Sparrowhawk: Game On
"Look at that ass on her. Wow, you should take a photo with her, Bruce! She got some real big ti--"
"Excuse me," the woman said, glaring over at the two young men talking as they passed her in the busy convention center. "You realize I'm like, standing right here, right? And I can hear everything you say?"
"Jeez, forget it then," the pudgy young man said, waving her off and smacking his friend on the chest to get his attention. "Yo Clark, let's go over to the 'Tara Hoff, Dungeon Runner' area, that chick's boobs are just as big, anyhow."
The duo moved on, leaving the woman to her own devices. Sure, she was at one of the largest gaming conventions in the United States, the H4 Electronics Expo in San Diego, California. Sure, she was dressed in a provocative robot type uniform. Sure, she was clad in little more than a black dominatrix wig, a tiny silver metal bra, gloves, choker and matching bottoms that had small lights over them to look robotic. She even was wearing six inch heeled silver thigh high boots with two futuristic batons on the sides... she knew she was bound to get ogled in some fashion. The constant stream of guys with their discussing her anatomy in front of her and even trying to cop cheap feels was more than a bit trying on her patience.
Alex Harper, the woman being subjected to the harassment and also known as the heroine Sparrowhawk, was not having the best of days. Being undercover was just another part of the job, it's what she was trained to do. Even her years in UNTIL as a covert operative, however, were never quite like this. She sighed as she heard another person in the vast crowd of attendees point at her from three feet and question out loud if 'her boobs were fake or real'. Really? Though most people it seemed were good natured and friendly, the few who were out for cheap thrills were seriously grating her nerves. Her friend and techny ally, Simon Reynolds, initially suggested she go as a female Blue Bruiser. In hindsight, he was probably right.
There was work to be done at the convention center, which was why Alex was wearing this ridiculous costume... or at least more ridiculous than her usual battle fatigues. Last week while busting up a gun running ring in Westside, Sparrowhawk caught wind of a possible altercation that was going down today, and probably soon. Seemed that three super villains were interested in travelling from Millennium to the convention in order to cause a commotion and make a name for themselves by upstaging the convention. Their mission? Kidnapping Geoff Marcus for ransom, leading game maker of the smash hit 'City of Super Champions', owner of StudioAwesome games and one of the 'Top 100 Richest People in America' according to trade magazines.
Sparrowhawk had been trailing Geoff all morning from when he first arrived. He currently was prepping to take to the stage to discuss his company's plans for the upcoming year. Just in case, she had planted him with a homing device earlier when she asked for his autograph... a little prep work sometimes goes a long way. She also had thought about getting some back up from associates of hers, but to be honest, she believed most of them just got in the way. Far too many heroes in Millennium for her liking and the majority were utterly incompetent in her opinion. While usually more of a globe hopper, she had been working more and more in Millennium these days. So getting away was actually... pleasant. No Millennium City was a nice thing, really. No cares at all. Ogling aside, she was going to turn this into a good day.
Sparrowhawk looked up at a massive LCD clock on the convention wall. "Three more minutes til Geoff takes the stage. Let's do this," she thought to herself. She proceeded to the main auditorium.
By the time Sparrowhawk arrived, the doors were about ready to close and it was standing room only. She made sure, however, that she went to a side in the middle of the auditorium. The front wasn't a good area, as she couldn't see the back well. The back was too far to reach the stage in case of sudden activity. This was the best vantage point she could find, in her opinion. The crowd's talking diminished into whispers, and then a quiet fell over the room as those gathered awaited the speaker.
"All right, everyone!" a presenter's voice rang out over the speakers. "Welcome today to San Diego's H4 Electronics Expo! Today we have a wonderful guest for you... please welcome the owner of StudioAwesome and 'City of Super Champions'... Geoff Marcus!!!"
Applause showered the the huge auditorium as a thin, somewhat sloppily dressed bearded man came out onto the stage. Geoff Marcus. He shook hands with the presenter before going to the podium. Sparrowhawk scanned the crowd, looking about for any sign of something amiss. It was not an easy task given the volume of people in the room.
"Thank you, thank you everyone. And I hope you've been having fun here!" Geoff started, pushing his glasses further up on his nose. "We have a lot of exciting things to announce today that will totally get you stoked for this upcoming year in our online 'City of Super Champions'. First, we--"
A greenish-purplish light flickered behind Geoff on the platform. The audience gasped and Sparrowhawk's brow furrowed. She began to move in as three figures appeared from the glow. One was female and childlike in stature, another in a skin tight costume with wild hair and goggles and the last was a seven and a half foot rocky monstrosity. Geoff, looking behind him, saw it as well and motioned for his four bodyguards to rush the stage.
The short female who just appeared from the blue light stepped forward first to greet the security. Dressed in yellow pigtails, a frilly pink dress and a face caked with black make up she made quite a sight with her crooked smile. As the bodyguards drew their weapons, she held up her hands.
"Stop right now and get off the stage!" the lead guard barked.
"This is it? This all ya got?" she asked in a deep voice, her crooked smile barely moving. Jolts of electrical energy surged from her fingertips, making short work of the guards. They crumpled on the floor writhing in agony before passing out.
Sparrowhawk recognized the tiny villain dressed as a psychopathic child who just took out the guards, Electro-Cute. The other two were also familiar to her instantly from GLOBE files, the world protecting agency she often worked for. They were Flurry, who was reported to be ten times as fast as any human and had the power of limited teleportation, and a villain whose flesh had been magically turned into animated rock, the Living Limestone. None of them she had physically crossed paths with before in Millennium. Nothing better than a new challenge, she thought to herself. With a wry smirk, Sparrowhawk began a sprint towards the main stage.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!' Flurry said, his words almost as fast as what his feet were reportedly. "Andforournexttrick--"
"I got 'im," Living Limestone said, taking the game designer, Geoff, by the arm. "Let's bail."
"Haha guys! Look at this broad!" Electro-Cute said, watching Sparrowhawk near the stage. "Easy pickins."
A stream of electricity again danced from Electro-Cute's fingers. Sparrowhawk jumped in the air, maneuvering herself between the strands of electrical energy as they went around her. She detached the two batons from her stiletto boots as she descended, and as she gripped them a hum rushed from them. The batons lit up with a soft blue illumination. She landed on the stage a few yards from the trio and Geoff. An gasp went over the crowd, most of whom were too stunned to move.
"Electricity? That's adorable. I can do that too," Sparrowhawk said, lifting one of her batons up at Electro-Cute. A surge of energy rushed forth from the lit up baton, striking the female villain in the chest and sending her whirling across the stage floor like a hockey puck. "Courtesy of my bio electrical batons."
"Who the hell?" Living Limestone asked, still gripping Geoff.
"Sparrowhawk. Now give me Geoff Marcus and just surrender. We'll make this painless," she said, gripping her batons and assuming a battle stance.
"Sparrowhawk? Haw Haw! I know you! You mighta took out Electro-Cute but you ain't got no powers, babe! Heck, lookit you! You look like some robot hooker!" Limestone laughed. "C'mon, Flurry, let's get--"
"Gonnagiveheranicebeatingfirst!" Flurry said in his quick tongue as he adjusted his goggles, cutting off Living Limestone. A blue of yellow and purple, his costume's colors, trailed him as he took off against Sparrowhawk. "Ruinmydaywillsheweplannedthisforweeks!"
Sparrowhawk felt a blow against her face. And ribs. And legs. Again. And again. And again. She stumbled, not ready for the barrage of fists. What Flurry lacked in pure raw strength he was making up for in volume. It was incredibly difficult to see him clearly and to make out where he was at any given moment. Not to mention that her metal bikini was far less protection than her typical combat uniform. Her body gave as it was pounded by dozens of blows a second.
"MakeyouniceandprettybythetimeI'mdonewithyou!" Flurry said.
The room was going dark to Sparrowhawk as she was being beaten. "Concentrate on where he will be, Alex," she thought to herself. Closing her eyes, she mustered the strength to focus her chi, her batons twirling outward as she did so. The move was called 'Flail of the Sixteen Destroyers', something she had learned years ago. To those who witnessed it, it appeared as if she literally spun around like a whirling dervish. One of the batons connected with Flurry in his abdomen, sending him down. Sparrowhawk stopped the assault and took a few steps back to compose herself, still dazed from being a punching bag.
Living Limestone started walking towards Sparrowhawk with Geoff still in his grip. The stone menace was obviously irritated at this turn of events. Flurry was getting up, as well. Noticing this, Sparrowhawk leapt at Flurry, landing on target with a vicious baton strike at him before he was once again able to use his super speed. The speedster made an audible thud as his head connected with the ground. She then turned her attention to the Living Limestone.
"You were wrong earlier. I do have a power, you know. I have the super human ability to kick your ass in six inch stilettos. Last warning," she announced to him.
Looking to her and then down to Flurry, whose body was prone on the floor and unconscious, Living Limestone let his grip go from Geoff and charged at Sparrowhawk full force like a bull. She gracefully flipped over him as he passed, causing him to run directly into a side wall. She turned to meet him again as he casually brushed himself off. Sizing him up, she began attacking his large, hulking frame with her batons. He openly laughed at her as he merely shrugged off the beating. But she had a plan.
"Babe you suck at this. C'mon you hit like a girl!" he chided her.
Sparrowhawk paused for a second, allowing the villain time to get his hands on her. The Living Limestone grabbed the currently silver clad heroine about the waist, picking her up off the ground. He pulled her close to him, starting to grip her body in a bear hug. Sparrowhawk struggled briefly before focusing herself on what to do next.
"Uhn!" Sparrowhawk momentarily gasped, feeling the painful press as air escaped her lungs. "I forgot to tell you... I also can... find a weak point... in anything. Or anyone."
With that, Sparrowhawk jammed her baton deep into Limestone's neck. It cracked into his tan rocky hide, and as it entered a few inches she discharged the bio electric baton's energy, blowing his head clean off his body. As his head rocketed up in the air, the body collapsed in a heap.
"Dammit!" Limestone's head said as it plummeted, still magically alive.
Sparrowhawk stood motionless on the stage for a moment, surveying the immediate area. The villains were down for the duration and Geoff Marcus was clutching onto the podium for dear life, still in a bit of shock. The crowd, still mostly seated still, was deathly silent. She looked over the assemblage as it appeared sedate. To use the phrase: 'you could hear a pin drop'.
And then, suddenly, a huge surge of applause filled the auditorium, with the attendees hooting and hollering at Sparrowhawk.
"This is going to be the BEST. EXPANSION. EVER!!!" screamed one person.
"I LOVED it! Awesome show!" yelled another while clapping maniacally.
"SEXY ROBOT BABES IN 'CITY OF SUPER CHAMPIONS' THIS YEAR! SUH-WEET!" a man near the back chanted.
"Lovely," Sparrowhawk muttered to herself, rolling her eyes at the crowd and their comments.
She looked over at Geoff, who was now standing fully and obviously grasped what was going on. The crowd thought that this was completely and utterly staged for their benefit. Near the entrance, she finally saw police arriving.
"Err... yeah!" Geoff said, speaking in the microphone. "This was, uh... planned! Yeah! Get ready for 2013, when CYBORG SEX BOTS take over the super hero city of tomorrow! We've been uhm planning this for, uh, months now! You get a chance to fight our newest robotic villainess: MEGA DOUBLE D!"
As the bright light of the auditorium shone down on Sparrowhawk in her revealing cosplay outfit, with all the people yelling and screaming in their excitement, she could only think of is that maybe working in Millennium City wasn't that bad, after all.
