Love & Loss (Closed)

[TearsoftheWorld]

This thread is invite only. I hope you enjoy the story, but please refrain from posting here unless you've been invited by yours truly

​

The thundering sound of waves crashing against the shore were the first noise that Cybereight heard as she woke up, and she could feel the cold liquid rising up against her feet and leaving a line of foam in the sand to mark the furthest point where the water had reached before being pulled back into the ocean. For a few moments all she could do was sit there and think about how timeless it all was.

The rushing waters would reach out for the shore like fingers on an outstretched hand before being pulled back.

Forward and back...

Forward and back...

Never quite making it... but never giving up.

Cybereight looked down at her own hands, and she stretched out her fingers before pulling them in to form a tight fist and then relaxing them again. She had made it safely to the shore, and, as far as she could tell, she'd been the only one from that brutal massacre. She had to hope that more had made it out alive, but she knew that she couldn't just sit there and wait for them. Rising to her feet, Cybereight turned and walked up the beach, and as she moved further inland the ground turned from rocky sand to harder dirt with small patches of grass, and then she stepped out onto a paved road and looked around her. The road seemed to stretch on for miles in either direction, but she had to make a choice, and she had to make one soon as her supply of Sustenance was running pretty low.

Knowing that her creator, Dr. Von Reichter, had dealings with various government and political agencies in the world, Cybereight figured the best place to start looking for Sustenance was in one of the major cities that was close to his own sea-side laboratory. Meridiana was close, but Athelm probably the surest bet to find one of his monstrous creations running around. It was a large port-city, and with countless 'abandoned' warehouses it was certainly the perfect place to run his illegal operations and experiments.

It took Cybereight a few days to make it the outer limits of the city, and her supply of Sustenance was almost depleted. She was already starting to feel a little bit sluggish, and feats that would have required little strength to complete were now very taxing on her body. She managed to find a small vial of Sustenance in one of the abandoned abandoned warehouses, but it only enough to last for a few days. She waited until nightfall to explore the city, sticking mostly to the rooftops and watching as the cities inhabitants went about their lives. Most of the restaurants were open pretty late, and there was quite a bit of activity near the parks and by the canals, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

Cybereight was able to jump from one roof to the next, and if she got a bit of a running start she could probably make it across a few buildings in a single jump, but she didn't want to push herself too hard. She'd need to conserve her strength, especially with her energy running low again.

"I can't keep this up much longer," she mumbled to herself as she landed on the rooftop of a building near the piers, and she watched as a crew of men inside were busy unloading some cargo from one of the ships. At first everything looked pretty kosher, but then she spotted a large man stepping out from the shadows, and she knew right away that he was one of Von Reichter's goons. Engineered to be the perfect servants, most of his henchmen were brutes, and they weren't particularly bright. They followed his orders without question (earning the nickname Fixed Ideas), something that the Cyber Series models had a hard time doing, and that, coupled with their strong human emotions, led to their downfall. Dr. Von Reichter ordered that all the Cyber Series be destroyed, and they had truly been hunted down one-by-one until only a handful remained. Cybereight, despite her incredible strength and agility, had barely made it off the island alive.

She took another look at the Cyber 8 tattoo on her arm and then pushed the sleeve of her shirt back down to cover it up before she lifted open one of the windows and climbed inside. She waited until the timing was just right before she threw herself down towards the ground, using a strong kick to knock the goon right into a stack of wooden crates, and even though she pressed her advantage, Cybereight found herself being thrown aside as her opponent had recovered from the surprise attack far quicker than she had anticipated.

"Arg! You get in my way!" the behemoth roared as he charged, and Cybereight jumped up into the air, grabbed onto a low-lying beam and swung herself up and around it, planting her feet squarely in his chest and knocking him to the ground. Although she landed far more gracefully this time, Cybereight felt a sudden, sharp pain in her leg, and in her moment of weakness the large brute came lunging forward, his rough hand latching onto the top of her head and lifting her up onto her feet so that he could pin her against the nearby wall. Cybereight groaned in pain, but with a swift knee to his gut she was able to free herself, and she realized that there was no way she could beat him in the condition she was in now.

In her mind she was already starting to formulate a plan, and bullets started flying at her as she raced up the stairs and ducked inside a room. As luck would have it, the Fixed Idea had chased her upstairs, and he continued to chase her even as she ran up to the third level of the building.

"Just a little higher," Cybereight thought to herself, and she allowed Von Reichter's creation to catch up a bit before she climbed up through the open window and onto the roof.

"No more running," the goon said as he followed after her, stepping out onto the roof.

Ironically enough, the first thing the massive klutz did was run at her, and Cybereight rolled swiftly to the side and watched with satisfaction and relief as he ran right off the roof, hitting the ground hard and disappearing in a flash of green light. All that was left were his clothes, and a large vial that glowed green in the crisp moonlight. With their "bodyguard" gone, the rest of the men down below scattered like cockroaches, and Cybereight was free to pick up the vial of Sustenance. She unfastened the cap and then guzzled it all down, discarding the empty vial once she had taken in every last drop. An incredible warmth washed over her, and she felt much, much stronger.

She felt so... alive.

Cybereight heard sirens closing in from the distance, no doubt checking in to see what, if anything, had happened since the first reports of gunfire came in. Not wanting to stick around, she leaped up into the air and landed on the rooftops of one of the nearby buildings, and then disappeared into the night.

She knew it wouldn't get any easier from that point on, now that she had made her presence known in the city. Her activities were sure to attract the attention of Dr. Von Reichter, but she felt confident in her abilities. She'd survive.

This was her city now.

 

[Ahren]

"Alright, pop quiz..." Uttered a young, auburn-haired man as he leaned back into his chair with a smirk of satisfaction. The groans echoing throughout the classroom were expected. It seemed wrong, but Athelm High's geography teacher got a bit of pleasure any time he could get that sort of reaction out of his students. He wasn't strict, but every so often one would have to shake things up so they didn't get too complacent. Just because the class was almost over didn't mean a few more nuggets of knowledge couldn't be crammed into their pizza-encrusted brains.

"Which country is this?" He continued, aiming a laser pointer toward an unlabeled world map projected onto the whiteboard, specifically in the North African region. "You look kind of sleepy, Charlie, so why don't you answer this one?"

"Aw man..." The blonde teenager groaned. "...Cambodia?"

"What? No! ...Not even remotely close. Cambodia is in Southeast Asia... And I see you raising your hand, Rebecca, I'm aware you know the answer... Take it easy for now. How about you, Matt?"

"It's uh..." The black-haired student stalled, glancing downward carefully.

"I know you're looking at your phone, you goober... Whatever, we don't have much time. What does the magic Internet tell you?"

"Algeria!"

"Great.. You're right. Congratulations on knowing how to do a search... Rebecca I'll give you a shot to tell me something. What language does the majority of the population speak in Algeria?"

An energetic girl began to speak rapidly, only to be interrupted by the teacher. "Arabic! But they also speak Berber and-"

"Just wanted the one, thank you."

"Hey Mr. Chase, whose the new science teacher gonna be?" Another student questioned out loud, causing the older man to scratch the stubble on his chin idly.

"Trying to change the subject on me. That's clever. The answer is I don't know. They do not tell me anything. All I know is they might be coming by later this afternoon to be shown around, so if you guys are so curious maybe you should stay after class today and do some studying!"

Vocal objections came from the classroom, which was also expected. Mr. Chase glanced at the clock and shook his head. "Well it worked, you distracted me for the last minute. Okay, get the hell out of he-" Before he could even finish the last word there was a rumble of folders being closed, books being shoved into bags and the squeaking of shoes on the tile floor as the students began to rush out.

"Hey the test is Wednesday, remember that. I'm not going easy and grading you guys on a curve this time."

Once everyone was gone, Alex stood up from his chair and stretched, smiling lightly at the relatively low-stress day. Knowing he was now alone, the auburn-haired man punched the air a few times playfully in an attempt to loosen up a bit after sitting so long in the terrible chair from hell. Suddenly he noticed a figure in his peripheral vision, causing him to nearly fall forward by the force of one punch. A shorter man with a bushy white mustache stood in the doorway, adjusting his glasses.

"How I miss being so young. Good day, Alexander?" The older man spoke out.

"Well I only had to throw one cell phone out the window. That's a new low." Chase replied with a smirk. "What's up, Rich?"

"Principal Edwards is requesting you show the new instructor around when he arrives. Apparently he has a meeting to attend and cannot do it himself..."

"But I have to get ready for a date tonight! If I have to cancel again it's over! Rich, take this one for me will you?" Alex pleaded.

"The date? I'm already married." Rich smirked, pleased with his wit. Alex just slapped his forehead. "I have to be home in time for dinner," Rich continued. "Not all of us are lucky to have such a short commute. If I'm late I'll never hear the end of it. You... you'll just find another nice girl. You're a young, good looking guy. Shouldn't be too hard!"

"Ugh..." Was all Alex could say in response as his fellow teacher waved goodbye.
"Natalie was right. Fate just has it out for me lately..."

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Cybereight had been in Athelm for a little over three weeks, and she had a pretty good feel for the city and what went on above ground as well as below. She wasn't perfect and she wasn't unstoppable, but she knew how to survive, and at the end of the day that was all that mattered. She even started to wonder if she was fighting off the bad guys simply to survive... or because she wanted to try and make a difference in the world.

Jumping down from the rooftop of a two-story building, Cybereight pulled her jacket tighter against her body and then started walking down towards the pier. Even though she had already taken down a few Fixed Ideas in the past couple of weeks, the docks were still a hot spot for illegal activity, and sure enough Cybereight found the pier alive with people that had no business doing what they were doing.

They never saw her coming.

Within seconds Cybereight had taken down five of the armed guards protecting the newest shipments, but the one person she was interested in the most had already started running. The Fixed Idea had taken off as soon as Cybereight announced her presence, and while avoiding some heavy gunfire she took off after him. Her feet splashed in the puddles on the ground as she chased him into a dark alley, and despite her keen senses she ended up losing him.

There were so many shadows and so many noises...

"Damn it," Cybereight cursed as she looked left and right. After searching for another half hour, she finally gave up and headed home.

"Ngh," she muttered to herself as she climbed into her apartment through an open window. Cybereight took off her jacket and threw it aside, then flopped down on her bed. She still had plenty of Sustenance left in her system, but she was pretty much shot. There was only a few hours left before sunrise, and before long the beautiful Cyber had fallen asleep. She tossed and turned a bit, and when she woke up again she was covered in tiny beads of sweat. She raised a hand to where her heart would be, and then she realized that she didn't have one.

No matter how much she wanted to be... she wasn't human.

She could never be a human.

But she felt so alive... alive enough that she started to cry. Cybereight turned in her bed and sat with her head held in her hands until the tears stopped flowing, and then with misty eyes she glanced towards the cheap alarm clock that she had purchased and saw that it was about quarter after six in the morning. With a heavy sigh she stood up and walked out of her small bedroom and into the bathroom. She took a hot shower and then put on her best clothes. By the time she was ready, Cybereight looked nothing like the young woman that had fallen asleep on her bed just a few hours prior.

Adjusting the glasses that rested against the bridge of her nose, Cybereight picked up her briefcase and headed out of her apartment.

~ ~ ~

"I'm sorry I can't show you around myself, Mr. Miyako. Locked away in budget meetings all day," Principle Edwards said as he shook hands one last time with the newest member of his staff before checking his watch.

"I understand," Mr. Miyako said with a polite and understanding smile.

"Well, I've got to run. Mr. Chase will be around shortly, I imagine. He'll give you a quick tour and then show you to your classroom. If there's anything else you need, just leave a note with my secretary and I'll do what I can for you."

"Thank you," Mr. Miyako responded with another polite smile and then a slight bow as the principle turned and started walking down the hallway.

Cybereight had to ham it up as best she could. Her voicebox wasn't too badly damaged when she had fled from Von Reichter's laboratory, but she still had a difficult time concealing her natural feminine tone. Thankfully... most American's were pretty oblivious to such minor details.

 

[Ahren]

Alex sat at his desk, chewing on the back of a red pen as he glanced over some of the quiz sheets on his desk from a previous day. For the most part everyone did well, which was a relief. Alex didn't like feeling like the kids weren't learning anything, even if knowing provinces in Indonesia wasn't exactly the sort of thing they'd need later in life.

At the bottom of the sheet was a space for a bonus point, which was usually something simple he'd make up on the spot and write the question on the board. The particular student the current quiz belonged to apparently did not know the answer, or wanted to be clever. On the page was a drawing of two stick figures, with one pointing a "gun" at the other and stating "Give him the extra point or the stick figure gets it!"

The brown-haired teacher chuckled to himself, considering giving the point simply for making him laugh, but eventually decided to scribble his response down with red pen. "I don't negotiate with terrorists."

It was then that he glanced at his watch. "Uh oh.. The new teacher..." He muttered to himself as he realized he was a minute late already. Quickly he jogged out the door and down the halls until he reached the main office. There, waiting patiently was a young blonde, bespectacled man who appeared to be wearing an outfit a bit too large for his build. It looked a bit odd, but he wasn't really one to criticize another person's attire. Alex stopped to take a breath first, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small notepad. "Ah ha, right. You must be Mr um.. Miyako. Good to have you!" He grinned, putting out his hand.

Mr. Miyako was a slender man with delicate features, however when he took Alex's hand to shake it, the grip was surprisingly strong. When Alex got his hand back, he shook it a bit in order to restore whatever circulation had been cut off. "Stronger than you look! Sorry, where are my manners. I'm Alex Chase. I teach sophomore Geography. Let's have a look around, shall we?"

With that, Alex led Mr. Miyako out of the office and down the hall. He went on to point out the obvious points on interest, such as the library, cafeteria, and of course the teacher's lounge. "If Mr. Trentini offers to make you coffee, don't take it! He buys these beans that have been out for weeks because I guess they get put on sale after a certain amount of time? The point is it tastes awful.

...Might be a consequence of the terrible coffee maker, too. Really you're better off bringing your own. Anyway, 'bout time you see your classroom, huh?"

Alex flashed another smile before leaning the new teacher upstairs and down another hall of classrooms. He first pointed out his own before reaching one at the end of the hall. It was bigger than his, but for good reason. As he opened the door, it revealed a fairly large classroom supporting a number of dual-person desks; The larger size in being appropriate for lab equipment and such, of which there was much of on the side counters with even more in cabinets above. Alex made sure to point out the locations of the fire extinguishers as well. After all, they would be high school students handling weird chemicals at times. He didn't really envy Mr. Miyako in that regard.

"The kids here are pretty good. If they give you any trouble for some reason, just let me know. I can generally set them straight." Alex chuckled, scratching the stubble upon his chin idly. He looked down at his watch, noting that it was still early enough. If he hurried he could make his date, but he took another look at Mr. Miyako, who had been fairly quiet throughout the tour. Alex didn't know much about him, other than that he was new around here... Wouldn't hurt to offer to buy the cup of coffee or beer or something, right?

"Well, this place is kind of a bust after school hours. Wanna go grab a drink? It'll be on me, you know, to welcome you aboard!" Alex gave another friendly smile. "Oh, by the way, your name, is that Japanese? Just curious but did you grow up there or is it just a family name?"

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Earlier that day...

Cybereight stared at her reflection in the mirror and adjusted the tie around her neck, and she wondered if it'd work. Getting this job had been tough enough, but today was her first day going in to actually work... what if they figured it out? What if they discovered that Mr. Miyako was actually a woman... and a Cyber at that!

"This isn't going to work!" she grumbled to herself, loosening her tie and walking out of the bathroom.

"Not going to work," Cybereight repeated to herself, but before she knew it she was already walking out the door and on her way to school. The clothes she had on were just a tad bit too big, but that was part of the gig. She didn't want anyone to notice her... assets.

By the time she had reached the school and by the time she stood waiting for her guide, Cybereight knew that there was no turning back.

"This has to work," she told herself as she casually adjusted the glasses against the bridge of her small nose. She turned her attention towards a young man that walked briskly into the office, and he pulled out a pad of some kind, read what was written on it, and then welcomed Cybereight... or rather Mr. Miyako... before reaching out to shake hands with her.

Cybereight reached out in similar fashion and strongly shook hands with the other teacher before pulling her hand away. She hoped that she hadn't overdone it, but then again perhaps a show of strength would help convince her colleagues that she wasn't a weakling.

"Sorry, where are my manners. I'm Alex Chase. I teach sophomore Geography. Let's have a look around, shall we?"

"Certainly," Cybereight responded simply and with a casual smile. She followed him out of the office and committed to memory everything that Alex pointed out about the school. She'd sneak peeks into classrooms that they passed by, glancing at the empty desks and towards the front where the teacher would be giving the lesson. Since Alex had been the first teacher that she met, she decided to make special note of where his classroom was in relation to her own, which, when they reached, she discovered was pretty damn big.

"The kids here are pretty good. If they give you any trouble for some reason, just let me know. I can generally set them straight."

"I think I'll be able to manage, but if the laboratory blows up I'll be sure to come knocking at your door," Cybereight smirked as she glanced around. She wasn't a scientist, but science came easy to her, and for good reason. Perhaps one day she would discover how to create Sustenance without having to hunt down Von Reichter's creations... Perhaps.

"Well, this place is kind of a bust after school hours. Wanna go grab a drink? It'll be on me, you know, to welcome you aboard!" Alex gave another friendly smile. "Oh, by the way, your name, is that Japanese? Just curious but did you grow up there or is it just a family name?"

"It's uh... just a family name," Cybereight said after a moment, as if she wasn't sure of the answer herself.

This has to work

"My parents moved to the United States when I was just a child. They both passed away a few years ago," she explained, making things up as she went along.

This has to work... get to know him a little

"I could use a drink, sure. Just lead the way."

 

[Ahren]

Alex led Mr. Miyako a few blocks down from the school toward town. As the sky grew orange with the setting sun, the young man enjoyed the crisp evening air while feeling more confident about his decision to get to know his knew co-worker better rather than try to rush the date he had decided against attending. During the stroll Alex mostly made smalltalk concerning the school and what Mr. Miyako, whose first name he learned to be Hachiro, could expect from working there. Hachiro, or Harry as he mentioned he preferred for more informal situations, seemed like a nice guy. He was quiet, and kind of serious, but wasn't afraid to crack a joke once in a while. Alex reminded him of his comment earlier about how Harry said he'd go straight to him if the lab caught fire, to which the brown-haired man replied that he was typically the one who starts trouble himself, rather than the one to extinguish it.

Finally they arrived at a small restaurant which contained a bar area which Alex felt was appropriate for the casual evening. A few regular patrons, such as Eric the local police officer, waved to Alex as he entered, making it obvious that it was a spot he frequented. For the most part the people at the bar had their attention on the ongoing football game.

He allowed Mr. Miyako to order his drink before ordering a beer himself. "Japan's a place I'd love to visit." He started again as if their conversation never ended in the first place. "My parents grew up here and then so did me and my sister. I like it and all but it's a long time to spend in one place. Seems kind of ironic I guess, since I teach geography and all, but my desire to see other places is kinda what lead to that, you know? I read lots of books, travel magazines, that sort of thing. We never really had a lot of money so I just imagined taking vacations to places like Italy or Egypt.

I suppose that's my retirement goal. To have a bunch of money saved up and just fly around. Gonna be a long time before that on a salary like this though." He laughed as the bartender arrived with the drinks.

"Chase, weren't you going out with that real estate chick? Andrea something?" The young bartender questioned. Sometimes that was the fault of having a usual hangout spot. People knew you too well. Alex grimaced slightly, not wanting to be reminded of that.

"Don't think that's working out." He chuckled, reaching into his pocket to check his phone. Sure enough there was a disgruntled text. Alex turned to Harry and shrugged. "I met this real estate broker while helping my sister find a new apartment. Really gorgeous red hair. We hit it off pretty quick, but I got swamped with a backlog of papers to grade one night and had to cancel. The next week I had to sub for Mr. Trentini's math class and pretty much the same thing happened. I'm no math teacher so grading that work took me forever...

After that she seemed to get pretty cold. Maybe she thought I was lying or something? She initially voiced interest in getting me a job where she worked but I turned it down. I don't think I could sell houses if that's even what she intended on having me do. I think she was offended by that, like I didn't respect her job or something. I think tonight was the last straw, but if we were having rough patches like that already then I don't see how a relationship was gonna work out.

Women are a complicated bunch, Harry." Alex shook his head, taking a sip from his beer. "Geez, I've talked about myself a lot... Man, I'm sorry. What about you? Special lady in your life?"

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Cybereight, or rather Harry, followed after Alex but did not lag too far behind as they went out for a drink. She started to consider the day a relative success, growing more comfortable as they talked about school and some of the other teachers and students. It was a cool and breezy evening, and the wind started to unfurl some of her golden hair, but she quickly pushed them back behind her ear and continued on. The restaurant they arrived at was rather small, a few tables outside in a small patio area with the rest of the patrons seated inside and at the bar.

A quick glance around told everything Cybereight needed to know about the building, but she sensed that there wasn't anything to really worry about in the place.

The locals seemed particularly friendly, at least those that weren't at the bar causing quite a ruckus. Her eyes followed their gaze, and she saw the monitor high above the bar which displayed a live sports game.

She had no idea what they were yelling about.

Perhaps, Cybereight thought to herself, she should have studied a bit more before stepping out into the world.

Following Alex up to the bar, Cybereight pulled out a stool and then set down next to her friend, and when the bartender approached the pair Cybereight was the first to order.

"Uh... ginger ale?" Cybereight asked, and a few moments later a tall glass of chilled soda was placed in front of her. Alex, like the rest of the guys at the bar, had ordered a beer. Their conversation quickly resumed, picking up where they had left off before entering the restaurant. She nodded and sipped at her carbonated drink after he started talking about traveling and his retirement plans, which, on a teacher's salary, wouldn't get him very far.

Although Alex laughed, Cybereight sensed a little bit of disappointment in his tone. She remained quiet while he and the bartender had a quick chat, but she listened intently when he began explaining the trouble he was having with his girlfriend, or ex, if the message he received earlier was any indication.

Cybereight was starting to like Alex a little bit more as the day drew on. She couldn't really understand why Andrea would become disgruntled with someone as easy-going as Alex.

"Geez, I've talked about myself a lot... Man, I'm sorry. What about you? Special lady in your life?"[/QUOTE]

Cybereight visibly tensed.

"Me? Um... no. No special... woman," she finally blurted. "Like you said: complicated bunch," Cybereight added, then raised her glass up to her lips and took another deep sip. After setting the glass down, she started to weave a story about how she had to help take care of her parents, sending them most of her earnings and keeping only a little bit for herself.

"My father was a sort of... inventor," she explained as her fictional account started to draw from her actual history. "Instead of gambling he blew most of his money on creating small toys and other trinkets. Some of them worked out... the rest just sort of fell apart. But he never stopped trying."

Von Reichter was an inventor, and most of his creations did fall apart at the seams. Cybereight herself was one of those he deemed a failure, but she didn't see it that way.

"They passed away a few years ago. Dust thou art, to dust returnest," she muttered, then took yet another sip from her drink. Her eyes glanced towards a small paper off to the side of the bar, and her eyes narrowed at the headline which read that two men, scientists in point of fact, had gone missing in the city. As much as Cybereight enjoyed the evening drink with Alex, she was reminded of her commitment to putting an end to crime in the city.

"Look, I'm sorry but I have to go," she said quickly, rising from her seat and pulling out her wallet from her back pocket before throwing down a few bills. "Thanks for the drink."

Without waiting to give an explanation, Cybereight turned and headed out of the bar, and when she was out of sight she raced off towards her apartment. When the moon was high in the sky, Cybereight stood near her open window, ready to head out. She pulled out the clip that was holding her hair up, letting the golden strands fall gracefully down towards the nape of her neck before putting on her wide-brimmed hat and setting her glasses down on the nightstand next to her bed.

It was time to find those missing scientists. The goons she had faced so far were incapable of making such a bold move on their own, so Cybereight reasoned that someone else had to be behind the recent kidnappings. Was it some new model?

There was only one way to find out.

Jumping out of the window, Cybereight landed on the roof of a nearby apartment and then made her way out towards the outer limits of the city.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

While most of the city slept, there were still several pockets in Athelm that were bustling with illegal activities. Some were less harmful than others, and Cybereight decided to leave those hives for the police. She was more interested in scouting out the warehouses used by Von Reichter and his goons. She crouched down towards a large glass panel on the rooftop of one of those places, lifted it up and then slipped inside.

Down below, by the loading docks, trucks were being loaded with wooden crates and large sacks full of assorted materials.

On the outside it all looked rather legit... except for the fact that the hulking brutes were loading and unloading illegal cargo from their boss.

They weren't the ones in charge, however.

Cybereight looked around from her hidden position up in the rafters, then spotted a small office down below. The lights were on inside, and drawing closer she could hear several voices coming from within. Two of the men did most of the talking, mostly to each other, while the other two men sounded less sure of themselves, answering questions and stuttering.

Peering through a hole, Cybereight recognized the seated men as the ones from the newspaper.

"I found you," she whispered softly.

Cybereight waited until the two scientists had been left alone, then crept into the office and raised a finger to her lips to tell them to keep quiet. She had just finished untying the ropes binding their wrists together when the door opened unexpectedly. Standing at the entrance were two men, twins by appearance with their different colored clothes the only way to tell them apart. They were dressed as if ready for a royal gala, with ruffled neckties and embroidered suits trimmed in gold and silver. Hanging from their broad belts were ornate swords, sheathed for the moment, but a danger nonetheless. They looked at Cybereight with amusement and wonder, folding their arms and watching her quite intently.

"So, you're the one that has been causing us all this trouble, hmm?" the man in the red jacket spoke.

Cybereight stood up straight and nodded silently before her lips curled into a grin.

"What is your name, dear one?" the other man asked.

Cybereight pulled back the sleeve of her jacket and revealed the Cyber 8 tattoo on her arm.

The smiles on their faces faded instantly.

"Marne, I thought all the Cyber series had been destroyed?"

"I thought so too, Seine. Troublesome little flies," Marne said and then unfurled his arms, placing a hand near the hilt of his sword. Cybereight's eyes caught the subtle movements, but so far neither of them had made a move against her. There wasn't a whole lot of room to maneuver inside the office, but if she could draw them outside into the warehouse itself then she would be much better off. Cybereight told the men behind her to make a run for it once the fighting had started, and before long the office furniture had been hacked to pieces with cabinets knocked over and papers spilling everywhere.

Though quite skilled, Cybereight suffered a small cut to her arm as the two brothers attacked her viciously, but she managed to lure them out into the open where she stood a much better chance at defending herself. She made sure to cover the escape of the two scientists, expertly fending over several Fixed Ideas before focusing her attention on the Seine and Marne. One of their henchmen had gotten hold of a rocket launcher, and without thinking fired it.

All three managed to avoid the destructive blast, and through the dark smoke and billowing flames Cybereight saw that the two brothers had climbed into a small truck and peeled out. She would have chased after them, but the Fixed Ideas kept hounding her, using their brute strength and incredible stamina to beat her into a corner. The fire from the explosion had started to spread throughout the warehouse, leaving her with fewer and fewer options.

 

[Ahren]

Alex quietly listened as Harry opened up a bit about his own life, namely his father. An inventor without success. It was a rather sad concept for a person to be a well of such creativity to meet mostly failure, but perhaps that was the case for most artists. It didn't seem fair that the responsibility of supporting him fell upon Harry, though. With such a thing restraining him, the teacher probably never really got a chance to live for himself. When he ultimately mentioned that they passed away, Alex offered his condolences, though he had to wonder if a part of Harry actually felt relieved.

But the blonde man turned somewhat frantic all of the sudden, dashing out after thanking Alex for the drink and leaving some money behind to which he had no time to object as Harry had already flown out the door.

"Well, that won't do. I said it was on me. I'll just have to return this to him tomorrow, I suppose." Alex shrugged, pocketing the bills. The money wasn't really what worried him, however, rather he had to wonder what set Harry off like that. Was it something he had said? Did the conversation get too personal? Somehow, that didn't seem like the case. Harry's exodus was less of an escape and more out of urgency to be somewhere. Maybe he forgot he planned on catching a TV show, or something of that nature. Regardless, Alex decided not to analyze it too deeply. Harry was an adult and could take care of himself, not to mention had a right to his privacy. It was then that the sound of numerous bar patrons shouting energetically at the most recent football play sufficiently distracted Alex from that point on, and he wasted no time joining the other men in their cheers.

Roughly an hour later, Alex had returned to his car and began the journey home. It was a short drive but he still had limited himself to one beer to be safe, however that didn't stop him from wondering if he was hallucinating the glowing fire and billowing smoke coming from the nearby warehouse district. Deciding not to leave it to chance, Alex took a sharp turn toward the area and pressed on the gas. As he reached into his pocket to grab his cellphone, he nearly collided with an oncoming truck which sped past seemingly without concern for anyone else on the road, almost as if it were fleeing from the scene. The shock of the near accident had caused Alex to fumble his phone out the window, only to watch it shatter onto the pavement due as he continued down the road. Cursing under his breath, he kept going, as if anyone was trapped there then there wouldn't be much time...

Sure enough, the golden glow of fire was illuminating the entire area as Alex arrived, screeching to a halt. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex noticed a couple of men running for their lives. He did his best to get their attention.

"HEY! Is anyone still in there?" He shouted. One of the small, bespectacled men looked in his direction but didn't stop his mad dash.

"I don't know! A-a woman saved us! There are crazy men in there! Run while you can!" He yelled back, obviously in no mood to stick around and offer any assistance.

The flames were spreading, but they weren't enveloping the entire building yet. "Alex, you're an idiot for doing this, but hey if you die at least your name will probably be in the paper..." He muttered, pulling up his shirt over his nose and running toward the safest looking entrance.

Once inside, Alex was quick to notice the huddle of brutish men apparently fighting against a single opponent. As he approached, he began to make out what looked to be a woman being overwhelmed by attackers. He could only assume she was the one who had rescued those other men, and her attackers were the crazy ones. Truthfully, he had no idea what was going on, other than if he didn't do something, that woman would be trapped inside, as the brutes seemed to be entirely unconcerned with escape. Crazy indeed.

In the opinion of the Fixed Ideas, they had the upper hand, and as they surrounded Cybereight in hopes of finishing her off for good, one of them raised his fists high into the air, ready to bring down a heavy finishing blow. Unfortunately for the brute, he was soon interrupted by a heavy object colliding with the back of his head, causing him to fall down flat onto his face with the object landing next to him. A large brick sat beside the now unconscious brute as Alex stood not far off, still in a post-brick throwing stance. "Ha ha, bullseye..." He grinned only to lose that optimism as the other brutes turned in his direction. "Uh oh..."

The large creature charged Alex without a thought, taking its meaty fist and swinging wildly as soon as it got close. Alex put his hands up in a guard, but deftly dodged the swing, pivoting around the brute and striking him in the kidney. "Ow.. damn..." He winced as he shook the sting out of his hand from hitting the heavily muscled thing. Still, the blow had caused the brute to double over in pain, offering Alex a good angle to spin around and connect a roundhouse kick to his chin. He then took this opportunity to look back toward the woman.

"This is probably a good time to run, Lady!" He shouted just before narrowly dodging a return strike from the bruised-but-still-up-and-angry grunt.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Cybereight had crossed her arms together in front of her body to block one of the punches from the brutes, but he hit her a lot harder than she expected and was subsequently knocked down into a pile of wooden crates. The wooden boxes cracked, splintered and shattered open, spilling their contents onto the floor. Cybereight pushed aside the smaller boxes of ammunition and supplies and rolled her body to the side to avoid being stomped on.

As she started to get up onto her feet, one of the Ideas raised his arms into the air and brought his hands together, intertwining his fingers with the hopes of striking her down.

Cybereight flinched, but she soon discovered that the Fixed Idea had been struck in the back of the head by a large brick which fell to pieces once it hit the floor. Her eyes instantly sought out the person who through it, and they widened once she saw that it was Alex who had come to her rescue.

He certainly seemed pleased with his aim, and while she was thankful for the save she didn't want to see him intentionally put himself in harms way. With the other brutes momentarily distracted, Cybereight recovered her bearings, and surprisingly enough Alex seemed to be holding his own. Even so, she couldn't stand idly by and let him fight her battle. She threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around the neck of the nearest brute, grappling him from behind before throwing him to the ground. Her feet kicked off his back to propel her body forward through the air, wrapped her arms around Alex's waist and pulled him off to the side. The flames from the explosions had started to grow quickly out of control, and soon it wouldn't be safe for any of them to be in there.

"Come on, we have to get out of here," she said quickly.

The Fixed Ideas, while generally lacking in the intelligence department, knew enough not to stick around when the building was ready to collapse, and while Cybereight carried Alex off to safety they drove away in their jeeps, disappearing into the night. It wouldn't take long for the fire crew to arrive and put out the flames, so Cybereight carried Alex as far away as possible, dropping him off in an alley a few blocks from the piers.

"Thank you for your help," she said. "But you shouldn't get yourself mixed up in this. Those men could have killed you," Cybereight added sternly.

She let out a sigh as she turned her back.

"Take care of yourself."

Cybereight ran out of the alley and jumped up onto the roof of a nearby building, then raced off towards the center of town. She arrived at her apartment a short time later, climbed through the open window and took off her hat. With another heavy sigh she sat down on the edge of her bed and thought about everything that had just happened.

She thought about the Fixed Ideas, Seine and Marne, the cargo and the scientists, and she even thought of Alex. She was worried about him, but a tiny part of her had been glad to see him.

 

[Ahren]

Alex barely had any time to register what was happening as the woman he thought he was saving suddenly performed a series of impressive acrobatics to take down one of the remaining brutes in front of her. She followed up with an even more shocking feat when Alex soon found himself literally being carried by the woman of considerably smaller build. Before he knew it, they were free of the burning building and some distance away from the pier, likely to avoid any contact with the incoming authorities.

"Thank you for your help," The mysterious woman said. "But you shouldn't get yourself mixed up in this. Those men could have killed you."

The geography teacher was a bit too perplexed for words at first, merely staring at the woman clad in black. Her large-rimmed hat obscured most of her features; her blonde hair being the most distinctive one still in sight. "Well I thought the same for you until just a minute ago... You're uh.. stronger than you look." He managed to finally utter out with a slight chuckle. Perhaps the realization that he really could have been killed back there had yet to fully settle in, but for now he was too mesmerized by this enigmatic woman.

"Take care of yourself." Was her only response as she took one quick look toward him. Alex caught a glimpse of stunning blue eyes before she dashed out of sight with inhuman speed.

"Wait! Who..." Alex tried to shout out, but she was gone before he could finish. "..are you..?"

With a heavy sigh, Alex took a good long look at his surroundings before hanging his head in defeat. "My car was in the other direction..."

---

As the students worked on their test, things were quiet. Eerily so. Alex sat at his desk with his head propped up against his palm, slowly dozing off in the comforting silence. Thoughts of the strange woman had kept him up all night. How was he supposed to find her? He had to know more. The curiosity ate up any other possible thought he'd have throughout the day.

A pair of students near the back took this opportunity to set their plan in motion. It was constructed to be done while Mr. Chase was awake, so the fact that he was fighting to stay awake would make this a breeze. One pretended to drop his pencil, and at that moment another slipped a folded up piece of paper down the front of his desk, conveniently landing in the hand of the student in front of him as he sat back up. As soon as he unfolded the cheat sheet, however, a shout came from the front of the room.

"No cheating!" Alex snapped, still in his sleepy position and his eyes not even open, but somehow they had felt his anger directed at them. Defeated, the student crumpled up the paper and continued about his work.

Alex resumed thinking about the woman. He felt like he had to tell someone about her, but who would believe him? His sister? The guys at the bar? Neither of those were likely. It's not like he had a lot of detail for a description, and if it wasn't for his hand still stinging from the punch he gave to that brute he might have convinced himself it had just been a dream.

The auburn-haired man glanced at his watch. "All right time's up. Pass 'em forward."

For some reason he found himself thinking about Harry. Wondering how he was doing. He'd have to catch the new teacher sometime today to pay him back for the drink, or at least offer to buy two rounds next time.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

For a short while, all Cybereight could do was stare up at the ceiling as she lay awake in her bed. Her naked breasts rose and fell with each breath she took, and while one hand rested comfortably at her side the other lay flat on her stomach, covering her navel. She finally managed to clear her mind of all thoughts and then drifted off to sleep. She awoke early the next morning, bathed and got dressed for work. Cybereight put on a similar outfit to the clothes she wore the other day: a somewhat baggy white dress shirt to conceal the swell of her chest, a black necktie and dark slacks.

Cybereight kept mostly to herself as she arrived at work, unlocking the science lab that served as her classroom before making her way to the teacher's lounge. As Alex had warned her the previous day, Mr. Trentini had offered her a cup of coffee, but she politely refused and went with a simple cup of tap water. She walked quickly back to her room and spent the last few minutes before class skimming through the textbook that her class was supposed to use. She raised an eyebrow at the copyright date, but other than that she found everything to be satisfactory.

Her first class was... interesting. The students were generally well-behaved, but she had difficulty trying to find that right sort of balance between being strict and sensitive to their needs. Thankfully science came naturally to the young Cyber, and when they asked questions she managed to answer them without coming across as a know-it-all.

At least she hoped that's how she came across. Her second class went a little bit smoother, though she attributed that success to the smaller number of students. They were at a more advanced level of study than the first group, and the quality of the work they handed in was far superior.

Once class was over and the students filed out of her room, Cybereight sat back in her chair and stretched her arms. With the door closed, she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

"Ngh," she groaned, finally taking her hand away to put her glasses back on. She looked up at the clock on the wall and then glanced briefly at her schedule. Two open periods between the senior students and her freshmen class would allow her the chance to relax, possibly even grab a bite to eat. Although Cybereight depended on Sustenance to live, she had developed a bit of a taste for Human food, particularly hamburgers.

 

[Ahren]

As if he were psychic, Alex's head popped into the new teacher's doorway with his usual enthusiastic grin. "Harry! Lunch is on me! I mean it this time!"

Harry's new friend didn't even leave him any chance to object as the next thing he'd know they were walking down to a nearby diner. Alex insisted, assuring him that they had the best burgers and fries in town, further proving his eerie mind-reading capabilities. On the walk over, Alex made sure everything was going all right with the students so far, and continued the light smalltalk along those lines. Alex's real topic of conversation had yet to show itself, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold back much longer.

They arrived at the nice little diner which looked like something straight out of the 50's, and certainly had the charm to match. The waitresses were young and attractive as well, what with most of them being from the nearby college. Alex withheld flirting too heavily with them, but he wasn't above putting in a good word for Harry when their own waitress came to take their order. He made an attempt to impress her about Harry's obvious knowledge of science, despite not really experiencing it yet for himself. The brunette girl played along, giving the more timid of the men a wink as she left to fill their orders.

Alex gazed out the window for a few moments as his smile faded a bit, wondering how to broach the subject he was itching to get out. He decided dancing around the issue was of no use, as he never was one for subtlety. "Harry, we don't know each other too well, but you seem like a trustworthy person. So don't have me committed for what I'm about to tell you." Alex began with a rather straight face. If it wasn't for that, one would easily assume he was joking given his usual carefree demeanor.

"In fact don't relay this to anyone because it's going to sound crazy regardless. Did you happen to hear about the warehouse fires by the pier last night? Well I noticed the smoke on my way home..."

Alex continued by recounted the story as best he could to Harry, though perhaps embellishing his effectiveness against the brutes a bit. He spoke of the woman, and every time he did he seemed to pause for a moment, like he was too busy picturing her to continue talking. "... Then she just ran off... Man, on one hand I felt like I've seen her before but on the other I know I haven't. I think I'd remember meeting a girl that amazing. It was like something out of a comic book... I imagine she has little interest in speaking with me again, otherwise she wouldn't have taken off so fast, but I really need to know what her story is..."

Alex sighed, only smiling again as the waitress came to bring them their food. When she was gone again he turned back to Harry and shrugged as he put a french fry into his mouth. "I dunno. I feel like there's something bigger going on, but I'm not really qualified to investigate it... The police are probably all over that place already, anyway. Should I just let it go...?"

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Cybereight knew she was in trouble when Alex began recounting what he saw and heard at the warehouse that night. She was flattered that he thought she was amazing, but she also felt like kicking herself for allowing one of her colleagues to get mixed up in her mess. Von Reichter was not one to be trifled with, and Alex was only human.

Cybereight relaxed into her seat, and while she was certainly concerned for his well-being she didn't want to seem overly cautious. She nodded thoughtfully when he asked whether he should let the matter rest, then sat up and leaned forward to pick up her food.

"Well, if the police are going to get involved then it's probably a good idea that you don't do anything. If they come knocking on your door that's one thing, but I wouldn't get mixed up in it. From what I heard it was a pretty messy scene. Too dangerous if you ask me," she said before taking a bite from her burger.

She hoped... she prayed that he'd leave the matter alone.

She hoped that he'd take her advice seriously.

But the least she could do was keep an eye out for him. It wouldn't be easy, dividing her attention like that, but she couldn't suffer letting him get hurt. She couldn't stomach the thought of anyone getting hurt, for that matter.

~ ~ ~

"Thanks for lunch, Alex," Harry said after they'd walked back to the school, and just in time for another round of classes to start. She only hoped that he'd take her advice seriously, and that she wouldn't stumble across him while out on patrol for the night.