[6/4/2015 6:47:44 PM] Doln: The battle- if you could call it that- was nearing an end. Dirk had been quick to take out the majority of armed guards from afar with his railgun, and it had been easy for Ena to mop up most of the rest. A few remained, but nothing that should provide too much trouble.
Avril and Volup occupied the centre of the room, locked in the dreaded arcane sphere of a Business Showdown. The psionic energy arced down onto the table.
[6/4/2015 6:55:55 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Ena was covered almost head-to-toe in blood, eight security guards lying in crumpled masses at her feet. She laughed and dropped to her knees. (The extra ammo clip fell out of her teeth.)

"Jesus, Ena, you okay?" said Ikan from behind cover.

Ena ran her finger over a fresh gash in one of the guards and licked the blood off, a wild look in her eyes.

"That's definitely a no, then," said Dirk.

Ena, in fact, wasn't even Ena. She wasn't aware of how long she hadn't been, only that she certainly wasn't now. Mercury-17 took a breath, looked at her hands, looked at the remaining lives in the area — alternately terrified, or dealing with their own problems. It was the perfect time to slip away, cackling.

"Are we, like... gonna go get her?" said Ikan.

[6/4/2015 6:59:57 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Mercury-17 rounded a corner and leaned up against a wall to catch her breath. She could have stuck around and turned that into even more of a bloodbath, but while she had control, there were more important things to be doing. More... courageous, at least from her perspective. She found that, despite the explicit goal to catch her breath, she was growing short of it as she mentally dialed Julianne Oulie's old phone number, hoping to God she hadn't changed it in the past 12 years.

[6/4/2015 7:18:02 PM] Doln: Three rings.
The phone system was ubiquitous almost everywhere with telecomms access. Switchboards and wireless nodes were cheap, ubiquitous, and surprisingly secure, given proper encryption, despite being very old tech.
One ring more, truncated by a click.
A hiss of motion was audible on the other end, small, sharp breaths.
A voice bursts in, sweet as lithium, slightly breathy, repulsively manufactured.
"You've reached Julie Oulie. Oh, how may I help you?"
[6/4/2015 7:24:03 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: "Julie! It's The Mighty Miss Mercy Seventeen," said Mercury-17, running her hand through her hair until it caught on blood-made knots. "It's been a long time, we really need to have us a chat. I actually have two important things to say and they're gonna knock you on your ass so hard it'll send your cheeks straight through to the other side. First one, then the other. Where should we meet? Your place? Another one of those abandoned maintenance docks? Is that bar we used to hang at still around?"
[6/4/2015 7:30:45 PM] Doln: The voice at the other end pauses for a good few seconds, as if processing the information, then continues, all bubbly joy. "In a moment, you will hear three options, doll. Get your option by sayin' 'one', 'two' or 'three' into your headset. For secur'ty requests, select one, for--- Seventeenie..! Sure I'll meet ya, girl! Ya haven't seen my gun's power source anywhere have ya'? Enchantment failure, ya know! I don't know what bar you mean! It may have been sweeped in reprogramming!"
[6/4/2015 7:32:16 PM | Edited 7:32:35 PM] Doln: The woman's stanzas are each interspersed with about a second of silence. It makes the disjointed mess of a conversation even more obnoxious to listen to.
[6/4/2015 7:33:31 PM | Edited 7:34:11 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: "Was she always like that?" thought Mercury, for half a second.

"Reprogramming!" she chuckled, not betraying her inner monologue for a second. "God, do I have a story for you... I'll tell you all about it when we meet up. Where at?"
[6/4/2015 7:38:16 PM] Doln: "I don't wanna spoil my current loc so gimme a minute, huh!" There was a pause, what sounded like running, the sound of an airlock's hiss. "What about... Medallion N2. It's a bar! You'll find the place on the starboard side, doll. Can't miss it!"
Behind Mercury-17, the kerfuffle continued, sounds dulled by the audio-override of the call.
[6/4/2015 7:40:33 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: "Alright, I'll meet you in about an hour or so... I gotta get dressed first. Unless..." Mercury-17 audibly winked with her voice.
[6/4/2015 7:42:08 PM | Edited 7:42:39 PM] Doln: "I'll see you there, doll!! If you shoot me this time, I'll scrap ya!", came the reply.
[6/4/2015 7:42:14 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: She briefly checked herself out. Julie probably would dig the bloody-nude look? Or, well, maybe, no, yes...
[6/4/2015 7:43:23 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: "Haha!" M-17 said. She didn't laugh, she said it. "Trust me, babe, it's not an ambush this time, unlike every other time. We gotta save something for the stage!"
[6/4/2015 7:48:27 PM] Doln: Julie gave her signature laugh. A canned, slightly manic giggle that sounded more like "AhahaheheheHAHAHAHAheh.", than any dignified chuckle. The line went dead.
[6/4/2015 7:49:51 PM] Doln:
Medallion N2 was the sort of place you got when you crossed a bar and a nightclub. Despite the raging battle for the future of the dome, the vampires were out in force There was plenty of drink, and plenty of music that sounded like a car alarm with drums, so really who could complain.
Julianne made an entrance, as always, with a glitter grenade. Thankfully, everyone managed to get out of the way before detonation this time.
The hushed murmers as she entered was telling of her reputation. It took a lot to get someone to say anything beyond a shout in a place like this.
[6/4/2015 7:58:07 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: And with the dead line came time to ponder — "Wasn't the bar we hung out at Medallion N1? Jesus, if you stitched together all the time we spent there, that'd add up to two months straight easy... Can you really just forget that?" . M-17 searched the walls for some sort of fire alarm, for use of the sprinklers as a makeshift shower. There were none to be found — this place was not up to code. No matter, she figured. She could rock the naked-covered-in-blood look. She could rock anything.

Then some kind of massive, firey explosion went off in the ongoing Business Royale, deafening her temporarily and activating the cleansing sprinklers, just as she was getting into the idea. Oh well, she DID say she had to get dressed, and Julie didn't react at all to the innuendo... or... it's hard to tell, really.

-----

[6/4/2015 8:06:52 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Mercury-17's entrance thirty minutes later, on the other hand, was much more subtle, with no violence to speak of. (Her style was always so much more tactical and precise.) And in contrast to the eruption of murmurs Julie's entrance begat, hers sucked the air out of the room.

It was the outfit, no doubt. High heels that were also knives, nylon stockings with holsters built-in, bullet-proof (yet somehow lacy) underwear and corset pair (although nobody could, or would, see that, besides hopefully one,) a magic-repellant cocktail dress — all black, and all tight (just like Ena didn't like it.)

She quickly located Ms. Oulie, out on the dance floor performing an unimaginably lewd dance move on some guy, and tapped her on the shoulder.


[6/4/2015 8:26:54 PM] Doln: Julie's head turned with an audible click, a plastic rictus grin molded on her face. "Helloooooo!~", she screeched. Her outfit was certainly different from the one she'd worn earlier. A besequinned mass of frilly pinks and yellows that highlighted her jet thrusters pleasantly. She spun away from her entourage and began to orbit mercury-17.

"I like your outfit, doll! I never knew you were much for those!" She paused for a moment, face retaining the same expression, like an elder scrolls character between dialogue choices. "Whatever was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
[6/4/2015 8:28:41 PM | Edited 8:29:20 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: "Those? What does she mean, 'those'?"

"Booth?" said Mercury. Julie nodded, took a drink right out of some other poor anonymous dancer's hand, and took her leave of the dance floor.

Medallion N2 was much like N1, 17 had to note, except the music was much, much louder, and the lights much, much darker — not exactly the ideal place to hold an important conversation, but at least it guaranteed a measure of privacy. The two killer cyborg ladies took opposite sides of a booth.

"What did you mean, 'those'?" said Mercury. She immediately regretted it as it escaped her lips. It just wasn't important.
[6/4/2015 8:31:43 PM] Doln: "Well, I was under the impression you weren't using clothes any more, doll! Perhaps I'm just a silly, though.~"
She shrugged, dropping down on the cushioned surface with a pomf.
"That /was/ the way you met old vinnie, and how you've been cavortin' around the station for the past few days."
[6/4/2015 8:33:21 PM | Edited 8:36:41 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: "Try not to look so disappointed..." she winked. "That brings me to my first point. The person who has been cavorting around the station for the past few days using my body and name is not me."
[6/4/2015 8:35:37 PM] Doln: Julie was silent for a moment. Then spoke in a chipper tone. "So you're being rigged? Like in level zero?"
She was giving footsies under the table.
[6/4/2015 8:39:46 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Mercury-17 gave footsies back. It put her doubts at ease. "Sort of, I guess, but much, much worse. It's like, a virus or  a tumor or something, it's coming from within my vestigal headmeat. She calls herself 'Ena,' and she thinks she's real and I'm not. She wants to get rid of me, and she's in control of the body most of the time. I don't know how much longer I have right now, to be honest."
[6/4/2015 8:45:41 PM] Doln: Julie tilted her head sideways, idly fingering the antenna on her hat. "Heheeee. Does that body really have enough meat left for that, mercy-doll? What is it all /for/?"
[6/4/2015 8:47:21 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: "Apparently it's for refusing to put on any clothes or kill people ever. I almost pity her, really!"
[6/4/2015 8:52:36 PM] Doln: "Next time you're in repro you should have them cut it out! Or, disable it or somethin'! Speaking of disabling, who was that hottie who was holding ol' vinnie hostage earlier?"
[6/4/2015 8:53:25 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Mercury-17 nodded, grabbed a napkin, licked her finger to wet the pen-tip, and began to write. "Ena's assosciates are amateur space pirates Dirk Calder — the hottie — Ikan Ahal Kelasi, Mint Heidecker, and Avril Lagrange, of the ship '21st Night.' As we speak, they are performing a highly-successful, highly-complicated hostile takeover of the Battledome. I may or may not have helped them with that — the concept of 'I' is muddy."
[6/4/2015 8:56:35 PM | Edited 8:58:26 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: She passed the napkin to Julie. "This means three things for you, Julie: a, you should pack your bags and hightail it outta here on a spacetrain before high noon tomorrow, b, you should be worried about what's happened to me happening to you, and c, you really oughta do something to rescue me. Get a reprogrammer or brain surgeon in or something." She was practically shouting at the top of her lungs just to be heard.
[6/5/2015 12:38:46 PM | Edited 12:41:59 PM] Doln: The cyborg opposite stared at her, then at the napkin. A surprisingly neutral expression was on her face. It was about the closest Mercury-17 had seen to concentration yet. "You have corrupted data, gal?", she said finally. Her voice was light as ever, but her face was decidedly less gleeful than usual.
"When is your next programming sesh scheduled? I can put in the good word! I'll see about splitting! I'll need to get some new equipment installed first, though. You did a number on me in the last bout. It'll be sad to see this place go!~"
She tried to write something on the napkin, but couldn't hold it down with one hand. Julie pinned it down with one of her wavegun's prongs, and wrote down two numbers.
"Here. This is this station's AI control helpline. The one below is a more up-to-date address you can use to get in contact with long-distance messages!"
[6/5/2015 12:47:50 PM | Edited 12:47:57 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Mercury nodded, chuckling. "You really should have kept the arm," she shouted. "I think it's actually a meat interface problem. They must have not wiped the brain right or something." She took the napkin, filed the numbers in her futuristic mental Rolodex, then passed it back to Julie. "I don't have anything scheduled, but that doesn't matter, since I can be about 90% sure of not making any given appointment."
[6/5/2015 12:52:09 PM] Doln: "Hey, wasn't my choice, sugarplum.~ It was for branding reasons yanno? No way I could use somethin' this heavy without it being built-in anyway. Or back mounted, but... Ya know." She rubbed the bandages on her back. "I'm gonna tooootally blast that shark guy to shiiiiit!~"
She paused. "In that case, don't think there's too much I can do other than arrest ya and call someone in. I can do it now if you want."
[6/5/2015 1:11:50 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: "That sounds great!" said Mercury-17, smiling. "I think I kinda wholesale slaughtered the whole security force besides you back there though. Sorry!" She wasn't actually sorry. That was badass. "Oh, and damn it, those fucking pirates would probably just go on a mission to rescue their Damsel in Distress in case she gets accidentally cured, and they probably own this place now, so we can't use their prison..."

17 chewed on the inside of her cheek, thinking. "Well, there's still one more thing I came here to say," she said, diverting the topic entirely.

But instead of launching right into it, smooth as butter, now it was Mercy's turn to create an awkward silence while she searched for what to say, staring at Julie's unmoving face. "What if she says no? I mean, she was playing footsie, but she's always a flirt! What if she's taken? What if she's straight? Never saw her leave the N1 with a chick... What if she crashes? What's wrong with me, why am I not saying anything? This is getting weird, maybe I could just ask her how she's been... No, it's been too long for that. I should just launch across the table, straddle her and make out. That'd be what The Mighty Miss Mercury-17 would do. Why am I not doing that? What the fuck is wrong with me?"

Mercury took Julie's hand, cupped it in both of hers, and stared into her eyes. Tears began to well up in hers. "Tears? TEARS?!"

"Julie, I l-" she choked. "I love you."

"Real smooth."

[6/5/2015 1:34:56 PM | Edited 1:40:36 PM] Doln: Julie blinked, pink implanted cornea flickering across her rival's face.
If it wasn't for the loud music, you'd almost be able to her drive clicking. After a moment, she
"Why, I'm flattered, Mercy-doll.", she said, autographing the napkin and pushing it into M17's hands. She grinned vacantly.
Julie's own internal monologue was far simpler, but more inscrutable.
'Gate 3-Reference to date: Prior to l-arm amputation. Date invalid, body unkeyed during period. Gate 3-Reference to program: L-62. Program invalid. Gen-F does not match gen-M. Do not call. Gate 1-Subject_Interface Reference: T. Conducting appropriate tactic/physical response....'
It kept going for pages.

She extended a gloved hand and touched Ena's shoulder.
"Are you in pain? Your ear?"

[6/5/2015 1:42:11 PM | Edited 1:44:05 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Mercury shook her head. She grabbed the napkin with both hands, and just stared at it. The rest of her body began to shake too, as her eyes darted from the autograph and back up to Julie's vacant face. She was slowly accidentally tearing the napkin.

"Are your ears okay?" she said. "Did you hear me?"
[6/5/2015 1:45:50 PM | Edited 1:46:22 PM] Doln: "Well sure, doll! I mean, you've seeeeen how many guns I usually got. Got some pretty nice audio-cancellation in here." She winked, making a clicking sound with her tongue.
"I think you're pretty hot shit too, doll!"
[6/5/2015 1:51:00 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Mercy beamed at the compliment, but couldn't help but wonder what happened to her ability to get a read on Julie. They used to be inseperable, always on the same wavelength, and now... she just couldn't make heads or tails of this nice piece of tail. Still, she summoned up her remaining reserves of characteristic overconfidence for a proposition as she laid the napkin back down on the table:

"Well then — you've seen mine, how about we go up to your place and you show me yours, hm?" She volleyed the wink back.
[6/5/2015 1:56:20 PM] Doln: The synth paused, smile unfaltering. She ran her wavegun's barrel through hair like a lazytown puppet's.
"Sorry, can you please repeat the question, teenie-girl?", she crooned.
She was still kicking the woman opposite intermittantly underneath the table.

[6/5/2015 1:59:53 PM | Edited 2:02:59 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Mercy had no idea what to make of Julie's fancy footwork, which had taken a turn for the oddly violent. She leaned in, over the table, and shouted at the top of her lungs: "I SAID: DO YOU WANT TO GO UP TO YOUR PLACE AND HAVE SEX WITH ME? BUT MORE SUBTLY."

She made some lewd hand gestures to help explain.
[6/5/2015 2:06:27 PM] Doln: Julie paused for a second, face sliding to a neutral expression. A few moments later, she turned her head, looking down at her shoulder. A calculated blush spread over her features. "Oh, my!~ That's indecent, doll! I'd love to, but I'm not programmed for that! If you're lonely, I can locate a more appropriate unit, sweetcakes?"
She giggled coyly. Or, as coy as you an be while essentially just saying the word "hee" with a tone of slight mania.

[6/5/2015 2:19:15 PM | Edited 2:21:01 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Mercury — Mercy, Seventeenie, Teeny-bopper — leaned back in her booth, nodding, but not to anything in particular. The thoughts of how this night would go had ran through her head every night for about 3 years straight, and even as it approached she had trouble truly believing it would play out like this. She should have just kept it bottled up, forever. She did it for a long time, why not longer?

Her hands had found their way back to the napkin — now splashed with her mascara. ("When did I start crying?") Her fingers flexed, almost involuntarily, and the napkin tore into two halves. Quickly, she stood up, went around the table, kissed Julie on the forehead, and speed-walked away before Julie had time to queue a verbal response.

Best friends forever.

[6/5/2015 2:43:03 PM | Edited 2:47:43 PM] Doln: Oulie touched her forehead, face rigid. She cracked the mask just enough to furrow her brow.
Part of her worried that her response hadn't been correct, but if it wasn't, it wasn't her problem. That functionality had been satisfactory so far. Obviously, this situation hadn't been accounted for.
She dialed a number on the phone. One of the guys at the armoury owed her a 'favour'. If she was lucky, he wouldn't even call it in to her handlers in IT.
She'd need to get outfitted quick if she was to get clear of this place.
Then, well.
She needed a rematch, and it was plain to see that Mercury had been reprogrammed since her last hazy memory.
She seemed so... Fast. Hardly the hissing, endearingly inarticulate narcissist she was in the files. Julie noted the possibility that the viral infection was responsible for that, too.
She'd have to be careful.
[6/5/2015 2:55:26 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: Mercury-17 sped through the now-deserted hallways, no goal in mind. She had perfect posture that her still-flowing eyes betrayed. Eventually, she collapsed onto a bench, which was across from one of the sets of monitors that tell the customers when and where each upcoming fight was — all of which read "CANCELLED." She was disappointed there hadn't been a riot. Would have taken her mind off of things.

"What's wrong with me? Why can't I just be normal again? Why are there so many questions in my head now, when it used to be all answers?"

She hiked her dress up and took a pistol out of her stocking holster. She considered it.
[6/5/2015 2:56:43 PM] ☆ C.H.W.O.K.A ☆: It was the only thing that still made sense in this world. But for the first time, she couldn't solve any of her problems with it.