March 22, 1896
Galaxy Police Headquarters

      	The young officer saluted the commander.  "Sir, the operation is
complete.  The final locks have clicked into place.  KAIN will never
bother the galaxy again."

      	"Good.  I must go and compose a letter of condolence to the Royal
family of Jurai on the loss of their leader, the Emperor."  He turned to
go.

     	"There's only one problem, sir."

     	"What's that?"

     	He bigsweated.  "Umm...three other prisoners escaped the
confinement grid while KAIN was being sealed in."

     	"Who?"  The commander frowned.

     	"X-5000677, Z-3984, and Y-4303948.  The grid partially slid open
while KAIN was being shoved in, sir, as far as we can figure.  Also, it
seems possible that something broke into our computer system and assisted 
their escape."

      	"..."  The commander began to pace back and forth.  "It must have
been an inside job.  The security computer cannot be accessed from the
outside world.  It is linked into no other system.  We must have a
mole..."

      	The hunt was on.

**************************************************************************

Chapter 2:  Queen of Swords.

**************************************************************************

      	Manami parked her car in the lot in front of the place.  I hope
I'm not lost, she thought, looking up at the big building, which rather
resembled a warehouse.  There was a big sign over the door, 'Alphonse's'.
She walked inside, hoping this was the right place.  She was greeted at
the door by a woman dressed in what looked somewhat like a military
uniform.  The woman wore dark blue slacks and a dark blue blouse, with
a tan vest over the blouse, buttoned in front.  The white visor on her
head bore the logo, 'SV2', whatever that meant.  She had a nametag that
read, 'Sgt. Kamazaki Yohko'.  Her hair was short and black with a boyish
cut.  "Hi, welcome to Alphonse's.  Can I help you?"

      	"I'm looking for Professor Hiyama's history class?"  I need to ask
Professor Hiyama why we're meeting here, Manami thought.  I'm glad I have
a car.  

      	"Ahh, follow me."  Manami followed Kamazaki into the main room.
The main room of Alphonse's is huge.  The ceiling was about a hundred feet
high and there were several stories of wide walkways around the walls with
more tables up on them.  The main floor was half empty, forming a dance
floor, while the rest had tables.  There was a bar by the far wall, and
behind the bar stood a huge gleaming white mech.  The walls were lined
with pictures of various mechs, their pilots, and support staff.  Light
and breezy pop music was playing.  She saw the other seven students in the
seminar and professor Hiyama, her advisor, at one of the tables.
Professor Hiyama smiled.  "Hello, Manami-san." 

      	Manami sat down.  "I'm not late, am I?"

      	"No, we have another five minutes.  When are you coming in for
advising?"

      	"How about tomorrow?"  She sat down, then said to the waitress, "Get
me a Dr. Pepper please."  The waitress nodded and said into her headset.
"Dr. Pepper for table 8,"  then went to go get it.

      	"Okay.  Sounds good to me.  You're probably all wondering why I
asked you all to meet here this week."

      	"Yes, I was wondering,"  Jonathon asked.  He was a gaijin student
at the university, and one of the best students in the class.  

      	"Well, the main reason was I wanted an excuse to go out, and my
husband is out of town, but..."  Everyone facefaulted.

      	She laughed and ran her hands through her short, greying hair,
looking at her students with a twinkle in her steel blue eyes.  She was
probably the happiest history professor they had ever met.  Her husband
was gone a lot of the time on research, but he taught at the university
too.  She was short, and in excellent shape for a woman of her age,
whatever that was exactly, though she had a slight limp in her right leg.
She had been at the university a lot longer than her students. "Well,
since this is a class on Modern Japanese history, I thought we'd
visit an important historical site.  This was the headquarters of SV2, one
of the special teams that was developed to deal with the problems of
renegade labors.  I hope you've done your reading."

      	They all nodded.  Kyoko got out her copy of this week's readings,
"Patlabor:  The rise and fall of SV2", by Goto Kiichi.  She hadn't quite
finished it.  "I was wondering where they got a real Ingram."

      	"Manami, would you like to tell us about the circumstances
surrounding the introduction of labors and why the SV2 was founded?"
Professor Hiyama sat back and smiled.  

      	Manami sweated a little.  I should have read more carefully, she
thought, then pulled herself together.  "Around 1990, Shinohara
Enterprises and Mendo Industries in Japan, US Robots in the United
States, and SCHAFT in Europe all began intensive research into robotics.
By 1996, they had developed the first labors, basically enhanced
exoskeletons, for use in heavy industry and construction.  In Japan, they
first became important during the Babylon project, an effort to build a
sea wall across Tokyo bay.  SV2 was created to deal with this.  This
book..." 

	She pointed to the text, then continued, "is the memoir of Goto
Kiichi, who was the head of SV2's Second Unit, and later head of the
expanded Special Vehicles Command, then of the ADPolice when SVC was
merged with other units to form the ADPolice in 2027 AD.  Labors continued
to be used until the early 2020s, when a series of accidents lead to heavy
restrictions on their use, along with breakthroughs in Boomer technology,
which came to replace the use of Labors, although some continue to be used
to the present day."  

      The discussion continued from there.  

***********************************************************************

     	Far across the room, Ryu sat with his girlfriend, blissfully
unaware of the presence of his half sister Manami.  "So when are your
friends going to get here?"  he asked.

     	Nene smiled.  This place is great.  I can't believe Leon actually
found somewhere this cool.  Priss will probably complain about how bad the
music is the entire time, though.  And they'll both pretend this isn't a
double date, either.  Well, Priss will.  "Soon, I hope.  I guess Leon got
held up with his new partner."

     	"He has a new partner?"  Ryu had met Leon and Daley before.  He
and Nene had been dating for about three months since they had met at one
of Priss' concerts that his sister had dragged him to.  One of these days,
mother's gonna find out what she's up to and heads will roll.  Well, her
mom...mine would probably laugh her head off.  

      	"Some insane blonde woman.  She has NO brain.  He's about to go
stark raving mad, I think."  Nene sipped her coke.

     	For a moment, Ryu felt a brief stab of panic.  Naaah, it couldn't
be her, he thought.  "I've known people like that."

     	"How are your classes going?"

     	"They're going really well!  I should be able to graduate this
year without any problems.  How are things going at the ADPolice?"

      	Nene smiled.  "Well, we have a new girl in our department.  She's
really nice.  Named Andrea Loughlin.  I think she's from New York.
She's incredibly good at everything.  We were all worried we'd have to
train her, but she knows our job better than a lot of us do."

      	"Well, that wouldn't be too hard.  I bet I could do a better job
than most of the ADPolice in any department,"  a woman standing nearby cut
in.  It was Priss.  Nene fumed, while Ryu tried hard not to laugh.

      	Priss was dressed up.  Well, as dressed up as she ever gets.  She
was wearing a green blouse and dark blue slacks, both of which Nene
recognized as coming out of Linna's wardrobe.  Leon stood nearby,
grinning, wearing a white button up shirt and grey slacks.  He was wearing
a blue fish tie as well.  "Then why don't you sign up and show us?"

      	He pulled a chair out for Priss, which she ignored, taking the other
chair.  He grinned ruefully and sat down between Nene and Priss, opposite
Ryu.  

       	Priss laughed.  "The day I join the ADPolice is the day cows fly."

      	"What other job lets you blow up Genom corporate property legally
on a daily basis?"  Leon started checking the menu.

      	Ryu laughed.  "Well, other than working FOR Genom.  They blow up
enough of their own property for five companies."

      	Priss took a look at the menu while she was talking.  "Besides,
if I joined the ADPolice, they might stick me with you, Leon."

      	"Worse, they might stick you with my new partner."  Leon made a
strangling noise.  "Be glad you're not a detective, Nene."

       	"Is she really that bad?"  Nene asked.

       	"She's a walking disaster area, half the time she talks like she's
from another planet, and she managed to handcuff herself to the steering
wheel of the car today, then lost the key.  Luckily, someone found some
bolt cutters or she'd STILL be in our patrol car." 

       	"What do you carry handcuffs for, anyway?"  Priss asked.  "You
can't exactly handcuff a boomer and take him downtown."

       	"Well, we do handle other police matters IF we stumble on them.
They don't call us in for things like bank robberies, but if we happen to
be there...and since getting my new partner, we've stumbled into 12
convenience store robberies, five bank robberies, two efforts to break
into an ATM, 12 muggings and a car jacking.  That's in one week."

      	Nene blinked.  "What about boomer related crimes?"

      	Leon shrugged.  "If I took this last week as a guide, I wouldn't
know that Boomers exist.  The one Boomer we got to, turned out to be some
guy dressed up in a Boomer costume who was drunk."  He paused.  "Oh, well,
we did run into one.  She took it down with a handgun...must have been
defective."

     	Priss laughed.  "Our tax money at work."

     	"Well, this has been a pretty quiet week for boomers overall,
anyway, right?"  Ryu signalled a waitress to come over so they could
order.

     	Before Leon could answer, the big screen TV over the bar suddenly
came to life, its audio overriding the radio.  "Tonight on Channel Ten
Action News:  The Coca Cola Corporation purchases Lithuania.  President
David Xanatos of the United States locked in struggle with Congress over
the budget.  Bishop Hino condemns the GENOM corporation for its continued
abuses.  And here in Mega-Tokyo, it looks like our resident vigilantes,
the Knight Sabres, may be getting some competition.  We'll be right back
after this commercial break."  An ad for Magical Princess Evangelia came
on.

      	The waitress came and took their orders during the break.  Ryu
noticed Priss and Nene kept giving each other funny looks, while Leon
looked greatly amused for no apparent reason.  The problem with trying to
break into a new group of friends, he thought, is that for a long time you
can't understand why they do things.

      	The newscast resumed.  Leon continued to list all the crazy things
his new partner had done during the first part of the newscast, getting a
lot of laughs from all three of his listeners.  However, when the cast
turned to local news, he shut up.

      	"The Juuban district of Tokyo has long been a place for unusual
events.  During the Nineties, it was the site of the urban legend of the
Sailor Soldiers, whose existence remains disputed.  What is undisputed is
the vast number of unusual events and strange deaths that plagued the
district for ten years.  The most spectacular of these was the
destruction of Mugen Gakuen in an explosion whose causes were never
determined.  Now, thirty years later, perhaps the cycle has begun again.
For two weeks, local citizens have been dying, one per night, their blood
drained.  ADPolice were called in today after parallels were found with
the so-called 'vampire killings' of a year ago."

      	Nene blinked.  "I didn't hear ANYTHING about this."

      	Leon nodded.  "Must have been a secret calling-in, because I didn't
hear anything either."

      	Priss snorted.  "New levels of cluelessness for the ADP, eh?"

      	"However, this proved unnecessary, as the offending sexaroid was
found tied up on the roof of the ADPolice building, with photographic
evidence and a Tarot card, the Queen of Swords, lying nearby.  The
suspected sexaroid claimed a flying woman in a kimono with a glowing sword
had captured her.  The investigation remains in progress.  The origin of
the sexaroid, long banned in Japan, remains unknown." The newsman
paused and shuffled some papers on his desk.

       	The anchorwoman next to him cut in, "Looks like the Knight Sabres
may have some competition, eh?"

       	He nodded.  "Later tonight, our color commentator, Akiya Toshio
will be commenting on whether it would be more cost effective to fire the
entire ADPolice and put the Knight Sabres on permanent government
retainer.  This could complicate his analysis, though."

       	Leon said, "HEY!"

       	Priss laughed.  Nene said, "Stupid news people don't know what
they're talking about."

       	Ryu said, "A woman in a kimono?  With a glowing sword?"  His voice
sounded a little strange, but no one noticed.

       	Priss said, "Maybe it's 'Angelfire, Queen of the Faeries'.  Could
be that animated show is really a documentary."  She laughed.  

       	The waitress brought their food, and for a few minutes they were
all preoccupied with getting their food to the right places.  Leon then
said, "Wait...a woman in a kimono...Maybe it's her."

       	"Her?"  Ryu asked.

       	"We had an incident back in March with some boomer or...something
in a kimono that flew and had a lot of other boomers out to kill it.
Looked female."

        Priss blinked.  "Oh yeah.  That new mall got trashed, right?"

        Nene nodded.  "I was on duty during that.  I remember.  We were
all wondering if you guys were pulling our legs."

	"So when's your next concert, Priss?"  Ryu asked.  "My sister is a
big fan of yours, and she keeps telling me I HAVE to go to your next gig.
She won't say WHY, though."

        Priss laughed.  "Well, we finally are going to have a REAL
concert.  A new friend of mine helped me land a decent record contract.
She's going to be opening for us at the concert.  She's got a lot of
enthusiasm, though I had to help her a lot with her wardrobe."

        Nene said, "You're going to get us all tickets, right?"

        Priss said, "Depends on if Leon pays for my meal or not."  She
winked at Nene.

       	Leon said, "Well, that depends on if you promise to not slap me
goodnight."

       	Priss laughed.  "I think I can agree to that...as long as you don't
deserve it."

     	Nene laughed.  "Better get the painkillers then, Leon."

     	"HEY!  I'm not that bad!"

***************************************************************************
          
     	Back across the room, the discussion was continuing.  "What other
major sources do we have for knowlege on this situation?"  Professor
Hiyama asked.

      	"Well, we have memoirs by three other members of the SV2, Shinohara,
Ohta, and for those who can read English, Kanuka Clancy's book, 'In the
Shadow of Babylon:  the Millenial Crisis of Tokyo'.  Also, there are vast
quantities of newspapers, video footage, and several standard histories,"
Manami said.

      	"Or you could ask someone who was there,"  the new waitress said.
"Like me."

      	Everyone turned and looked.  The waitress was a middle aged, short
woman, whose reddish hair was starting to grey.  She was dressed like all
the other waitresses, but her name tag read, "Commander Izumi Noa
[Manager]".  She also had officer's bars on the shoulders of her uniform.
She smiled.  "One of the waitresses told me you were discussing our many
'mighty deeds'."

       	Professor Hiyama smiled.  "Something like that. I'm especially
curious as to your perspective on the resignation of Chief Goto in 2028.
Your husband's memoir only goes up to 2026."

       	The students sat back, a little bit in awe.  For close to thirty
years, the Special Vehicle Units had been some of the great heroes of
Japan.  Also the great scapegoats, but the bad had been forgotten faster
than the good, for once.  There was even an animated show in the late
2020s about them, which had helped to preserve their memory.  Of course,
the real SV2 had never fought aliens and giant monsters, but then, art
doesn't always imitate life, and when it does, it often isn't very
accurate.

      	"Well, that's because we retired after my husband's father died in
the Kanto Quake in 2025.  He took over Shinohara Industries, and I helped
test Mechs for him and ran this place."

      	One of the students, Karin Aoi, asked, "Is that really an Ingram
over there?"

      	Noa got a very happy look on her face.  "That's not just an Ingram.
That's THE Ingram.  My very own, Alphonse. "

      	"I guess you don't need a bouncer, eh?"  One of the students asked.

      	"Alphonse and I can handle things pretty well.  He's probably the
last fully functional Ingram made before 2015 or so, and probably the
only functional one in Japan that's not on its way out of the country.  I
could hop in Alphonse and go level a few city blocks right now if I wanted
to.  Getting back to your question, Professsor, Asuma-kun didn't handle
the resignation in his book, because that happened after we both left the
Special Vehicles Command.  However..."  She paused and looked around.  "He
was forced out.  He was too effective.  The ADPolice is nothing but a
figurehead organization to keep the taxpayers from going on a rampage.  As
long as this city needs Genom to live, the ADPolice will never be allowed
to be effective."

      	"So you agree with the chief's thesis in his book that GENOM is
deliberately unleashing boomers on the city?"  Professor Hiyama asked.

      	"I find it a little too coincidental that a rampaging boomer just
happened to go crashing through his neighborhood three days after the book
was published."

       	"Well, Genom did fire twelve executives in connection with that
incident, the so-called 'Easter Massacre'."  Jonathon pointed out.

       	Noa pulled up a chair and sat down.  "Really, though, this wasn't
much different from the sort of stuff that SCHAFT and US Robots pulled
all the time back in the 2000s and 2010s.  We've just exchanged one set of
troublemakers for another.  Certainly politics got in our way enough
times.  Let me tell you about the Griffon..."

*************************************************************************

     	After the newscast, the TV clicked off and the radio came back on,
now tuned to 98.9 FM, playing the best oldies of the 1980s, 1990s, and
2000s.  "This day in Music:  June 12, 1995, the band 'Hearts of Fire' has
its first hit single released, 'Red Hat Day'.  This band went on to have
over 20 hits before breaking up in 2001 after a murder attempt was made,
also on this date, on the lead singer, Ayukawa Madoka.  The would-be
killer was never caught, and Ayukawa vanished from the public eye with her
husband, noted photographer, Kasuga Kyosuke.  Here's a block of some of
their hit singles, starting with, 'Red Hat Day'."

      	Nene, Leon, Priss, and Ryu were in the middle of dessert when this
came on.  Nene said, "Oh, I love this song!  It's so romantic!"

      	Ryu looked over at the dance floor, which had some couples on it.
"Shall we?"

      	"Let's!"  Nene said, grabbing Ryu by the hand and dragging him over
as the music began.  

      	Leon looked over at Priss and was surprised to see she had a sudden
melancholy look.

      	The music began to play, "It was a bright April day, 
                                  the day I first saw you.
                                  I walked alone with my red hat on
                                  towards the stairs I always used."

      	"Is something wrong, Priss?"  Leon asked, his usual brashness
softening a little. For a few seconds, Leon thought Priss was going to
cry.  He could see her shake faintly.  

      	She looked over at Leon, and for a moment, she was lost in
memories...


{    	There had been an earthquake a little while earlier.  Priscilla
Samantha Asagiri had never experienced one before.  She hoped no one had
gotten hurt.  She tried calling some people, but the phone lines were
dead, so she turned on the CD player to listen to some music and wait for
her parents to get home. 

    	She had grown up on a steady diet of music from her parent's
childhood, though this incorporated a wide range of stuff.  Her father,
Ryo Asagiri, tended to listen to old pop and classical music, while her
mother prefered rowdier stuff.  Priscilla wasn't sure which she
preferred yet.  She sat back on her bed and put on the red hat her mother
had bought her at the store the day before, and started singing along.}

       	"Red hat day, blowing in the wind
         Wind carried it away
         Red hat day, blowing in the wind
         Wind carried me to you."

{     Priscilla smiled and sang along.  I'm gonna be a famous idol singer
one day, just like Ayukawa Madoka and Pearl and Debbie Gibson!  She
grabbed a pen off her desk to use as a microphone.}

    	"Priss, what's wrong?"  Leon asked.  He had almost never seen her
like this.  Usually she ran away first.  

       	"I always walked alone
         I thought I needed no one
         Then you walked up the steps
         and into my heart."

{	Priscilla smiled.  One day, I'll have a big handsome husband who
will love me and stay with me forever.  She looked up at the big picture
of 'Nick Hatchett, Heroic Robot Fighter!'.  We'll have wonderful
adventures together, just like Nick Hatchett does!  I bet I'd make a great
robot fighter! }

      	Priss tried to fight off the memories.  This is a happy song, it
shouldn't make me sad, dammit!  I want to have fun tonight and I DON'T
want to let people see me cry.


       	"Red hat day, blowing in the wind
         Wind carried it away
         Red hat day, blowing in the wind
         Wind carried me to you."

{     	The doorbell rang.  Priscilla got up and ran to the door.  Maybe
Dad's home, she thought!  I'm so glad they let me stay here by myself
without a babysitter tonight!  I feel so grown up!}

       	Leon reached over very, very slowly to take Priss's hand.  She
yanked it away.  He sighed.  "Say something, Priss.  Go ahead and hit me
if it helps."

       	"I ran from you at first
         I tried to make you go away
         But the harder I shoved
         The more determined you became"

{	She ran through the house, finally reaching the front door.  A
really big, unhappy looking man in a big blue uniform was standing there.
He looked down.  "Are you Priscilla Samantha Asagiri?"  }

      	Priss looked up at Leon, staring into her eyes, her own eyes red
from the effort of holding back tears, of fighting off the memory of that
awful day.  He smiled at her, not his usual confident 'I am so cool'
smile, but a quiet one.  "Uh...sorry about that," he said.  "I
just...thought it might help.  Okay, stupid idea."

       	"Red hat day, blowing in the wind
         Wind carried it away
         Red hat day, blowing in the wind
         Wind carried me to you."

{	She nodded.  "Yes sir, Mr. Officer.  Can I help you?"  Priscilla
knew you should be be respectful and polite to police officers, because
they worked hard for very little pay.  Her daddy had told her so.  }

     	"You never give up, do you,"  she said.  It was not a question.  

     	"Not when I see someone I ...care about in pain."  He flinched
slightly at his own statement.

      	So did she.

       	"I will follow my hat
         For it knew my heart
         I will follow my heart
         For it leads me to you."

{      "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you, Priscilla,"  The
officer began. He winced, thinking about the death of the poor child's
parents, which he had witnessed during the quake only hours before.  The
song ended and her world shattered in pieces at the same time. }

     	Priss banished the memory and really looked at Leon.  She didn't do
this often.  Too often, too easily, she didn't see Leon. Sometimes, she
saw a cop.  She didn't like cops.  More often, she saw a man with a big
ego and a grin to match who thought he was God's gift to women.  

      	For just a moment, she could see him as he really was.  She faced
the truth she had hidden from for so long.  It started to hide itself
again immediately.  She still wasn't ready to face it, to face him, more
importantly to face herself, but it was a step.  "It brought back some old
memories that didn't need to be brought back."  She got up.  "Come on.
Let's dance.  Let's show these people how it's done!"  

      	Leon got up and laughed, his normal mask dropping back into place.
He smiled.  "Time to rock and roll, eh?"

      	They walked to the dance floor, neither of them quite realizing they
were holding hands.

****************************************************************************

     	Later, Priss and Nene were sitting at the table sipping drinks while
the two men-folk were both in the bathroom.  "I'm surprised Celia hasn't
paged you yet to bug you about that boomer case,"  Priss said to Nene.

     	Nene laughed.  "I'm not carrying my pager.  I wanted to try and get
through one date without being interrupted."

      	Priss laughed.  "Neither am I, but I didn't think you had it in
you."

      	Nene smiled impishly.  "You and Leon were dancing pretty closely a
minute ago."

      	Priss said, "Not as close as you and Ryu.  I never thought I'd see
you dating a guy with bigger hair than yours."

      	Nene said, "Hey, I like his hair!"  Well, I've gotten used to it,
anyway, but I have to stand up for my boyfriend.

      	Priss laughed, glad the subject of her and Leon had now been safely
deflected.  "I'm surprised you didn't ask Linna to come too.  She's been
wanting us to meet her new boyfriend for a while now."

      	"That's because he dumped her last night.  She's off getting drunk,
I think."

      	Priss frowned.  "Yeesh, she goes through boyfriends the way some
people go through tissue paper."

      	Nene nodded.  "Luckily, she's got Andrea with her right now.
They've gotten to be pretty friendly since I introduced them to each
other.  Andrea said she'd try and keep Linna from doing anything too
stupid."

      	At that moment, the menfolk announced their presence as Leon said,
"That Andrea Loughlin you're talking about?"

      	Nene nodded.  "Yeah.  She's a cop from New York who..."

      	Leon nodded.  "I'd almost think Lt. Yamano was in love with her or
something the way she keeps telling everyone she can find how glad she is
that Loughlin got sent to HER department first.  I heard about the
shooting range incident too."

       	Nene nodded.  "She's so good at everything I can hardly BELIEVE it.
And she's really nice too.  It's kinda scary."

       	Priss said, "Sounds like the ADPolice should fire half their staff
and just hire her then, eh?"

       	Ryu laughed.  Nene frowned.  Leon said, "Well, why don't you come
downtown and show us how it's done, Officer Asagiri?"

       	Priss laughed.  "I think I'd rather dance some more.  Come on,
Officer McNichol."  She grabbed Leon and dragged him over to the dance
floor again.

       	Ryu said, "They're such a cute couple.  How long have they been
doing this?"

       	Nene laughed.  "About two years, but they're starting to get closer
now, I think.  Priss used to be a very angry person...she still is, but
not as much as she used to be."

       	"How did you meet a rock star, anyway?"  Ryu asked, sitting down.

       	Nene panicked, not having a good cover story and began babbling
maniacally.

****************************************************************************

     	Leon and Priss stood outside the door of Priss' trailer, at that
awkward stage when you don't want to leave each other's presence, but
can't find more excuses to not do so.  Leon said, "Well, I had fun."
Inside, he hit himself for using one of the five lamest sentences in the
universe.

      	Priss smiled in a rather uncharacteristic way.  "Me too.  I almost
died of a sugar overdose from watching Nene and her boyfriend a few times,
but..."

      	Leon laughed.  "She's still young and cheery, unlike us grumpy old
codgers, eh?"

      	Priss laughed, surprising herself.  "You want to.."  She began.  The
phone rang.

      	She swore mentally.  So did he.  "Uh, I have to answer the phone.
See ya later, okay?"

      	He nodded, keeping his sighing to himself.  "Maybe next Friday we
can all go see Mystery Boomer Theatre 2034, eh?"

      	She laughed.  "What, you want to go watch them make fun of your own
job?"

      	The phone rang again.  "Sounds good to me,"  Priss said.  "Bye,
Leon."

      	He just watched her trailer for a moment, then walked away.  She
picked up the phone, "Yo, this is Priss."  At this point she noticed her
answering machine indicated ten messages.

      	"Where have you BEEN?"  Celia asked, a note of rising irritation in
her voice.

      	"Hey, I told you I was going on a date.  It's not like we had any
work lined up."

       	Celia sighed.  "Go pick up Linna and get her over here.  Nene
thinks she went down to One Eyed Toad."

       	Priss blinked.  "What the hell would Linna be doing in a COP BAR?"

      	"Apparently she's out with Nene's friend, the cop from New York."
Celia's voice sounded a bit funny.

      	"Why do you need us, anyway?"

      	"Rampaging Boomer in Moon Hill Acres."

      	"What, that new family housing development?"  

      	"Get a move on.  We're probably already too late."

      	They got a move on.

****************************************************************************

      	Priss cursed as she raced across town.  Linna had NOT been in that
damn cop bar, nor did anyone remember seeing anyone who matched her
description.  Damnit, Linna, you picked the wrong night to get drunk, she
thought, ignoring times she had done the same.  She could hear the
explosions in the distance.  Some of the houses were burning.  Sirens
echoed through the explosions and screams.  She began searching for the
Silky Doll van.  

      	She didn't find the van.  She did find Celia and Nene.  They were
fighting a 34-B Urban combat boomer with flamethrower accessory, only
$249,000 at your local Boomer-Mart.  There was a flaming ADPolice combat
vehicle which used to have ADPolice in it and now had some crispy corpses.
She roared over into an alley to get out of the direct line of fire, then
stuck her head out, trying to figure out where Macky had hidden the van.  

      	The fight wasn't going well.  Nene was spending most of her time
dodging heavy arms fire from the boomer and trying to minimize the fires
it kept setting in various houses, while Celia was unsucessfully trying to
either get its attention or close with it, and succeeding in neither.  

      	The boomer chose this moment to spot Priss.  It dived and charged
down towards her, guns a-blazing.  She swore and hopped back on her cycle,
accelerating as fast as she could...into a dead end.  She swore, and spun
the bike around, hoping to somehow race under the boomer.  It levelled its
guns and would have smiled, if it could.

      	Priss shouted, "Fuck you!" and hurled her knife at it.  Maybe it'll
do something stupid long enough for Celia and Nene to get into this DAMN
ALLEY.  The boomer caught the knife.  She swore.  It tried to laugh, but
its voice synthesizer wasn't very good, and it sounded like it was
gargling.  It tossed the knife back at her.  She moved to dodge, knowing
it was too late, and that at best she'd be badly injured.   

      	Suddenly, a streak of blue came down from the sky, striking the
knife and shattering it to bits.  Priss could see Celia and Nene behind
the boomer, now, but they hadn't done that.  It came from above.  The
streak pinned itself into the concrete, a blue sword made of light, which
then dissolved away into nothingness. For a moment, everything was
absolutely silent, then four heads, three human, one boomer, snapped up in
unison.  

      	A woman stood on the edge of the rooftop above. It was a woman in
an ornate, multi-colored kimono of blue, yellow, and green.  It was tied
around the waist with a green belt that formed a huge bow in the back.
Creepily, the bow did not move at all in the wind, being perfectly stiff.
Her hair was black with long grey streaks, tied back in a pony-tail that
ran down to her mid-back and her face was covered with black wedges along
her cheeks, giving her a look that vaguely reminded one of a racoon.  

      	Her face was cold with anger.  For a moment, she intensely reminded
Priss of Celia.  "Foul abomination.  Destroyer of the innocent, foe of all
that is good.  Die."  She hurled her sword at the boomer, which opened
fire on her, only to have the bullets bounce off a glowing field of blue
energy which flared in front of her in a semi-circle.  The blade pierced
the boomer through what would have been its heart, if it had one.  Celia
leaped forward onto its shoulders and drove her wrist knife into the
creature.  The boomer collapsed, and died, if a robot can be said to die.
Nene was just staring up at the woman.

      	Priss shouted up at the woman, "Who are you?"

      	The woman reached within her voluminous kimono and tossed down a
card by the dead boomer.  It was a tarot card, the Queen of Swords.
"Until I finish what I intend to do, I have no name."  She turned to Celia
and Nene.  "Heroines of the city, I salute you.  Until we meet again."  
She began to rise into the sky.

      	Celia said, "Wait!"

      	The woman raced off, accelerating rapidly.  Far off, Priss heard
the sound of sirens.  More ADPolice.  "Where's the van?  Let's get out of
here."

      	For a moment, Celia stared off into the sky.  "Let's go, Knight
Sabres."

*****************************************************************************

      	They drove by Linna's house and Priss went and banged on the door.
It flew open.  She found Linna inside on the couch.  "Zat you, Andrea?"

      	"It's the tooth fairy."  She picked Linna up.  "You need to lose
some weight."

       	"Maybe if I throw up again..."  She stunk of alcohol, and was limp
as a rag doll in Priss' arms.  

       	Priss hauled her out to the van.  "The tooth fairy doesn't give
quarters for vomit, just teeth.  You're gonna be RICH."

       	Linna laughed, "Rich! WOOOO!!!!!  Do I get a cute new boyfriend
too?"

      	"I'll let you have Macky,"  Priss said as she got into the back of
the van.

      	Nene blinked.  "You'll what?"

      	"Let's go,"  Priss said, putting down Linna.  "I'll never call you
fat again, Nene."  She sat down on the bench.  "Where the hell were you,
Linna?"

      	Linna laughed.  "The cop club was boring, so we went down to Hot
Legs and picked a fight with some guys."

      	Nene blinked.  "You WHAT?"

      	"Even drunk, we kicked their asses good!  I even learned a secret!"
Linna crawled over to Nene.  "Wanna know a secret?"

      	Nene swore she would never drink again after smelling Linna's
breath.  "What?"

      	Linna clambered to where her elbows and head were resting on Nene's
knees.  "Andrea is...Bruce Lee's granddaughter.  Honest."

      	Nene began to laugh.  "And I suppose she was raised by Elvis on a
flying saucer?"

      	Linna blinked.  "How'd you know that?"  She started to laugh
hysterically.  "I tried to convince her to help me go kick Toshi's butt,
but she said she had to go home and report to the Illuminati, or they'd
take away her Rolls-Royce."  She fell down.

      	Now Priss swore off alcohol forever, or at least until she could
forget this.  "Uh huh.  You know, Celia is going to flay you alive when
you sober up."

      	Linna said, "I'll just turn into Magical Princess Evangelia and
destroy her with the Ruby Staff!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"

      	Priss clonked Linna on the head with the leg of Linna's suit.  She
quietly slumped over.  Nene applauded.  "I'm never drinking again," Nene
said.

      	"I'm never letting LINNA drink again,"  Priss grumbled.

*************************************************************************

      	Nene compared the sound clips for the fifth time.  "Yes, the voice
tags do match."  She paused.  "So who is this on the first tape?"

      	Linna was passed out on the floor, while Priss sat and looked
increasingly grumpy, and Macky goofed off, fiddling with the hardsuits.  

      	"Are you SURE?"  Celia asked.

      	Nene sighed.  "As sure as I can be at 2 am when I really would
rather be asleep than doing something I'm sure YOU could do yourself just
as well.  It's not like I'm the one who BUILT all this equipment,"  she
snapped, then sighed.  "I'm sorry, I'm just tired and..."

      	Celia said, "To answer your question, the previous tape was made of
myself, my father, my mother, and my grandmother and grandfather when I
was ten.  You just identified the 'Queen of Swords' voice as that of my
grandmother."

     	Nene said, "But how?  Since when did your grandmother fly and..."

     	Priss snorted.  "Lemme guess, this is where you tell us about being
an elf, eh?"
   
     	Celia said, "I have no idea what is going on, but either someone is
making a remarkable effort with no discernable purpose to make us believe
that is Meylia Stingray, or it IS my grandmother."

     	"But why hasn't she contacted us?"  Macky asked.  "It's got to be a
trick."

     	"If it's a trick, then why hasn't she contacted us?  Unless someone
has an odd sense of humor, they know who she is if they've bothered to
copy her."

     	Linna laughed in her sleep for no apparent reason.  Celia sighed.
"If only someone would invent a good way to get alcohol out of someone's
system."

     	Priss yawned.  "Can we discuss this tomorrow?  I've had enough of
fairy princesses and drunks for one night."

     	Celia nodded.  "I'll chew out Linna in the morning.  Macky, take them
home."

***************************************************************************

     	Nene sat half dead at her desk.  She yawned, listening to various
radio broadcasts droning on the ADPolice band.  She could hear someone
saying over and over, "Car 54, where are you?"  Her head started slowly to
dip towards her desk.  Then she felt an icy hand on her neck and jumped.

     	Andrea smiled.  "You look like something the cat dragged in.  Did
your man keep you up late last night?"

     	"A friend needed my help...kept me up til 2 am.  I feel awful."

     	Andrea nodded.  "I don't feel too great either.  Linna and I got
rather thoroughly smashed."

     	Nene stared through fuzzy vision at Andrea.  She didn't look
hungover.  "Yeah, she was telling me you..."  She dropped the level of her
voice, "Went to Hot Legs and kicked someone's butt."

     	Andrea laughed and pulled back her sleeve.  She had a bruise on her
upper arm.  "One of them got me, but I tossed him down the length of the
bar.  Don't tell Lt. Yamano.  She'd freak."

     	"How many people were there?"

     	"Well, we only fought around ten or so."  Andrea looked around.
"I'd better get to my post.  Talk to you later!"  She went over to her
position, seconds before Yamano emerged from her office and gave
everyone the official Terminator glare.  

      	Yamano smiled.  "I think you all could do with a little waking up!
Let's have some PUSHUPS!"
 
      	Nene groaned.  I'm in hell...

****************************************************************************


April 4, 2018
Mega-Tokyo

     	Priscilla hid inside the big tube that formed an important part of
the playground set at the 'David Tai Memorial Park'.  She'll never find me
here, she thought, giggling at how well she was hidden.  Maggie never
remembers to look inside the tubes.  She could hear Maggie running around
looking for her.  Priscilla liked hide and go seek.  She was really good
at it.  Well, the hiding part.  

     	Maggie's footsteps went round and round the tubes, getting louder and
softer as she moved closer or farther away.  Priss tried to breathe as
quietly as she could, but her breath echoed in her hearing like the sound
of machinegun fire.  

     	Suddenly, the footsteps went silent.  Priscilla blinked.  Maggie
must be trying to lure me out into the open, she thought.  I'll just wait
a little longer, then look.

     	More silence.  Priscilla crept over to the end of the tube and peeked
out.  She couldn't see Maggie, but she could only see half the park from
here.  Suddenly, she heard movement above her.  Maggie was on TOP of the
tube.  Maggie laughed.  "There you are!"  She was shorter than Priscilla 
with long blue hair tied into two long pony-tails, one on either side of
her head.  She was wearing a green shirt and blue jeans.  Priscilla ran
for the 'home' tree desperately.  Maggie was right behind her, but slowly
fell behind as she ran.  She leaped at Priscilla's feet, and missed.  

      	Priscilla tagged the tree and clung to it.  "I made it! I'm home
free!"

      	Maggie laughed.  "You're so good at this, Prissie!"

      	"Don't call me Prissie!  My name is Priscilla!"  Priscilla really
hated being called Prissie.  "And I'm gonna be famous one day!"

      	"Are you still going to marry Nick Hatchett, Robot Fighter?"

      	"I'll get him away from Leslie somehow!"

      	They both laughed.  Maggie looked at her watch.  "I have to run.
Big sister is expecting me home soon."

      	Priscilla said, "Oh, but my parents are about to get here and you
haven't met them yet!  Can't you stay a little while longer?"

      	Maggie sighed.  "I'm sorry.  Gotta go!  Bye!"  She ran off down the
street.  Priscilla went to go play on the monkey bars.  A minute later,
her father walked up.  "Hiya, tiger."

      	She ran over and hugged her daddy.  "Hi!  You just missed Maggie
again!"

      	He smiled.  "I'm sure I'll meet her some day.  Time for you to come
home and eat dinner."  He picked up his daughter.  I had an imaginary
friend too at your age, he thought.  

      	Priscilla smiled and was happy to be carried, safe in her daddy's
arms.  "She was just here a minute ago!"

      	"I'm sure she was dear."  He hadn't been sure if this girl was real
before, but he had just watched Priscilla for the last ten minutes as she
was pretending to play tag with someone who either didn't exist or was
invisible to human sight.  He chose to believe the former.

***************************************************************************