Securing Northside? [Exemplary]

[Takanomiya Hijiri]

I'm not actually sure if this'll end up with any 'mature' content or not, but better safe than sorry, I guess, so I marked it '[M]'.

Hijiri noticed their captive stirring as she awoke. Like him – and Davion, and that incapacitated stormtrooper who had been left here when they went off to fight the NSW – she was currently lying in a cheap, metal-framed bed, under a thin blanket, and dressed in a pale green hospital gown. Unlike the Battle Rabbit and his allies, each of her hands was cuffed to her bed's frame, and she had a thin, metallic choker around her neck.

He turned and levelled his stern gaze upon her as she regained consciousness, giving a silent warning not to try anything. In return, she looked back impassively, and yawned once.

They remained like that for several seconds.

“Wow, what a bundle of laughs you two are.” muttered Trevor, who was in the process of cleaning the floor; he was still being punished for his cowardice and incompetence in that first battle they'd fought on Tier Five. Aside from him and the four patients, two of whom currently were sleeping, there was no one else remaining in the medical bay.

“... Where's Kev?” the woman asked, after another few seconds of silence.

“The man you were with? His name is 'Kev'?” Hijiri enquired. He'd only woken up this morning himself, but from what Kroll had told him, it seemed that two days had already passed since his fight with the wolf-woman, and the uninjured 'troopers had refrained from taking on any more patrols whilst they waited for Imperial Command to send some reinforcements for their squad. Instead, they had been occupying themselves with training, and taking turns at 'questioning' their healthier prisoner.

Unfortunately, they had thus far had little success. If anything, the suited man seemed mildly amused by their attempts. He was either trained to resist torture, or somehow able to prevent himself from feeling pain... with all the time Hijiri now had on his hands, bedridden as he was, he'd spent many hours surfing the Dataverse on his phone, and had come to realise just how varied and unexpected the powers and abilities of many people in this reality were; compared to some of the things he'd seen clips of online, not feeling pain wouldn't even be particularly impressive, all things considered.

“Yeah. Kev. Where is he?”

“We have him locked away somewhere safe and secure for... questioning. He hasn't been much help so far, though. Our squad-mates are planning on trying out some more... inventive methods next, to confirm whether he really is immune to pain, or if that's just some very impressive acting.”

“Don't you hurt him!” she snarled, suddenly sitting bolt upright – wincing as her as-yet unhealed wound sent a jolt of searing pain through her abdomen – and wrenching hard on her cuffs. When that had no effect, she growled.

Shrieking like a little girl, Trevor dropped the sponge he'd been using and dashed back as quickly as he could without actually taking the time to get to his feet. He sat pressed up against the wall opposite the beds of Hijiri and the prisoner, staring her way and trembling.

“Don't.” Hijiri advised, predicting that she would attempt to use that Power-Up ability of hers to break free, now that she knew her 'base' strength was unequal to the task. For a moment her only reaction was to glance at him out of the corner of an eye, but then she took a couple deep breaths and managed to bring her anger under control.

Her passive expression back in place, the woman turned to look at him properly once more. “Why not?”

He pointed to his neck, indicating a spot where, on her, that nice new metal choker touched her flesh. “We all couldn't help but notice when you and I fought that unlike my own, your Transformation doesn't replace your clothing; you simply grow large enough to tear through it all. That collar you're wearing is something Kroll – one of our stormtroopers – had me summon from Omnilium this morning; you should have seen all the chains that you were wrapped in before. They're no longer needed, though.”

“Oh?” she did not sound convinced.

“The choker is made from a special type of metal; something called 'adamantium'. It doesn't exist in my world, but from what I've seen on the Dataverse, it's extremely hard to break. Transform while wearing it and you'll either choke to death or possibly even decapitate yourself. I wouldn't recommend it.”

She had frowned the moment he mentioned that 'adamantium' stuff... apparently, she was more familiar with it than he was. After a moment's hesitation, she lay back down and stared straight up at the ceiling. “... I'll kill you all, eventually.”

“Heh, heh... heh.” Trevor laughed awkwardly, his attempt at bravado falling flat. He cleared his throat nervously. “Y-you don't seriously think anyone's gonna b-buy that, right? There's no way you're ever getting free now that we've caught you.”

“I die if I change, but when I die, I come back a week later. I can get free whenever I feel like, crackshot.” she sounded bored, and didn't even deign to look at him as she spoke.

“Ah...”

“You won't, though.” Hijiri stated with absolute confidence. If her actions so far had been any indicator, she cared for that suited man, for whatever reason. As such, leaving him in the hands of the Empire for a week, and depriving them of their only other potential source of information on the NSW, was hardly likely to do him any favours.

She didn't deny it.

Having her die if she ever lost a fight and then come back to rescue him later may have been her ally's idea of a good plan, but it was pretty clear that she was none too fond of that method.

***

“Bring me Kev.” The door had barely budged an inch when she spoke. A helmeted head poked through.

“You called, sir?” Priya's voice addressed Davion, who had awoken by this point, completely ignoring the prisoner's command.

“Yes, this bitch won't shut up abou- you missed a spot!” he suddenly yelled, interrupting himself. Trevor squeaked in fight and hurriedly backtracked, scrubbing the floor as hard as he could with his sponge. “Anyway, I'd like you to bring the other prisoner through here. I want to speak to him myself... also, ever since someone let it slip that I'm the ranking officer in this squad, wolf-lady here hasn't stopped pestering me to order someone to bring him through.”

Hijiri looked off in the other direction and began whistling innocently the moment Davion said 'someone'.

“Oh... yes, of course, sir. By the way, sir, Officer Andreas got in touch. She said to let you both watch this, once you had woken.” so saying, the 'trooper tossed down a small metal object just before going on her way.

No sooner had she left than blue light poured from the device, and a life-sized holographic image of Michelle Andreas formed in the air before them.

“Michelle, baby! It's so great to see ya again!” boomed Trevor, suddenly on his feet and brimming with confidence. He sauntered forwards, past his sergeant and their prisoner alike, showing not the slightest iota of apprehension now. He even removed his helmet and casually tossed it aside – revealing a surprisingly handsome face beneath – apparently unconcerned that Davion hated it when his squad took off any part of their armour whilst on duty. He ran a hand through his silky, wavy brown hair. “What's the news, doll, d'you finally come to your senses and decide to pull me out of this dump so we can be together at last?”

“Dodson, you-” the sergeant began, before deciding to shut up and listen when Michelle started speaking.

“This message is for the attention of Davion Calrime and Takanomiya Hijiri.” The automated recording began, causing Trevor's shoulders to slump when he realised she wasn't the real deal. “In light of your excellent performance in the field, Imperial Command has given me the authority to issue your rewards: Davion Calrime, for courageously withstanding a hail of gunfire long enough to slaughter an entire warehouse of criminal filth, you are hereby promoted to the position of Lieutenant. Takanomiya Hijiri, for facing off against a Prime you had no reason to expect you would be capable of defeating, and succeeding in protecting your squad from otherwise certain death, you are now promoted to Corporal. Congratulations, gentlemen.”

And with that, the message ended.

“Huh.” Davion said flatly, seeming unsure whether he should be happy at the pay rise, or suspicious of all the extra responsibility he'd now likely be given. “... Well, that was unexpected.”