Day 181

[from Electron]

Contrary to Electron's expectations, and perhaps to his relief, the day ended up being almost entirely uneventful. The only notable thing that happened was an attempted purse-snatching in the suburbs, and all it had taken was a single look at Electron for the perpetrator to hand the purse straight back again and run away in fright. Violent crime had already taken a nosedive since Electron arrived, not because he had been stopping them all, but because criminals were too scared to commit them in case Electron caught them in the act. If the superhero could stop the seemingly-invincible Titus, then he could stop almost anyone.

The following day started off just as uneventfully. Electron flew around the city all morning in search of crime, the armour-clad murderer from yesterday, or both, but his search proved fruitless. He was, however, greeted by hundreds of citizens who waved and cheered as he flew past them, just as they usually did. Even after a fortnight of patrolling the city, he had still not gotten used to the attention he attracted.

At about 1pm, a hungry Electron decided that it was time for lunch. He tended to eat out for lunch, partly because it was more convenient then having to fly all the way back to his apartment, and partly because the city's various eateries tended to waive his bills. Having the city's greatest hero eat at your humble burger joint was not only quite the honour, it was also fairly good for business, and already a few store owners had taken pictures of the superhero to hang on their walls. On the rare occasions that a store didn't offer him free food, a citizen would usually step in to foot the bill - this was fortunate for Electron, as his suit did not have any pockets.

Today, Electron decided to stop off at a Chinese restaurant only a block away. As he stepped through the door, he found only one other person inside, a slightly chubby woman happily tucking into a chow mein. At the counter, he was greeted by a young-looking white man who seemed rather star-struck. "Wow, Electron!" he exclaimed. "I was hoping you'd visit this place eventually! I'm a huge fan!"

"I'm sure you are," said Electron, nodding. "Could I get an order of General Tso's chicken, please? And some prawn crackers?"

"Sure," said the man. "Would you like a fortune cookie?"

Electron shrugged. "Sure, why not," he said. "Oh, and can you make all that to go, please? Just in case I get a call-out while I'm eating."

"Of course," said the man. "Will that be all?"

"Yeah, that's all," said Electron.

"Alright then," said the man. He started to run up the total, then remembered who he was serving. "I'll have to run this past the manager," he said, "but I'm sure he won't mind if I make this one on the house."

"Thank you," said Electron. "You're too kind."

"It's the least I can do for the man keeping this city safe," said the man.

As the man passed his order through to the kitchen, Electron waited patiently for it to be ready. Only a few minutes later, however, he was interrupted by a beeping sound coming from his earpiece, signalling an incoming call from Martin. "Typical, of all the times for him to call me…" he muttered, before turning to the cashier. "Sorry, I'm gonna have to take this," he said.

"That's okay," said the man. "We're still working on your order."

Electron flicked a switch on his earpiece to open the channel. "This had better be important," he said, "I'm about to have lunch."

"Oh, it's important all right," said Martin. "That masked killer's been sighted on Jefferson Avenue. Sounds like she's gonna strike again. You better get over there as fast as possible."

"She had to pick now to show up," grumbled Electron. "Why couldn't she have not shown up at all?"

"Well, she has shown up," said Martin pointedly, "so get your ass over there right now!"

"Alright, alright, geez," said Electron, rolling. "I'm on my way." Hanging up the call, he turned to the cashier. "Sorry, I'm gonna have to head off quickly," he said. "I'll be back in, like, twenty minutes. If my order's done before then, keep it warm for me, alright? I'll be back."

"Okay, no problem," said the man. As Electron activated his jet boots and flew off, the man eagerly waved him off. The woman eating her chow mein waved as well, her chopsticks still in her hand.

Day 180

[from Pokémon xTreme]

Plucking the first Poké Ball from her belt, she held it out in front of her. "Go, Hoothoot!" she declared, and the Poké Ball opened in a burst of light. Hoothoot jumped forward, fluttering gently down to the ground and resting on one foot before tilting its head and hooting gently at Graham.

"Go, Venonat!" said Graham, throwing the first of his two Poké Balls. The purple-furred Bug Pokémon burst forth from its Poké Ball and focused its radar-like eyes on Hoothoot. The display screen indicated that Venonat was the faster of the two Pokémon, and so it would go first. Graham knew that he had to deal with the Flying-type Pokémon quickly, or it would deal major damage to his Pokémon. "Venonat, use Supersonic!"

Venonat swiftly launched a series of sound waves at Hoothoot, hoping to confuse it. Hoothoot, however, simply hopped out of the way, and was unaffected, much to Taylor's relief. "Two can play at that game," she said. "Hoothoot, use Hypnosis!"

"Hoot!" cried Hoothoot. "Hoo…" Using its large eyes, it tried to hypnotize Venonat into falling asleep. However, this also had no effect, and Venonat remained wide awake. After the first round, nothing had happened whatsoever.

"An exciting Pokémon battle is unfolding here," Brandon remarked sarcastically.

"Let's try something different, then," said Graham. "Venonat, use Poison Powder!"

Venonat shook its furry body and purple spores floated across the arena, drifting towards Hoothoot. This time, the effect took hold, and Hoothoot was poisoned. However, the effect didn't last for long, as Hoothoot took out its held item: a Pecha Berry. "I came prepared for that," said Taylor, as Hoothoot munched happily on the poison-curing berry. Graham scowled. It looked like he was going to have to win this the old-fashioned way.

"Alright, Hoothoot," said Taylor, once the Pokémon had finished eating its Pecha Berry. "Attack him with Peck!" Hoothoot hooted in acknowledgement, then flew over and attacked Venonat with its beak. Despite the move's type advantage, it didn't seem to faze Venonat too much.

"Venonat, use Tackle!" said Graham. Venonat charged Hoothoot, knocking it backwards. Sensing that her Pokémon was less durable than Graham's, Taylor decided to change tactics once again.

"Hoothoot, try using Hypnosis again!" she said. Hoothoot made another attempt at sending Venonat to sleep, and this time it was successful: Venonat fell asleep almost immediately, its compound eyes drooping shut. Realizing she now had the upper hand, Taylor let out a sigh of relief and pumped her fist. "We got this," she said.

Venonat spent the next three turns asleep, allowing Hoothoot to gradually whittle down its health with Pecks. However, this also gave Graham ample time to plan his revenge, and when Venonat finally woke up, he was ready. "If Venonat's going down, then so's your Hoothoot," he said, "Venonat, use Poison Powder again!"

Venonat launched its poisonous spores at Hoothoot once more, and once more they connected, only this time Hoothoot did not have a Pecha Berry to recover itself with. Taylor scowled, realizing things had just gotten a little bit harder. However, she knew she was still winning. "Hoothoot, use Peck!"

Hoothoot swooped in and, by sheer luck, landed a critical hit on Venonat, knocking it out. The first of Graham's two Pokémon had fallen, and Taylor still had all four of her Pokémon left, albeit with one of them poisoned. At this point, she was feeling fairly confident. However, one look at Graham's equally-confident face was enough to rattle her slightly.

"Not bad so far," Graham admitted, as he pulled the fainted Venonat back into its ball. "You're definitely Brandon's student, I'll say that much. But let's see if you really have what it takes." He plucked his second Poké Ball from his belt and raised it in his hand. "Go, Ariados!"

Ariados emerged from the Poké Ball, and immediately Taylor's confidence slipped another notch. Ariados was a much stronger Pokémon than Venonat, in terms of both attack and defence. She instinctively looked to Brandon for guidance and support, and Brandon simply nodded at her. "You got this, Taylor," he said. "Don't worry."

Ariados was also faster than Hoothoot - though only just - so Graham went first again. "Ariados, use Bug Bite!" he said. Ariados rushed forwards and gnashed at Hoothoot with its sharp mandibles, and this time the owl Pokémon was on the receiving end of a critical hit. It hung on, but only by a few hit points. Taylor realized that she only had one more turn before Hoothoot fainted from Venonat's poison, and she had to make it count.

"You did well, Hoothoot," she said. "Now, just one last move, okay? Hypnosis!"

Opening its eyes wide, Hoothoot unleashed its hypnotic rays once more, and just as Venonat had done, Ariados promptly fell asleep. Its job done, Hoothoot then succumbed to its poison and fainted. It occurred to Taylor that none of her Pokémon had ever fainted before; Brandon had always had a multitude of Potions on hand during their training sessions, and none of her opponents to date had been this tough. Trying not to let it get to her, she recalled Hoothoot and sent out the next Pokémon in her arsenal. "Go, Beedrill!" she said.

"Fighting fire with fire, huh?" said Graham, as Beedrill emerged from its Poké Ball. "Interesting. Alright, let's see what that Beedrill of yours can do."

Beedrill was a lot faster than Ariados, and so Taylor now finally got to go first. "Beedrill, use Fury Attack!" she said. Beedrill complied, firing five hard jabs with its stingers, of which three connected. Ariados, still asleep, could not retaliate, though the attacks did not seem to have done much damage to it.

Beedrill managed to get two more Fury Attacks in before Ariados woke up. The first connected only twice, though one of the blows was a critical hit, and the second connected thrice. Ariados then finally woke up, though with half its health now gone, it seemed that the battle was a foregone conclusion. Taylor's confidence returned twofold, and she felt that the badge may finally be in her grasp.

Graham was not done yet, however. "Use Bug Bite again!" he called out. Ariados leapt at Beedrill, gnashing at it with its mandibles, and Beedrill reeled back from the powerful blow.

"Fury Attack again!" said Taylor. Beedrill complied, and this time it struck Ariados four times, even managing to strike yet another critical hit. Ariados had now taken some severe punishment, and was clearly wounded, but somehow it now seemed even more dangerous than before. Its mandibles glinted dangerously, and there was a menacing look in its eye. Taylor had unwittingly activated Ariados' ability, Swarm, which increased the power of its Bug-type attacks when its health was low. In taking so long to defeat it, she had made it even stronger.

"You should've finished it off more quickly," said Graham. "Ariados, use Bug Bite!" Ariados complied, tearing at Beedrill with its sharpened fangs, causing severe damage to its opponent's health. Taylor winced, but not only did Beedrill hang on, it seemed to get stronger, just as Ariados had. Its stingers looked sharper and brighter than they had before. Taylor then remembered that Beedrill had the same ability as Ariados: Swarm. It was now a question of which Pokémon could hit first, and since Beedrill was faster…

"Beedrill, finish him off with another Fury Attack!" said Taylor. Beedrill promptly unleashed another flurry of blows, but to Taylor's horror, the attack missed completely. Now the ball was in Graham's court.

"Ariados, use Leech Life!" said Graham. Ariados had no such bad luck, and in a flash it drained the last of Beedrill's life force. The Poison Bee Pokémon crumpled to the arena floor and fainted, while Ariados recovered a tiny portion of its health. Taylor still had two Pokémon left, but she knew she had to end things fast.

Recalling the fainted Beedrill, she plucked the third of her Poké Balls from its belt. "Go, Eevee!" she cried. "Finish him off for real this time!" Taylor's starter Pokémon burst forth, energized and eager for battle. It too was faster than Ariados, and it too went first. "Use Covet!"

Eevee obliged, approaching Ariados with its usual wide-eyed, pleading expression. With Beedrill's defences down, Eevee swiped hard with one of its paws, cuffing Ariados round the face. Still Ariados clung on. "How strong is this thing?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"You're about to find out," said Graham. "Another Bug Bite, Ariados!" Ariados promptly lunged straight at Eevee, and Taylor winced as her beloved starter was severely hurt. Eevee staggered backwards, its legs trembling, and for a horrifying moment Taylor feared that that one blow had been enough to knock it out. However, Eevee clung on, gritting its teeth in determination as it steadied itself for the final assault.

"Good job, Eevee," said Taylor. "Now, one last Tackle! Give it everything you've got!" Eevee bravely charged forwards and struck Ariados hard, wiping out the last of the Pokémon's health. Ariados' legs finally crumpled beneath it and it fainted, falling to the floor with a thud. Taylor breathed a massive sigh of relief, then raised a fist in the air in triumph. She had done it. The first Gym Badge was hers.

"Nice win, Taylor!" Brandon shouted encouragingly from the sidelines. "Knew you could do it!"

Graham gave Brandon another sour look as he recalled his fainted Ariados, then nodded at Taylor and gave her a satisfied smile. "I have to say, I'm impressed," he said. "You handled yourself pretty well there, even when things started to turn against you. You've definitely earned your first Badge. Come with me and I'll get it for you."

Taylor nodded, following Graham over to the console from which he had activated the arena. He pressed a button, and the arena section in the middle of the floor flipped back over again, becoming an ordinary section of floor once more. The video screen turned itself off, the words "CHALLENGER WINS" slowly fading away. Another section of the console contained a built-in healing machine, which Graham placed the two Poké Balls into, letting his fainted Pokémon rest for a while.

Now that she had the opportunity, Taylor decided to ask the question that had been on her mind since before the fight. "So what's up with you and Brandon?" she asked. "How come you don't seem to like him that much?"

Graham sighed, his expression growing sour again. "I'll be honest with you," he said. "I can't stand him. He's cocky, arrogant, loudmouthed, a total attention-seeker… he's probably signing autographs right now, the little-" Graham let the sentence trail off as he turned round to see that Brandon was indeed signing autographs for the gym's various patrons. "His attitude's just not good for the sport's image. Not to mention the Kalos incident last year…"

"What Kalos incident?" asked Taylor.

Graham paused, his hand halfway to the handle of a storage drawer. "You don't know about it?" he asked. "Well, I'm not surprised he didn't tell you about it… idiot probably doesn’t even remember it. Last year after the Kalos Masters, he went on a massive bender, trashed his hotel room, and assaulted a female hotel assistant who tried to get him to calm down. The hotel sued, the PTA got pissed, and he was banned from Masters tournaments for a year and forced to do community service-- by which I mean, training you."

Day 179

[from A Thousand Miles to San Francisco]

Samantha woke up as usual on Friday morning, ready for another day of work. As usual, she had the weekend off, and was already looking forward to it. Perhaps she could find another movie to watch with Dawn, to make up for having not been able to go with her last night.

Her routine that morning was the same as usual. She went to the bathroom, had a brief shower, then headed back to her bedroom to dry off and get changed. With that done, she headed downstairs and started to pour herself a bowl of cereal. At the same time, she switched on the TV, curious as ever to find out what had happened in the world overnight.

Almost immediately, Samantha realized that something terrible had happened somewhere in the country. The news footage depicted a darkened, cordoned-off street, with several ambulances and police cars parked in the vicinity. An officer was escorting a woman away from the scene, wrapping her in a blanket; she seemed bloodied, and somewhat traumatized. Whatever had happened on that street, it hadn't been pretty.

"-is in custody, having been arrested outside the theatre just minutes after the shooting began," the reporter was saying. "Reports indicate that the shooter was wearing bulletproof clothing, and that many inside the theatre at the time of the shooting believed that he, like a number of others, was attending the screening in costume. One of the officers who-"

Samantha let out a sigh. It was always depressing whenever a mass shooting happened, especially in her home state. She had been nine years old when the Columbine massacre occurred elsewhere in Colorado, and at the time she'd been too young to understand why such a thing could happen. Even now, she still wasn't sure if she understood. Perhaps there was no reason.

Samantha noticed that the news ticker at the bottom of the screen had scrolled to the sports results - no matter what had happened elsewhere in the world, there were still those more interested in whether the Broncos or the Rockies had won their respective games. Shortly it would scroll back to the start of the ticker, and the day's main news story, which was no doubt this mass shooting. She waited with bated breath, anxious to see where the shooter had struck.

"TEN DEAD, DOZENS INJURED AFTER GUNMAN ATTACKS CINEMA IN AURORA, CO."

The cereal bowl crashed to the floor, spilling cornflakes and milk all over the chequered tiling. Samantha stared at the TV in a state of shock, her wide eyes following the hateful caption until it had scrolled all the way off the edge of the screen. Her knees suddenly felt weak, and her chest heavy. A torrent of thoughts rushed through her head, drowning out the voice of the news reporter so that she could no longer hear them. The kitchen around her seemed to have been plunged into deadly silence, all by that one simple, dreadful sentence.

Of all Samantha's jumbled thoughts, the one she clung to the strongest was that this couldn't possibly be real. There was no way it could actually be happening. But as the camera zoomed in on the front of the cinema, there could be no denying it: the shooting had occurred at the very cinema, the very screening that Dawn had attended last night. The very same screening that she herself could potentially have attended.

As the reality of the news began to sink in, Samantha's immediate instinct was to rush to the hospital and check that Dawn was okay. But which hospital? How did she know where Dawn had been admitted to? How did she even know that Dawn had been admitted to a hospital? Maybe there had been no need for that in her case. Maybe there had been no point. Samantha furiously shook the thought from her mind. She couldn't bear to think about the possibility that Dawn might be dead, when she could have been right there in the theatre, and could have saved her. Then suddenly the horrifying thought rushed through her mind once more: if she had been there at the time, maybe she would have been killed as well.

Whatever the truth was, she had to find out. The anxiety was tearing her apart from the inside. Her legs still felt weakened and numb, and she felt she might collapse to the floor at any time, joining the shattered remnants of her fallen cereal bowl. Gripping onto the kitchen counter, she staggered over to the table and sat down, the jolt of her backside against the chair bringing her harshly back to reality. Rummaging quickly in her pocket, she took out her phone and began to dial Dawn's number. She had to know.

Putting it to her ear, she was met with the sickeningly familiar dialling tone. "Come on, Dawn, pick up," she muttered to herself in desperation. "Please pick up…"

The phone continued to ring for what felt like an age. Finally, she heard the one thing she had been dreading above all others, that cold automated message: "The number you are trying to reach is not currently available. Please check the-" Samantha hung up, cutting the message off, and opened her phone's internet browser, frantically looking up the contact details of the nearest hospitals. If Dawn was in one of those hospitals, then she would be okay. Everything would be okay. If she wasn't in one of those hospitals… Samantha didn't want to think about it.

Within minutes, she had found the phone number for The Medical Centre of Aurora, one of the nearest hospitals to the cinema where the shooting had happened. She knew that the switchboards would likely be jammed up with people like her inquiring about their friends and loved ones, but she had to try and get through. Dialling the number, she put the phone to her ear and the agonizing waiting game began anew.

Day 178

[from The Ballad of Conor Stewart]

"So, on to 1988, and my season at March. We'd had some fairly good results in pre-season testing, and I went into the first race knowing that I had a good car underneath me, and I was gonna get some solid results that season. If I'd had any doubts left about leaving Hildebrand, they were dispelled on the Saturday, when both cars failed to qualify!" Conor chuckled. "To be fair, I think they started that season with B-spec cars because the new ones weren't ready yet, but still, they were about nine seconds off pole position, which is diabolically slow. I knew Gary Brabham, he was their lead driver then, and I almost considered apologizing to him for having joined such a crap team." He chuckled again.

"Now, while he'd failed to qualify, I'd qualified… ninth, I think. I know I was alongside Ivan Capelli, in the other March. Either way, it was my best-ever qualifying by a long way. The race… that didn't quite go as well. My clutch gave out on the first lap, and that was the end of that. Ivan only lasted six laps before his engine gave out, so all things told, it wasn’t really the best of starts for us. I was still pretty enthusiastic though, as was Ivan. We both knew what this car's potential was.

"Sadly, things didn't really improve for the next few races. At San Marino I was a few places behind Ivan on the grid, and I finished ninth. I think Ivan had the same problem that race that I'd had in Brazil: his clutch gave out in the opening laps. After that, I retired from the next four races in a row, all of them with mechanical issues. I was running in the points in both Canada and Detroit until my car packed up, and by that point I was starting to get a little tired of it. I told the team, look, you gotta fix these reliability issues, this is a fast car with loads of potential, but it's even less reliable than the shitty Hildebrand I drove last year. Hell, it was less reliable than that year's Hildebrand, at least where the races were concerned.

"Now, I dunno what they did, I dunno how they fixed it, but after Detroit, I didn't retire again for the next nine races. Those nine races, as far as I'm concerned, were where my career really kicked off. I'd already been courting other teams, thinking that maybe March weren't going to be competitive as I thought they would be, but then the car's performance just shot right up, and in turn that caught the attention of the teams I'd been trying to court. In France we finished eighth and ninth, but at the British Grand Prix we qualified in fifth and sixth, and I finished fourth for my first points of the season, and my best-ever result. Two races later in Hungary, I finished fourth again, followed by a sixth-placed finish in Belgium.

"The best moment, however, came at Estoril. By then I'd already signed for Tyrrell for '89, and with turbos banned from '89 onwards, I expected them to be pretty competitive that year. Plus, I mean, you know, it's fucking Tyrrell, previously one of the most successful teams in F1. I was pretty damn excited about signing that contract, even more excited than I had been when I signed that first contract with Hildebrand. On top of that, our setup for Estoril was just absolutely sublime. It was pretty much the fastest car round the Parabolica, and at the other fast turns. It wasn't just me either, I talked to Ivan and he agreed that the car was set up absolutely perfectly. Something about our car just seemed to love that track.

"With all that positive energy and all that excitement, I promptly put the car third on the grid, with Ivan fourth. Suddenly there was this massive buzz around us, with people suggesting that we could even upset the McLarens in the race, and go on to take the win. I thought that was nonsense, to be honest with you: the McLarens had been one-and-a-half seconds ahead of us in qualifying, and of course we had atmo Judd engines, whereas they had the powerful Honda turbos. Not to mention that they were being driven by Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, the two greatest drivers of their generation. I thought, yeah, the day I beat those McLarens is the day the world ends.

"Before the race, I had a chat with Ivan about our race prospects, and he seemed to think we were in with a chance of winning. After all, it would only take the two McLarens retiring for us to be first and second, and we'd be leading the race. It was a pretty big if, but the chance was there, and the last thing either of us wanted to do was fuck it all up by crashing into each other, so we agreed that whoever led into the first corner would keep that position for the rest of the race.  

"The first two starts were aborted due to people stalling, and by the third start I was thinking, come on, let's get away cleanly this time, I want my first podium already! Luckily the third start wasn't aborted, and just as I'd expected, the two McLarens pulled away pretty quickly. Ivan and I settled down for the long haul, not expecting to see them again, but then after a few laps I suddenly noticed that my gap to Senna in front had gone down by half a second. I thought, hang on, is that accurate? Has he made a mistake or something? Then the next lap it had gone down again, and I thought, hello, I'm catching him! Has he got a problem? Turns out he had, actually: his fuel gauge was on the fritz and he was slowing down to save fuel when he didn't need to. But all I knew at the time was that I was catching him, and I started pushing like hell to try and overtake him.

"By lap 20 or so, I'd caught up to him, and on lap 22 I out-braked him and drove right past, into second place. Capelli followed through shortly afterwards, and now we were second and third. My pit board quickly spelled out that I wasn't gonna catch Prost, he was long gone, but I didn't much care, because just being second was amazing enough for me. Sadly, it didn't quite last, as about twelve laps from the end I started having problems with the engine. I had to start nursing the car, dialling back the power to try and stop it from blowing up, and that meant letting Ivan through into second place, in spite of our promise. It wasn't easy, but I managed to hold off Thierry Boutsen behind me and bring the car home in third, for my first-ever podium.

"I really hope you guys get to stand on an F1 podium someday, because it's a tremendous feeling. The roar of the crowd below you, seeing your flag fluttering above you… well, not that last one anymore, because they've replaced the actual flags with fucking digital displays, I mean, really? That's just dumb. But yeah, it feels great being up on that podium, and that feeling never goes away no matter how many times you're up there. The champagne's pretty damn good, too. Me and Ivan went at it like kids in a water fight, showering each other and Alain- fuck, I coulda worded that better," he added, as Sergio and Stefan smirked. "Uhh… you guys know what I mean."

"Yeah, we know what you mean," said Sergio, trying to hold back a chuckle.

"Fucking… well yeah, anyway, that was my first podium, and the first of many," said Conor, trying to steer the proceedings back on track. "I went on to score points once more that season - fifth in Suzuka - though I was rather overshadowed there by Ivan briefly taking the lead. That was the first time an atmo car had led a race for five years, so even if it was only for a few hundred yards, it was still a pretty big deal. I was also impressed with my old mate Satoru Nakajima, who went into that race having just found out his mother had died, and went on to qualify sixth in the Lotus. We all admired him for that result, it was a pretty stellar performance from him.

"I went into the last race in Adelaide thinking I could get a pretty big result, and I had the crowd behind me all the way, but sadly I got caught up in an accident and crashed out. In the end I finished ninth in the championship, ahead of people like Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese, and I'd sealed my reputation as one of the sport's brightest new talents. Now I was looking forward to '89, and what I hoped would be an even better season. And of course, it was, in quite a number of ways."

[dedicated to Jules Bianchi 1989-2015. RIP]

Day 177

[from Vanishing Point]

Kamui, using his detective contacts, had learned of Obsidian's criminal history within the city. This usually seemed to consist of murdering one or two pursuing Shinsuke City Patrol guards, and then disappearing off the grid again. City Patrol were still trying to track them down, but didn't have any leads. For the test subjects, however, this was proof that they were not alone in their fight against Shinsuke. All they needed to do was to track Obsidian down somehow.

Kamui decided that he and the escapees should head into Shinjuku, close to where Obsidian was last sighted, and ask random passers-by if they had any information on her whereabouts. With any luck, they would find someone who could at least point them in the right direction, as right now they knew only that Obsidian was somewhere in the city.

"Are you sure we'll find her this way?" asked Cobra, as the group made their way out of the subway station.

"It's a bit too late to be asking that now," Kamui pointed out. "Thought to be honest… no, I'm not. However, it's the best chance we've got. Besides, if Obisidian finds out we're looking for her, she might come looking for us. So it might work out either way."

"I see," said Cobra. "Well, in that case, let's hope she's paying attention. Speaking of which…" Cobra nudged Hanako, who had been staring in amazement at the buildings all around them. "Focus, please," she said. "We're here to look for someone, not to sightsee."

"Okay," said Hanako. "Sorry."

Outside the subway station was an elaborate gilded fountain. "Alright, let's split up and meet back here at six," said Kamui. "Don't stray too far, in case you're unable to find your way back. If you find anything, let us know via text." He had purchased cheap disposable cellphones for each girl on the way up to Shinjuku, and much to Hanako's displeasure, as she had wanted a replacement for her old iPhone. "And make sure you keep an eye out for any Shinsuke patrols," Kamui added. "Got it?"

"Got it!" Hanako immediately went racing off, and the other three promptly set off in separate directions, ready to begin their investigations.

***

After half an hour, Kiyoko had not had any luck with finding a lead, and already felt like giving up. However, her fortunes were about to change. A teenage girl with blue hair suddenly came bounding over to her. "Excuse me," she asked. "are you looking for someone?"

Kiyoko seemed grateful for the assistance. "Ah, yes," she said. "Me and my friends are looking for this woman." She held up a print-out of Obsidian's face. "Have you seen her?"

Upon seeing the image, the girl seemed to react in some way, perhaps surprise, perhaps curiosity. "Oh yeah, I saw her just a few minutes ago," she said. "I can show you where she was headed, if you like."

"Really?"said Kiyoko. "Thank you. That'd be a great help. Oh, but… I should call the others first…" Kiyoko quickly took out her phone and sent a group text to Kamui, Cobra and Hanako, letting them know the situation. A few minutes later, the group had reassembled again.

"So you said you're going to show us where Obsidian went?" asked Kamui.

"Yeah, that’s right," said the blue-haired girl. "If you're quick, you might still be able to catch her."

"Alright, thanks," he said. "Lead the way, miss, uhh…"

"Emi," said the girl. "My name is Emi."

"I see," said Kamui. "Well, lead the way, Emi."

Emi nodded, and headed off through the crowded streets with Kamui and the escapees in tow. After a few minutes of walking, Emi suddenly turned and headed down a narrow side alley. Her four companions, suddenly wary, exchanged nervous glances before following her inside. "Are you sure this is the right way?" asked Cobra.

"Yep," said Emi. "She definitely went down this alleyway." Cobra scowled slightly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"How much further is it?" asked Hanako.

"Oh, not much further," said Emi. "Not much further at all."

As she reached the centre of the alleyway, Emi suddenly stopped and span on her heel, turning to face Kamui and the girls with a serious look on her face. As the four fugitives stopped, confused, Emi was suddenly enveloped in a brilliant white glow, and before their very eyes her silhouette began to change, slowly growing taller. A stunned Hanako turned to Kamui, who seemed almost as stunned. "What's happening to her?" she asked.

Her question was answered a second later as a white glow faded, revealing the unmistakeable figure of Obsidian standing before them where Emi had stood not a moment ago. Her ebony hair billowed in the breeze that rushed through the alleyway, her eyes filled with the usual hatred. One of her eyes was still a vivid electric-blue, just as Emi's had been; the other was a burning crimson. The test subjects let out a gasp as they realized the truth: Emi had been Obsidian the whole time. "So that's her power," gasped Cobra.

"So, you're the ones who escaped from that test facility, huh?" asked Obsidian. "I saw the news reports. I was wondering when our paths would cross." Her hand strayed to the handle of one of her katanas, but she did not draw it from its sheath on her back. "Let me ask you three something," she said, her mismatched eyes focusing on the escapees. "Do you know why the sky is blue?"

Kiyoko and Hanako blinked, confused. Cobra, however, suddenly felt a searing pain in her temple. She put her hand against it, rubbing it gently. "R… Rayleigh scattering," she groaned, and the pain subsided as quickly as it had appeared. "The sky is… blue due to Rayleigh scattering. Why do you ask?"

Obsidian's hand dropped back to her side once again. "I don't know," she said. "It's one of the few things I remember from when Shinsuke tried to brainwash me: being asked that question, and not knowing the answer. Somehow, I felt that I should ask you, and that if you knew the answer, I could trust you."

"How strange," Kamui remarked. "Perhaps their attempted brainwashing still left some sort of imprint in your subconscious."

"Perhaps," said Obsidian. "But enough of that. I assume you are here to propose an alliance of some sort?"

"That's right," said Cobra. "We're going to unravel this mystery, and find out who we are, why we were given these powers, and what Shinsuke's plans are. Then we're going to stop them."

"We're also going to track down the test subjects, one by one," said Kamui. "If they are under Shinsuke's control, perhaps we can break that spell somehow."

For the first time, Obsidian showed the group a small smile. "Well, that certainly sounds like a plan to me," she said. "I have every intention of destroying Shinsuke for what they've taken from me."

"Your memories?" asked Kamui.

"Not just that," said Obsidian, the smile fading again. "My identity. They turned me into a damn number. I've gone too far now perhaps to return to my old life, but if I can at least know what they took from me, that will be enough."

"So will you join us?" asked Cobra. "Will you help us?"

Obsidian nodded. "I will help you to the best of my ability. However, I work better alone, and in any case, wherever I go, Shinsuke usually follow behind. You don't want to be too close to me for too long. So we'll go our separate ways for now. I'll be in touch." With that, Obsidian turned on her heel and began to walk off.

"Hey, wait!" Kamui called after her.

Obsidian stopped, but did not look back. "I know of one other test subject," she said. "Mizuki Sato, the famous actress. She would never talk to the likes of me, but I'm sure you would have more luck."

At the mention of the actress, Hanako's eyes lit up with childlike ecstasy. "No way!" she exclaimed. "The Mizuki Sato?!"

Kiyoko seemed rather taken aback by Hanako's sudden burst of excitement. "Who's Mizuki Sato?" she asked.

Hanako turned to Kiyoko, shocked. "You don't remember Mizuki Sato?!" she said. "She's only, like, the greatest idol and actress ever! She-"

While Hanako continued to rebuke Kiyoko, Kamui stepped forward to address Obsidian. "Thank you, Obsidian," he said. "We'll check it out."

At the mention of the name "Obsidian", the woman's eyes flashed dangerously, her electric-blue eye turning deep crimson to match the other. "And another thing," she said menacingly. "Don't call me Obsidian. That's not my name. It's what they call me."

"I'm sorry," said Kamui. "Then, what would you like us to call you?"

"Call me Rei¹."

"Okay then," said Kamui. "So long, Rei. It was nice meeting you."

"Until we meet again," said Rei. She carried on down the alleyway, an as she approached the end, her figure was enveloped in a white glow once more as she transformed back into Emi. In an instant she was gone, hidden amongst the throngs of people still going about their business.

"Well, that was interesting," said Cobra, as the group began to make their own way out of the alleyway.

"It certainly was," said Kamui. "So, should we go and pay Miss Sato a visit? The sooner the better, right?"

"Sounds good to me," said Cobra.

Hanako seemed overwhelmed with joy at the thought of meeting her idol. " OhmygoshIcan'tbelieveI'mactuallygonnameetmyidolMizukiSatoallmylifeI'vewantedtomeetherandfinallyI'mgonnagetthechancewellnotactuallyallmylifebecauseI'veonlyknownsheexistedforaboutthreeyearsorsobut-" Having finally run out of air, she took a deep breath in. "I'm so excited!" she proclaimed loudly.

"We gathered," said Cobra, completely deadpan.

Kamui pondered Rei's words for a moment. "Mizuki Sato, a test subject…" he mused. "Shinsuke must have known they'd be getting themselves into trouble by capturing someone that famous. Perhaps they didn't realize who it was until it was too late."

"I guess," said Kiyoko, before turning to Hanako, curious. "You still didn't really answer my question, though… who is Mizuki Sato?"

"She's, like, the greatest actress in the entire world, ever!" said Hanako. "I've seen all of her shows! Oh, and she also sings, too!"

"That's right," said Kamui, nodding. "She's a popular idol. She's done albums, TV shows, movies, all sorts of stuff. Now that I come to think about it, she went missing a couple of months ago. She turned up four days later at a police station, claiming she'd lost her memory and that there were strange men following her around." He smiled, then looked over at Cobra. "It certainly does fit the pattern, doesn't it?"

Cobra nodded. "That must have been when they kidnapped her," she said.

"I agree," said Kamui. "Of course, those strange men were just her fans, but she couldn't remember why she had fans in the first place. Apparently she's got her memory back now, though, and she's settled back into the celebrity lifestyle like she never left it."

"That's right!" said Hanako. "She remembers everything except for those four days she was missing! Hey, wait… if she got her memories back, then that means you two can get your memories back too, right?" she added, looking at Kiyoko and Cobra.

"I hope so…" said Kiyoko.

"Me too," said Cobra.

"But… if she's that famous, then wouldn’t it be hard to talk to her?" asked Kiyoko. "I mean, she'll probably have bodyguards and stuff…"

The expression on Kamui's face showed that he hadn't considered this at all. "That's an excellent point, Kiyoko," he said. "We'll have to bear that in mind."

Suddenly, Hanako came to a stop, holding her arm out to the side to signal the others to halt. Her other arm pointed up at the towering skyline above them. "Up there!" she said. "That's Mizuki Sato."

Kiyoko followed the direction of Hanako's finger. Far above them, on the side of a skyscraper, was a digital billboard depicting a woman with neat, shoulder-length emerald-green hair. Her teeth glistened an impossible shade of white as she held up a bottle of some sort of sugar-free beverage, speaking in a loud voice that was simultaneously barely audible over the din of the city.

"Kyurei Sugar-Free Cola!" the digital Mizuki proclaimed. "Superstar taste that won't ruin your superstar smile!" As if to emphasize this last point, Mizuki's perfect smile grew even wider as digital sparkles danced around her mouth. Hanako found the whole spectacle rather amusing.

"She seems nice," said Kiyoko.

"She is!" said Hanako. "So, shall we get going, then? Mizuki-tan is a very busy woman, and we wouldn't want to keep her waiting! Also, I know where her studio is! They did a video tour of it once!"

"Why am I not surprised," said Cobra, once again completely deadpan.

"Well, that's certainly convenient," said Kamui. "Alright, lead the way, Hanako, but don't rush ahead or we won't be able to follow you."

Hanako nodded, and continued on her way through the busy streets with the others in tow. Above their heads, the digital Mizuki continued to extol the virtues of Kyurei Sugar-Free Cola in a constant, almost hypnotic loop.

FOOTNOTES

¹ Obsidian's preferred name is written with the kanji for "zero", symbolizing that she is "nothing" without her memories and true identity

Day 176

[from Cyborg Team Alpha]

In the mid-2030s, the South China Sea was a hotbed of political tensions, with numerous ongoing territorial disputes, coupled with increasing racial tensions amidst the hundredth anniversary of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japanese nationals living in China became the victims of brutal attacks, while Chinese politicians led vocal campaigns demanding official apologies for Japanese war crimes during the prior conflict. As tensions increased, the two countries found themselves on the brink of war.

At the same time, and undisturbed by the rumblings of war, prominent Japanese scientist Prof. Satoshi Toriyama was working on his greatest invention: the Cyborg System, a means of reviving the recently-deceased using cutting-edge computer hardware, keeping their memories and personalities completely intact while replacing any irreparably damaged body parts with state-of-the-art bionics. Toriyama's intention was to give those killed in tragic accidents, or by degenerative diseases, a second chance at life. Though highly expensive, the system, if perfected, could potentially hold the key to eternal life. Some were skeptical or even fearful of the technology, but Toriyama pressed on with the research regardless.

In 2038, China declared war on Japan, ostensibly over the countries' various territorial disputes. The Chinese Army swiftly launched an invasion of Japan which the Japanese Self-Defence Force managed to hold back, though the Chinese Army's numbers advantage meant they could not repel it completely. Many in China called for nuclear strikes on Japan, to destroy the country entirely, but the Chinese government refused, knowing that launching a nuclear attack would be tantamount to suicide. The Japanese, however, were far more willing to go to extreme lengths.

The Japanese military swiftly hijacked Prof. Toriyama's Cyborg program, and in 2040 the system was perfected. The military then began reviving recently-deceased soldiers from both sides, turning them into powerful cybernetically-enhanced killing machines, turning the tide of the war in Japan's favour. To prevent the technology from falling into Chinese hands, the Cyborgs were rigged to explode upon death, causing further casualties.

The Japanese public, the international community, and especially Prof. Toriyama, were all appalled by the Japanese military's use of Cyborgs, branding it inhumane and a war crime. The United Nations banned the use of Cyborgs for military purposes in 2042, but the Japanese military persisted.  Ultimately, in mid-2043, a UN-governed task force brokered a peace treaty and, to eliminate the numerous territorial disputes in the area, the Pinnacle Islands and various other island groups were destroyed with tactical nuclear strikes.

All remaining Cyborgs were destroyed, along with the facilities that had produced them, and an international treaty was signed that made the technology illegal. Japan refused to sign, but agreed to limit Cyborg conversion to peaceful purposes, and on the condition that the deceased person's family consented to the conversion. However, with the stigma now attached to the Cyborgs, and with the only facilities capable of producing them in ruins, no new Cyborgs were ever produced.

Prof. Toriyama was forced into hiding, blamed for having been the Cyborgs' inventor, even though he had had nothing to do with their use in the war. Ashamed of what his creations had been turned into, Prof. Toriyama decided to continue his work on the Cyborg system in secret, convinced that with the right application, he could vindicate himself and his research and change the public's opinion of Cyborgs for the better.

In the wake of the war's end, the public grew bitter and angry at the government for wasting trillions of yen and millions of lives on a war that had ultimately been pointless. Sporadic violence and protests occurred throughout the country, often aimed at Chinese nationals in the country, though the Japanese government, in an attempt to stave off another war, dealt very harshly with anyone involved in xenophobic attacks against ethnic Chinese. In August 2045, commemorations were held to mark 100 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and though largely peaceful, three Americans were killed by ultra-nationalists.

Though other, smaller ultra-nationalist groups had emerged in the wake of the war, 2049 saw the emergence of the Rising Sun, a group of terrorists who began a campaign of bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations, further threatening the country's fragile recovery. Prof. Toriyama saw his chance, and requested permission from the Diet to form a secret group of Cyborgs that would help combat the Rising Sun and protect Japan's citizens. The Diet were reluctant, but ultimately agreed.

Over the next three years, Toriyama found four recently-deceased people whose skills would prove beneficial to the unit, and whose families permitted him to rebuild them as Cyborgs. They were: Ryuto Kagetane, an ex-soldier who had been killed in a Rising Sun bombing; Gumi Takahashi, a gifted scientist and engineer who died in a car crash; Hiroki Ashida, a strong builder who was killed in an industrial accident; and Dae-Sung Park, a Korean martial arts instructor murdered in a xenophobic attack by Rising Sun members.

In 2052, a random terrorist bombing by the Rising Sun claims the life of Ichiko St. Clare, a half-American teenager renowned for her mathematical ability, and who had been considered one of Japan's brightest young prodigies. Toriyama received permission to revive her as a Cyborg and promptly did so, making her the fifth and final member of his elite Cyborg unit, now dubbed "Cyborg Team Alpha". Upon awaking, Ichiko is initially shocked to learn of her fate, but jumps at the chance to help rid Japan of the Rising Sun and agrees to join the team. After a gruelling period of physical therapy, during which she gradually gets used to her new bionic parts, Ichiko sets out with the other members to tackle the Rising Sun, as well as the world's continued negative perception of the Cyborgs.

Day 175

[from StarLight]

Amaya, having slept through most of lunchtime as well, hadn't noticed that Sanae had been gone the whole time. In fact, she didn't even notice Sanae re-enter Class 2-2 at the end of lunch, and Sanae had to nudge her best friend awake once more. "Huh?" said Amaya. "Is it lesson time already?"

"Yeah," said Sanae. She was holding a hot cup of coffee, which she then placed on Amaya's desk. "I bought you a cup of coffee from the cafeteria, to help wake you up some more, but I guess you can't drink it now, huh? Sorry. I should've gotten here earlier."

In a flash, Amaya's sleep-deprived brain suddenly came up with an idea. As Inaba-sensei entered the classroom, Amaya pretended to look out of the window, then suddenly leapt to her feet and pointed. "Oh my gosh, look!" she declared. "It's White Star!"

Immediately the entire class rushed to the window to look, with the exception of Sanae, who was understandably confused. "But that's impossi-" she began to object, before realizing that explaining why it was impossible would be tantamount to revealing her identity. She abruptly joined the others in rushing towards the window, and with everyone's attention now focused elsewhere, Amaya put her plan into action. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the Black Star Emblem and in an instant she had transformed.

"I've always wanted to say this," she muttered. "Za Warudo!" In an instant, time itself stopped. Her classmates froze in place, still staring expectantly out of the classroom window. Now, she had all the time in the world to drink her coffee. In fact, she had all the time in the world to do more or less anything she wanted. But I guess it's not as much fun to do evil if there's nobody watching, she thought to herself. Ah well… mind you, I suppose while I have time stopped like this, there is one more thing I might as well do…

***

"WRRRRYYYYYYYYY!" yelled Amaya, as she slammed a road roller end-first into the ground outside her mother's house. Her mother, frozen in the middle of her Bat-Dude gaming session, did not flinch, but she certainly would once time resumed. Amaya wondered how long it would take her to notice that she had also swapped the Bat-Dude game disc for a Road to Hull: Revolution game disc. Hope she has fun with that pile of steaming dog turd, she thought smugly to herself.

Perching herself on top of the road roller's rear end, sticking several feet out of the cracked asphalt, Amaya began to drink her coffee in total, blissful solitude, idly swinging her legs. Although it had taken her quite some time to find a suitable road roller, the time-stop meant that her coffee was still nice and hot. "Ahhh… that feels much better," she said, after ingesting the first mouthful. "This time spell is really draining my power, though. I'd better hurry up and drink this coffee so I can head back to the school and undo the spell."

Amaya drank her coffee quickly, and when she got back to Class 2-2, everything was just as she had left it. With the caffeine not yet taking hold, and the time-freeze spell draining the Emblem's power severely, she felt no less tired than she had before. Maybe this wasn't a good idea, she thought. Ah well, too late now. Sitting back down at her seat, she dropped the Emblem into her bag, and as her transformation was broken, so was the spell. A few seconds later, her un-frozen classmates began to realize that White Star was not in fact outside their classroom window. "Hey, where is she?" "I don't see her!" "Maybe we missed her already?"

"Oh, sorry, my mistake," said Amaya casually. "It must have been a bird, or a plane, or something."

The rest of the class let out a collective sigh of disappointment and returned to their seats. "Well, now that all that excitement is over, let's get on with the lesson," said Inaba-sensei. "Turn to page 78, please-"

***

Once lessons were over, Sanae and Amaya began to gather their things. Amaya retrieved the empty coffee cup, which she had stowed under her desk, and tossed it into the trash can. "It's probably ice-cold by now," she said. "I feel better now anyway, those naps must have done me some good."

"That's good to hear," said Sanae. "Oh, by the way, I'll be staying behind after-school from now on, due to club activities."

"Okay, sure," said Amaya, not quite registering what Sanae had said. Then, a moment later, she did a double-take and looked at Sanae, confused. "Wait a minute," she said. "Since when were you in a club?!"

"Since this lunchtime," said Sanae. "I, uhh, kinda got roped into joining one."

"Oh, I see," said Amaya. "Which club is it?"

"Uhh…" Oh crap, Sanae thought. I can't tell her I'm in the White Star Fan Club, because we both agreed we were fed up of that phenomenon! But maybe if I explain that I was duped into joining it… but wait, what if she doesn't believe that? I'll have to just lie and say it's a different club… but which one? And what if she finds out that I'm not in whichever club I say I'm in? How will I explain that?

"I hate to interrupt your internal monologue," said Amaya, "but are you going to tell me or not?"

Sanae blurted out the first thing that came into her head. "Th-the sewing club!" she said. "I got roped into joining the sewing club, so, uhh… yeah…" Sanae chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.

Somehow, Amaya seemed to buy this. "The sewing club, huh?" she repeated. "Well, okay then. Have fun with sewing club."

"Will do," said Sanae. "You know, you should join a club as well, Amaya. That way you'd have to spend less time cooped up at home with your mom, and we might get more storyline material."

"Yeah, but we'd have to introduce a whole bunch of other new characters as well," said Amaya, "and this series has plenty of characters already. Plus I'm happy to just spend time wandering around town, or playing video games in my room." Or trashing up the town as Black Star, she added in thought.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Sanae. "Alright, well, I'll see you tomorrow morning, then."

"Alright, see you," said Amaya, heading towards the classroom door. "Have fun at sewing club."

"Will do," said Sanae. The two girls went their separate ways: Amaya headed home, while Sanae headed through the corridors towards Class 1-3, for the first-ever official meeting of the White Star Fan Club.