05-12-2016, 04:50 AM
Inspector Fox. Another Damned Cooper. Carmelita Sandiego. Callsign Foxtrot.
There were a lot of her names she could have stolen from the world, but she’d gone for broke and taken the lot. Every trace she’d ever existed she’d erased, besides people’s memories and hidden data caches she hadn’t bothered to hunt down.
Now, as if she’d turned the last page to find a whole new book, she found a new existence to live through.
---
Falling, or whatever the appropriate verb was, from the meeting with the Omni character that had given her her brief briefing, Carmelita tucked into a tight forward roll as she came into existence, bouncing over the ground and flattening herself against the smooth stone of an elegant fountain. It was the work of a moment to check that she’d not been immediately spotted by those nearby, perhaps thanks to her many pouched belt which, aside from containing her usual array of handcuffs and emergency supplies, had a rather fetching aborigine pattern stitched in the purple favoured by the Guru.
The fox frowned. She had no knowledge of how things worked around here, and if there was one thing that working first for Interpol and then with the Cooper Gang had taught her, it was that poor intel led to poor choices and worse results. It would be better if she stayed out of the spotlight until she’d gathered more information on the situation.
On that note, Carmelita pressed a digit to the side of her collar. The stealth field Bentley had given her as a gift during her and Sly’s wedding shimmered into existence, the air around her taking on a slightly grainy view as she slipped from outside view.
Caution was her watchword now, she thought to herself. Find out if this new world had law-enforcement… and if it was the type of justice she should work with, or against. Then... well, then it would be time to start working on the Fox-Cooper legacy. She owed it to Sly to try, at least.
---
After taking a few minutes to sit unseen and watch a menagerie of people come to and fro, Carmelita’s ears twitched towards the sound of gunfire. Peering into the distance, she saw what looked like white-clad goons with black rifles gesturing threateningly at another figure. It was one of several places which seemed to naturally accrue traffic, some sort of light or archway at each location. She looked at these other gates before deciding to make her way towards the disturbance: finding out what had provoked the conflict would be her first step in figuring out this puzzle.
It was quickly obvious that she was in for a fair trek, and before getting even halfway there she could see whatever had happened was long since over, but she kept going regardless: if she was going to begin finding out what this place was like, then that gate would be the idea point to observe first. The ground rolled by as she travelled, the smooth, undulating white that she walked across unyielding against her footsteps. If she’d been forced to take a guess, she’d have guessed it a plastic of some kind, but she was happy to leave it at something weird she’d never encountered before. Her boots didn’t sink into it, and that was what mattered.
After her first hour of walking, Carmelita took a breather. Finding a suitable gully to hide from observers, she took the opportunity to deactivate the cloaking device in her collar, staring up at the blank white sky. She took out her shock pistol, sighting along the barrel with a smooth, practiced motion that had little to do with instinct and a lot to do with comfort. Keep moving, keep focused, don’t think of what she’d lost.
She took aim at a distant silhouette, then shifted to what looked like an abandoned motorbike. Next target was the fountain… There was a pause as her she tried to comprehend what had happened.
The fountain had changed from smooth, Spanish art to what looked like some modern impressionist rubbish Dimitri might have insisted was the next upcoming trend. Carmelita blinked and checked again, dumbfounded at what was undoubtedly the most surprising thing she’d seen today. Sure, mystical white figure and all, but exposure to the weird and wonderful array of mystic props and arcane techniques used by the more unusual criminals she’d had the displeasure of meeting had long since inured her to the idea of magic or other forces beyond her current comprehension. This was just a question of the sheer magnitude of it all. She pinched her muzzle for a moment, fighting the oncoming headache. Perhaps she had better keep going, and file this away for freaking out about later.
She turned and re-engaged her collar’s cloak, continuing on her trek with a slightly more urgent feeling in her gut. Add physics to the things she needed intel on.
---
After another hour’s walk, she finally came close enough to examine what exactly was going on with the terrain in this region of the blank realm. A solid steel arch, not as big as the Champs Elysee but definitely bigger than the average door, stood proudly in the middle of the white expanse. In front of it stood several intricate looking machines, slowly scanning the small queue of people entering and leaving from the portal that lay inside. A large contingent of white-armoured soldiers stood guard, possibly gorillas or some other ape-based mammal by Carmelita’s reckoning. The queue of people entering had a bit of an eclectic look about them, as though they’d come from all sorts of locations. There was a remote vehicular robot, some lizardine being with four arms, two sailors and what looked like a gunslinger not dissimilar to those she’d seen in her trip to the Historical Wild West.
It looked like a security checkpoint to her practiced eye, and while it didn’t look like there was a need for identity cards, there was no guarantee she’d be welcome. She frowned, and thought back to what the ‘Omni’ character had said. A moment of contemplation, overcoming the implications of knowledge inserted into her head for her sanity’s sake, and she began picturing carefully the exacting details of Interpol standard binoculars. She couldn’t bring herself to try some binocucoms, not so soon.
It was a strange feeling. This ‘Omnilium’ felt cool and slightly rubbery and yet warm and solid at the same time. If she focused one way or another, she could influence how it felt, and mould into the exact things she was thinking about. Yet another thing to marvel about - after she’d grasped the ins and outs of her situation, of course.
The binoculars obtained, she rotated the lenses and zoomed in on the machinery. Flashing lights, plenty of gadgets and gizmos, screens displaying readouts in both script she could read and script she’d need a math degree to contemplate guessing at… nothing worth writing home about in terms of intel gathering without Bentley and a wireless connection to hand.
A soldier with a high-tech pair of binoculars, or at least an equivalent, began scanning the surroundings. Carmelita froze in place as their line of sight swept over her ridge without pausing, the cloaking field and see-me-not enchantment being put to their first test. For a moment she thought she’d been spotted, but either her mind was playing tricks or the guard was well trained.
She had to take a chance, she decided. If the binoculars hadn’t spotted her, then perhaps she could sneak past the scanners as well…
---
After dissolving the Interpol equipment she’d summoned, it was time to proceed with the plan. Her shock pistol sat loose in its arm holster, and she fiddled once more with her blue hair, taming its wild locks into her jacket before reengaging the cloak.
Cautiously, she picked herself up from the floor and began making her slow way towards the portal. She had to avoid making footprints, avoid direct looks from the soldiers, avoid losing her calm and sprinting for the gate… she paused in her approach and knelt behind a machine as a soldier made his way past. She was close enough now to hear the people talking to one another, and she held her breath, pleasantly surprised to find the conversation comprehendable.
“- can’t believe the impunity of some of the Primes these days, we let them get away with way too much in my opinion.”
“Oh shut it RE-566. You haven’t changed your tune since you came back to work a month ago.”
“Well excuse me for getting jumpy on Nexus duty! You know how many Secondaries like you and me get killed in the crossfire of some stupid attack every day?”
“No, I don’t and-”
The guards cut their conversation short, one of them slammed a hand down on a large red button in the control panel nearby. A flashing red light accompanied the staccato beeping of an alarm as the surrounding troops were suddenly on the alert, looking warily around or raising their weapons to cover the civilians near the portal.
Carmelita gulped. Had they spotted her? Was she going to be shot before she even knew one thing about this place? Her questions were swiftly answered.
“That’s rebellion contraband! Get down on the ground you Rebel scum, hands behind your back. Don’t even think about going for that pistol of yours, cowboy.”
Carmelita moved quickly to lean against the side of the archway, peering to watch as the two soldiers who had been conversing bore down on the daredevil character, weapons raised. The gunslinger was obviously panicking, trying to decide whether or not to run. The man’s face cycled through emotions before settling on resigned despondance.
The white-armoured troops quickly relieved the man of his satchel, as well as his weapon. As the alarm was silenced, Carmelita overheard the whispers of the civilians who had been quick to remove themselves from the rebel’s vicinity in fear of being shot.
“You reckon he’s going to be executed?”
“Beep-beep-boop-braap.”
“But from the looks of things it was just pamphlets, that can’t be too bad, can it?”
“Look, the Empire have been cracking down on rebel activity a lot recently, and I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire. Keep it down would you!”
Carmelita had heard enough. She slipped around the arch and disappeared into the portal, a frown on her face. Time to move on, she thought to herself, as her form diffused into the gentle light.
There were a lot of her names she could have stolen from the world, but she’d gone for broke and taken the lot. Every trace she’d ever existed she’d erased, besides people’s memories and hidden data caches she hadn’t bothered to hunt down.
Now, as if she’d turned the last page to find a whole new book, she found a new existence to live through.
---
Falling, or whatever the appropriate verb was, from the meeting with the Omni character that had given her her brief briefing, Carmelita tucked into a tight forward roll as she came into existence, bouncing over the ground and flattening herself against the smooth stone of an elegant fountain. It was the work of a moment to check that she’d not been immediately spotted by those nearby, perhaps thanks to her many pouched belt which, aside from containing her usual array of handcuffs and emergency supplies, had a rather fetching aborigine pattern stitched in the purple favoured by the Guru.
The fox frowned. She had no knowledge of how things worked around here, and if there was one thing that working first for Interpol and then with the Cooper Gang had taught her, it was that poor intel led to poor choices and worse results. It would be better if she stayed out of the spotlight until she’d gathered more information on the situation.
On that note, Carmelita pressed a digit to the side of her collar. The stealth field Bentley had given her as a gift during her and Sly’s wedding shimmered into existence, the air around her taking on a slightly grainy view as she slipped from outside view.
Caution was her watchword now, she thought to herself. Find out if this new world had law-enforcement… and if it was the type of justice she should work with, or against. Then... well, then it would be time to start working on the Fox-Cooper legacy. She owed it to Sly to try, at least.
---
After taking a few minutes to sit unseen and watch a menagerie of people come to and fro, Carmelita’s ears twitched towards the sound of gunfire. Peering into the distance, she saw what looked like white-clad goons with black rifles gesturing threateningly at another figure. It was one of several places which seemed to naturally accrue traffic, some sort of light or archway at each location. She looked at these other gates before deciding to make her way towards the disturbance: finding out what had provoked the conflict would be her first step in figuring out this puzzle.
It was quickly obvious that she was in for a fair trek, and before getting even halfway there she could see whatever had happened was long since over, but she kept going regardless: if she was going to begin finding out what this place was like, then that gate would be the idea point to observe first. The ground rolled by as she travelled, the smooth, undulating white that she walked across unyielding against her footsteps. If she’d been forced to take a guess, she’d have guessed it a plastic of some kind, but she was happy to leave it at something weird she’d never encountered before. Her boots didn’t sink into it, and that was what mattered.
After her first hour of walking, Carmelita took a breather. Finding a suitable gully to hide from observers, she took the opportunity to deactivate the cloaking device in her collar, staring up at the blank white sky. She took out her shock pistol, sighting along the barrel with a smooth, practiced motion that had little to do with instinct and a lot to do with comfort. Keep moving, keep focused, don’t think of what she’d lost.
She took aim at a distant silhouette, then shifted to what looked like an abandoned motorbike. Next target was the fountain… There was a pause as her she tried to comprehend what had happened.
The fountain had changed from smooth, Spanish art to what looked like some modern impressionist rubbish Dimitri might have insisted was the next upcoming trend. Carmelita blinked and checked again, dumbfounded at what was undoubtedly the most surprising thing she’d seen today. Sure, mystical white figure and all, but exposure to the weird and wonderful array of mystic props and arcane techniques used by the more unusual criminals she’d had the displeasure of meeting had long since inured her to the idea of magic or other forces beyond her current comprehension. This was just a question of the sheer magnitude of it all. She pinched her muzzle for a moment, fighting the oncoming headache. Perhaps she had better keep going, and file this away for freaking out about later.
She turned and re-engaged her collar’s cloak, continuing on her trek with a slightly more urgent feeling in her gut. Add physics to the things she needed intel on.
---
After another hour’s walk, she finally came close enough to examine what exactly was going on with the terrain in this region of the blank realm. A solid steel arch, not as big as the Champs Elysee but definitely bigger than the average door, stood proudly in the middle of the white expanse. In front of it stood several intricate looking machines, slowly scanning the small queue of people entering and leaving from the portal that lay inside. A large contingent of white-armoured soldiers stood guard, possibly gorillas or some other ape-based mammal by Carmelita’s reckoning. The queue of people entering had a bit of an eclectic look about them, as though they’d come from all sorts of locations. There was a remote vehicular robot, some lizardine being with four arms, two sailors and what looked like a gunslinger not dissimilar to those she’d seen in her trip to the Historical Wild West.
It looked like a security checkpoint to her practiced eye, and while it didn’t look like there was a need for identity cards, there was no guarantee she’d be welcome. She frowned, and thought back to what the ‘Omni’ character had said. A moment of contemplation, overcoming the implications of knowledge inserted into her head for her sanity’s sake, and she began picturing carefully the exacting details of Interpol standard binoculars. She couldn’t bring herself to try some binocucoms, not so soon.
It was a strange feeling. This ‘Omnilium’ felt cool and slightly rubbery and yet warm and solid at the same time. If she focused one way or another, she could influence how it felt, and mould into the exact things she was thinking about. Yet another thing to marvel about - after she’d grasped the ins and outs of her situation, of course.
The binoculars obtained, she rotated the lenses and zoomed in on the machinery. Flashing lights, plenty of gadgets and gizmos, screens displaying readouts in both script she could read and script she’d need a math degree to contemplate guessing at… nothing worth writing home about in terms of intel gathering without Bentley and a wireless connection to hand.
A soldier with a high-tech pair of binoculars, or at least an equivalent, began scanning the surroundings. Carmelita froze in place as their line of sight swept over her ridge without pausing, the cloaking field and see-me-not enchantment being put to their first test. For a moment she thought she’d been spotted, but either her mind was playing tricks or the guard was well trained.
She had to take a chance, she decided. If the binoculars hadn’t spotted her, then perhaps she could sneak past the scanners as well…
---
After dissolving the Interpol equipment she’d summoned, it was time to proceed with the plan. Her shock pistol sat loose in its arm holster, and she fiddled once more with her blue hair, taming its wild locks into her jacket before reengaging the cloak.
Cautiously, she picked herself up from the floor and began making her slow way towards the portal. She had to avoid making footprints, avoid direct looks from the soldiers, avoid losing her calm and sprinting for the gate… she paused in her approach and knelt behind a machine as a soldier made his way past. She was close enough now to hear the people talking to one another, and she held her breath, pleasantly surprised to find the conversation comprehendable.
“- can’t believe the impunity of some of the Primes these days, we let them get away with way too much in my opinion.”
“Oh shut it RE-566. You haven’t changed your tune since you came back to work a month ago.”
“Well excuse me for getting jumpy on Nexus duty! You know how many Secondaries like you and me get killed in the crossfire of some stupid attack every day?”
“No, I don’t and-”
The guards cut their conversation short, one of them slammed a hand down on a large red button in the control panel nearby. A flashing red light accompanied the staccato beeping of an alarm as the surrounding troops were suddenly on the alert, looking warily around or raising their weapons to cover the civilians near the portal.
Carmelita gulped. Had they spotted her? Was she going to be shot before she even knew one thing about this place? Her questions were swiftly answered.
“That’s rebellion contraband! Get down on the ground you Rebel scum, hands behind your back. Don’t even think about going for that pistol of yours, cowboy.”
Carmelita moved quickly to lean against the side of the archway, peering to watch as the two soldiers who had been conversing bore down on the daredevil character, weapons raised. The gunslinger was obviously panicking, trying to decide whether or not to run. The man’s face cycled through emotions before settling on resigned despondance.
The white-armoured troops quickly relieved the man of his satchel, as well as his weapon. As the alarm was silenced, Carmelita overheard the whispers of the civilians who had been quick to remove themselves from the rebel’s vicinity in fear of being shot.
“You reckon he’s going to be executed?”
“Beep-beep-boop-braap.”
“But from the looks of things it was just pamphlets, that can’t be too bad, can it?”
“Look, the Empire have been cracking down on rebel activity a lot recently, and I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire. Keep it down would you!”
Carmelita had heard enough. She slipped around the arch and disappeared into the portal, a frown on her face. Time to move on, she thought to herself, as her form diffused into the gentle light.