Charlie's Angels [Aura]

[Jess]

What~? Think I can kill you with looks alone~?

This is why you have to love the humble princes? The green gaze of the girl obscured behind the mounted lens of binocular design, Lucy Roberts couldn't help but click her tongue as she looked toward what was once probably rather a lavish mansion which now seemed to have sadly been delapidated by the slow march of time, and probably less than respectful ownership as well.
Princesses stay in their castle, enjoy silk and finery and most of all stay safe… but princes? The paint on the woodwork peeling and the brickwork dirty and fading, over the windows someone had opted for a rather garish application of steel bars in order to secure the building that bit better than ones usual presidential palace, and didn't look from where she was standing to be part of the original architecture either. Ugly, and ever more so inconvenient.

Oh no, we just have to go visit our old chum from Coupsville… Shaking her head as she let the equipment fall from her emerald eyes and then rolling the latter as she remembered her reason for being here, after a moment the scrutinizing siren shifted her focus toward the sight of men in striking red berets and with muskets in hand, and was left to wonder whether to go high or to go low to seek the figure she was seeking right now.
Get ourselves captured, held hostage by yet another group who fancies the name revolutionary? On assignment because the son of someone with no small sway in the alliance of counties seemed to lament the loss of an idiot whose wealth and reach of his yacht had clearly seemed to surpass the size of his brain, the whole world had seemed to let loose a collective sigh as Paulino el Churro had fumbled his way into trouble with all the grace and efficiency of a leader of an anglian nation, now here she was trying to make the people responsible for his mishap pay while also keeping him alive, and honestly it was grating on her nerves more than a small amount. After all, there were more deserving causes for a woman of her talents, weren't there?

"Agent Roberts?
I've got my men into position, plain clothes as you asked, waiting the signal.
Shall we go in?"

“Mr Finlay, I'm sorry to say your men might have to hold tight, for now?” At least not carrying the bag for this one alone and able to count on the support of a few useful figures, one of them including the leader of a crack squad of marines who seemed to specialize in quelling would-be insurgents, though it was tempting to leave the idiot to his fate and claim there had been little she could do to avoid it, unfortunately for her the new group she represented was only just starting to make a name for themselves and she guessed they reputation would be eternally dented by letting even the dumbest royal in the world die.
“We can't move in on them until Prince Prob-Lame-O is secure?” Because of this forced to play things safe and perhaps slow even when all she wanted to do was get back to some real work, Lucy shook her head and waves her hand and dismissed the idea of launching her strike early, or at least doing so with the majority of her forces.

“Speaking of…” Still having something of an ace in the hole after all and this one coming in the form of a fellow femme who seemed to be equal parts pretty face and bombastic bionics, she handed her visual aid to the marine and then turned her head toward the agent with whom she had been assigned, and wondered just how she could use those comparative portions to her advantage.
“How do you handle 'quiet' in a mission plan?” the fact that the two of them were only just getting to know one another seeming to be yet another complication that she could ill afford right now, ultimately miss roberts was a resourceful girl and could work with whatever 'tools' she had at hand. Just so long as she knew how to put them to their best use, of course…

	Lucy Roberts – Cipher Pol	### words
	@tag, Rescue Red

[pepsi]

-- CHAPTER 2 // CHARLIE'S ANGELS

Her eyes never blinked through the whole exchange. She simply stared at the horizon, changing focal point every once in a while so that she wouldn't stay completely still.
Sometimes, it made her look braindead. Being so extensively bionic in composition, her body movements were often more rigid and mechanical than the next person. And despite her creator's best efforts, when things were quiet and you couldn't hear her engine spinning, she could remain so perfectly still you'd guess sooner that she was a doll rather than a real human being.
Besides, her metallic arms and abdomen gave away that something was up with her biology, that she wasn't completely human. Despite that, she sported baggy black pants and a matching crop top, with fishnet sleeves and a choker to complete the look. Again, you'd guess that she was some sick bastard's doll rather than an actual person.

The plan was relatively simple, at least the debriefing Isaac offered her was. Find the target, extract it, bring it to safety. The complications of the matter only started to unravel when she got there, and it was not the first time that complications would get in the way of something so simple in her mind.
After all, she was just learning the ropes of being a Cipher Pol agent.

Aura looked up at the other assigned agent after she had been addressed. With rather natural movements, she brought a hand to her cheek and instinctively scratched against the metallic cover of it. "Ah..." she attempted, undecidedly, "quiet, you say?"
Images flashed in her mind of her training: pistol shots, flamboyant fighting techniques, mid-air acrobatics. Nothing she would describe as quiet, as all of it fell into the opposite category. "I don't have much in the way of quietly infiltrating a hot zone." She concluded. A part of her felt that it would be unfair to her abilities if she left it at that, so she added: "I trained in hand-to-hand combat and marksmanship. I suppose some of those skills could be used too?..."

-- NAME // Aura

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Jess]

What~? Think I can kill you with looks alone~?

“Hmmmmm… I'd say that gives us a couple of options then?” Appreciating the honesty of her comrade when it came to her own skillset, though Lucy was hardly more than a trainee herself she assumed command of the operation due to the experience she had when it came to matters of infiltration more than anything, and quickly saw a couple of ways they could work with the tools they both possessed given what her partner had told her.
“You can follow my lead and we'll try to go in as quiet as we can, or…” The first of these the plan she had originally of them going in as stealthily as they could manage, while the black haired beauty was confidant that she could manage to slip inside one way or another through soft steps and subterfuge she did not want her cohort pushing herself further than she was from her confidence, and so offered what was admittedly a somewhat reckless second option.

“You can try to get their attention?” Knowing that she herself would have an easier time slipping through the 'net' if the eyes of her enemies were focused in a different direction, though the dark dish wasn't about to push the girl into anything she didn't want to do she knew that it was better to have options, and felt it was the best thing to let the lass decide which of them she felt happier going through on.
“It's risky, suicide even if it goes wrong? But if it's just one girl, I think they'll be more interested in taking you down than wasting their collateral?” Not about to sugar coat things either and wanting Aura to know that if she chose the latter option she would likely and quickly find herself fighting for her life, while it might involve a dose of luck in her assessment of their adversaries the focus that the femme could provide was something that could provide quite the ample diversion, both from herself and the idiot prince who she needed to find and extract from within the building.

“A Marine strike force would make them panic, but you on your own might be able to keep their attention away from what I'm doing?” All too aware of the fact that the wrong show of force would spook the fools and likely bring a hammer down hard on the hostage they had here, or more accurately the muzzle of a gun or edge of the executioners axe, with the right angle these proud freedom fighters would find a challenge to their righteousness a tempting target indeed, and hopefully would leave them with an ample opening thanks to their rag tag and undisciplined nature.
“So… Think you can keep up with me, or would you be better letting loose?” Ultimately the choice in the hands of her partner and wanting to know what the woman thought of the options she had provided, though she didn't say it Miss Roberts was also happy to hear suggestions from the girl as well, and hoped that they would be on the same page from moment one of this operation. After all, they couldn't afford not to be, could they?

	Lucy Roberts – Cipher Pol	### words
	@tag, Rescue Red

[pepsi]

Aura listened attentively to all the options presented to her. As she tried to elaborate all the questions and assertions in her head, a rather independent thought popped up in her mind: that woman, Lucy, was certainly being extremely caring towards her.
And for the life of her, Aura couldn't figure out why. She wanted it all to go perfectly smooth, she was more than willing to accommodate for her own strengths and weaknesses, and to top it all off, she wasn't giving her any order.
No, on the contrary, Aura was working with her and not for her. It was a totally alien situation.

Given how extensively her modifications had changed her, it was no surprise that feeling no emotion at all would be her default state of mind. And yet, somewhere in her brain, she was certain that she should have at least felt... something? Anything at all?
Aura was certain that she should've felt disoriented by such a new situation. And yet.

In the end, the girl swatted away those thoughts as they were mostly irrelevant to the situation at hand. Instead, she simply said: "I believe a hybrid approach is... better?"
"We need a plan to escape just as much as we need one to enter" she explained, "and that's when I would come in. After the target is secured we can break through the front door from the inside so to speak."
She threw her arms up in the air and shrugged. "I'll try not to be too noisy until the target is safe."

"As for survival..." she said, "I'm not human. As long as my head survives, Isaac will find a way to put me back together."

-- NAME // Aura

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Jess]

What~? Think I can kill you with looks alone~?

“Go in quiet, come out loud?” Nodding at the suggestion of her partner, Miss Roberts agreed that they probably had the greatest chance of getting through this in one piece if they worked together, and narrowed her eyes as she scoped the scene for the right angle with which she could accommodate their individual talents and limitation.
“I like it~!” The vision of the vixen scanning over the scene once more in order to scope out the best weak point she could find, if she had gone in solo she guessed she could go high via geppou and take them by surprise by slipping in through one of the upstairs windows, but with someone in tow who didn’t have quite as much of a handle on the superhuman arts, that required a different kind of discretion, but one it seemed that fortune seemed to favour.

“Captain Finlay, have your men ready to hit them on my signal?” Focusing her emerald eyeline upon something which seemed stand out on the compound as a means through which she could use, after a moment of scrutiny Lucy turned her attention toward the leader of the force and then took a baby den den mushi from her pocket as she began to put her plan into motion, and then moved off into after another nod to push her way through the overgrowth that surrounded the compound.
“They'll have a hard time keeping us in if they're trying to keep you out at the same time…” Looking over her shoulder and hushing her tones as she drew herself downward into a stooping posture, the dark dish glanced toward her accomplice as she moved slowly but purposefully, leading the way through the greenery without much of a sound as she closed in on the spot which had caught her attention only moments ago.

“Now…” Peeking over a bush as she did so and nodding toward a couple of guards who seemed to be more interested in exploiting the use of an old gazebo to share a smoke and a bottle of beer out of sight of their superiors, the two men looked like they were far too busy to notice a swift and decisive approach in order to subdue them, it would prove useful to take a couple of members of their opposition down fast but more than that there was a second opportunity in what she saw.
“How do you look in a red beret?” This group of rebels a ramshackle bunch of volunteers who seemed to share only one part of their dress code, Miss Roberts guessed that if they could pacify the pair without drawing attention to themselves they could nab the mentioned headwear and the weapons of the pair to slip in, and hopefully add a little more ease to being overlooked once inside if at the very least they seemed to look the part as well…

	Lucy Roberts – Cipher Pol	### words
	@tag, Rescue Red

[pepsi]

Aura followed closely the movements of her collaborator, her servo motors squeaking from time to time just to remind both of them that she didn't have any proper joints. "I'm gonna have to ask Isaac to do something about this..." she said, under her breath.
Isaac was the man who created her, and supposedly he had been working on several different upgrades to her body given the success of the preceding missions. If someone could figure out how to make those joints shut up, it was him.

The cyborg peeked over the bush in unison with Lucy. Her idea was to steal their attire, possibly trying to blend into their ranks so that infiltration would be easier.
But just plucking their hats off of their heads wouldn't be enough - to do it effectively, those guards needed to be taken down as well. "Okay," Aura said, "on your three..."

... schwirr!!

"Hey, did you hear that?" one of the guards said. "Hear wha-"
Aura's kick fell upon the second guard's head like a guillottine. Her internal Dynamo Core firing up, the added weight of her metal body turned her into a deadly vertical spinning top.
The energy of her Dynamo Core was remarkable. With incredible high-speed gyration, it can transfer a great deal of rotational energy to Aura's body; so much so that she was able to leap above the bushes, spin into a double frontflip and land with her heel perfectly on the guard's neck in one fluid motion.
If only spinning with the Dynamo Core could be a little more silent.

-- NAME // Aura

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Jess]

What~? Think I can kill you with looks alone~?

No wonder she isn’t a fan of the stealthy approach? Certainly able to see why the doll nearby had her doubts about her effort toward discretion with how that body of hers seemed to be gurning as they moved, while the sounds were subtle enough that the denseness of the brush concealed their approach from their targets well enough,Lucy would have guessed that things would have been different within the mansion and hoped that the more ‘catwalk’ elements of her plan would cover for that.
Can’t tell if she’s more cuckoo clock or barbie doll…? Intrigued all the same however by her introduction to someone of such abstract anatomy or at the very least such a soul who wasn’t aiming to take away her life, the green gaze of the girl washed over the body of her buddy with a kind of macabre fascination, and she was left to wonder about the differences between things meaty and mechanical. Though even then, she guessed she would favour the former every time.

Soru! Nodding silently as they readied themselves for their first little fight but guessing given their respective abilities it would be little contest really, though Miss Roberts let her ally lurch forward a moment before her she certainly did not dally in her attack thanks to a movement which turned her into a blur, and rushed forward with enough speed and strength to make any potential opposition irrelevant.
“Hup!” Skipping onward with a briskness which would have made it difficult for the average eye to follow her and putting that haste to good use through means beyond simple pace as well, the raven readied her fist as she rushed toward her target and rammed it into the belly of one of the guards, and in doing so knocked only the breath but any possible resistance as well.

“Whew, not bad, baby cakes~!” Almost feeling sorry for the fool as he seemed to gasp for air before succumbing to the slumber which would follow, Lucy turned her head to see how her partner was doing and beamed at the result she saw, and even offered up a spirited but somewhat hushed sense of approval for what she saw as well.
“Now, get their clothes… I’m thinking this is the perfect opportunity for a wardrobe change, no~?” Nodding toward their fallen foes as their brief battle drew to an end that most would guess was inevitable, even though she wasn’t thrilled by the idea of putting on a grungy soldiers fatigues the black beauty enacted the next stage of her plan all the same; disguise, and infiltrate!

	Lucy Roberts – Cipher Pol	### words
	@tag, Rescue Red

[pepsi]

The kick connected, her metal heel smashing into the unsuspecting guard's neck with full force. The rotational energy had entirely transferred into the kick and the Dynamo Core stopped whirring.
At around the same time, her temporary partner Lucy had gone on the offensive as well; she couldn't even follow her movement as her body simply blurred out of existence - only to reappear a moment after, having taken a hop and landed a swift hit on the other guard.

Aura had seen such speed once before. She was well aware of the Six Techniques taught to the CP and Marines; they were a rigid set of abilities that needed a lot of training to master. While she couldn't tell for sure whether she just witnessed her ally use one of such techniques, she could be certain one needed either some exceptional physical prowess or some incredible training to achieve what Lucy just did. Or, she thought, a mix of both.
Aura, however, required little training for what she could tell. Most of her "training " consisted in Isaac hooking her body to a bunch of machines, run diagnostics, and then tell her to perform a series of movements to optimise her design. Of what she could do, very little came from her skills. She was entirely unsure how that made her feel - was it good to have one's possibilities enhanced by external factors, or was true strength only from within?
She gave it a resounding "dunno" as an answer in her head, and moved on.

"Baby... cakes?" Aura whispered, more confused than anything. She pictured very tiny pastries, but she wasn't sure what they had to do with the subject of infiltration.
Aura looked over to the guard she'd put out of action. By the way their neck was bent, she concluded the man was most likely dead. Her expression turned to one of severe annoyance, as she was told multiple times to avoid killing if it wasn't part of the plan. Perhaps it was just a matter of not spinning the Dynamo Core to the max just for a kick. With that feeling still roaming around in her head, she undressed the guard and stole what she could.

With some luck, she managed to also scavenge a pair of gloves which - despite being a bit out of season - would conceal her metallic hands very well. Aura squeezed her hair into the guard's beret, and nodded towards Lucy.
"So, what now?" Aura asked, quietly. "You think this will be enough to fool them? I've never done something like this."

-- NAME // Aura

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Jess]

What~? Think I can kill you with looks alone~?

“We'll turn less heads, hopefully.” Nodding as the inexperience of her ally seemed to leave her feeling doubtful of their prospects, while Lucy wasn't about to lie to the girl and say that the whole operation would be a cakewalk now that they had assumed the bare minimum requirement of subterfuge she was confident that things would likely be easier working smart like this than going all guns blazing, at least until they were forced to that was.
“Just kinda keep your head down and don't stand too close to them? As long as you don't give them a reason to question it, they'll probably just assume you're new or something?” Reaching out to squeeze the shoulder of her partner gently in an effort to reassure her and looking into the eyes of the girl to show her sincerity as well, the black haired beauty knew all too well what it was like embarking on operations like this when you felt greener than the grass next door, and hoped that having a 'big sister' on the mission like her would help her put her fears at ease a little.

“Ah you get used to it? Though generally I prefer pretending to be a nurse or one of those lounge singer gals over well, this?” For that reason trying to take a more casual approach as she hinted that this was far from the first time she had played a little dress up for the purpose of completing her assignment, in all honesty while she was enjoying a chance to take the lead it also felt a little strange for Miss Roberts to be the 'old hand' in a situation like this, but she guessed she would get used to it if given the chance.
“But needs must? Let's get inside before someone comes looking, eh?” For that reason careful not to dawdle too long where they were given how the wrong pair of eyes would only start asking things they couldn't answer if they made themselves stand out, even though she had no real experience or expertise when it came to handling firearms the fox still lifted one of the rifles of their fallen foes into her hand to sell the look and offered the other to her friend, before nodding toward the building beyond with the scantest hint of urgency. After all, they had plenty of people waiting on them now, didn't they?

	Lucy Roberts – Cipher Pol	### words
	@tag, Rescue Red

[pepsi]

Aura listened attentively to what the woman had to say. She seemed experienced, much more so than her - not that it took a lot to be more knowledgeable than Aura, clearly - and even in the off chance she was simply acting confident, Aura was more than convinced of her expertise.

The cyborg took the gun and gripped it with almost natural confidence. It was clear that she was more familiar with such weapons than she was with infiltration; Aura manipulated it around, unlocking the safety and swiftly reloading the mag. "I'll follow your lead" she declared, picking up the pace as Lucy entered the mansion.

They found themselves in a long hall, presumably some sort of decorative hall meant to entertain guests. Slightly bleached and torn in places, the long red tape covered the very center of the hall and provided obvious passageway to the large door on the opposite end.
Along the way, a series of displays containing miscellaneous artifacts. Relics of a bygone era, Aura thought, as she passed by a golden chalice emblazoned with the prince's family crest. "I wish I'd seen a map of this place" Aura whispered, looking around for any extra guards.

"Is this normal?", Aura asked. Typically, without context, this question would've made no sense at all. The girl quickly realised this, and clarified: "I thought we'd dive in, guns blazing all the time. It's what I was trained to do. Do you do this often?"

-- NAME // Aura

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Jess]

What~? Think I can kill you with looks alone~?

“Sadly the enemy weren't too keen on sharing the layout of their new 'Headquarters'?” Nodding at the concern of her cohort in regard their map or the absence therein, Lucy could only shrug at the issue ultimately, since as much of a convenience as it might have been she was enough of a realist to know she shouldn't spend time wishing over what was never meant to be.
“Apparently the guy in charge before had this place totally remodelled, at his subjects expense, of course, so anything we did have map-wise isn't going to be all that useful either?” The pair left in this mess by a party she couldn't exactly approve of and perhaps that shown by the dry tone she showed in regard to the previous occupant, the sable siren couldn't help but scoff and show a little contempt for the whole situation, given how she felt it a bit of a waste of their talents to be playing 'hero' for a fool like this when there were locales across the line which were worthier of their interest.

“Kind of? I mean I'm all for guns blazing, even when I don't carry a gun…” Perhaps for that reason finding a feeling of relief in aura's question about their chosen approach, though Miss Roberts could appreciate the value of a balls to the walls kind of brawl type of approach, she had to confess that she had noticed such situations were becoming fewer and further between as she has developed as an agent.
“My kinda job seems to have become increasingly… Delicate?” Instead seeming to be called to situations that need more of a considered and careful touch than what the edge of a knuckle could provide, matters of deniability meant that she opted not to mention the fact that she has been known to go and throw herself in a bar fight on occasion to get her blood pumping in something a little more straightforward, as a kind of 'treat' when she had been contained so very much by more covert activity.

“A lot of quiet sneaking and picking my fights?” Not entirely hating this method however, even if it doesn't quite get her pulse racing quite as much as a more conventional encounter, Lucy did appreciate the artistry in the slicker and sneakier form of operation she was presented with, and couldn't help but think of her newest mentor when she ran through them as well.
“Lassa says we have to think of ourselves more like scalpels than hammers? Precise and surgical?” Recognising that this type of work and her approach to it would suit the soul who had snatched her up for Blackpage entirely, though she was prone to her vices like everyone the ebony enchantress respected her senior enough to want to emulate their more clinical method as best she could, and perhaps noted a sense of personal growth because of that. Sometimes justice was about more than just kicking down a door and bopping the right nose, wasn't it?

	Lucy Roberts – Cipher Pol	### words
	@tag, Rescue Red

[pepsi]

Aura gently nodded and hummed at her companion's explanations, even though inside of her the doubt of whether on not her training was actually of any use grew stronger. Isaac had reassured her that she was "made" for the job, but if the job was so different from what she trained, then, what gives?

What if she had misinterpreted which "job" Isaac was talking about at all? What if there was a deeper purpose to her, that simply working as a CP Agent simply wouldn't properly cover?

... and what if there was no purpose at all? What if Isaac constructed her for no reason?

Her thoughts on the matter were completely erased the moment she arrived at that very question, and her expression went from inquisitive and perplexed to relaxed instantly. The lingering question completely vanished, and her train of thoughts derailed onto another track.
But before she could do anything else, Aura's attention was drawn by an unfamiliar voice. "Hey!" said a man on the far end of the room. The man wore the same attire as the two, which gave Aura a certain degree of confidence in handling the situation.

The man, taller than both of them, approached the two with a relaxed stance. "About time I'd be off my shift. You're a few minutes late" he said, dusting off his hands. "At least they could've told me they changed the shifts, I was hoping my brother would stay inside now - he'd be safer that way."
The man's blue eyes shifted over to Aura, down her arms, and saw her gloves. He turned around and took a few steps, when something in his brain clicked.

"Wait, hold on. Where did you find those gloves?"

Aura's spine straightened as her heart sank into her stomach. "I, uh..."

-- NAME // Aura

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Jess]

What~? Think I can kill you with looks alone~?

“I know, right? There we were, just sat down for some grub after spending half the day sweating our asses off on patrol, and someone drags us up and tells us we've gotta cover you in five minutes?” Fake it until you make it the strategy as a stranger came toward the pair and ran the risk of rumbling their whole operation with his demand for a guard change, while lucy couldn't exactly look the gift horse of having one less set of eyes watching over them as they skulked around the house she would need to earn that opportunity, or more accurately 'sell' the idea that they were right where they were supposed to be right now, even if nothing was further from the truth.
“I swear, if the guys in charge here don't get their shit together, they're gonna have another coup on their hands before” For that reason the gal with the green gaze using whatever gift she had in her gab to concoct a cover for their presence and also the untimely manner of it, she was glad that she had spent so much time working with a soul who seemed to have the sharpness to see through any little lie she gave as she wove a tale of hunger and hardship, and aimed to illicit a sense of sympathy rather than grumpiness and suspicion.

“Oh damn, you were supposed to give them back, right? We totally forgot…” It seeming that such an act was harder to follow however than it might have appeared as this gruff natured guard seemed to pick a little thing about her cohorts wardrobe and make something of a big deal of it, the emerald eyes of the young enchantress widened as he revealed a little error in their effort to disguise themselves and also probably a source of red cheeks for his sibling later on, but as Miss Roberts smacked her forehead she showed that she was able to roll with the punches and keep her little act of deception going without breaking her stride, or hoping so.
“That guy was your brother? He was nice enough to loan the lass some gloves as we went through the brush earlier, right? Guard those delicate digits from the wildlife? She's new, you see, and I think she was a bit too shy to ask about little things like that?” For that reason throwing up an arm and clapping it around the shoulders of this man in order to get nice and close and hopefully have him thinking more about the fact that he had a lady of such pronounced liberation pressing against him, the would-be beguiler used everything she could to her advantage peacefully as it seemed way too soon in the day for their act of subterfuge to be discovered, but even then was happy to consider the old ways as well. After all, behind her back, her fist was balled nice and tight for an alternative method should things turn against her…

	Lucy Roberts – Cipher Pol	### words
	@tag, Rescue Red