Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ An American Boy in Tokyo ❯ Dualing Agencies ( Chapter 10 )

The next day, Amy came over and finished building the muscle amp, with a little help from Imara. Afterwards we put our heads together and started on the ciruitry boards for the chest plate. After the chest plate was finished, which didn't take long, we loaded the finished equipment onto a wagon and hauled it upstairs to the car, it was quite a feat because of the collective weight of the equipment. We then drove out to Raye's temple and found a quiet spot a little ways out that was hidden from view of the general public. I then put on the chest plate and the two arm units. I nearly collapsed under the wieght of the armor. Until I pushed the button on the chest plate that activated the hydraulic muscle enhancements. I did a few test movements to make sure the balance was centered.

"So far, so good." I said. "Time to test the muscle amp, we'll start small, pop can please?" I held out my hand. Mina put the pop can in my hand. I grabbed it and squeezed, it took little effort to smash it, exploding pop everywhere. I smiled. "Okay, next test," I looked around until I found a large rock laying flat on the ground. I braced myself and strained against it, pulling it into an upright position. "Whew, that was a work out, now to test the triceps and durability." I said. I drew back my fist and launched it forward. It punched a clean hole straight through the rock, bad part is, it trapped my arm inside. The rock started tipping over, and I went with it, laying on my stomach, the girls were laughing uproariously at this point. "Ha ha ha, yeah yeah, funny stuff." I said sarcastically. "Okay then, looks like it's time to test the laser." I rolled up on my side and aimed the laser cannon into the rock, right beside my arm.

"Hey, Alex, what would happen if you hit yourself with that thing?" Mina asked.

"Oh, I don't know, anything from a mild sunburn to total amputation." I said. "Test commencing." I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as I squeezed the trigger. I didn't feel anything except the thump as the laser took a nice sized chunk out of the rock. I slipped my arm through the much larger hole and sighed a breath of relief as I wiggled my fingers in front of my face. "All test results are positive." I check my power gauge. "We'll have to reformulate the power supply though, I'm already at one third battery life." I detached the arm units and powered down the chest plate, removing it. "It's a work in progress, but it's looking very promising." I said.

"Agreed." A voice from behind me said. Another man dressed in a black suit stepped forward. "I've been sent to give you a present from my commander." He said. He handed me a small cardboard box.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"We're not in relation to the man you spoke to earlier." He said. "Completely different agency. The disks enclosed will explain everything you need to know. You'll be getting a second package from us as well, but it's a little too big to be carrying around."

"Can I at least know what to call you?"

"Agent Calhoun." The man replied. "Listen to the disks, and pay very close attention to them, all of you, the fate of this planet depends on it. Good luck, and goodbye." He said, hitting a button on his wrist watch and disappearing in a beam of blue light.

"Didn't he look remarkably like the other guy?" Artemus asked. I nodded.

"We'd better get back to my place and check this stuff out." I said. "It's the best lead we've gotten thus far." We drove back to my place, there was another box on the porch addressed to me. It stood as tall as me, and was incredibly heavy, marked with the word `Fragile' in all capital letters on all sides of the box. Imara and Darien lugged it into the house. I opened the box and we found a suit of armor inside, it was almost exactly like the one I was trying to build, only much more advanced. It was enclosed in a glass case with wooden trim. The envelope taped to the front of it was addressed to me as well.

"God speed, Alex, I'm sorry things had to turn out this way. Take this and serve your name proudly, I'll be watching from above." I read it out loud. "What is going on?!?!?" I shouted. I popped the disk into my DVD player and Agent Calhoun's image came up on the screen.

"Greetings Alex, Darien, Girls, you're probably wondering what is going on by now. Let me explain, I'm from an agency that has spent the last three million years traveling the universe and learning it's secrets. A few centuries ago, the agency that we call `I.R.O.G.' or Intergalactic Research Organization of Galaxies, discovered how to manipulate phenomina called worm holes to travel back and forth between the dimensions of reality and fantasy. Each one, independantly disregards the other as false, when in truth, they share a very fragile and delicate coexistance, one of our agents stole a copy of this technology and rebelled, forming his own agency. Mina has already encountered one of his underlings before." He said.

"It can't be..." Mina said wide eyed

"The Dark Agency, as he calls it, retreated for a while after being defeated by Sailor `V', however, they joined into leagues with the Negaverse shortly afterwards and assimilated their dark rituals into their own practices of technological advancement. The result is a group of cyborg monstrosities that we have come to call hellspawn." He took a breath. "The hellspawn come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all of them share three minute weaknesses. First, the organic half of them has never been completely grafted into their bionic half, so a powerful blow delivered at the seam of the two will split them in half, effectively killing them. The second weakness is their eyes. They are highly sensitive to light, and as a result will, more often than not, strike at sunset or sunrise. The third weakness is the most difficult one to exploit, due to the intricacy of their micromputer implants, an old fashioned Trojan Horse computer virus will inevitably destroy their programming, causing them to go berserk for a few moments, before powering down indefinately giving the opposer a solid chance to destoy them." He smiled. "The rest of these disks have blue prints on them for expendable equipment you will need to make use of in your endeavors, Alex."

"This doesn't make sense...why me?" I asked. "Why choose me."

"The commander of IROG selected you, Alex, for a multitude of reasons. He gives you his full support in accomplishing this mission. We'd do it ourselves, but we're prohibited from interfering in planetary relations, directly. All we can do is offer support and equipment." He said. "Thank you for your time, Agent Maniac, we're always watching and listening, so if you need anything, we'll know. Good luck, and god speed." He saluted and the disk ended, pouring smoke out of the DVD player. I quickly ran over and popped open the drawer, the disk was gone, and large amounts of the black smoke poured out.

"Disposable DVD's." I said chuckling. "What will they think of next." There was a knock on the door just then. A sour faced Agent Calhoun was standing there when I opened it.

"I forgot to mention one more thing. Your suit." He came in and closed the door quickly, locking it. "The case is opened by pressing your thumb against this panel." He said. "That's only in case of mechanical failure, though." He opened the case and pulled out a leather belt. "Wear this, never take it off unless you're going to sleep. And even then, keep it close by. Push this button," He indicated the center of the buckle, "to summon your suit. The buckle also has an alarm system built into it, you'll hear a tone when a hellspawn or Dark Agent has entered a twenty-five miled radius from your location." He turned to the girls. "Sorry girls, your powers will be virtually useless. However you're to act as support fire for Alex, stick to your strongest, most potent attacks and remember the weak points I mentioned on the disk."

"How do I know what's included with the suit?" I asked.

"Look at disk one, it has a full tutorial on how to use it, it's primarily an exact duplicate of your own design, with a few more frills and devices. It's also lighter weight with a much more efficient power supply that's virtually limitless."

"One more favor to ask." I said. He sighed.

"Yes, Agent Maniac?"

"Could you help us move this downstairs? It's kind of heavy." He pulled out his wrist watch again and pushed another button, three more agents appeared behind him.

"Meet Agents Jenkins, Daniels, and Holmes. They'll also be supporting you on this mission." They each took a corner and moved the case downstairs.

"Thanks guys, I appreciate the help."

"Not a problem, sir." Jenkins replied.

"Sir?" I asked.

"Yes, IROG has temporarily given you the commision of Commander, you'll have an annual salary deposited into this bank account." He handed me a checkbook wallet. "I'm your direct supervisor, but don't bother with titles, just call me Jackson and we'll get along great."

"Got it, Jackson." I said. "Well thanks again guys, and I'll try not to let you down. Any chance of the girls getting weapons or something?" I asked.

"Negative, as far as IROG is concerned they've done their duties. Their primary focus is to defend Princess Serena, that is your secondary objective. The D.A. will need to obliterate any defenders of this planet prior to actually invading it, it's their protocol, so they'll be focusing all of their firepower on you, Alex, this is not a video game, there is no reset button, if you die, you're actually dead." He said.

"Bummer." I said. "What are my odds of success?" I asked.

"Judging by the equipment you've been given, and the commander's confidence, I'd say things are in your favor." He smiled. "But don't get cocky, that's when we lsoe our best agents. We have to be getting back, I'll be in touch, Maniac." He said right before the four of them vanished with four flashes of blue light.

"Why me?" I asked quietly, staring up after them. I shook my head and walked downstairs, putting on the belt. I smiled as I looked at the suit. "Maybe this could be fun after all." I hit the button and instantly the suit covered my body. It was much more lightweight, and the reaction time was not even noticeable. I moved even faster in the suit! "This is so cool." I said. I hit the button again, and the suit vanished, appearing back in the display case. I popped the second disk into the computer and started browsing through the weapons and defensive mechanisms that the suit contained. The others were too shocked to speak and after a while they started leaving. Mina followed Raye upstairs.

"Oh, Mina, I've been trying to talk to you all day." Raye asked. "so what happened last night?"

"Oh, he was so sweet, Raye, he set up and old torn up cot in the corner, and he gave me his bed." She said smiling.

"So you didn't do anything?" Raye asked.

"No, there was little talk about it about an hour or so before we finally went to bed, but no, nothing happened. Hey, did you wanna cover for me again tonight?"

"Yeah, sure thing." Raye said.

"Okay, they shouldn't call you, but if they do, just tell them I'm asleep."

"Yeah, no doubt, there isn't anything that can wake you up when you fall asleep." Raye said rolling her eyes. Mina smiled sheepishly. "Well, I'll see you later, and keep me posted girl." She said pointing at her as she left.