The cool night air was made chillier by the wind. The sound of the trees blowing in that stiff breeze was loud...really loud. Sakura Dark likes that their sound will be muffled by the wind, but she wishes it were overcast, as the Moon is nearly half-full and casting soft shadows on objects. Her and her partner move silently through the night, blending in with those shadows as much as possible. For Annabel, she prefers a more direct approach; however, she can be sneaky when she wants to be. While not a fan of her current costume, it does move easily with her like her regular one.
In one section of the backyard, Sakura Dark and Annabel find themselves in what looks like a statue garden. Out in the weather, these life-size statues seem to be quite old, and perhaps were part of the grounds when Mercy bought the mansion many years ago. Sakura wonders, as she looks at the realistic male statues, if Mercy gained inspiration from this statue garden, or is it just a coincidence that Mercy captures people and displays them in a similar fashion?
Shaking her head free of that thought, she focuses on the task at hand: getting to a section of wall, near the southeast corner, where they can teleport into the mansion undetected. Annabel, used to having her sword rather than a scanning device, holds it like she might try and hit someone with it. "The light is flickering faster," she whispers, "We are getting closer to her." Sakura nods her head, as she ducks behind another well-manicured tree. She takes a moment to check her surroundings, as Annabel crouches beside her.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura Dark does a double take: why break into the mansion to get Shooting Star when she is standing right here? Oh right, she chastises herself, the real Shooting Star is a mannequin inside, while this is Annabel pretending to be Shooting Star. Sakura Dark is not easily fooled, so Sweet Note did an excellent job getting the right costume and hair to make sure Annabel looked the part. Their hair and skin-tone looks to be a perfect match. The pink and blue tactical boots look natural on Annabel, and the goggles give her style-points that she probably never cared to score, Sakura Dark thinks with a grin. The one difference, which Sakura Dark brought up before, was that Annabel somewhat "overfills" the top half of Shooting Star's costume. Sakura Dark is able to catch a quick look, before returning to her main task. Sweet Note must not have gotten a larger size top to accommodate that part of their body differences, so that the costumes literally look the same. She could tell Annabel was bigger than Shooting Star while in Sweet Note's penthouse the other night, but it seems more obvious tonight.
As if she could feel something was off, Annabel adjusts her costume. "I will admit. This Shooting Star's costume feels like one could fight quite well in it. I would prefer to be...more covered up top...than I am now, though." She exclaims in a weird sense of self-consciousness on her top's coverage, but also content with the feel of the costume overall. "I would have to adjust how I swing the mighty Fang to ensure I do not...fall out." Sakura Dark shrugs with a grin, not making eye contact with her, "Well, if you were fighting a man, it would make for a great distraction for your girls to come bouncing out in mid-swing." Annabel frowns at that thought as she replies, "I look forward to removing this top as soon as we are done with the mission. I would not want to be constantly stared at for my looks and not marveled at for my skills." Sakura Dark nods her head in agreement and darts to the next set of trees.
Within moments, their backs are to the walls of the mansion. They have seen some guards roaming the grounds, but so far, no one has spotted them. Checking Annabel's device, Shooting Star, or rather the device she has in her utility belt, is just on the other side of this wall. "Ready?" Sakura Dark mouths, to which Annabel nods. Putting their arms around each other, Sakura Dark teleports them inside the mansion. One moment, the wind is blowing on them, and then the next, nothing. They look around and are taken back by the number of people in the room.
Even though Sweet Note suspected it to look like this, the embracing superheroes are still quite surprised. "And this is just one room?" Annabel exclaims in a shocked whisper. Sakura Dark nods her head in the same amount of shock. "I guess so, but I certainly hope not." The two heroes stand still holding each other in a large room of colorful mannequins standing on pedestals in various poses. The displays are in a grid pattern, making it easy to move throughout the room, while still requiring one to take their time so that one does not run into anything or anyone. The room seems too quiet to have so many people in it, but then they are not moving at all, so are they really human?
After a few moments, Annabel states, "You can let go of me now." Sakura Dark steps back awkwardly, "Sorry, I was...just...taken back by...you know." Annabel, seemingly not meaning any disrespect, replies, "I completely understand. There must be over a dozen superheroes in this room alone. How could Mercy pull this off?" Sakura Dark regaining some of her composure says, "She is either the most underrated criminal mastermind in history, giving her the ability to surprise others, or perhaps she is truly the greatest villain of all time, hiding it behind her beautiful appearance."
Annabel and Sakura Dark separate, letting that last statement kick in. They slowly look at each of them, taking in the perfection of each one (muscles and perfect body proportions), yet somehow they are flawed just like a human would be (not a manufactured mannequin, but very close). They note there are cameras on the floor facing up towards each individual mannequin. Annabel avoids walking in front of them, but Sakura Dark notes this and says, "These aren't security cameras. They would have been used to project them into the virtual mansion of Mercy that Sweet Note entered on recon." As if to prove her point, they find Shooting Star in the exact pose that Sweet Note described. She looks like she could jump right off of that stand she is on.
As they both stand looking up at her, Shooting Star seems to be in between breaths, just waiting to take on a villain. Annabel states, "She does appear to be a worthy warrior, undeserving of this punishment." Sakura Dark nods in agreement, "None of them deserve this, which is why we need to swap you two and find the cure." Annabel nods as she reaches up to grab Shooting Star's legs to move her, but she does not move.
"Huh, she appears to be," Annabel says with a grunt, "Stuck." Sakura Dark knows Annabel is stronger than her, so there is no need to test that statement, but she does anyway. "Maybe there is a lock on her boot, since she only has one touching the stand." As Annabel checks the boot, Sakura Dark walks around the stand. She notices along the molding along the backside, there is a slight break, like a hidden panel might be there. Touching it gingerly, the panel opens up.
Looking inside, there are several buttons and lights. The power light is orange, so it is drawing some electricity, she reasons. The only other light is green, which is next to the "hold" button. Pressing it, the light goes out, and Annabel exclaims too loudly, "She's falling!" With her quick reflexes, Annabel catches Shooting Star as she falls to her right, being unbalanced with just one foot. Annabel braces herself but finds Shooting Star to be quite light. She may not be hollow inside, she thinks, but she is definitely not heavy enough to be human.
"Shh," Sakura Dark hisses, "Don't bring everyone here." To which Annabel replies, "Do not cause her to fall without warning me then." Sakura Dark nods her head, "Right, yeah, sorry, but I found how to release her." Annabel rolls her eyes and carries Shooting Star between the other heroes. She then leans her against the far wall, to which she says, "Uh, perhaps another issue." Sakura Dark walks up to her as Annabel cups herself while cupping Shooting Star. "They are not the same size." Sakura Dark finds her statement and mannerism strangely childish, yet a bit of a turn on as well. Wondering how far she could push it, she reaches out and cups Shooting Star and then reaches over to do the same for Annabel. For a brief moment, Annabel and Sakura Dark test Shooting Star's rigid cup size, while slowly massaging Annabel's soft cup size. Smirking, Sakura Dark adds, "We determined that and decided that Mercy is not taking measurements daily to see if her mannequins have changed size." Annabel seems to accept that, continuing her rough measurement with her hands, oblivious that Sakura Dark is doing the same to her. "Her costume makes more sense now," she states, dropping her hands and turning away from Shooting Star.
Sakura Dark smiles as they walk back to the empty stand, well that was an unexpected surprise...I might like working with Annabel more often in the future. She shudders noticeably as she sees other empty stands. Hope I don't wind up there though, she tells herself darkly. Annabel carefully steps up onto the stand. "Okay, let's start with the boot lock to make sure it works." Sakura Dark nods her head in agreement. She positions herself in the back and says, "Ready when you are." Annabel balances up on her left foot and says, "Go ahead." Sakura Dark hits the button and it turns the light green. Looking up at Annabel, she gets a great view of her well-toned butt, having never really noticed it before. I can't believe I missed that, she thinks but then chastises herself, now is not the time to be admiring.
"Well?" Annabel asks, "Did it work?" Sakura Dark walks around front. "The light is green, can you move your foot?" Annabel attempts to hop off the stand but cannot. "No, I am stuck fast, like my boot has been glued to the stand." She tries to set her right boot down, but it will not go all the way to the stand. "Huh, I can't stand normally." Sakura Dark makes a guess, "Probably the stand locks what is in contact with it, so you cannot add more to it than it thinks should be there." Annabel shrugs in agreement.
"Okay, let's get you into position," Sakura Dark says as she reaches into her fanny pack for the Spiral Eye of Andromeda. Annabel does her best to pose like Shooting Star. Sakura dark holds up the eye, but then remarks, "Uh, you need to raise your arms out evenly...and tilt your head down more." Annabel rolls her eyes, "This is close enough. I do not see you doing the hard work, huh?" Sakura Dark does not appreciate her tone, but she understands that Annabel is taking a great risk. However, if she cannot pull off the pose, this will not work.
Sakura Dark then has an idea. Holding up the Spiral Eye, she says, "You are Shooting Star, the superhero." Annabel's posture changes slightly, as she looks less like herself, and more like Shooting Star would. "And now, pose like you are about to be attacked, with all the determination you can." As if being compliant was the thing to do, Annabel poses just as Shooting Star would, letting her body begin to match what her mind is telling her, as prompted by the Spiral Eye.
Woah, Sakura Dark thinks in surprise, I can't believe that actually worked. Obviously, she would not pass any test on what Shooting Star knows, but she certainly looks like her now. "And now, you are a mannequin, holding that perfect pose until I release you. Let your muscles tense up and hold yourself in that pose. You are a mannequin." While Annabel knows she is not a mannequin, she feels thoughts leaving her head, like her name and her memories and her desire to move. She tries to grasp onto them, feeling like she should not be letting them go be buried deep within her where she cannot access them. She finds that her mind has titled her "Shooting Star mannequin". The title seems strange, as if she should have a name, but then, do mannequins have names? She wants to ask the young lady holding up a strange ball, but she cannot remember her name. Even if she did, mannequins do not speak. Mannequins do not move. Mannequins display.
Sakura Dark lowers the Spiral Eye, noting that Annabel looks in pose just like Shooting Star. Every part of her looks like a mannequin now, even though she isn't. Just to make sure, she reaches up to touch Annabel just above the boot line, and her finger presses in. See, she tells herself, not a mannequin, just hypnotized to think she is. I really hope no one looks too closely, Sakura Dark remarks to herself, because it is obvious to me that Annabel more than fills Shooting Star's top in that pose, but her skin tone, facial features, and the rest of her body shape look to be a perfect match. Putting the Spiral Eye in her bag on her lower back, she turns to the wall where the real Shooting Star is still propped up. As she walks towards her, she hears male voices coming from the hallway. She stops walking, hoping her heels on the hard floor did not give her away.
Her breathing goes shallow as she strains to hear the voices. "...just a glitch," the one male voice says. Another replies with, "Maybe, but we got to make sure." Sakura Dark sees a flashlight playing around the hallway and footfalls coming closer. She realizes she is too far away to get to Shooting Star, and like a rookie, she put the teleporting bracelet back in her pack. "It is just the one, so it should be easy to find." The other voice says, "I just hope she didn't fall over. You know what happened to the last security guard that told Mercy that."
Turning on her heel, she tiptoes towards danger, nearing the front entrance to the room as quietly and quickly as possible. She cannot hide the real Shooting Star against the back wall, but maybe she can keep them from coming in too far and noticing her. She steps up onto an empty stand. Putting her feet wide and her left hand on her hip, she points her right hand out in front of her, and opens her mouth like she is screaming at something in the distance. She has no time to think on her pose, as she sees the two men round the corner.
The guards wear the standard issue security company uniform. The dark pressed pants and matching jacket, with the shirt and tie underneath. She can easily see the security company's logo on their sleeve, as they are using the other arm to hold their flashlights. "I'll start on this end," the one indicates as he crouches down behind the first hero in the room. The other walks right in front of Sakura Dark, ignoring her completely.
She can hear them opening the access panel in the back of each stand. She wonders where they are, as she stares in front, when, "Got it...no light." Sakura Dark feels a tingling sensation, as her feet feel like they have lost connection with her brain. She wants to bend over to scratch her toes, but she knows she cannot move without being detected as living. "Are you sure it is the same one?" The other guard shrugs as he walks to the door, "No, but it has to be. We only saw one turn off, so it has to be this one." Sakura Dark can see the first guard shrug and nod his head, "Good enough for me. Let's walk back and check to see if it matches." Both of them walk out noisily, as she feels the numbing sensation working up to her ankles.
Whew, Sakura Dark exhales loudly, that was close. She tries to step off the stand, but finds her feet stuck fast. No problem, I can just pivot around and...uh oh, I cannot move my feet at all. In fact, she thinks with some fear, my ankles feel locked too. She tests all her other body parts, and everything else seems normal...for now.
Hmm, she ponders, the panel is directly behind me...I wonder. She knows she has to turn hers off before they get back to their screen and see that there's one too many mannequins, or worse, this stand freezes me in place like all the others. Good thing I'm a world class gymnast, she thinks with a grin. Bending backwards in an impossible backbend, Sakura Dark reaches below her feet to the panel on the back of the stand. She can feel her whole body stretching now, as she folds herself in half, backwards. She notices the numbness has risen above her knees now, but hopefully it will not be much longer, she reasons.
Accessing the panel at her outstretched fingertips, she opens it and hits the green button. With her feet suddenly released she flips over. She plans to land on her feet, but her legs are mostly numb, so they slam hard into the floor. She panics thinking it will hurt horribly, but she holds in her scream, as she barely notices the impact. The sharp pain from her feet and knees slamming into the marble tile are masked by whatever numbing effect the stand was having on her. She rolls to her knees and tries to stand, but her legs below her knees do not seem to be working. Ah, she curses inwardly, I hope this 'paralysis' wears off soon, as I cannot stay here long. As she lays there, trying to will her feet and knees to work, she asks herself the next question, what am I going to do? The guards are fooled for now, but I can't stay here all night.
Thinking of ways she could move without using her feet, she pulls the teleporting bracelet out of her fanny pack. Putting it on, she looks over at Shooting Star's leaning form. Winking in and out of existence, she finds herself at Shooting Star's feet. Reaching up, she grabs hold of Shooting Star's leg, like a tree trunk or hand railing. Staring at the wall, she teleports them outside. The cool breeze of the night makes her feet and knees tingle all the more, almost as if their sensitivity is turned all the way up. As she gasps for air from the sensation, thinking of her options, she decides on their escape plan. "As far as I know, there are no long-term effects from teleporting a bunch of times back-to-back, so...," she moans as she stares up at Shooting Star's shiny leg, "Let's jump!"
Knowing walking is out of the question, she does the only thing she can. Curling up around Shooting Star's foot, Sakura Dark teleports them back out into the statue garden and then down the hill in the back. She does note this time that one of the statues looks newer, and the man seems to be wearing a military outfit...or security guard uniform. She makes no connection with that thought, as her entire concentration is to finish the mission, one small jump at a time. Got to get as far away as fast as possible, she tells herself.
At the bottom of the hill, Mega Meka sits in the driver's seat, monitoring the comms and watching for Sakura Dark. "Anything yet," Sweet Note says in her ear. Mega Meka shakes her head as if she could see her, "Nothing yet. Sakura may be having trouble carrying Shooting Star down the hill." Sweet Note responds, "Roger, keep me posted, out." The comms go silent again.
Since she is driving the vehicle in the public eye, she decided to wear regular clothes today. Her black top is a leather jacket, form-fitting, and zips up to her neck, while her boots have a dozen buckles and straps hidden underneath her leather pants. She cannot walk just yet, but she wanted to be able to move if she had to. The driver's seat is pushed all the way back, and her legs are extended stiffly out in front of her. Not planning on walking, she tells herself, but just in case.
She sees movement in her rear view mirror, but something is not right. In one moment, nothing, but then suddenly Shooting Star is 30 feet behind the van, all by herself. Deciding she might need to check this out, she opens the driver's side door. Using her arms, she pulls her legs out of the van, and she stiffly stands up on them. The buckles and straps and forced her legs to be nothing more than two "stilts" for her to balance on. She hobbles awkwardly to the back of the van, her left hand on the roof.
She can now see Sakura Dark curled around Shooting Star's leg, like she is holding up a strange tree. "Sakura?" Mega Meka asks softly, "What happened?" Sakura Dark has tears in her eyes, as she looks up. "I...can't...teleport...any...more." Mega Meka can hear the exhaustion in her voice, wondering what happened yet not caring to know the details right now.
Pressing the button on the fob, the back of the van opens up. She hobbles to the heros and grasps Shooting Star's arm for support. "I got her...can you make it to the van?" Mega Meka takes hold of Shooting Star's shoulders as Sakura Dark collapses onto the grassy ground. Knowing she cannot help both of them, Mega Meka, being much taller than Shooting Star, uses her like a cane to get back to the van. Good thing she can't feel anything, Mega Meka blushes, I did not mean to hold on to her at that particular spot. Once to the van, she loads her into the back, like she was loading furniture. To keep prying eyes off her, she covers her with a tarp, with the back door closing automatically.
Mega Meka sees that Sakura has not moved from that spot. Ambling back to the driver's seat, she starts the van. Using her hand brakes and levers, she backs the van closer to Sakura. Monitoring her position with the back-up camera, she gets within inches of Sakura and the sliding door. Keeping the engine running, she gets out to hobble around the van. Sakura's fetal position has not changed. Using her arm strength, while gripping the van's roof, Mega Meka lifts her up one-handed, and deposits her on the floor next to the covered Shooting Star. "Sorry, I don't know how to help you, but Sweet Note will. Hang on, Sakura!" And with that, the van peels out of the quiet valley, leaving no trace of it behind. Mega Meka stops for no reason along the dark winding road, encouraged that she can still hear Sakura breathing behind her.