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> Invasion: T/B/M-Girl, My NaNoWriMo story
MorriganAensland
post Nov 1 2011, 2:28 PM
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Well, actually I'm not going to be posting it here directly. The chapters are very much a work in progress right now and I've only just started.

Instead I'm putting this up on google docs. If anyone wants to read as I work on this and offer advice or suggestions, then they're more than welcome to. Just let me know what your email is in this post and I'll include you on the list.


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Another Morning
post Nov 1 2011, 5:45 PM
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I'll take a look! Your stories are always worth reading. sparkle[dot]crisis[at]yahoo[dot]com


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MorriganAensland
post Nov 1 2011, 8:53 PM
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I do not think Google lets Yahoo accounts access google documents unfortunately.

That said, I will post the chapters here as they are completed. If I keep up my schedule, the first one, which introduces the situation as well as Ingrid Cole, will be done in another two days. Granted, this is a tight schedule and I might not be able to stick with it and even if I do, I might not be able to keep up its quality.

That said, as long as you guys enjoy it I'll be happy. Those Who Oppose Infinity has regrettably stalled and I'm hoping this can get me motivated to pick that up agian.


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P-girl
post Nov 1 2011, 9:00 PM
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I'm sure it will be a good read. And it's got a Cole in it, double plus.
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Another Morning
post Nov 1 2011, 9:05 PM
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Ah, I'm not entirely sure how Google Docs works so I wasn't sure. I can read them as they're posted here, then ^^ I do have a gmail account at katrharsh[at]gmail[dot]com, but if it's a hassle then I can just read when it's posted.


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MorriganAensland
post Nov 2 2011, 12:40 AM
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Added! Thanks, AM. You should be able to access it now.


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MorriganAensland
post Nov 4 2011, 5:19 PM
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(A/N: One of my favorite parts of Kamen Rider Kiva was the various remixes they had for one particular song. Each of the three has a different feel and tone, and I've gotten into the habit of listening to them when working on this. Anywhoo, if you ever are wondering what Ingrid's song would be, here you go.)

It was a little past seven o'clock one particular day when one Lucas Cunningham finally returned home after a particularly trying day. There had been business meetings, work to be done planning next month's trade show expo and trying to sort through just who would have to be let go if the company couldn't get out of the red. It did not take a genius to guess his greatest desire would be to simply see his wife and enjoy all the benefits couples had once their children were no longer their concerns.

What went with him to his grave, however, was the thoughts that had lead him to tear his throat out with a large kitchen knife. Then there was a vexing problem for the homicide detectives, dispatched to the Cunningham residence a few hours later after a neighbor's frantic calls had alerted them: the otherwise pristine nature of the house indicated no sign of struggle and there was no sign of Mrs. Cunningham.

This was not the first murder of this kind that had been reported in the news recently, but it had been the first in Standon. If this was not some sick joke, there would be more, just like there had been elsewhere. It always started with just one: a grisly murder such as this or perhaps a sudden string of unrelated missing persons. And then the loonies would begin to spring up: people with accounts of strange happenings in darker corners of cities. The tales would vary each time, but nothing was ever confirmed. It was just like a brand new wave of Bigfoot sightings in that respect. The fact that could happen, would happen if this was on the level, in Standon, was all the motivation the homicide team and the forensics agents needed to put their everything into trying to find some clue, some sense of pattern. The murders, the vanishings, the sightings... they were all connected some how. It was just that nobody knew how just yet. All the more reason to try and succeed where everyone else had failed.

And then the order came over the radio to leave everything where they had found it and leave. “Specialists”, as the dispatcher described them with thinly-veiled animosity, were on their way. There had naturally been protests, but unfortunately the law was on these “Specialists”'s side, or more least a particular executive order that had gone through just the week prior and hadn't caught the public notice just yet. It certainly would now though; forcing trained officers of the law to hand over their cases to a bunch of outsides. There was probably going to be hell to pay for this soon enough.

But in the here and now, there was nothing anyone could do. Orders were orders and the team was sure to follow them, even if pride dictated otherwise. The group departed, returning to the perimeter set outside the Cunningham residence, the closest they were permitted to be, and they waited for their replacements to arrive. In short order three vans, uniformly black save for yellow lines painted across the trailers of each, came into view and stopped just short of the officers. The passenger door of the lead van opened and out stepped a man in his mid-30s, first adjusting his trenchcoat before flashing a badge to the crowd in front of him.

“Frank Heller, chief field agent S.C.X.A.” he said without even bothering with eye contact. He then steeled himself for what was going to come next. It was the form apology, and of course the form explanations he'd have to give to these naturally infuriated men and women. “I would like to thank you for acquiescing to our request that you cease your investigations in these matters. My associates and I will take things from here and-”

“-a lot of nerve to pull this on us,” someone in the group muttered, still speaking loud enough for Heller catch most of it.

On his end, Heller could only smile a little on the inside. How far had he gotten before the grumbling got to his ears? He couldn't check his watch, but if his guess was right then it meant that the fine men of Standon could hold their tongues longer than most. In his line of work, appreciating the small things like that could keep your spirits up, or at least keep you amused.

“Maybe,” Heller said with a shrug while moving towards the house. Other men and women, in similar clothes filed out of the first two vans as well, each with a firearm of some kind on them be they rifles or handguns. “But as it stands, you are not properly equipped to deal with this. Now if this is an imitation killing, then you have my word that we’ll be gone and you’ll be free to forget or remember this night however you see fit. Otherwise, and I regret to inform you of this, but we are probably going to be crossing paths other much more often in the coming months.”

Heller said nothing else. He’d heard these first encounters in other cities go a lot worse. Policemen questioning what that acronym stood for, or actively hiding evidence from them. Not that Heller blamed them. From the outsider’s perspective he was moving in on their job.

Of course, the truth of the matter was far more altruistic. There was something loose in Standon. And if it wasn’t found soon then the first domino would fall and there would be others like it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

“We’ve taken care of sweeping the house. No sign of the Xenonoid,” Heller’s voice said over the radio. “I’d like to think it’s still here but we’ve searched everywhere. And there are no signs of a forceful entry or exit.”

Inside of the third van, an older man pushing his 40s scanned through a handful of documents before glancing up at the other occupant of the trailer. If worse came to worse, they’d be ready... provided they could find the creature responsible for this. He pushed his glasses back up to the top of his nose again and resumed reading. “But it would have had to be there, yes, Heller? Mr. Cunningham didn’t off himself just because the Mrs. ruined the evening’s pork chops and the stress was too great. If there’s no sign it entered the house through a door or a window than what else are we left with?” Something caught the man’s eyes, which flashed with ingenuity as he pulled out one particular document. “Ah... now this is illuminating?”

“Don’t beat around the bush, Lloyd,” Heller snapped. “Tell us what we’re looking for and-”

“Our problem in this case was assuming the Xenonoid was humanoid,” Lloyd succinctly answered. “With this in mind, Heller, could you have one of your men investigate the fireplace? If there was no sign of entry from any other the Cunninghams’ chimney is the only explanation. At any rate, it’s the one stone left unturned.”

A beat passed before Heller incredulously asked “Chimney...? You’re joking, right, it’s too-”

Ah. And so in covering its tracks, the Xenonoid had confirmed Lloyd’s suspicions. An understanding of human psychology and criminal tendencies did so little when it came to investigating these things; having the foresight to print out financial records proved much more helpful. “The fireplace was at one time quite modestly sized, but they’ve been in the process of making it smaller.” Lloyd pulled out another document. “Yes, it was over concerns of an accidental fire. Apparantly it’s happened to someone else in the neighborhood recently. Get one of your men down to the living room and we’ll take things from there.”

“Yeah, yeah. I have Ashford in there right now. I’m bringing him on the channel now.” There was a brief crackle of static before a third voice came over the radio. “Ashford, you seeing what Dr. Graham was talking about?”

There was a sound of rustling and shifting of furniture before a third speaker whistled in astonishment regarding something. “... Dr. Graham, sir, you really want me to check this out? My kid’d barely be able to fit in here!”

Lloyd just sighed. England’s first choice to send to S.C.X.A. and he was still treating this as just another crime investigation group. If this kept up he’d have to start voicing concerns to the director. He was sure Heller would be joining him in that. “First rule of investigating Xenonoids is to not assume anything about them until you see first-hand evidence of what they’re capable of. Now please, take a look in the chimney and be careful. Heller, send someone over to meet up with Ashford. ”In case things turn ugly.” After a quick internal deliberation, he also turned to the other figure inside the trailer. “And that goes the same for you. Start suiting up.”

A moment passed, accompanied only by a few grunts as Ashford got into position. “... I think I see something. There’s a hole poked into the wall just above where the kindling would be.” There was a short grunt as Ashford was no doubt was getting into position to look up into the chimney. “Alright, I think I see-”

And then silence. The kind any man, woman, or child would instantly know precedes only the most horrified of screams. And screams there were as Ashford’s wordless cries screeched over the channel. Almost at once Heller could be heard barking orders to his men, Lloyd cutting off the feed just as the first sounds of gunfire were heard.

“Our first catch,” Lloyd noted sarcastically to the other. “Are you set?” The only answer he got was a nod. “Good. Then I suppose it’s time for our enemies the Xenonoids to meet the Avenger System.”

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

As soon as he had heard the screams Heller had expected the worst, not even bothering to hope for anything better. His own rifle at the ready he and the three closest men to the Ashford’s position burst through into the living room... and stopped

Ashford was there... or at least most of him. His body lay awkwardly on the ground, a pool of blood forming where his upper jaw and everything above it had been removed by one smooth cut. The upper part lay only a short distance away, his eyes bulging for the terror he’d seen in his final moments... the same one Heller and the others were seeing now.

It was small. Small and profoundly alien. At a glance or in a photograph one might mistake it for a spider; its general structure was identical to one. But its legs were long and thin, practically no thicker than a piece of lead for a mechanical pencil. Heller would have probably not even seen them had it not been for the fact that the two closest ones were stained red with blood; no doubt Ashford’s. Its “head” could barely be called that, it was as thick as a stool seat and featureless aside from its metal gray hue. And then there was the “abdomen”... the thing that almost gave Heller pause.

Unlike the mechanical appearance of the rest, the abdomen was a transparent globe, the largest of the parts. And inside, scrunched up in a ball, half-submerged in some kind of blue liquid, was a naked woman with eyes expressing the same kind of terror Ashford had in his last moments.

Immediately the rifle in Heller’s hands fired, rounds pelting the Xenonoid as he barked orders. “Shoot it! We’re not letting it get away or taking any more of us!” In spite of the Xenonoid’s visage, his men obeyed without hesitation and open fired as well. Their aim was precise, the volume of fire knocking the spider back and off-balance as its head and legs were struck again and again, yet the Xenonoid’s body remained unscarred, the bullets merely being deflected off at some odd angle or in some cases just stopped cold.

The Xenonoid seemed to squat, as if about to pounce, and Heller knew what was about to happen. He abandoned firing, screaming to dive for cover as he did so just as the spider leapt straightforward, pin-like feet jutting out at the slowest S.C.X.A. agent to react and stabbing all eight into it. The man cried out in pain, struggling to push the creature off him. Another agent stood up in a heartbeat, moving to help.

“No! Don’t!”

Too late. A single leg rotated to the upper hemisphere of the Xenonoid’s head, slashing the man across the face even as the other seven pushed themselves deeper into the first man. Through his pain he was struggling to prop his rifle flush against the Xenonoid’s body; another limb severed both hands at the wrists, his screams growing all the more agonizing.

Even over the screams, however, Heller heard a strange kind of noise, a kind of humming noise more at home in a laboratory then a battle. Then he saw it: a shaft of pinkish light, tight and coherent, shoot right in front of his face only to burrow into and through the Xenonoid where the globe met its head. The container holding Mrs. Cunningham crashed to the ground, and then he heard her.

“You’ve taken enough lives, Xenonoid!”

She was like an update of a Medieval knight, clad in a suit of mechanical armor from neck to toe, her head encased in an angular helmet. The only portion of her face visible, the area around her eyes, leered at the Xenonoid through the transparent green visor. The rest of the suit was a subdued magenta color, with additional plating protecting various vital areas while not being overly bulky. The futuristic pistol in her hand fired again, another beam of energy surging out which the creature only barely spring from before flinging itself out a window and into the streets below, unidentified liquid gushing out at every passing second before it was finally gone.

The carnage still on his mind, Heller could only curse in frustration at the Xenonoid before he quickly did damage control. “Kennedy,” he spoke through the radio. Another glance at the figure in armor and he raised a hand with a single raised finger to let the good doctor’s soldier know to wait her turn. “It’s out in the city. Bring in the Intercept Unit and set up a perimeter around this block. And be careful. We’ve already lost two-”

There was a moan from the man with severed hands.

“... My mistake. Just one. And get a med-evac in here too. We’ve got wounded and Mrs. Cunningham-” he spared the woman another glance. She was breathing, if just barely, and her eyes were still locked into that terrorized expression. “She could do with being looked at too.” Without waiting for a response he cut the transmission and then turned to his unit’s savior, his eyes scanning over the armor for a moment before he spoke. “How’s the Avenger System working for you, Ingrid?”

The helmet’s mouthguard slid open and the young woman pushed the visor up, revealing her eyes to be a soft, blue hue. “Fits like a glove. The laser worked better than projected too, both it’s targeting and penetration power.”

Heller afforded himself the softest of smiles. For all the developments mankind could produce, there were always limitations about what just one person could carry onto the battlefield. But what just one person could accomplish if they were capable of bringing humanity’s newest, most innovative weaponry to bear on the Xenonoids! “I saw. But the job’s not done yet.”

Ingrid’s gaze hardened as she looked down at the three fallen. “And I’m not done showing what the Avenger System can do. Not by a long shot.”

Heller’s grin grew even wider. “Good. You’re with me. Valentine, Hanz, stay put until the medics get here. Everyone else, form pairs. If you see it, radio me and Ingrid; we’ll root this thing out yet.”

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Considering its size, finding the Xenonoid again could have been nearly impossible. Frank knew that all too well as he blew the window apart with gunfire before passing through it. But Ingrid’s attack had done more than wound it and scare it off... it had left a path. One that, judging by the the conspicuous path that went well into a deserted street, was not going to go cold any time soon.

Frank began to quicken his pace, Ingrid following along just beside and behind him with barely any effort put into her own strides. “I can’t imagine the police would have taken you seriously in that.”

“Probably not. I had to put the suit on in the house. But at least now that it’s on the run, if anyone ends up watching they’ll be able to see the S.C.X.A.’s best weapon in action!” The System had passed its first trial by fire. It had made the Xenonoid fall back... just a little bit further and humanity would have their first victory against these things!

“Hold.”

Frank suddenly stopped cold in the middle of the street, his expression suddenly growing dour. “... I can’t believe it...”

For a moment Ingrid was confused. As long as they had a trail to follow then they could-

The trail.

It inexplicably ceased. The line tapered off, seemingly growing fainter as it just barely skirted a manhole cover, before finally ending a few feet past it. The two S.C.X.A. operatives simply stood there, before Frank let out a weary sigh and turned on his radio again. “... Lloyd. We lost it.”

Dr. Graham was in the process of voicing his bafflement at how even as Frank double-checked the ammunition in his rifle. “It got into the sewers. The Avenger System can operate if it’s submerged, right?”

“Of course it can. The director and myself wouldn’t make our greatest weapon have such a crippling weakness.”

Under the mask, Ingrid beamed proudly. It most certainly wasn’t a problem for her to get a little wet now and then. After all, if the cybernetic components of the armor were in danger of shorting out in water, then it would’ve made getting washed up quite the chore for her.

“Alright. Then we’re not up the creek just yet.” Heller placed his rifle on the ground next to the manhole before reaching down to lift it up. “Lloyd, coordinate the restructuring of our operatives. We need to get as many people underground as possible and try to stop this before it gets any further.”

His fingers reached down, grabbing the lip of the plate and beginning to pull it up. It was kinda weighty, but it wasn’t surprising. At the very least he didn’t need Ingrid for this-

There was a glint of sweeping red. Ingrid screamed out as Heller tried scramble away. And from the underside of the plate the Xenonoid suddenly lunged out, driving its limbs forward into Frank’s body, his rifle too far away, badly positioned for the ambush.

An armored foot snapped out, pounding into the Xenonoid’s body and knocking it onto the street before Ingrid charged after it. “I said not another life!” she shouted, swinging her laser pistol up and firing another two beams at the mechanical spider. It dodged around them, first to the left and then to the right before squatting down, its metal frame glinting in the moonlight as Ingrid suddenly grinned and gave up on the shooting at it to go for a full-on sprint.

“That’s right... don’t run away! I’m the thing that hurt you! Are you going to let that go unanswered?”

The Xenonoid pounced straight at her, and Ingrid stopped, spreading her arms wide so the spider’s limbs could stab into the Avenger System’s armor freely. The collision was enough to make Ingrid stagger backwards, its limbs piercing through the outermost layer of the armor, the Xenonoid lifting each of its legs up in quick succession before stabbing in further.

“INGRID!” Heller screamed out, bringing his rifle to bear and on the verge of firing before he heard Ingrid’s own pained response.

“D-don’t bother!” she gasped. “It’ll just get scared and run away ag-AAAH” That limb had almost break through to the skin. Good enough! “AGAIN!” she finished, reaching up and grabbing a tight hold of half the Xenonoid’s limbs as her other hand flew up to her shoulder. A knife handle ejected from the armor and she pulled it free, revealing a light-blue blade which began to suddenly hum softly.

The Xenonoid’s attack suddenly halted, and then its legs began to trash around in a frenzy just before the knife came crashing down onto it, letting out a screeching noise as the high-frequency blade met the Xenonoid’s reinforced body.

“How do you like that?!?” Ingrid boldly announced as sparks were kicked up, the knife proceeding to bisect the Xenonoid’s body and cut through circuitry, motors, and more of that fluid. “Humanity won’t lose to you... any of you! We’re the S.C.X.A., the Squad Countering Xenonoid Actions and we... and I...”

The knife carved through the remainder of the Xenonoid, the two halves falling onto the ground. “I will stop ALL of you!”

Its legs continued to twitch, but with each passing moment they grew noticeably slower before finally stopping. Ingrid stood over the remains of the Xenonoid before letting out a weary sigh and dropping down into a squat. It would have been nice to just fall back flat on her back, but the impact of the Avenger System hitting the pavement like that... something was bound to break.

Ingrid reached up and grasped the front of her helmet. With but a thought the back opened up and she pulled it off, taking the chance to shake her head and free her auburn hair from the confines. Her eyes didn’t leave the Xenonoid’s halves. “... I did it, Frank.” She turned to the man and smiled happily.

Frank smiled in return. “Lloyd, cancel that last order.

“Ingrid bagged our first.”

This post has been edited by MorriganAensland: Nov 4 2011, 5:24 PM


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