Chapter 33: Difficult People
- Location
- Maryland
Chapter 33: Difficult People
"I really appreciate this, Amy," said Ellen. The two were walking through the Docks toward the warehouse where the Ship of Fools was hidden while on Earth.
"It's not a problem, Ellen, but I'm surprised the Nox weren't able to help," answered the teen-aged healer. The Nox rivaled what Panacea could do in terms of healing, and surpassed it in some areas like healing the mind.
Ellen shook her head. "I'm sure they probably could...but Dwayne and I made the mistake of telling Newt that they're aliens. She thought they were just strangely dressed humans, and when she learned that it almost triggered a panic attack." The little girl also found the various members of the Family scary, despite being grateful to them for rescuing her. Now that she was afraid of the Nox, too, it made certain things difficult.
Amy winced. "You know I'm not a therapist?"
"I know," said Ripley, "but we want somebody to look her over. She hasn't been sleeping well, and she's tired all the time. We just want to make sure she's not sick."
"That's not a problem," said Amy with a smile. "It's too bad she's so worried about the Nox. They're really very nice."
"They are," agreed Ripley with a shrug. "But..."
Ripley stopped talking when the two heard a voice calling out, "Amy!" from somewhere above.
Amy looked up to where her sister was flying toward them. "Hi, Vicky."
Vicky landed beside the two. "Hey, I was just heading to the office to look for you. Where are you headed?" She looked over at Ripley. "Hi, again...I'm sorry Taylor never told me your name?"
"Vicky, this is Ellen, and I'm heading with her to give her daughter a check-up," answered Amy.
Vicky's face turned to concerned. "Is it an emergency? I'm not interrupting, am I?"
"No," said Ellen, not wanting to worry the girl. "Amy's just agreed to look her over because she hasn't been sleeping well. I don't mind if you tag along."
"Really?" asked Amy, surprised that Ellen was willing to bring a stranger to the ship.
"Dwayne's waiting with Newt in the front office," explained Ellen.
Vicky missed the byplay, but she did catch one detail. "Newt? Your daughter is named Newt?"
"It's just a nickname. She doesn't like her given name, Rebecca," said the older woman.
"Huh," said Vicky with a shrug, but the name triggered a strange sense of deja vu that she ignored.
The three women reached the warehouse, and Ellen led the way inside. Inside was a slightly ratty front office for the shipping company that used to own the building. A handsome man with a military-style haircut was waiting inside with a small girl, and they both looked up with a smile when they saw Ellen. The little girl's face grew slightly concerned when Amy and Vicky followed Ellen inside.
"Newt," said Ripley, "this is Amy, the healer, and this is her sister Vicky."
"Isn't she a little young for a doctor?" asked the man skeptically.
"She has healing powers," replied Ellen, "kind of like in Peter's or Jimmy's stories."
Vicky looked at him quizzically. "You haven't heard of Panacea? I thought everybody knew Amy."
"I'm not from around here," said Hicks with smirk. "My names Dwayne."
Amy went over to where Newt was sitting on Dwayne's lap. "Newt, I'm Amy. If I hold your hand, I can heal you. Is that OK?" Newt gave her a shy smile and held out her hand. Amy took it and user her power to examine her. "Sweetie, are you sleeping OK?"
"I have dreams," said Newt quietly. Almost whispering, she added, "about the monsters..." Her eyes looked haunted in a way that Amy found heart-breaking for a girl that young.
Amy looked to Ellen. "She's healthy, with the exception of not getting enough sleep. The best thing I could do for her is help her get some rest." She looked to Newt. "Newt, would you like me to help you take a nap without dreams?" The little girl just nodded her head. Amy put her to sleep, and told Dwayne and Ellen, "She should sleep through now until tomorrow morning. She needs the rest."
"Thank you," said Dwayne, looking down at Newt where her head rested against his chest.
"What happened to her?" asked Vicky. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking?" It was a credit to how much Vicky had grown recently as a person that she was asking permission.
Ellen frowned. "Her family was killed, and Newt had to hide to survive. Hicks and I rescued her, but not until she had been through a lot."
"Was it one of the gangs?" asked the teen hero.
Slightly absently, Dwayne said, "Her colony was invaded by aliens that wiped out most of the colonists."
Vicky's eyes widened. "What?" she asked. Then something clicked. "Wait, is this some kind of joke?"
"Vicky! No," said Amy, worried that she would say something offensive, and also worried that Hicks had just revealed a little more than was easy to explain.
"I wish it was a joke," said Ellen, "but she's had nightmares since we rescued her."
Vicky had through pure happenstance just seen that James Cameron movie on television a couple of weeks ago. She looked at Ellen. "Is your last name Ripley?" She remembered Sigourney Weaver's character quite well because the teen hero thought she was a complete badass. The older woman nodded at her question. Vicky turned to Amy. "Amy, what's going on?"
Amy looked to Ellen with a questioning look. The older woman asked, "She's your sister...do you trust her discretion?"
Making a decision, Amy said, "Come with me," and then walked through the door into the inner space of the warehouse. Vicky followed her, then stopped and paused with her jaw open when she saw the spaceship.
"What the hell?" asked the blond hero.
"A few weeks ago, Taylor, Saurial and Taylor's dad were surprised when a duplicate of Taylor showed up at her house," started Amy. "It turned out to be a Taylor from another dimension, and she arrived here with a group of people who were also from other universes on this spaceship."
Vicky looked at her with a confused expression. "Wait, so Ellen, Ripley and Newt are from another universe? But not one like Earth Aleph, but one where those aliens from the movies actually exist? And they have a version of Taylor there?"
"Yes, they're from a universe that appears to be the same as the one from the films, but no, the other Taylor was from another version of Brockton Bay, not the universe with aliens," explained Amy. "But not exactly like Earth Aleph, either." She proceeded to tell Vicky the history of what happened with the Ship of Fools and the inhabitants, along with the help the Family has been giving the inter-dimensional refugees.
"Wait...so are the Family from another dimension?" Vicky was thinking back to her thoughts about how familiar Saurial seemed to be with Taylor and her family. Both Amy and the Family had seemed really busy recently, so Vicky hadn't followed up on her thoughts. "How long have they been here, and how long have they known Taylor?"
Now it was Amy's turn to be confused. "What do you mean, how long have they known Taylor?"
Vicky hesitated. "Well, um..." She chewed on her lower lip.
"Vicky, what's going on? You've been acting a little strange lately?" said Amy. The girl had smelled distracted and worried much more than usual.
Vicky finally explained her thoughts about Saurial, and how familiar she was with the Heberts, their home, and the DWU...and how her research into various topics had made her worry.
Amy considered her sister's distress, then came to a decision. "All right, let's go to the BBFO offices."
"Why?" asked Vicky suspiciously.
"There are some things we need to tell you...and Taylor needs to be there." Amy just hoped Taylor would be willing to trust her sister with a little more of the truth. Given how close Vicky was to Amy, and how close she was becoming to Taylor and the Family, it would be better to let her know some things before something else gave it away.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
In a Los Angeles medical clinic, a young brunette woman lay in bed in a coma in the dark. She was still beautiful, but she had also obviously been bed-ridden for some time. Her medical charts contained a series of status updates with little change, and no actual information about her medical prognosis, mostly because that would have caused issues with Wolfram and Hart's new CEO when he came to visit.
The quiet in the room was disturbed by the sound of a teleporter, and there was suddenly a man standing in the room. Xander Harris looked at his ex, sadly, then triggered his communicator. "This is Xander, and I've confirmed it's her. Let's go."
The room was soon empty, though that changed quickly when the medical alarms started to go off due to a missing patient.
Metis snuck through the interior of a split-level California home. She quickly darted the four family members asleep in their bedrooms with tranquilizer darts, starting with the son. He was clearly the most dangerous, though not really a threat to Metis. Once they were safely and deeply unconscious, the giant lizard and the sleeping family were all teleported away, heading toward an appointment with a group of Nox mind healers.
Knox put the file folder holding his potential sacrifice candidates underneath a magazine on a table when he heard the knock on his door. He went over to his front door and looked through the peephole to find an older gentleman in a courier's uniform holding a large box. He opened the door a crack, keeping the chain on. "Can I help you?"
The man outside looked down at an electronic tablet and said, "Delivery for Knox from...Wolfram and Hart. That some kind of law firm?"
Knox wasn't expecting a delivery, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. "All right," he said without answering the question, and then closed the door enough to remove the chain and take the package. It was heavy, but before he could open it, the courier handed him the tablet.
"Sign there, please," said the man. As Knox took the stylus and started to sign, the man took a strange, serpentine device out of his pocket. With a click that drew Knox's attention, the device expanded into a taller form, and an electrical discharge shot out to encompass the Wolfram and Hart scientist, who quickly collapsed.
Jack O'Neill fired once more, then a third time to disintegrate the body. He then turned the weapon on the package, which contained a brick, wiping it from existence. He triggered his communicator. "This is O'Neill. It's done." The former special operations soldier turned android quickly vanished in a flash of light.
Randall walked through the halls of the law firm, wearing an extremely well-tailored suit. He carefully avoided staring at some of the more...exotic employees walking the hall. He did, however, take note of his quarry, a man in a luchador's mask pushing a mail cart. He made sure to walk close to the cart, sliding a particular envelope into his suit jacket without anybody noticing.
He slipped into an empty office and verified that the envelope was destined for the CEO's office, and that it contained the amulet that had been present at the collapse of the Sunnydale hellmouth. The young man soon vanished in a flash of light.
Around a conference table in a expensive private club, a group of sinister figures sat. At the head of the table was California Senator Helen Brucker...or rather, the demon masquerading as that person. She was flanked by two vampire bodyguards, both in game face. "Do we have any idea who took the seer out of our care?"
"Probably the same people who took Angel's brat," said the red-skinned Cyrus Vail in irritation. Without the vampire's offspring, the prophecy of the Nyazian Scrolls was just so much paper.
Another red-skinned, horned demon named Izzerial, Izzy for short, sat across the table from Vail. "How long do we have before Angel figures out somebody's made off with our leverage?" Izzy was one of the more personable members of the Circle of the Black Thorn, and he was supposed to be the member who would ingratiate himself personally with the souled vampire.
The Archduke Sebassis took a sip from a goblet filled with blue blood taken from the quivering slave behind him before responding. "We have forty-eight hours at most. That, at least, assumes that the memory spell still holds?" he asked, looking to Vail.
"It does," replied the demonic sorcerer.
The final two seats in the room held the head of the Sahrvin Clan and the Grand Potentate of the Fell Brethren, who went by the name of Ed. The latter asked, "Do the Wolfram and Hart seers have any idea where either the woman or the boy were taken?"
"No," said Izzy with a grimace. "At best, they get migraines before passing out. One of them mentioned seeing teeth before stroking out." Unfortunately, some of the more effective psychics employed by W&H had been lost during the mess with Jasmine.
"Teeth?" said Brucker. "That hardly narrows it down."
"Well..." began Sebassis before pausing as a large box appeared in the center of the table, as if by magic. The Archduke looked suspiciously at Vail. "Is this your doing?"
Vail opened his mouth to answer, when suddenly the package exploded out instantly into a weave of mono-filament EDM wire thrashing through a variety of dimensions. The staff of the club were later puzzled as to how all of the furniture and occupants of the room simply vanished, to be somehow replaced by piles of extremely fine dust.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Reed found the table he was looking for toward the back of the Tavern on the Green. Tony and Charles were already waiting for him, the former already with a martini in his hand, though there were still menus on the table. He greeted them as he went to sit down.
"So, what has you two in such a tizzy?" asked the handsome, dark-haired billionaire now that their third had arrived.
"Somebody invited Max and myself to lunch recently. She turned out to be a reptilian alien who was surprisingly well informed on mutant matters," said Charles. "She was also stealthy enough to be able to move through a crowded restaurant without any of the diners or staff noticing a tall lizard woman. Apart from giving us a large volume of intelligence about potential threats to mutants, she warned Max off of some ongoing schemes, and told me that we should reconsider our plans to work together in secret."
"Are you saying she gave you a bribe and a threat, standard carrot and stick?" asked Tony.
Charles shook his head. "She didn't threaten anything. It was more along the lines of warning somebody who was about to do something unwise." Charles had no doubt that making an enemy of the woman would be a bad idea, but she hadn't actually made any direct threats.
"Did you get a reading of her?" asked Reed of the powerful telepath.
"I could not sense her mind...not even surface thoughts. It wasn't defended so much as it was...inaccessible," admitted Xavier.
"That would be too convenient," snarked Tony. "What about you, Reed? Did you get a Ghost of Christmas Lizard, too?"
"She didn't visit me," said the scientist. "Instead, Victor called me on my private line." The latter was said somewhat grudgingly.
Tony looked at him in disbelief. "Haven't I been telling you that you need to upgrade your security? You should let me take a look at it."
Richards grimaced. "I'll take it under consideration. Regardless, Victor sent me a large amount of intelligence on the various alien powers proximate to Earth. Victor said he received it from Charles' lunch partner." Reed took a sip from his water glass. "More than that, he said his visitor is recommending that Earth form a multinational space defense force."
"With Doom playing a leading role?" asked Xavier skeptically.
"No, actually. He seemed...remarkably reasonable. If the intelligence is accurate, then Earth has got some fairly serious threats that we've been badly underestimating, and Victor seemed to feel the same based on his reaction," answered Reed.
"I'm having a little bit of trouble with the company that lizard-girl seems to be keeping. Doom and Magneto aren't exactly up for any humanitarian awards," said Tony. "Are we sure those two aren't working together and the independent source isn't some kind of plant?"
"I've known Max for a long time. Unless he's recently become a much better actor, I'm certain that he had no idea who was coming to meet us at that restaurant. Saurial also revealed some things that Max would normally keep secret," said Charles. Of course, Max had long had defenses against Charles' abilities, but Xavier was a skilled negotiator even without his mutant power.
"It might have been a sacrifice play, and also, Saurial?" asked Tony.
"That was her name, and again, I tend to believe that Max was as caught off guard as me," replied Xavier.
Tony considered things for a moment, taking a drink from his martini as he thought things through. "Has anybody heard from Stephen?"
"I tried talking to him," answered Reed, "but Wong said he's off-world dealing with a private project."
Tony looked askance at Reed. "Let me get this straight. Strange is otherwise occupied, and you both get handed massive distractions and a warning not to keep meeting in secret with me and the others. Doesn't that sound a little suspicious?" asked Tony in an exasperated tone.
Charles and Reed both frowned. Reed said, "Admittedly, that could be a concern. Saurial's warning, though, reminds me of some of the concerns T'Challa expressed at our first meeting. What Victor proposed also isn't unreasonable. Having a multinational space force would be prudent."
"Slight problem with that. First of all, Washington isn't going to want to put forces underneath anybody but an American. That's why Sword never got off the ground, no pun intended. Also, what about Black Bolt and Namor? Are they going to be on board with humans going out into space in force?" asked Tony.
Reed bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. "I agree. However, I'm concerned that Doom may seek to move forward without the United States. He has the resources to encourage other nations to cooperate."
"So, we rally the troops and keep an eye on Doom. If he's trying to make a power play, we can play the spoiler," suggested Stark.
Charles shook his head. "I need to deal with some of the issues with the Hellfire Club that Saurial warned about, Tony. I don't trust Max to handle things there on his own, and it's a direct threat to me and mine."
"Which may be exactly what this Saurial wanted you to do," complained Tony.
Xavier just raised his hands and gave a small shrug. "Regardless, I can't afford to ignore this threat."
"And I'm especially worried about some of the information we received about the Skrulls and the Kree," added Reed. "The Fantastic Four may not be able to handle it alone."
Tony rested his hands on the table in front of him. "Look, you guys know that the Avengers have got your back if you need the help. I have to say I'm worried about this lizard woman and the access she seems to have to information. I think we need to keep our eyes open for any other appearances by her."
Charles and Reed eyed each other, then both gave a slow nod. It didn't hurt to be cautious of lizards bearing gifts, especially when they had no idea as to her ultimate objectives. There was no question that her information was going to make it hard to focus on other matters in the near future. Hopefully that wouldn't come back to bite them later.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The lizard in question was standing in Miles' universe in the Temple of Iponu on the planet of Bajor. Alongside her was Colonel Kira and a Vedek dressed in the robes of the Bajoran faith. The Vedek was obviously not happy with Saurial's presence, or with what she was there to do. "This is very irregular, Colonel. Are you sure we should be allowing this woman access to the Orb of Time?"
Kira knew that it was only her status as a war hero and her association with the Emissary that had gotten them this far. "Vedek Marain, I'm personally vouching for Saurial. I wouldn't be requesting this if I didn't feel it was in the interests of Bajor and the Federation as a whole."
"Vedek," said Saurial, "I seek the wisdom of the Prophets in trying to unravel a mystery that threatens all of us." That was a bit of a stretch, as Saurial wasn't even from this universe, but the Vedek didn't know that.
The Vedek did not seem terribly impressed by this, so Kira added, "I'm certain this is the path the Emissary would have pursued had he seen the same evidence that Saurial has shared with me."
Finally, the Vedek bowed his head in acquiescence. "Very well," he said, and then he stepped to the side, clearing the doorway and allowing Saurial to step into the chamber holding the Orb.
Saurial stepped into the room and extended her senses. 'Ooh, do you feel that?' asked Taylor silently.
"Yes," replied Varga. "This artifact is much larger than the aspect perceivable in this dimension. The warping of space around the Orb is exceedingly complex. It has to be more than a communication device."
'More like a...an access point for something?' pondered Taylor.
"In some ways it reminds me of how powers manifest in your world...interesting. Let's trigger the device," prompted the demon. Saurial reached forward and opened the doors of the Orb's container.
Similar to the scenes from the television show, there was a flash, and Saurial found herself apparently elsewhere. She was standing in the DS9 command center, facing the image of Benjamin Sisko. "You do not fit into this instance," said the Starfleet officer.
"I assume that you're not actually Benjamin Sisko?" asked Saurial.
The image didn't bother to reply to the inquiry, but said, "Why have you forced your way into this realm?"
"There are shades of meaning being layered into this message," prompted Varga. "There is an emotional aspect that I don't think most humans would notice directly. The Bajoran stories about baring their souls to the Prophets may be more literal than we thought."
Out loud, Varga said, "We want to help correct the disruptions to the fabric of this universe."
The image shifted to that of Julian Bashir in the DS9 sickbay. "There is more of you? You exist beyond this form."
Taylor appeared next to Saurial in her human form. "We share this body."
Jadzia Dax came in from out of their field of view and said, "You share more than a physical form. Your souls are joined together. What makes you think you can correct the problems of this galaxy?"
"We have an idea of the problem...and the Q all but confirmed some of our suppositions," replied Varga.
"You are still linear beings," said an image of Q, wearing a Starfleet captain's uniform. Taylor wondered if the shifting images were intended to be deliberately disorienting, or if they were simply a side effect of the differing intellect of the wormhole aliens.
"More so than you, true, but less than many others," replied Varga in partial agreement.
An image of Lisa appeared, dressed as Tattletale and disheveled as she was when Raptaur rescued her from Lung. "If you can follow, then observe."
Taylor could feel Varga filtering the impressions into something she could comprehend. There was a powerful intelligence that viewed humanity...specifically humanity as expressed through the Federation...to be a threat, or rather, to be a potential threat in many possible timelines. As a response to an attack by the descendants of the present Federation, the nature of the local multiverse had been twisted in a way that had a number of powerful races scrambling to hold together the fabric of reality. The barrier around the galaxy and the construct known as the Guardian of Forever were key pieces. Beings that Taylor recognized as the Organians also played a role, working to fix major disruptions before they happened, and being far more active in galactic events than anyone in the Federation knew. Varga directed her attention to a swath of reality that felt...wrong. It was both the primary thrust of the attack as well as its result, manifesting in their joined perception as a wound that sheared across the galaxy.
Saurial reappeared back in the Orb's chamber without warning.
'That was a bit rude,' complained Taylor.
She could feel Varga's amusement. "The Prophets are truly an alien mentality. I myself have only encountered a handful of species so far removed from a human perspective. I believe my nature discomfited them to a degree. Nevertheless, they shared quite a lot of information. You only got the highlights, but I can explain more."
'Do you have an idea of what we might be able to do to help fix this?' asked Taylor.
"Perhaps," replied the demon. "First, we need to pay a visit to Death, and no, I'm not speaking metaphorically."
It was a subdued Saurial who politely thanked the Vedek and confirmed to Kira that they had achieved their objective, while also explaining that they would need time to understand everything revealed.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The aircar dipped down, dodging two energy blasts from the pursuing thugs. Faith took aim down the barrel of her appropriated weapon and fired a cyan blast of energy back at one of the pursuing cars, hitting one of its anti-grav generators and sending the aircar spiraling down toward the ground. "This gun is pretty fucking badass," said the slayer with a huge smile.
"Go left around that tower!" yelled Vala to Seven, who was piloting the craft.
"This vehicle's performance characteristics are sub-optimal," complained Seven.
Vala glared at her. "Well maybe you shouldn't have broken that gang leader's hand." Vala would never have let him get close enough to get grabby, but Seven seemed to be oblivious to social situations. This aircar had been the first available as they beat a retreat from the barely competent but numerous and heavily armed criminals.
"He had no right to put his hands on me," said Seven blandly as she sharply banked the aircar, another crimson energy blast flashing past and smashing into the ferrocrete of the corporate building.
"Back when I was a demon, I would have eviscerated any man who dared grab me like that," said Anya as she used one of the handholds to keep from sliding over into Faith, who was in the process of lining up on another pursuer.
Faith sent another shot against an aircar, but while the body panel struck sparked and dented, it didn't seem to delay the vehicle. "Hey Vala, how is it that there aren't like a ton of cops swarming us?"
"You mean police?" asked the rogue. "The gangs have almost certainly paid them to look the other way unless something really big happens."
"This planet does have a refreshingly capitalist approach to things," agreed Anya.
One of the shots from behind brushed against the aircar's canopy, causing it to rattle while a section of the plastic discolored. "This is getting tiresome. Secure yourselves," said Seven.
"What? Why?" asked Anya with widened eyes. She started to yell rather loudly as Seven pulled the nose of the aircar up and into a loop heading back toward the pursuers upside down.
The anti-gravity generators of the aircar began to whine alarmingly. "These cars aren't designed to do this!" yelled Vala as she held on for dear life. Anya was still yelling, while Faith simply wrapped her arm around one of the seat belts and let out a loud whoop.
The crowd of pursing aircars took a moment to react while the pilots tried to process what they were seeing, although one of the more experienced drivers dove for the deck admirably quickly. Two others proved themselves to be less capable as one smashed into the other while trying to get out of the way. Seven flipped the car upright as she drove through the cloud of pursuers, then dove hard for a pedestrian walkway close to the ground. She slipped beneath the walkway, then slewed the car into a sideways slide through an alley that hadn't been visible from above. Popping out on the other side of a pair of obscuring buildings, she accelerated and then came to a dead stop inside a parking garage on the next block.
Vala, Faith and Anya all sat quietly, trying to absorb that the car was still in one piece. Seven removed her seat belt and opened the driver-side door. "I suggest we move away from the vehicle and make our escape," said the Borg woman.
The four of them made their way onto an express transit train heading to another district while their pursuers continued to search the skyways for their escape craft. Despite having just come from a running gun battle, the women's nova-level credit removed any official inquiry into their business by the transit station employees.
"Where should we go now?" asked Anya as the four rode the train.
Vala considered. "We still haven't actually done any shopping. Where is this train going?"
Faith looked at a transit map that was marked with letters in multiple alphabets. Luckily, one of them used a version of the Roman alphabet, albeit strangely accented. The slayer was ignoring the looks of the other passengers, who were mostly staring at the energy rifle she had resting across her lap. "It says this train is heading to the Ee-pah-nesh District?"
"Ipaneesh?" clarified Vala. "Ooh, I've never been there. There's a shopping area there that's targeted at nova-level shoppers."
"So, it's a bunch of stores for rich people?" asked Faith skeptically.
"All kinds of rich people, looking for all kinds of things, including things that are normally restricted or borderline illegal," clarified Vala. She looked over at Faith. "If you plan on keeping that weapon, then we need to get a case for it. Ipaneesh is the kind of place that frowns on displays of force."
"People don't carry guns?" asked Faith curiously.
"Of course they do," said Anya. "But overt display of weapons is gauche. Truly wealthy people don't have to flaunt their power like that."
"She's not wrong," added Vala.
Seven was fiddling with the interactive map. "There is a clothing store right outside of the transit station at our destination. We can undoubtedly obtain a container for Faith's weapon there."
"What's it called?" asked Anya
Seven frowned. "If I'm reading this correctly, it translates as, 'Abattoir.'"
"Ooh, ooh," exclaimed Vala. "They have the most amazing leather goods."
Faith looked up at that. "Really?"
"Oh, yes." Vala looked at Seven. "Seven, you would look amazing in a leather bodysuit."
Seven looked back with a frown. "My current outfit is perfectly functional."
"You shouldn't judge until you've seen what's available," warned Anya. "There may be something that's both useful and stylish."
"Some of their outfits work as body armor, too," added Vala.
"Very well. I shall see what they have for sale," agreed Seven grudgingly.
Two hours later, Seven was walking out with a skin-tight lavender suit made of synthetic unas skin with an integrated force field generator. She even grudgingly admitted that the embossed pattern on the front of the outfit was aesthetically pleasing, reminding her of the geometric forms of Borg construction. Vala and Faith were carrying packages, and wearing outfits that were only technically preserving modesty. Anya's leather pants and jacket were modest by comparison, though she had other outfits in her bags for Xander later.
Vala went to a nearby terminal and summoned a hovering drone.
"What's that for?" asked Faith, curious.
Vala put her bags in the hovering drone. "Go ahead and put your purchases in here. Wealthy people don't carry their own bags."
The women all divested themselves of their packages. "Are you leaving your weapon here?" asked Seven, seeing Faith put her energy rifle with its new leather case in the drone.
"Eh, we're just going shopping, right? What's the chance I'll need a ray gun?" asked Faith.
"In my experience," answered Anya cynically, "the chance is now 100% because you said that."
Faith shrugged. "If something happens, I'll improvise."
Vala smiled. "You, Faith, are a woman after my own heart."
Seven didn't mention that her force field generator was perfectly capable of projecting blasts of force offensively. Anya's concerns were largely simple superstition, after all. In any event, the local criminals had so far proven to be less than impressive. By her estimation, it was unlikely that anything outside of the abilities of her and her companions would manifest.
That opinion would seem hopelessly naive in retrospect...
"I really appreciate this, Amy," said Ellen. The two were walking through the Docks toward the warehouse where the Ship of Fools was hidden while on Earth.
"It's not a problem, Ellen, but I'm surprised the Nox weren't able to help," answered the teen-aged healer. The Nox rivaled what Panacea could do in terms of healing, and surpassed it in some areas like healing the mind.
Ellen shook her head. "I'm sure they probably could...but Dwayne and I made the mistake of telling Newt that they're aliens. She thought they were just strangely dressed humans, and when she learned that it almost triggered a panic attack." The little girl also found the various members of the Family scary, despite being grateful to them for rescuing her. Now that she was afraid of the Nox, too, it made certain things difficult.
Amy winced. "You know I'm not a therapist?"
"I know," said Ripley, "but we want somebody to look her over. She hasn't been sleeping well, and she's tired all the time. We just want to make sure she's not sick."
"That's not a problem," said Amy with a smile. "It's too bad she's so worried about the Nox. They're really very nice."
"They are," agreed Ripley with a shrug. "But..."
Ripley stopped talking when the two heard a voice calling out, "Amy!" from somewhere above.
Amy looked up to where her sister was flying toward them. "Hi, Vicky."
Vicky landed beside the two. "Hey, I was just heading to the office to look for you. Where are you headed?" She looked over at Ripley. "Hi, again...I'm sorry Taylor never told me your name?"
"Vicky, this is Ellen, and I'm heading with her to give her daughter a check-up," answered Amy.
Vicky's face turned to concerned. "Is it an emergency? I'm not interrupting, am I?"
"No," said Ellen, not wanting to worry the girl. "Amy's just agreed to look her over because she hasn't been sleeping well. I don't mind if you tag along."
"Really?" asked Amy, surprised that Ellen was willing to bring a stranger to the ship.
"Dwayne's waiting with Newt in the front office," explained Ellen.
Vicky missed the byplay, but she did catch one detail. "Newt? Your daughter is named Newt?"
"It's just a nickname. She doesn't like her given name, Rebecca," said the older woman.
"Huh," said Vicky with a shrug, but the name triggered a strange sense of deja vu that she ignored.
The three women reached the warehouse, and Ellen led the way inside. Inside was a slightly ratty front office for the shipping company that used to own the building. A handsome man with a military-style haircut was waiting inside with a small girl, and they both looked up with a smile when they saw Ellen. The little girl's face grew slightly concerned when Amy and Vicky followed Ellen inside.
"Newt," said Ripley, "this is Amy, the healer, and this is her sister Vicky."
"Isn't she a little young for a doctor?" asked the man skeptically.
"She has healing powers," replied Ellen, "kind of like in Peter's or Jimmy's stories."
Vicky looked at him quizzically. "You haven't heard of Panacea? I thought everybody knew Amy."
"I'm not from around here," said Hicks with smirk. "My names Dwayne."
Amy went over to where Newt was sitting on Dwayne's lap. "Newt, I'm Amy. If I hold your hand, I can heal you. Is that OK?" Newt gave her a shy smile and held out her hand. Amy took it and user her power to examine her. "Sweetie, are you sleeping OK?"
"I have dreams," said Newt quietly. Almost whispering, she added, "about the monsters..." Her eyes looked haunted in a way that Amy found heart-breaking for a girl that young.
Amy looked to Ellen. "She's healthy, with the exception of not getting enough sleep. The best thing I could do for her is help her get some rest." She looked to Newt. "Newt, would you like me to help you take a nap without dreams?" The little girl just nodded her head. Amy put her to sleep, and told Dwayne and Ellen, "She should sleep through now until tomorrow morning. She needs the rest."
"Thank you," said Dwayne, looking down at Newt where her head rested against his chest.
"What happened to her?" asked Vicky. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking?" It was a credit to how much Vicky had grown recently as a person that she was asking permission.
Ellen frowned. "Her family was killed, and Newt had to hide to survive. Hicks and I rescued her, but not until she had been through a lot."
"Was it one of the gangs?" asked the teen hero.
Slightly absently, Dwayne said, "Her colony was invaded by aliens that wiped out most of the colonists."
Vicky's eyes widened. "What?" she asked. Then something clicked. "Wait, is this some kind of joke?"
"Vicky! No," said Amy, worried that she would say something offensive, and also worried that Hicks had just revealed a little more than was easy to explain.
"I wish it was a joke," said Ellen, "but she's had nightmares since we rescued her."
Vicky had through pure happenstance just seen that James Cameron movie on television a couple of weeks ago. She looked at Ellen. "Is your last name Ripley?" She remembered Sigourney Weaver's character quite well because the teen hero thought she was a complete badass. The older woman nodded at her question. Vicky turned to Amy. "Amy, what's going on?"
Amy looked to Ellen with a questioning look. The older woman asked, "She's your sister...do you trust her discretion?"
Making a decision, Amy said, "Come with me," and then walked through the door into the inner space of the warehouse. Vicky followed her, then stopped and paused with her jaw open when she saw the spaceship.
"What the hell?" asked the blond hero.
"A few weeks ago, Taylor, Saurial and Taylor's dad were surprised when a duplicate of Taylor showed up at her house," started Amy. "It turned out to be a Taylor from another dimension, and she arrived here with a group of people who were also from other universes on this spaceship."
Vicky looked at her with a confused expression. "Wait, so Ellen, Ripley and Newt are from another universe? But not one like Earth Aleph, but one where those aliens from the movies actually exist? And they have a version of Taylor there?"
"Yes, they're from a universe that appears to be the same as the one from the films, but no, the other Taylor was from another version of Brockton Bay, not the universe with aliens," explained Amy. "But not exactly like Earth Aleph, either." She proceeded to tell Vicky the history of what happened with the Ship of Fools and the inhabitants, along with the help the Family has been giving the inter-dimensional refugees.
"Wait...so are the Family from another dimension?" Vicky was thinking back to her thoughts about how familiar Saurial seemed to be with Taylor and her family. Both Amy and the Family had seemed really busy recently, so Vicky hadn't followed up on her thoughts. "How long have they been here, and how long have they known Taylor?"
Now it was Amy's turn to be confused. "What do you mean, how long have they known Taylor?"
Vicky hesitated. "Well, um..." She chewed on her lower lip.
"Vicky, what's going on? You've been acting a little strange lately?" said Amy. The girl had smelled distracted and worried much more than usual.
Vicky finally explained her thoughts about Saurial, and how familiar she was with the Heberts, their home, and the DWU...and how her research into various topics had made her worry.
Amy considered her sister's distress, then came to a decision. "All right, let's go to the BBFO offices."
"Why?" asked Vicky suspiciously.
"There are some things we need to tell you...and Taylor needs to be there." Amy just hoped Taylor would be willing to trust her sister with a little more of the truth. Given how close Vicky was to Amy, and how close she was becoming to Taylor and the Family, it would be better to let her know some things before something else gave it away.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
In a Los Angeles medical clinic, a young brunette woman lay in bed in a coma in the dark. She was still beautiful, but she had also obviously been bed-ridden for some time. Her medical charts contained a series of status updates with little change, and no actual information about her medical prognosis, mostly because that would have caused issues with Wolfram and Hart's new CEO when he came to visit.
The quiet in the room was disturbed by the sound of a teleporter, and there was suddenly a man standing in the room. Xander Harris looked at his ex, sadly, then triggered his communicator. "This is Xander, and I've confirmed it's her. Let's go."
The room was soon empty, though that changed quickly when the medical alarms started to go off due to a missing patient.
- - - - -
Metis snuck through the interior of a split-level California home. She quickly darted the four family members asleep in their bedrooms with tranquilizer darts, starting with the son. He was clearly the most dangerous, though not really a threat to Metis. Once they were safely and deeply unconscious, the giant lizard and the sleeping family were all teleported away, heading toward an appointment with a group of Nox mind healers.
- - - - -
Knox put the file folder holding his potential sacrifice candidates underneath a magazine on a table when he heard the knock on his door. He went over to his front door and looked through the peephole to find an older gentleman in a courier's uniform holding a large box. He opened the door a crack, keeping the chain on. "Can I help you?"
The man outside looked down at an electronic tablet and said, "Delivery for Knox from...Wolfram and Hart. That some kind of law firm?"
Knox wasn't expecting a delivery, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. "All right," he said without answering the question, and then closed the door enough to remove the chain and take the package. It was heavy, but before he could open it, the courier handed him the tablet.
"Sign there, please," said the man. As Knox took the stylus and started to sign, the man took a strange, serpentine device out of his pocket. With a click that drew Knox's attention, the device expanded into a taller form, and an electrical discharge shot out to encompass the Wolfram and Hart scientist, who quickly collapsed.
Jack O'Neill fired once more, then a third time to disintegrate the body. He then turned the weapon on the package, which contained a brick, wiping it from existence. He triggered his communicator. "This is O'Neill. It's done." The former special operations soldier turned android quickly vanished in a flash of light.
- - - - -
Randall walked through the halls of the law firm, wearing an extremely well-tailored suit. He carefully avoided staring at some of the more...exotic employees walking the hall. He did, however, take note of his quarry, a man in a luchador's mask pushing a mail cart. He made sure to walk close to the cart, sliding a particular envelope into his suit jacket without anybody noticing.
He slipped into an empty office and verified that the envelope was destined for the CEO's office, and that it contained the amulet that had been present at the collapse of the Sunnydale hellmouth. The young man soon vanished in a flash of light.
- - - - -
Around a conference table in a expensive private club, a group of sinister figures sat. At the head of the table was California Senator Helen Brucker...or rather, the demon masquerading as that person. She was flanked by two vampire bodyguards, both in game face. "Do we have any idea who took the seer out of our care?"
"Probably the same people who took Angel's brat," said the red-skinned Cyrus Vail in irritation. Without the vampire's offspring, the prophecy of the Nyazian Scrolls was just so much paper.
Another red-skinned, horned demon named Izzerial, Izzy for short, sat across the table from Vail. "How long do we have before Angel figures out somebody's made off with our leverage?" Izzy was one of the more personable members of the Circle of the Black Thorn, and he was supposed to be the member who would ingratiate himself personally with the souled vampire.
The Archduke Sebassis took a sip from a goblet filled with blue blood taken from the quivering slave behind him before responding. "We have forty-eight hours at most. That, at least, assumes that the memory spell still holds?" he asked, looking to Vail.
"It does," replied the demonic sorcerer.
The final two seats in the room held the head of the Sahrvin Clan and the Grand Potentate of the Fell Brethren, who went by the name of Ed. The latter asked, "Do the Wolfram and Hart seers have any idea where either the woman or the boy were taken?"
"No," said Izzy with a grimace. "At best, they get migraines before passing out. One of them mentioned seeing teeth before stroking out." Unfortunately, some of the more effective psychics employed by W&H had been lost during the mess with Jasmine.
"Teeth?" said Brucker. "That hardly narrows it down."
"Well..." began Sebassis before pausing as a large box appeared in the center of the table, as if by magic. The Archduke looked suspiciously at Vail. "Is this your doing?"
Vail opened his mouth to answer, when suddenly the package exploded out instantly into a weave of mono-filament EDM wire thrashing through a variety of dimensions. The staff of the club were later puzzled as to how all of the furniture and occupants of the room simply vanished, to be somehow replaced by piles of extremely fine dust.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Reed found the table he was looking for toward the back of the Tavern on the Green. Tony and Charles were already waiting for him, the former already with a martini in his hand, though there were still menus on the table. He greeted them as he went to sit down.
"So, what has you two in such a tizzy?" asked the handsome, dark-haired billionaire now that their third had arrived.
"Somebody invited Max and myself to lunch recently. She turned out to be a reptilian alien who was surprisingly well informed on mutant matters," said Charles. "She was also stealthy enough to be able to move through a crowded restaurant without any of the diners or staff noticing a tall lizard woman. Apart from giving us a large volume of intelligence about potential threats to mutants, she warned Max off of some ongoing schemes, and told me that we should reconsider our plans to work together in secret."
"Are you saying she gave you a bribe and a threat, standard carrot and stick?" asked Tony.
Charles shook his head. "She didn't threaten anything. It was more along the lines of warning somebody who was about to do something unwise." Charles had no doubt that making an enemy of the woman would be a bad idea, but she hadn't actually made any direct threats.
"Did you get a reading of her?" asked Reed of the powerful telepath.
"I could not sense her mind...not even surface thoughts. It wasn't defended so much as it was...inaccessible," admitted Xavier.
"That would be too convenient," snarked Tony. "What about you, Reed? Did you get a Ghost of Christmas Lizard, too?"
"She didn't visit me," said the scientist. "Instead, Victor called me on my private line." The latter was said somewhat grudgingly.
Tony looked at him in disbelief. "Haven't I been telling you that you need to upgrade your security? You should let me take a look at it."
Richards grimaced. "I'll take it under consideration. Regardless, Victor sent me a large amount of intelligence on the various alien powers proximate to Earth. Victor said he received it from Charles' lunch partner." Reed took a sip from his water glass. "More than that, he said his visitor is recommending that Earth form a multinational space defense force."
"With Doom playing a leading role?" asked Xavier skeptically.
"No, actually. He seemed...remarkably reasonable. If the intelligence is accurate, then Earth has got some fairly serious threats that we've been badly underestimating, and Victor seemed to feel the same based on his reaction," answered Reed.
"I'm having a little bit of trouble with the company that lizard-girl seems to be keeping. Doom and Magneto aren't exactly up for any humanitarian awards," said Tony. "Are we sure those two aren't working together and the independent source isn't some kind of plant?"
"I've known Max for a long time. Unless he's recently become a much better actor, I'm certain that he had no idea who was coming to meet us at that restaurant. Saurial also revealed some things that Max would normally keep secret," said Charles. Of course, Max had long had defenses against Charles' abilities, but Xavier was a skilled negotiator even without his mutant power.
"It might have been a sacrifice play, and also, Saurial?" asked Tony.
"That was her name, and again, I tend to believe that Max was as caught off guard as me," replied Xavier.
Tony considered things for a moment, taking a drink from his martini as he thought things through. "Has anybody heard from Stephen?"
"I tried talking to him," answered Reed, "but Wong said he's off-world dealing with a private project."
Tony looked askance at Reed. "Let me get this straight. Strange is otherwise occupied, and you both get handed massive distractions and a warning not to keep meeting in secret with me and the others. Doesn't that sound a little suspicious?" asked Tony in an exasperated tone.
Charles and Reed both frowned. Reed said, "Admittedly, that could be a concern. Saurial's warning, though, reminds me of some of the concerns T'Challa expressed at our first meeting. What Victor proposed also isn't unreasonable. Having a multinational space force would be prudent."
"Slight problem with that. First of all, Washington isn't going to want to put forces underneath anybody but an American. That's why Sword never got off the ground, no pun intended. Also, what about Black Bolt and Namor? Are they going to be on board with humans going out into space in force?" asked Tony.
Reed bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. "I agree. However, I'm concerned that Doom may seek to move forward without the United States. He has the resources to encourage other nations to cooperate."
"So, we rally the troops and keep an eye on Doom. If he's trying to make a power play, we can play the spoiler," suggested Stark.
Charles shook his head. "I need to deal with some of the issues with the Hellfire Club that Saurial warned about, Tony. I don't trust Max to handle things there on his own, and it's a direct threat to me and mine."
"Which may be exactly what this Saurial wanted you to do," complained Tony.
Xavier just raised his hands and gave a small shrug. "Regardless, I can't afford to ignore this threat."
"And I'm especially worried about some of the information we received about the Skrulls and the Kree," added Reed. "The Fantastic Four may not be able to handle it alone."
Tony rested his hands on the table in front of him. "Look, you guys know that the Avengers have got your back if you need the help. I have to say I'm worried about this lizard woman and the access she seems to have to information. I think we need to keep our eyes open for any other appearances by her."
Charles and Reed eyed each other, then both gave a slow nod. It didn't hurt to be cautious of lizards bearing gifts, especially when they had no idea as to her ultimate objectives. There was no question that her information was going to make it hard to focus on other matters in the near future. Hopefully that wouldn't come back to bite them later.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The lizard in question was standing in Miles' universe in the Temple of Iponu on the planet of Bajor. Alongside her was Colonel Kira and a Vedek dressed in the robes of the Bajoran faith. The Vedek was obviously not happy with Saurial's presence, or with what she was there to do. "This is very irregular, Colonel. Are you sure we should be allowing this woman access to the Orb of Time?"
Kira knew that it was only her status as a war hero and her association with the Emissary that had gotten them this far. "Vedek Marain, I'm personally vouching for Saurial. I wouldn't be requesting this if I didn't feel it was in the interests of Bajor and the Federation as a whole."
"Vedek," said Saurial, "I seek the wisdom of the Prophets in trying to unravel a mystery that threatens all of us." That was a bit of a stretch, as Saurial wasn't even from this universe, but the Vedek didn't know that.
The Vedek did not seem terribly impressed by this, so Kira added, "I'm certain this is the path the Emissary would have pursued had he seen the same evidence that Saurial has shared with me."
Finally, the Vedek bowed his head in acquiescence. "Very well," he said, and then he stepped to the side, clearing the doorway and allowing Saurial to step into the chamber holding the Orb.
Saurial stepped into the room and extended her senses. 'Ooh, do you feel that?' asked Taylor silently.
"Yes," replied Varga. "This artifact is much larger than the aspect perceivable in this dimension. The warping of space around the Orb is exceedingly complex. It has to be more than a communication device."
'More like a...an access point for something?' pondered Taylor.
"In some ways it reminds me of how powers manifest in your world...interesting. Let's trigger the device," prompted the demon. Saurial reached forward and opened the doors of the Orb's container.
Similar to the scenes from the television show, there was a flash, and Saurial found herself apparently elsewhere. She was standing in the DS9 command center, facing the image of Benjamin Sisko. "You do not fit into this instance," said the Starfleet officer.
"I assume that you're not actually Benjamin Sisko?" asked Saurial.
The image didn't bother to reply to the inquiry, but said, "Why have you forced your way into this realm?"
"There are shades of meaning being layered into this message," prompted Varga. "There is an emotional aspect that I don't think most humans would notice directly. The Bajoran stories about baring their souls to the Prophets may be more literal than we thought."
Out loud, Varga said, "We want to help correct the disruptions to the fabric of this universe."
The image shifted to that of Julian Bashir in the DS9 sickbay. "There is more of you? You exist beyond this form."
Taylor appeared next to Saurial in her human form. "We share this body."
Jadzia Dax came in from out of their field of view and said, "You share more than a physical form. Your souls are joined together. What makes you think you can correct the problems of this galaxy?"
"We have an idea of the problem...and the Q all but confirmed some of our suppositions," replied Varga.
"You are still linear beings," said an image of Q, wearing a Starfleet captain's uniform. Taylor wondered if the shifting images were intended to be deliberately disorienting, or if they were simply a side effect of the differing intellect of the wormhole aliens.
"More so than you, true, but less than many others," replied Varga in partial agreement.
An image of Lisa appeared, dressed as Tattletale and disheveled as she was when Raptaur rescued her from Lung. "If you can follow, then observe."
Taylor could feel Varga filtering the impressions into something she could comprehend. There was a powerful intelligence that viewed humanity...specifically humanity as expressed through the Federation...to be a threat, or rather, to be a potential threat in many possible timelines. As a response to an attack by the descendants of the present Federation, the nature of the local multiverse had been twisted in a way that had a number of powerful races scrambling to hold together the fabric of reality. The barrier around the galaxy and the construct known as the Guardian of Forever were key pieces. Beings that Taylor recognized as the Organians also played a role, working to fix major disruptions before they happened, and being far more active in galactic events than anyone in the Federation knew. Varga directed her attention to a swath of reality that felt...wrong. It was both the primary thrust of the attack as well as its result, manifesting in their joined perception as a wound that sheared across the galaxy.
Saurial reappeared back in the Orb's chamber without warning.
'That was a bit rude,' complained Taylor.
She could feel Varga's amusement. "The Prophets are truly an alien mentality. I myself have only encountered a handful of species so far removed from a human perspective. I believe my nature discomfited them to a degree. Nevertheless, they shared quite a lot of information. You only got the highlights, but I can explain more."
'Do you have an idea of what we might be able to do to help fix this?' asked Taylor.
"Perhaps," replied the demon. "First, we need to pay a visit to Death, and no, I'm not speaking metaphorically."
It was a subdued Saurial who politely thanked the Vedek and confirmed to Kira that they had achieved their objective, while also explaining that they would need time to understand everything revealed.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The aircar dipped down, dodging two energy blasts from the pursuing thugs. Faith took aim down the barrel of her appropriated weapon and fired a cyan blast of energy back at one of the pursuing cars, hitting one of its anti-grav generators and sending the aircar spiraling down toward the ground. "This gun is pretty fucking badass," said the slayer with a huge smile.
"Go left around that tower!" yelled Vala to Seven, who was piloting the craft.
"This vehicle's performance characteristics are sub-optimal," complained Seven.
Vala glared at her. "Well maybe you shouldn't have broken that gang leader's hand." Vala would never have let him get close enough to get grabby, but Seven seemed to be oblivious to social situations. This aircar had been the first available as they beat a retreat from the barely competent but numerous and heavily armed criminals.
"He had no right to put his hands on me," said Seven blandly as she sharply banked the aircar, another crimson energy blast flashing past and smashing into the ferrocrete of the corporate building.
"Back when I was a demon, I would have eviscerated any man who dared grab me like that," said Anya as she used one of the handholds to keep from sliding over into Faith, who was in the process of lining up on another pursuer.
Faith sent another shot against an aircar, but while the body panel struck sparked and dented, it didn't seem to delay the vehicle. "Hey Vala, how is it that there aren't like a ton of cops swarming us?"
"You mean police?" asked the rogue. "The gangs have almost certainly paid them to look the other way unless something really big happens."
"This planet does have a refreshingly capitalist approach to things," agreed Anya.
One of the shots from behind brushed against the aircar's canopy, causing it to rattle while a section of the plastic discolored. "This is getting tiresome. Secure yourselves," said Seven.
"What? Why?" asked Anya with widened eyes. She started to yell rather loudly as Seven pulled the nose of the aircar up and into a loop heading back toward the pursuers upside down.
The anti-gravity generators of the aircar began to whine alarmingly. "These cars aren't designed to do this!" yelled Vala as she held on for dear life. Anya was still yelling, while Faith simply wrapped her arm around one of the seat belts and let out a loud whoop.
The crowd of pursing aircars took a moment to react while the pilots tried to process what they were seeing, although one of the more experienced drivers dove for the deck admirably quickly. Two others proved themselves to be less capable as one smashed into the other while trying to get out of the way. Seven flipped the car upright as she drove through the cloud of pursuers, then dove hard for a pedestrian walkway close to the ground. She slipped beneath the walkway, then slewed the car into a sideways slide through an alley that hadn't been visible from above. Popping out on the other side of a pair of obscuring buildings, she accelerated and then came to a dead stop inside a parking garage on the next block.
Vala, Faith and Anya all sat quietly, trying to absorb that the car was still in one piece. Seven removed her seat belt and opened the driver-side door. "I suggest we move away from the vehicle and make our escape," said the Borg woman.
The four of them made their way onto an express transit train heading to another district while their pursuers continued to search the skyways for their escape craft. Despite having just come from a running gun battle, the women's nova-level credit removed any official inquiry into their business by the transit station employees.
"Where should we go now?" asked Anya as the four rode the train.
Vala considered. "We still haven't actually done any shopping. Where is this train going?"
Faith looked at a transit map that was marked with letters in multiple alphabets. Luckily, one of them used a version of the Roman alphabet, albeit strangely accented. The slayer was ignoring the looks of the other passengers, who were mostly staring at the energy rifle she had resting across her lap. "It says this train is heading to the Ee-pah-nesh District?"
"Ipaneesh?" clarified Vala. "Ooh, I've never been there. There's a shopping area there that's targeted at nova-level shoppers."
"So, it's a bunch of stores for rich people?" asked Faith skeptically.
"All kinds of rich people, looking for all kinds of things, including things that are normally restricted or borderline illegal," clarified Vala. She looked over at Faith. "If you plan on keeping that weapon, then we need to get a case for it. Ipaneesh is the kind of place that frowns on displays of force."
"People don't carry guns?" asked Faith curiously.
"Of course they do," said Anya. "But overt display of weapons is gauche. Truly wealthy people don't have to flaunt their power like that."
"She's not wrong," added Vala.
Seven was fiddling with the interactive map. "There is a clothing store right outside of the transit station at our destination. We can undoubtedly obtain a container for Faith's weapon there."
"What's it called?" asked Anya
Seven frowned. "If I'm reading this correctly, it translates as, 'Abattoir.'"
"Ooh, ooh," exclaimed Vala. "They have the most amazing leather goods."
Faith looked up at that. "Really?"
"Oh, yes." Vala looked at Seven. "Seven, you would look amazing in a leather bodysuit."
Seven looked back with a frown. "My current outfit is perfectly functional."
"You shouldn't judge until you've seen what's available," warned Anya. "There may be something that's both useful and stylish."
"Some of their outfits work as body armor, too," added Vala.
"Very well. I shall see what they have for sale," agreed Seven grudgingly.
Two hours later, Seven was walking out with a skin-tight lavender suit made of synthetic unas skin with an integrated force field generator. She even grudgingly admitted that the embossed pattern on the front of the outfit was aesthetically pleasing, reminding her of the geometric forms of Borg construction. Vala and Faith were carrying packages, and wearing outfits that were only technically preserving modesty. Anya's leather pants and jacket were modest by comparison, though she had other outfits in her bags for Xander later.
Vala went to a nearby terminal and summoned a hovering drone.
"What's that for?" asked Faith, curious.
Vala put her bags in the hovering drone. "Go ahead and put your purchases in here. Wealthy people don't carry their own bags."
The women all divested themselves of their packages. "Are you leaving your weapon here?" asked Seven, seeing Faith put her energy rifle with its new leather case in the drone.
"Eh, we're just going shopping, right? What's the chance I'll need a ray gun?" asked Faith.
"In my experience," answered Anya cynically, "the chance is now 100% because you said that."
Faith shrugged. "If something happens, I'll improvise."
Vala smiled. "You, Faith, are a woman after my own heart."
Seven didn't mention that her force field generator was perfectly capable of projecting blasts of force offensively. Anya's concerns were largely simple superstition, after all. In any event, the local criminals had so far proven to be less than impressive. By her estimation, it was unlikely that anything outside of the abilities of her and her companions would manifest.
That opinion would seem hopelessly naive in retrospect...
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