A Bio-Weapon’s Rhapsody

“Thank you for joining us Sylph and Rhapsody, with that we are everyone that will come today!” Gabriel spoke from the air again, he was hovering there, as if it was no one’s business.

Alexa took this chance to look around, she could see plenty [Minions] around, and on a raised platform she could even see [Cerberus](Eleanore), [Hermes](Billy), and other [Minions] that she hadn’t met yet. They mostly stood there, so Alexa pretended not to be wary of them. No other [Minion] seemed to pay them more than a token of appreciation.

“Now, this will be the first job of the season. So you all know what this means.” Gabriel said from his spot above them, she noticed that some of the [Minions] that had the most complex set of armors groaned. “Exactly, the newbies get to have fun with the raid into the warehouses and you older ones are on nanny duties!”

The what and what duties?

“Now, for you newbies. You all will be given a warehouse to raid. The work is simple, walk in, take all that is valuable and on your shopping list. Walk back, party hard.” Gabriel summarized the job in those words.

Alexa…was having some trouble, since these weren’t clear enough and she was busy searching for words as the presentation went.

“What I mean for those of you slower than the rest. White Minion walks into the warehouse and deals with guards, Black Minions walks and gets the stuff White Minion points. White Minion makes sure Black Minion returns home in one piece. White Minion leaves with Black Minions.” Gabriel said in a slow and somewhat annoying tone of voice, this got some laughs from the other [Minions], so was this a [Joke]?

Alexa didn’t liked it, it made her feel as if she was being treated as if she wasn’t smart or something.

“[Annoying]”

Exactly!

“Now, as for the location of your objective…each White mask team will be assigned two to three vans of Black Mask Minions, this means that if your team is a four-man team. Each of you will be in charge of one six-man team of black masks.” Gabriel at this point snapped his fingers and a folder with some papers was teleported in front of [Golem]. “There is all the information you need to know about your Minions, no personal information is in there, but they do have code names, not fancy ones like you White masks of course. But still, do use them.”

“[Dangerous power.]”

Indeed, dangerous power it was. Alexa didn’t have countermeasures for it yet.

“Now, go and decide how you will travel, either one van for White Masks, or a White mask per van. That is up to your team leader, and if you don’t know who your team leader is…Hint, is the minion with the folder!” Gabriel laughed and some of the [Minions] around them grumbled under their breath, like the [Wolf Core] one, he was actively snarling at other [Minion] half its size. “And lastly…the signal. You will know it when you see it, older minions. Don’t ruin the surprise or you will be sent to the Antarctica base.”

….Dang it.

Why no one could tell her the stupid signal? How was she supposed to prepare?!?

“And lastly, does anyone have anything else to add?” [Gabriel] said looking to the other [Minions] below them, the ones standing on the raised platform.

“First, if you need any weapon or extra armor, come to the armory on the side before leaving. I know some of you newbies forgot to ask for things, it always happens.” [Billy] was the first one to speak.

“If any of you is having doubts or want to move to another department, you are still on time. We will not force anyone to work against their will, we are Villains, but true Villains have standards.” Next one was [Eleanore], no one moved at her words, and some of them even laughed.

Rude!

“If one of you black masks wants to move in the echelon, now is the time. If you want to stand with us Lieutenants you do need to prove yourself, and as a White Mask that is way easier.” The next to speak was one of the unnamed ones, this one was wearing a red mask with horns on top of its head, [Main Core] returned with the word [Demon] when it searched that design. So was it a [Demon Core]?

“If that was all, move along Minions, the night is young and we do need to leave in thirty minutes,” Gabriel said and then he dove back to the ground, he landed near the other [Minions] that had claimed to be [Lieutenants], [Main Core] had searched the term and it referred to someone with [Authority] over people. So since they seemed to hold power over the [Minions] it was a correct word to refer to themselves.

“First, do we want to move as a unit or each with one van?” [Golem] started speaking as soon as he noticed Alexa and [Skye] turn to him.

“I mean, you will probably need one van for you alone, right? Unless Rhapsody turns to her pocket form we will not be able to fit all of us in one.” [Skye] answered first.

“I fear that too, Rhapsody. Can you turn to that form while in transit?” [Golem] said turning to her.

“It is possible, but I doubt that I can execute it, I would need to change in a rush in case of danger. And depending on the situation…my power may not allow it.” Alexa said eyeing [Main Core], she was getting some mixed signals from it.

On one side it told her that shifting to her [Child Stage] would not be possible if she was surrounded by the other [Minions], but on the other…It told her that she was able to shift to that form in a combat setting.

Mixed signals…Mixed signals was the name of the game.

“I see, your file states that you are able to reason with the average understanding that could be expected from someone your age and build. Also that you have a Tinker subtype, is that accurate?” [Golem] said after thinking for a few seconds and eyeing the files he had in his hand.

Was that information in there? Or had someone told him about her? [Vulcanus]?

“It should be an accurate description, I need to get new [Blueprints] to compare, but at the very least this form is indeed able to access all the [Functions] that a [Young Woman Stage Human] has available.” Alexa answered while wondering if she could read those files too.

“I see….well, for now we will travel each of us in one van, I will be in the middle one. Sylph will be at the front one and Rhapsody at the back. Should we get ambushed I will engage while you two lead the evacuation Sylph is on support and Rhapsody is on evacuation.” [Golem] said as he gave each one of them a folder.

On it Alexa could see the [Code Names] of the [Black Mask Minions] she would travel with, they all had the base [Human] blueprint as far as she could see from the descriptions. So it should be easy enough to move them, and in case of needed to dispose of one, no one would show too much interest in them, since they didn’t seem that valuable.

“Anything else to add?” [Golem] asked them as Alexa finished reading her folder.

“I need to speak with the [Elder] for the armor pieces he promised, I only have the base [BodySuit],” Alexa said as she pocketed the folder, mostly for a late snack since it was made of [Paper] and that one had (Even if little)some biomass on it.

“Good, armor up. Sylph?” [Golem] approved of her course of action and then turned to Skye.

“Same, for different reasons. But I also want some of those extra armor, I will go for a light design since I need to be nimble, but some armor wouldn’t be a bad idea, maybe a hood or robe?” Skye said walking next to Alexa.

“Sure, after getting your needs fulfilled go to your assigned vans. I will be going to mine I need to make sure it can…tolerate my weight.” [Golem] said and started moving towards the far end of the place. Alexa could see in the distance several [Vehicles] standing there.

[Skye] seemed to hold back a [Giggle] and took Alexa’s arm and started pulling towards [Billy], who was already walking towards his [Armory], several other [Minions] had moved in their direction too, not too many of course. Mostly they were [Black Masked] ones, most of the [White Mask] didn’t move with them, be it because they already had [Armor] or because they had an altered body such as [Golem].

“Rhapsody, Sylph? What can I getcha?” Spoke [Billy] when he saw them coming his way. He ushered the [Black Masked Minions] that stood near them towards other [Minions] who instead of masks had [Googles] like him.

“I want the [Armor] plates you had promised me,” Alexa said first looking at the displayed [Armor Additaments] that were on display.

“And I want light armor for my suit too…” [Skye] said in a lower voice.

“Hoh…so it was you the other one huh.” [Billy] said as he eyed [Skye], for some reason, Alexa got the impression that the other [Girl] had her face red, she wasn’t quite sure why though.

“[Sylph] has decided that she wanted covering for her top and bottom, probably a garb that hides all her body?” Alexa said bringing the attention to herself, other [Minions] had started looking their way, but as soon as she spoke they all refocused on her. “As for me, I need [Heavy Armor], I could probably tolerate up to 140 kilograms of extra weight, but I’d rather not go all the way there, since that may require me to increase my muscle mass.”

Really, she would settle for around 20-30 extra kgs of weight, if she needed to build extra muscle mass….for some reason the image that popped in her mind wasn’t one she was comfortable with. She didn’t mind extra muscle…but a body type similar to [Golem] wasn’t one she looked forward to having, not while having this [Base blueprint] at least.

“Hmm….we can work with that, but we will not be increasing your weight that much. My technology works more around reducing weight and distributing the kinetic impacts, it's more about diverting than tanking.” [Billy] said while going through the options he had available near him. “Here, put these on for now. “

What Alexa got was…a pair of new [Boots] and [Gloves], “Those will not fold as easily as the ones you have now, but they are sturdier, you can swap them here when going into missions and then swap them out while returning home, or when you don’t expect a fight.” Alexa grabbed one of the nearby [Chairs] and took off her boots.

For some reason, the people around stopped moving when they saw her bare feet, but she ignored them. Instead, Alexa focused on putting the new pair of boots, the previous ones barely got to her ankle, but these new ones? They went all the way to her knee, like the previous ones these were quite comfortable to move around. And they seemed to manipulate the internal temperature since she didn’t feel they were that hot with them on.

The gloves on the other hand seemed to fit quite snuggly, unlike the previous ones which only got to her wrist, these went all the way to the elbow. They seem to have more buttons and options on them, and she could even see some hooks and slots for things to fit in.

“Here, this one is for your chest, put it on first. Then you get this one on your waist and these for your back.” [Bill] gave her then first a [Chest Plate] that seemed to latch into her shoulders, it was like an oversized [Shirt] but as soon as she got the latches into her shoulder the thing compressed itself to her chest.

For one part it was quite interesting, on the other hand, she couldn’t help but utter a groan when the thing compressed against her chest. But more chest support was always welcomed~

….

“[Main Core, isolate that last thought.]” Alexa commanded Main Core.

“[Acknowledged. Stray thought seem to be originated from Biological Brain, searching….seems to come from automated emotional responses.]”

Interesting…

Alexa didn’t have enough time to focus on that, she continued her job at the moment, and that was dressing up! So next she put on the [Belt], it didn’t have any special latch so she just put it on, the thing latched itself into the [Chest Plate] and looked for a way into her waist. The thing almost seemed alive…

Almost. But Alexa couldn’t detect any biological or [Nanite] on it, so she ignored it for now. The last part of her new [Armor] was the back, the thing looked similar enough to the [Chest Plate]...The problem…

Alexa couldn’t quite put it on herself, well, she could probably turn her head backward easily enough…But…

“[Human head is not designed for 180º spin.]” Main core warned her about doing that.

[Billy] was busy looking at the data her new [Armor Pieces] were giving, so instead Alexa turned to [Skye].

“Can you help me with the [Back Plate Armor]? I can't put it on myself.” Alexa said to the other girl who was trying to make herself as small as possible, she hadn’t been given any armor piece yet.

“Amm…sure? are you sure you want that? The chest plate looked painful enough when it squished your chest…” [Skye] said grabbing the last armor piece and groaning under its weight. Was it that heavy?

“Yes, it is meaningless to only have [Front] protection if my [Back] is bare,” Alexa answered pointing her back at the other girl.

“If you are sure…” [Skye] said still unsure, Alexa felt the latches on the thing when it was above her shoulders, and with a quick snap, the back plate dug into her [BodySuit].

The thing combined with the [Chest Plate] and her [Belt] easily enough, Alexa could feel the vibrations as the thing fused and linked, on her [Face Mask] a new data stream started showing itself as the thing did all kinds of diagnosis. Alexa read them as they came, it was eerily similar to the same diagnosis [Main Core] did each morning, the ones that she had started ignoring since her [Child Stage Form] couldn’t be bothered to go through them.

She…should probably schedule a review for her to review the diagnosis log each morning.

“Rhapsody? Is everything okay? I felt as if this thing was constricting you more? Do you want me to call Hermes?” [Skye] said worriedly at her, the girl seemed was no longer that self-conscious about herself and more worried for her.

Weird.

“I’m fine Sylph, the [Back Plate] linked itself with the [Chest Plate] and the [Belt], but after settling it didn’t compress my chest that much. If anything I feel as if I can breathe better now. The O2 quality seems to be improving in real time too.” Alexa said as she looked over her own internal diagnosis.

“That would be because you are getting O2 from the purifier, the back plate feeds you clean O2 to your mask. While the front plate makes sure nothing is toxic. Speedsters need pure O2, but since you can control your body and organs I suppose this will not be a problem? If needed be you can dial down the purity using the controls on your HUD.” [Billy] spoke as he finished reading some diagnoses on his tablet.

Alexa…didn’t have a problem with this setting, actually, she could probably make good use of it, if she could divert some of that O2 then maybe she could make a [Flamethrower] like she had seen while on her [Child Stage] form even.

“Now as for you Sylph…I think we can get you a hood and some light armor, nothing on the same level as Rhapsody since you don’t have her level of durability, but we can work something out.” [Billy] said as he turned to the other girl.

“...Please be gentle.” [Skye] said in a small voice walking behind Alexa.

“First we have the same type of boots that Rhapsody is wearing, they are a standard set.” [Billy] started by giving her….a set that seemed to be lighter. “Well, the base is the same, these are designed for female speedsters while the ones Rhapsody is using are for male ones.”

Alexa couldn’t see any marker for a difference between females and males. As far as she was aware female wear usually was either pink or had some weird gems on it, and her boots and the boots that [Skye] would wear had neither.

“Next we have a poncho, these are designed for stealth operations. This will help distort most active radars and in low light environment may even help you turn invisible…should you manage to synch your core powers with it.” [Billy] then gave [Skye] a piece of cloth that seemed similar to the [Sleeping gown] she had worn before as [Child Stage] Alexa. Only this one was black.

“Can I?” Alexa was going to ask for one of course.

“Not unless you are planning to move away from the fight, we have limited stock for you newbies. Stay around and you may ask for personalized ones, for now, settle for what you got. That is by the way, more than you should be getting.” [Billy] answered before Alexa could add more to her prompt.

This mission….seemed to be taking too much time to begin.