Magical Girl Mercenary for Hire - Two

Magical Girl Mercenary for Hire - Chapter Two

Magical Girl Mercenary for Hire - Chapter Two

>> 2041

>> Continent: North America

>> Country: Old New York

>> City: Mega City New New York

>> 9:48am

Beatrice yawned big, a hand covering her mouth just the way her mom had taught her. She blinked a few times, and tried to stay awake, but it was hard. Every time she rode the metro, she found herself being sapped of energy.

There was just something about the sticky seats, the constant rumble, and the cloying scent of hydrocarbons that did a number on her.

The train car was quiet except for a crying baby cradled in their moms arms, and a junkie a few rows down muttering to himself while rubbing at an exposed arm covered in needle traces.

We really should consider a new means of travelling around, Chys said from where they were cuddled against Beatrices chest.

Yeah. Maybe later though, she replied. She was planning on buying a set of shoes that would let her fly. Or giant deployable angel wings. Those would be appropriately magical-girl-y. She really wanted a halo that hovered over her head and which acted as a laser array.

Beatrice blinked. That was a fantastic idea! She sat Chys down on the seat next to her, where the unearthly creature stepped gingerly on the plastic bench, then she pulled out her notebook of ideas from her backpack and started making some quick drawings of what her magical-girl angel look would be like.

She liked using paper and pen, there was just something about it that felt very classy and fancy, even if it was a little less convenient than using a tablet or just making things on her augs.

The train pulled to a stop and Beatrice checked her augs. This was her stop. Oh, shoot, she muttered as she started stuffing things away in a hurry. She rushed to the exit, Chys hopping along after her.

Commander Carpenter had sent her an email the previous evening with their meeting spot for the day. Surprisingly it wasnt at the Wraith Ranger headquarters.

Instead, Beatrice found herself exiting the subway station using a long set of stairs that disgorged her and almost no one else onto the ground level of the city.

To her left were rows and rows of mega buildings and skyscrapers, all packed in close. The roads at this level were congested with automated traffic, mostly large trucks that were little more than an engine and a bed for the cargo they carried.

To her right, the city was a ruin. It was almost possible to draw a line across the area where the devastation started and ended. Pristine buildings gave way to megabuildings with holes blown through their sides, with multitudes of broken windows and even a few buildings which had tipped dangerously to one side or the other.

I guess so, Beatrice said. Did you think I wasnt?

Well, the higher ups werent all that clear about what was going on today. Just that wed be getting help from an expert. All I had to work off of was one security camera image of you.

Oh, Beatrice said. I guess Im a bit young to be an expert, then?

Emma shrugged. Weve worked with some interesting people over the years. A couple were on the younger side. Hell, some clients were young too. She gestured ahead to a door off to one side that was open. The boys are in here. Hey guys.

Beatrice followed Emma into a tightly-packed room. It was warm, with several racks of dusty computers to one side that were humming along. A large monitor setup to one side showed rotating camera images of the inside of some sort of facility while others had readouts that she didnt have time to make out.

Her interest was pulled towards the two men in the room. Both of them were on the bigger, more muscley side. A tall dark-skinned man, and next to him a slightly shorter but bulkier white guy with a well-trimmed beard.

Guys, this is the expert, Emma said.

Hello, Beatrice replied. She was feeling rather nervous until she reminded herself that she was a magical girl, and magical girls shouldnt be shy. Im, uh, Laser Heart Fluffypants Cosmic... uh, Giggle Time Princess.

The men looked at each other, then the shorter of the two nodded. Pleasure to meet you, Laser Heart Fluffypants Cosmic Giggle Time Princess. Im Lieutenant Hayes, Callsign Titan. This is Ranger Specialist Thorne, callsign C4. And youve met Ranger Specialist Mouse already.

She glanced at Emma who nodded back.

Its nice to meet you, Beatrice said. So... uh... is this everyone?

This is everyone, Titan said with a friendly smile.

If they didnt send us, then theyd need to send in an army, the other man, C4, said. But were the best at taking care of big problems. Dont you worry.

So, what kind of problem are we dealing with? she asked. The email mentioned a rogue AI?

Lets get all of our bases covered, Titan said. Mouse, want to break down the history here? Ill brief everyone on our mission right after.

Emma fired off a quick salute. Can do, boss, she said before standing with her arms folded at the small of her back. A year ago, a company by the name of Mythtech started experimenting with advanced AI. We dont know much about their experiments. Theyre a branch of Nimbletainment that does AI research and development for commercial uses. During last months incursion, their facility located in sub-level B3 through to B8 of this building were cut off from the mesh. Something went wrong, and the people working here cant establish communications with the central systems anymore. Automated security is set to dispatch any intruders, which means that someone, us, needs to go in and either shut security down, or reboot it so that the facility can be manned again.

Succinct, Titan said. Thats our job. We go in, we get to the main server on B6, we boot things up, then we get rich.

That sounds easy, Beatrice said. She wasnt sure they even needed a magical girl for something like this, but she supposed that being given an easy job to start with was just normal. In any case, she was getting a little excited to start!

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