"So, I have a proposition for you all. Sign this, and I will help you."
I strode confidently into the tense standoff, my pristine white lab coat contrasting sharply with the grimy, battle-scarred street. From an inner pocket, I produced two sheets of paper a standard-looking legal agreement and presented one to Rhodes Island, the other to the Reunion squad.
The long-eared girl, one of Rhodes Island's key members, tilted her head, confusion clouding her eyes. "Eh?"
The Reunion girl, however, simply stared. Her face was a mask of cold, blank emotion.
"Very interesting," I muttered, always fascinated by extreme reactions, or lack thereof.
It was the bunny girl, an icon of Rhodes Island, who finally spoke up, her voice laced with skepticism. "How would you even help us? You shouldn't be here, and you're just two people against them."
"Heh. I am Agnes Tachyon! I possess the greatest mind in the world!" I declared, puffing out my chest. My mind was my weapon. "If you won't sign it, perhaps they will." I glanced toward the Reunion leader.
The girl didn't even flinch. "No," she said flatly, and with a swift, dismissive motion, she tore the paper in half.
"What?! You don't want me?!" I gaped, feeling a genuine, intellectual offense. "I am Agnes Tachyon! I have data and research many people would envy! I can make regular people into super-soldiers and more!"
"You're just a self-proclaimed scientist with nothing to prove," she countered, her lip curling slightly.
"Why, you! I have data to back it up!" My face flushed with indignant rage. She was mocking my intelligence! I would not suffer such disrespect.
Meanwhile, the long-eared Rhodes Island girl was actually reading the document. Her ears twitched as she scanned the fine print.
"Eh? She wants all our resources for her research..." she murmured, looking up at me as if I were a particularly naïve child.
"You won't believe me, huh? Very well, maybe Rhodes Island will!" I said, spinning on my heel to face their group.
"No," the bunny girl said immediately.
"Eh!?"
"You should just get out of here, Miss," she insisted.
Just as I opened my mouth to launch into a full-scale, irrefutable scientific argument, a figure emerged from behind the Rhodes Island group. Hooded and shadowy, the person quickly took the paper, scribbled a signature, and handed it back to me.
"Will you help us?" the person asked, their voice low.
I snatched the paper, a wide, triumphant grin stretching across my face. I turned back toward the stunned Reunion squad and addressed my partner, the "ever-loyal" Z23.
"Let's do this," I said.
The bulky, high-tech Medi Gun instantly materialized in my hands. I stepped behind Z23, leveling the nozzle at her back.
"UberCharge ready!" I announced.
"Will this even work, Mistress?" Z23 asked, her expression tight with doubt.
"I HAVE NO IDEA!" I yelled, adrenaline surging through me.
I flipped the activation switch. A powerful, pulsating red glow enveloped Z23's metal hull, and her optical sensors flared with fierce yellow light.
"Hahahaha! I AM BLOODY INVINCIBLE!" she roared.
Z23 charged forward, her guns blazing.
"What the!?" one of the Reunion Grunts shouted before his head vaporized, popping like a balloon under a precise, high-explosive round from Z23's main cannon.
"Take her down!" a voice that could only belong to the icy caster, a girl named FrostNova, commanded.
Multiple sharp ice shards flew through the air, impacting Z23's glowing form. The Invincibility Field absorbed the damage without a scratch, not even rattling her.
"You'll have to try a lot more than that!" Z23 bellowed, unleashing her barrage. "All-Out Assault!"
She fired every weapon she had in a terrifying, continuous volley.
"Take cover!" the Grunts screamed, diving behind rubble and ruined vehicles.
As Z23 kept the entire Reunion force pinned down, Rhodes Island the opportunists took their chance and began to retreat, using our overwhelming presence as a distraction.
"Charge is gone," I observed as the red glow faded, and Z23 returned to her normal coloration.
"This is our chance! Go! Now!" the surviving Reunion Grunts yelled, preparing to counter-charge.
"Heh. The healing isn't rewarding as the hurting," I chuckled, dropping the Medi Gun as it returned to my inventory.
The pulse rifle materialized in my hands—a sleek, lethal piece of future tech.
"Hehehe," I purred, opening fire. Z23 joined in, her cannons ripping through the Grunt chest.
Suddenly, multiple fireballs, conjured by Reunion Casters, headed straight for us.
"Z23, shield me!" I ordered.
She instantly pivoted, using her entire body to block the incoming projectiles. The smoke cleared, but Z23 was unscathed.
"You have to try harder than that!" she taunted before retaliating with another devastating salvo.
I turned around to see that Rhodes Island had vanished. "Eh!?"
A barrage of ice shards aimed directly at me. I reacted instantly, grabbing Z23 and using her as a human (or perhaps, 'shipgirl') shield. The shards struck her, again doing no discernible damage.
"Cold!" Z23 muttered, shifting her focus back to the surrounding Reunion forces.
Realizing we were being encircled, she grabbed me, securing me in a princess carry.
"Get me to safety!" I yelled, slightly enjoying the dramatic exit as Z23 began her powerful dash.
"Z23, look out! On top of the buildings!" I pointed, seeing Reunion crossbowmen and casters lining the rooftops, aiming at us.
Wait... I could use the Wisdom Cube. I could have a Shipgirl form... Oh no!
A blockade of Grunts and shields appeared, sealing off the street ahead.
"Blow them up!" I commanded seriously.
"Understood." Z23 didn't hesitate, firing a shell at the barricade. The explosion sent Grunts flying and ripped a hole in their formation.
"Quick, Z23! Into that building!" I pointed to a sturdy structure.
She blew the door off its hinges and surged inside. I immediately pointed up the stairs. We raced to the top floor, where I pointed to a window. Z23 burst through the glass and onto the roof.
"What now?" she said. Multiple casters and crossbowmen were already aiming.
"Z23! Smoke! Now!"
She deployed thick, fast-acting smoke canisters, engulfing the rooftop and blocking their view.
"Head back to our apartment!" I directed.
Using the smoke as cover, Z23 sprinted across the rooftops, effortlessly bypassing the pursuing Reunion squads.
"Martha!" I shouted, kicking the apartment door open.
"What!?" Martha snapped, looking up from her workbench, a dark, dangerous aura beginning to surround her. "You better tell me what's going on, and if you're behind this..."
"Wait, wait! I didn't do this! It's—uh—Reunion. They are here," I said.
The name immediately alerted Martha. Her hostile posture dropped, replaced by cold efficiency. She began packing immediately.
"Z23, help me with my lab equipment!" I ordered, heading toward my makeshift research area.
Ten minutes later, the apartment was stripped bare of anything valuable.
"Okay, that's everything. It's in my inventory," I confirmed, checking the system. I turned to Martha. "Everything good?"
"Yep. Shall we go now?" she asked.
"Yeah. Let's move. We are going to the port," I said, a mischievous grin returning to my face. "Someone owes me a ride."
After locking the door, we quickly and quietly headed toward the docks, leaving the chaos of the city behind.