and intestines, then punched through your back," said a solemn Serenity, drying Serena's tears. "When you went into shock, your spirit left your body and journeyed here, just like eight months ago. You're bleeding to death, Serena. You must use the crystal to heal yourself. Quickly."
Serena was hesitant. "Mother, I'm frightened. The pain, it was so great. I'm not sure I want to go back. Can't I just stay here with you?"
Serenity shook her head. "I'm sorry, dear, you can't. While I my heart aches to have you here with me, your place is on Earth. You are the planet's chosen defender against the forces of evil. Your responsibility is to protect those who are unable to protect themselves."
"But, it's been so hard, and I'm so tired from the weight I've had to bear."
"I know, sweetheart. Your burden has been tremendous, but you have the inner strength to prevail over this," said Serenity, placing a ghostly hand on Serena's cheek. Serena felt the pleasing warmth of her mother's touch. Something she had missed for a very long time. "You have to go back. Sailor Vulcan and Sailor Sirius are in dire trouble. They need you."
"Talia. Tanya. My friends. Yes, you're right. I have to return to them." Serena held out her arms, closed her eyes and concentrated. The center of her chest began to glow from a bright, silvery light and the Imperium Silver Crystal emerged from between her breasts and floated before her.
As Serena focused on her nearly lifeless body back on Earth, her face contorted as she felt the monstrous pain of her wounds. She dropped to her knees and screamed, overwhelmed from the searing agony.
"Mother! I....I can't!" Serena said from between tightly clenched teeth. "The pain! It's too great! I can't do it!"
"Yes you can, Serena! Do not give in to despair!" Serenity knelt and took Serena's hands in hers. "Listen to me, sweetheart. Yours is a power without limit. The source of that power doesn't come from the crystal, but from your heart. Trust in yourself! Believe in your power and you can do anything!"
Serena steeled herself and nodded, drawing strength from her mother. The crystal shined from an intensely blinding light as Serena concentrated with all her might and willed her ravaged body to heal. Her fatally damaged organs were repaired and the bullet wounds in her side and back sealed, then, life renewing blood filled her veins. A deep, soothing warmth spread throughout her body as the vast power of the crystal infused her limbs. In the wink of an instant, the Princess of the Moon was whole once more.
Standing up with her mother, Serena's gown morphed into her uniform. Fresh tears spilled from her eyes as she smiled at Serenity. "It's time for me to return. I'm glad that you're still watching over me. I love you so very much, Mother. I look forward to the day when we'll be together again."
Tears streamed down Serenity's cheeks as she hugged her daughter. "As do I, Serena. You are the one true love of my life. Take care of yourself."
Serena winked as she began to disappear. "I'll try, mom. See you!"
When Haneda saw the black clad women dash into the lab, guns drawn, he pulled out a smoke grenade, pulled the pin and hurled it at the women. When it went off, the lab was suddenly filled with a thick, grayish smoke.
"Get to cover!" the cop shouted. Seconds later, gunfire erupted as the cops and the Scouts scattered and dove to the floor, overturning heavy metal lab tables to use as shields.
Sirius, wishing she had taken Vulcan's suggestion about returning to the surface quickly patted herself down and breathed a sigh of relief at finding she wasn't injured. She then heard movement from behind her and saw the robot back on it's feet and slowly headed towards them, it's damage repaired.
"Great!" she growled. "If it weren't for bad luck, we'd have none at all!"
Vulcan, ignoring the burn of a grazed left thigh from a bullet watched the robot lumber closer. "I would agree with your assessment."
The robot, attracted by Silver and her cohorts, fired it's energy tendrils at the trio, snaring the black woman and 5 like human flies while 6 dove out of the way and crawled towards the double doors. The women screamed as a surge of electricity shot through their bodies. Haneda rose from the table he hid behind and fired on the robot. Shidou and the others followed suit.
"The bullets are just bouncing off!" one cop shouted.
"This won't bounce off! Vulcan! Take out those tendrils!" Sirius snarled. She held up her right arm and her body glowed a bright blue as she powered up again. "Sirius Gravity....DEVASTATION!"
From her open palm, a large azure beam shot out, enveloping the robot and it shuddered from the pull of negative gravity as it's weight increased a thousandfold, causing it's legs to collapse and it crumpled to the floor.
"Vulcan Shockwave....STRIKE!" shouted Vulcan, firing her sonic blast at the tendrils that held Silver and 5 captive, snapping them just before the robot exploded from it's own magnified weight, causing the large room to shudder from the impact and smoke filled the area. In the commotion, 6 sneaked towards the exit the scientists and the robots left from and escaped.
"Aced it! Now that's what I call teamwork!" cried a smiling Sirius. She held up her palm to Vulcan. "Gimme five, partner!"
Vulcan stared her friend in open puzzlement. "Five what?"
Sirius rolled her eyes. "Forget it. Inspector, how are those women?"
"Scorched pretty good, Sailor Sirius," said Haneda, looking over Silver who was unconscious and smoldering as was 5. "Looks like that spandex they wore was a piss poor conductor. They're going to need medical attention."
"They aren't the only ones! Look!" cried Shidou, pointing at the remains of the robot.
The Scouts and the police stared as a field of reddish energy surrounded the mound of rended metal and, before their shocked eyes, the robot reassembled itself, looking even more menacing than ever.
"No way! No freaking way!" cried a horrified Sirius, fear of what she saw threatening to shut down her mind. "It couldn't have survived my gravity blast! Nothing could've survived that! Nothing!"
"Evidently, our adversary was the exception," Vulcan said calmly.
Before the Scouts could mount an attack, energy tendrils snaked out from every orifice on the robot's body, ensnaring the Sailors and the cops who were again subjected to electrical blasts, only they were far more powerful. In seconds, they would all be electrocuted.
"Moon Tiara....MAGIC!"
Suddenly, a gleaming, silvery energy disc whisked at the spider with incredible speed, severing the tendrils that trapped the Scouts and police. As the rescued looked on, Sailor Moon strode boldly into the lab, catching the disc on the fly before it morphed back into her tiara. The robot shot tendrils at Moon, but she dodged them easily. She held up her right hand and the Cosmic Moon Scepter materialized.
"Time for you to go!" Moon snarled, her face rock hard from anger as she leveled the scepter at the robot. "Moon Scepter....ELIMINATION!"
At Moon's command, a massive beam of silvery energy shot forth, enveloping the robot, which was instantly destroyed, reduced to a pile of smoking, shredded metal. A second later, four large inky black, wraith-like things emerged from the wreckage, hovered in mid-air, then dissipated.
"Moondusted!" the Sailor Scout leader proudly proclaimed. She then went over to where her friends and the cops lay stunned on the floor. Sirius, struggling to sit up, grinned at her friend.
"Slacker! What took you so long?" the Star Scout asked in a fake growl.
Moon grinned as she helped Sirius up. "Sorry to be late. I was delayed." Moon then glared at her and Vulcan, on her feet and smoothing her skirt. "I could strangle you two idiots for running off without me!"
"Don't be so hard on your friends, Sailor Moon. If it weren't for them, my people and I would be dead," said Haneda. He then noticed Moon's white bodysuit was almost completely red and portions of her skirt were darkened. "Good Lord! Is that blood?"
Moon glanced down at herself and scowled. In her haste to find her friends, she forgot to have the crystal clean her uniform. "Er, yeah. I had a little, um, accident on the way here."
Sirius was openly horrified. Vulcan's face was lined from concern. "Indeed. To satisfy our curiosity, Sailor Moon, please define 'accident'," asked the Scout of Order.
"I was shot by one of those bimbos in black and nearly bled to death," Moon explained casually. "But I'm better now. Honest. Enough about me, what in blazes went on down here?"
"To give you the Reader's Digest version, Okada and two dozen of his heartsnatcher androids sneaked out of here while we were busy with that spider robot," said Haneda, feeling the aches and pains of both age and the battle. "He's headed for Fuchu Prison to kill all the inmates there."
Moon's eyes widened from horror. "Two....dozen? Jesus. What's that madman up to?"
"The Professor and his accomplices have devised a process whereby they can convert stolen heart crystal energy into electrical power for commercial usage," said Vulcan. "Their horribly misguided intention is to use the heartsnatcher technology as a means to combat the world's energy crisis."
"That's insane!"
"I know. We told Okada the same thing before he sicced Spider-Man's mechanical daddy on us," said Sirius. "But there's no way he can get far. Two dozen nine foot tall androids would be hard to miss."
"Unless Okada has a more covert route to his destination," said Vulcan. "Inspector, are these tunnels close to the prison?"
Haneda's eyes widened as he quickly pulled out his map and scanned it. "My God! It is! A branch of the tunnel system parallels the subway, coming within a block of Fuchu's rear gate!"
"We have to wam headquarters, sir!" said one of the cops in a frantic tone. "My older brother is a guard on the night shift at Fuchu!"
"That is impossible. A radio signal will not penetrate the strata to reach the surface," said Vulcan. "Inspector, what is the prison's current population?"
"According to the latest stats, Fuchu's ninety-five percent full. Throw in the gaurds and the support staff and we're talking well over two thousand people," a grim faced Haneda replied.
"Two thousand heart crystals for Okada to snatch!" said Shidou.
"Then it's up to us to stop that lunatic!" said Moon. "The Scouts and I will follow Okada! Haneda, you get to the surface and warn the prison!"
"Will do! Good luck," said Haneda.
Moon gave the cop a brief grin. "Thanks! We're gonna need it!"
Running like her life depended on it, hardly an easy thing to do in high heels, 6 dashed down the tunnel Okada, his cohorts and the androids traveled until she stopped at the first ladder that led to the surface. Breathing hard, the German woman scrambled up the ladder and exited into an alley.
Relieved to be out of the tunnel, 6 took out her cell phone and hastily dialed a number which was answered after the first ring.
"Go," came back the voice of Midnight.
"6 here, ma'arn. Okada's on the move," said the German.
"Where?"
"Fuchu Prison. Okada's going to kill everyone with his robots, then escape to a non-NATO country. He's got some half-baked scheme to solve the energy crisis with his heartsnatchers."
"So that's his plan. Good work, Ilsa. What about Silver and Agent 5?"
"Dead, or captured. I wasn't about to stick around and find out which," 6 replied. "Okada left one of his robots behind to fight the Scouts and the police. I barely escaped, but they didn't."
There was a pause on the other end, and that worried 6. "I see. Normally, I seriously frown upon leaving a teammate behind. But in this case, I'll make an exception. Return to base and help sanitize the premises. We may have to move quickly once Okada's been neutralized."
"Understood, ma'am! I'm on my way!" After the connection ended, 6 smirked. "So, Darlene, who's stupid now?"
"Gold! Where's that's damn prison?" demanded Midnight. Having changed into a skin tight, black leather minidress and matching thigh high stiletto heeled boots, she placed a Colt .45 and put into a low slung holster at her waist, then quickly tied her long hair into a ponytail.
"It's in northeast Tokyo! Four klicks from here! We can be there in ten minutes!" replied Gold, studying a map of the city spread out on the desk. The blonde grabbed one of two M-4 carbines that lay nearby and tossed it to Midnight. Gold then turned to Agent 1, wearing a bronze stripe on her collar. "Bronze! Get the troops loaded in the vans! You and 2 will do the driving!"
The new Agent Bronze snapped to attention and saluted. "Yes, ma'am!" She then hurried out.
Evelyn Hunsacker, an empty glass in her hand rose unsteadily to her feet. "Awright! Time for action! I've been waitin' for this!"
Midnight's eyes narrowed. "I strongly advise against that, ma'am. This operation's bound to get messy. We can't afford for you to be exposed."
"Stow it! I'm comin'! You work for me! Not vice versa!" shouted Hunsacker, slipping her shoes back on. She staggered on her heels before gaining her balance. "No way am I lettin' Okada escape! Gimme a gun!"
Concerned, Gold looked at Midnight who reluctantly nodded. The blonde opened drawer and removed a Glock 17 which she gave to Hunsacker.
The older woman grinned wickedly. "Now we're talkin' Let's go!"
As Hunsacker left, Midnight and Gold looked warily at each other as they followed her out.
Fuchu Prison. A grim, sprawling and foreboding structure that stretched the length of a full city block and rose two stories high, ringed off by a fifteen foot high gray stone wall topped off by razor sharp concertina wire. At all four corners of the complex stood tall watchtowers, manned by sharp eyed gaurds while down below there was no activity in the yards as the inmates were all secure inside for the evening.
A half mile away from the south end of the facility, a dark blue motor home sat at the curb, it's lights off. Inside the vehicle, Okada, Bagwell and Hawthorne sat before a bank of monitors, twenty-five in all, though only twenty-four were active. The three scientists silently busied themselves operating buttons, switches and levels on a control panel before them. Okada observed a direction finder before him and nodded at what he saw.
"Gentlemen, we are ready," he announced.
"Will we be able to fulfill the mission's objective?" Hawthorne asked.
"I'm not sure. The original plan was to attack at midday with the majority of the populace outside. With everyone indoors, it will make things difficult, and time isn't something we have in abundance."
"At least we won't have to worry about resistance," said Bagwell.
"If you mean the Scouts, I agree. However, I'd just as soon be gone before we attract more trouble. Let's begin."
The two guards in the south tower were drinking hot coffee when they heard a rumbling sound that grew closer and closer.
"What's that?" one guard asked his partner.
"It's coming from down the street," said the other. He trained his spotlight in the direction and gasped from shock at what he saw. A battalion of huge, gray hulled, four armed robots, two abreast rumbling at the gate with a speed that belied their size.
"Good God! What are they?" the second guard asked in a nervous voice.
"Trouble! Big trouble!" growled the first, reaching to sound the alarm, but the lead robot cranned it's head upward and fired it's laser beam, blowing out the light.
The lead robots trained their lasers on the wall, and with an ear piercing explosion, a fifteen foot wide section was blasted away and the android army marched quickly inside, initiating wholescale chaos. Gaurds on the other three towers trained their spotlights on the marauding robots, only to become targets as the androids hit the guards with low level laser blasts that knocked them out instead of killing them. Without breaking stride, the robots headed for the doors leading into the facility.
The robots spread out in groups of four and broke into the prison from six different locations, setting off scores of alarms. Guards, armed with assault rifles charged at the robots, the halls echoed loudly from automatic weapons fire, but the bullets merely pitted the hides of the androids while failing to slow them down. The robots retaliated by downing the guards with non-lethal blasts. The pandemonium increased tenfold as confused and shocked prisoners yelled and shouted as they saw the androids.
At one end of a cell block, a robot activated the door controls and opened the cells. Panicked inmates streaming out were confronted by the other three androids and, as one, the robots activated their extraction devices. Multiple streams of black light streaked out from the lenses on their chests, striking the helpless prisoners who screamed from horrific pain. Seconds later, the heart crystals of over one hundred men were pulled into the lenses of the robots and the stricken inmates collapsed to the floor.
In another block, the process was repeated by another group of robots, despite the valiant efforts of the outgunned and increasingly outmanned guard force who could do nothing to stop the androids from doing their grim work. Meanwhile, frantic calls for help went unheard as the phone lines had been knocked out prior to the attack. In the mobile home that served as the command center for Okada and his accomplicies, the scientists were pleased with the results.
"Four hundred and fifty seven so far, Okada!" Hawthorne said excitedly. "Everything's going well! Better than we could have hoped!"
"Don't get too cocky! We still have over fifteen hundred to go! And time is not our ally!" Okada snapped. "Rejoice when we've finished and we're out of the country! Not before! Cletus! Anything on the Police band?"
Bagwell paused from his part of the operation to check a nearby radio. "Nothing so far! We've caught the guards with their pants down!"
Okada nodded. "Excellent. Let's continue."
When the Scouts emerged from the tunnel and saw smoke and fire in the distance from the prison, their hearts collectively sank.
"Oh, God! We're too late!" Moon groaned.
"No time to cry over spilt milk, Serena! Let's get in there and stop those monsters!" cried Sirius.
"Wait. Assuming Okada's robots have already begun extracting heart crystals, what will happen to them if we destroy the machines?" Vulcan wanted to know.
"I don't know, Tal. I wasn't sure if the crystals that were stolen this afternoon would be destroyed when Ti attacked that robot," Moon explained, her voice filled with uncertainty. "That's why I stopped her. I've never seen anything like this before. I'm sorry, guys, but I just don't know!"
Vulcan placed a comforting hand on Moon's shoulder. "Do not fret, Sailor Moon. We are all in uncharted territory. But our objective has not changed. We must stop the androids by any means necessary, and, as you humans are fond of saying....hope for the best."
Sirius nodded. "I'm with you, stone face. All they way. Ready, Sere?"
Moon smiled. She was frightened at the prospect of facing the robots again, but as long as she was with her friends, she could handle anything. "Ready and raring, girlfriend! Let's kick some robot booty!"
At the north gate, two black Ford Aerostar minivans screeched to a halt. The doors opened and twelve women, all wearing short black dresses, fishnets, high heels and lip mikes climbed out. Ten of them, wearing black berets, strapped on harnesses with plastic backpacks to which they connected coiled wires that were plugged into to large, futuristic looking silver rifles with laser sights on top and a large cartridge in the receiver.
"Looks like the party's started without us!" growled Midnight, flicking the safety off her weapon. "Rail gun team, groups of two! Fan out and destroy the robots! Any guards, prisoners or Sailor Scouts get in your way, kill them! Gold and I will search the grounds for Okada! Bronze, you and Mrs. Hunsacker check around outside! 2! Monitor the police band, keep us updated on what the cops are doing! Ladies, this is a scorched earth mission! Move out!"
The hard faced women with the futuristic looking rifles said nothing. They merely nodded and left. Midnight then turned to Gold, standing beside her, an M-4 in her fists.
"Ready to go, Courtney?" the black haired woman asked.
Gold smiled and nodded. "Always, Lisa. Wherever you go, I'll follow."
Midnight returned the smile. She then hardened her face. "Let's move!"
Watching the two woman rush off, Hunsacker snorted. "Faggots," she growled. She then turned to Bronze. "C'mon, darlin', let's see if we can find that miserable, four eyed clown!"
When the Scouts entered the building through a shattered doorway, they stopped short at seeing dozens of bodies dressed in orange prison jumpsuits, strewn and unmoving on the floor before them.
"Allah preserve me!" a horrified Sirius whispered, her eyes wide, her heart in her throat. "Are they....are they....dead?"
Vulcan knelt by one inmate and placed two fingers on the side of his neck to feel for a pulse. "No. They are alive." The Scout of Order then placed her fingers on his forehead to scan for brain activity. She found none. "But that is all. In my opinion, these men have been attacked by the heartsnatchers."
"How on Earth do we stop these monsters without destroying the heart crystals they've taken?" Moon wondered.
"I may have an idea," said Vulcan, rising to her feet and smoothing her skirt. "If we behead the androids, we should be able to incapacitate them without damaging the stolen heart crystals which, as I suspect, are being stored in their chest cavities."
"Are you sure about that?" Moon asked.
"Not entirely. To quote Harrison Ford from 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', I am....making it up as I go along."
Sirius smirked. "I thought you said you didn't like Indiana Jones."
Vulcan effected a haughty expression. "And you would be correct, Tanya. I do not. I only watched the movie for research purposes. Come."
The sound of footsteps from behind made the Scouts tum around and they saw two black clad women level their large metallic rifles at them. When Vulcan saw a red dot from a laser sight appear between Sirius' eyes, she shoved her and Moon out of the way and around a comer seconds before the women fired. With a loud shrieking sound, several rounds from the weapons streaked by them, leaving behind a jet stream like a lightning bolt before impacting with the far wall with a large, thunderous explosion.
"Jeez Louise! What did they shoot at us with?" a shocked Sirius cried.
"Unless I am mistaken, an electromagnetic projectile launcher, more commonly referred to as, a rail gun," said Vulcan. "It is a superweapon that uses electromagnetic pulses instead of gunpowder to fire projectiles at velocities approaching the speed of light, resulting in tremendous destruction. The technology was originally conceived for large scale applications such as tank cannons or guns for naval vessels. A hand held version of this weapon was said to be at least ten years away."
"Looks like the bimbos in black are ahead of schedule!" said Moon. The Scouts retreated down the hall as more rounds blasted the wall to pieces, peppering them with razor sharp debris. Moon's eyes widened as a terrible thought came to mind. "Oh, no! Tal! Can those guns destroy the robots?"
Vulcan nodded. "Almost certainly. The rounds from EM weaponry can penetrate armor up to half a foot thick. The robots would be helpless if fired upon before erecting their defenses. We must stop those two without hurting them. Sirius, I will need a diversion."
Sirius smiled broadly and gave Vulcan a thumb's up. "You got it, partner!"
Summoning her scepter, the Star Scout took a deep breath, then dashed out into the hall, pointing her weapon at the duo who were caught off-guard from her charge. "Sirius Scepter....ILLUMINATE!"
A dazzling blast of light energy shot out from the scepter, causing the women to scream as the light blinded them and they dropped to their knees, covering their eyes.
Vulcan then sprang into action, placing the first two fingers of each hand on the gem of her tiara and a violet aura enveloped her head. "Vulcan Mindstorm....ENGAGE!"
Two thin beams of violet light streaked out from the gem on Vulcan's tiara, striking the women's heads and they screamed from the incredibly painful brain seizures Vulcan hit them with. But the ailen Scout used only enough force to stun and keep them awake.
"Now! Go!" Vulcan shouted, and the Scouts dashed around the comer and pounced on the fallen women. The Sailors wasted no time taking the weapons away from the women and destroying them.
"Outstanding!" cried a grinning Sirius, pumping a fist in the air. "Stone face, you and I make one hell of a team!"
Vulcan nodded, pleased to have a close friend like Sirius at her side. "Indeed." Kneeling, she placed her fingers on the forehead of one of the women and concentrated. When she finished, her face was grim. "Our situation is even more dire than we first thought. There are eight more women prowling the grounds with rail guns. Their orders are to destroy the robots, and anyone who gets in their way, including us."
"Terrific! If Okada's robots don't kill us, the bimbo brigade will!" growled Moon. "If I had any sense, I'd haul my butt out of here! Unfortunately I don't! C'mon! Let's end this nightmare!"
In the east wing of the building, four of the robots had just snatched another one hundred heart crystals when two of the rail gun toting women appeared from around a comer. They wasted no time targeting the wide torsos of two robots and opened fire.
Twin shrieks of energy rent the air as rounds from the weapons hit the androids head on, penetrating their bodies like a hot knife through butter. The stolen heart crystals exploded from the impact of the super accelerated bullets, followed by the robots themselves in a tremendous explosion from their fatally damaged circuitry. As the carcasses crumpled to the ground, two inky black wraiths rose from each wrecked robot and streaked into the night sky. At that instant, the bodies of fifty inmates spasmed then grimaced from unimaiginable pain before they died.
The other two robots attacked, firing their laser beams. One of the women was cut in two at the waist by a laser before she could scream, her partner managed to dodge the blast and retumed fire. However, the robots had time to defend themselves with energy shields that bowled over the androids while deflecting the rounds up into the ceiling, raining concrete down. The androids, unfazed from the rubble fired again and the woman was blown apart from a blast.
In their command center, the three scientists scowled at what they saw on their bank of monitor screens. Two of those screens were now dark.
"Units 13 and 14 destroyed! Fifty crystals lost!" said a scowling Hawthorne. "What the devil did those whores hit the robots with?"
"EM pulse guns I'm afraid! I once worked on a similar project for the Army!" Bagwell replied. He then glared at the Briton. "Looks like your lady friend's got her fingers into a lot more than just oil! And I'll bet my life those two weren't alone! Okada! Hunsacker's onto us! What now?"
Okada, scowling, was silent for several moments as he watched the activity on the monitors. It was all happening too fast and he could slowly feel his control of the situation unraveling. He then made a decision.
"We continue with the operation. We're going to steal those heart crystals or, so help me, I'll destroy everything and everyone in that prison!"
There was a hint of madness in Okada's eyes as he said those words.
NEXT: Defending Girls