Well this is where that
proverbial road not taken has brought me, I think as
I lay here in this gutter with the rain beating down
on my face. It feels good in a sense. The water
surrounds me forming a puddle that mixes with the
blood leaking from the wound in my shoulder. I don't
mind the pain; I've felt worse before. It's
interesting though; the path that brought me here. I
am the Bluerose. I was once a member of the evil
Dark Horse Syndicate. When was that? I'd guess about
6 hours ago. I can still remember when my training
with them really kicked off. It was when I met my
2nd partner, Iuni Hurricane. It was when my 1st
partner, the Redlily, and I were retuning to our
rooms at the end of our 3rd year of training
together.
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"They said that tomorrow our training is going to
really kick off," Redlily said as she and I entered
her room. At that time we were only 12 years old. We
had each been trained separately and then spent 3
years training together.
"Yeah, I wondered what surprises we'll have this
time. Last time I was told that, I met you," we
walked into the room and the first thing we noticed
was the TV was turned on and "Silence of the Lambs"
was playing. "Did you leave this on?"
"No," she said, "I'm not what you would call a
horror fan. This movie especially gives me the
creeps." She shut off the TV and we sat down on the
bottom bunk in her bedroom. The two of us shared an
apartment in a building owned by the Dark Horses.
I reached over and grab her arm. "It puts the lotion
on its skin or else it gets the hose again," I said
in as creepy a voice as I could muster.
"Br, stop," she cried as she pushed me away. "So,"
she said, "I think this is kinda weird."
"Us being in your room?"
"No. We're partners and yet we only know each
other's code names. Hell we even live in the same
apartment. I think we should get to know each other
better."
"I'd like that," I said looking into her fiery red
eyes.
She looked back and said, "I'll start. My full name
is Elizabeth Whitler. But everyone used to call me
"Red" because of my eyes and hair." It was true. She
had red-gold hair and blazing red eyes.
"Curious; how did you get those," I asked gesturing
to the eyes.
"They were a birth defect. Or so I was told. Guess
that explains why I was left at the orphanage. Not a
lot of people want a freak for a daughter."
"Don't talk like that. Trust me they make you look
exotic. You are truly a one of a kind. Really I mean
it."
"Alright, your turn."
"My name is Michael Andrew Waterflower. Everyone
back in Tsunami City used to call me "Wave"."
"Wait! You're a Tsunami Waterflower?! But doesn't
your family own a Nation Martial Arts League dojo?"
The Nation Martial Arts League (or N.M.A.L.) is a
group of Dojos that people try to beat to gain their
medals. If one person collects enough of the metals
then they can face the Top Elite and the National
Champion. The winner of matches is rewarded a good
amount of money by the loser.
"Yeah, well, I have three older sisters and one
younger. I couldn't take it so I left. I was on my
own for a while before the Summers adopted me. Real
nice folks, those Summers. They had a daughter named
Kate. That's who I'm always writin' those letters
to. I left them, not sure why. The Dark Horses
picked me up soon after."
"Wow, so we're both orphans," she asked
"Yep."
"We have a lot in common," she whispered.
"Yeah," I whispered back. We had begun leaning in
towards each other.
Our lips were mere millimetres apart when we heard a
cheerful voice say, "Awwwww, should I leave the
room?"
The two of us jumped in shock and I hit my head on
the top of the bunk. We turned to see who would dare
intrude. A girl was hanging over the edge of the top
bunk, her green hair falling down over her head. She
was grinning from ear to ear.
She did a flip off the top bunks and landed on her
feet. She spun around so she was facing us. She had
long green hair that flowed over her small frame and
stopped at her waist. Her eyes were an eerie shade
of Violet and she was wearing a form fitting black
jumpsuit.
"Who the hell are you," I demanded. While I was
saying that I was thinking, damn I was that close!
"I mon caption, am Iuni Hurricane. And you must be
the Bluerose. And you must be the Redlily. Hehe I am
your new partner. I happen to be the greatest hacker
ever born. No one alive can out hack me!"
I looked at her sceptically, "You are the world's
greatest hacker? You're what 1 maybe 2 years younger
than me? How can you be the world's greatest
hacker?"
"Because, I am Dark Horse born and bred. I have more
technological training that any other member. I can
type 200 words a min. if I'm going slow and I have
this thing." She bent over and her long hair fell
over her head. In the back of her neck was a small
blue cap. "Oh yeah forgot to take the safety cap
off," she said picking at the blue thing, "this is
one of my greatest designs." She managed to get the
cap off to open up a standard computer connection
port. "Since the brain operates on electronic
impulses, much like a computer's CPU, I was able to
create a program that lets me completely integrate
with a computer through this port. It is the most
complicated piece of cybernetics that has been
created to date. It's not that far from your
implants; which I also designed."
"Implants," Red asked.
"Yes, tomorrow you two will have cybernetic pieces
implanted in your eyes and ears. The ear one will
allow me to hear everything you hear and will allow
you to amplify sounds in the area. The unit in your
right eye will relay everything you see to me and
allow me to seen info to be displayed on your
retina. The one in your left eye will allow you to
see through infrared and ultraviolet lenses or
through a normal view if you so wish."
"And you say you're only 11," I asked sceptically.
She can't be for real.
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