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Part 9.1 The winds of change roll through Verse City, both on the surface and in the underbelly. In an abandoned warehouse, Commissioner Donquixote Doflamingo subdues General M. Bison, making him an offer he can't refuse. Elsewhere, Amanda Waller and Vince McMahon play their own game of chess. Moving figurative pieces into place so they may capture their goals. In the Grand Arena, a Black Swordsman duels a user of the Dark Side. They fight for the victory, they fight for the crowd cheering their names. In the Common District, three stooges drive their garbage truck under duress. A fleshy monster tries to kill them but all action stops when they crash into the district junkyard. Across town, a skeletal knight runs for his un-life as the embodiment of kawaii tries to catch him. Their antics get them into more trouble than they bargained for. And outside of Verse City, an ogre runs through an endless gauntlet of mushroom kingdom iterations alongside an unwanted companion. Both of them journey to find their home. But we focus now on the Verse City S.P.D. Common District, where we find our heroine Vin Venture in the hands of the police. ____________________________ Bridge Carson sat across from the recently arrested Vin. Charges of reckless endangerment, flying without a permit, no registration, resisting arrest and putting two S.P.D. officers in the infirmary were quite the rap sheet for just one afternoon. He spent the better part of a two hour interrogation trying to reason with her and got nowhere. All he had was her name, that she wasn’t a resident of Verse City, and that she claimed to be a contestant of the Grand Tournament before she got thrown out. Of course, nobody could verify her story. “Listen,” Bridge put on the trademark charm, “We’re willing to help you and let you go. Put all this behind us. We are the good guys after all, you know. But you gotta-” “THE FACT that you put me here in the FIRST place is the problem,” Vin interrupted. “I’ve told you and your men what I was doing in the city. I am not from your world and had no idea I was breaking your laws. That doesn’t warrant attacking me and locking me in here.” Geez, was she always this combative? “Hey, I’m sorry.” Bridge replied. “But your response was pretty extreme too. You damaged our vehicle and hurt my teammates. We have rules here and you can’t just do that.” Vin’s body language, yes Bridge could read body language, was closed off and avoided eye contact. Her wrist cuffs were latched onto the table and did nothing but make her look smaller. Now, she made herself big and stared into Bridge’s eyes. “I’m not in the wrong. Let me go about my business.” “And what exactly is your business?” Bridge retorted. Vin crossed her arms best she could and gave no response but to look the other way. So that's that? Sigh. Bridge needed a break. Maybe a vacation. “Alright Vin, I tried. When you're ready to talk, you let the Commander know.” Bridge got up and left the room. He traversed the halls of S.P.D. Headquarters, got himself a coffee, then headed to his desk where the rest of his team waited. “That woman is insufferable!” Bridge told them, taking a seat in his swivel chair. Sydney Drew, the S.P.D. Blue Ranger was first to reply, “No luck?” “What do you think?” Bridge buried his face into his coffee. Standing alongside Sydney was the team’s Green Ranger, Elizabeth Delgado, or better known as ‘Z’. She was still in her ranger suit inspecting the damage to her helmet when she chimed in, “Some people don’t do well with authority. She wouldn’t be the first.” “No," said Sydney. "But how many can outrun an Air Delta Cruiser and take on an entire squad of S.P.D on their own? Marika and Umeko are still in the infirmary." “How are they doing?” Bridge pulled himself from his cup. “Stable,” Z replied. “They should be fine as long as they take it easy for the next few days.” “Did you find out how she got so fast and strong?” Sydney asked. Bridge put down his half finished coffee and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. “She isn’t budging, guys. I don’t know what else to say.” “I think I may be able to offer some assistance,” said a voice coming into the precinct. S.P.D. stood to meet face to face with the district’s resident detective, Denny Colt or otherwise known as The Spirit. “The Spirit? You have something for us?” Bridge asked in surprise. He didn't think Spirit would be working a case as arbitrary as this was. In fact, the Spirit hardly ever got involved in S.P.D. business. The Spirit revealed his hand, holding two vials. One empty and one filled with a clear liquid with shavings of material floating inside. “I picked these up from analysis," he said "These are the vials Ms. Vin had on her when she was arrested. They’re composed of different metal types and an oil-based fluid." “Metal?” Z wondered. “Why would she be drinking that? That’s gross.” “Maybe that’s how she was throwing us around? She moves metal with her mind whenever she drinks that.” Sydney said, eyeing the vials in The Spirit’s hand. “It’s possible,” The Spirit said, turning his attention to Bridge. “Captain Carson, did she say where she’s from or how she got here?” Bridge explained what he knew from Vin. She was a contestant in the Grand Cross-Galactic Budokai Tenkaichi, but was removed from the arena after losing a fight. “There were others too,” he continued. “An ogre by the name of Shrek and some guy who calls himself General Bison.” “Not a lot to go on. Wait, did you say ‘an ogre’?” Z said in surprise. Bridge nodded in acknowledgement. “If she came from the arena,” The Spirit started, “someone there will know something. I can-” "Not so fast, Detective," Another voice called, this one deep and commanding. Bridge felt the air in the room chill as the group turned and stood at attention for S.P.D. Commander Brock Lesnar. As usual the Commander's entourage of twin Machamps were with him. Pokemon built like he was, minus the extra set of arms, they were intimidating and made the Commander look even more so. One of them, Gunter, stood to the right and wore a deep scar across it’s left eye, now pupiless and blind. The other Machamp constantly wore a black tank top with the phrase Suplex City, on front and back. Everyone just called him Suplex. The three stood in a row, blocking the entrance to the precinct. The Commander snatched the vials from The Spirit’s hand. “This is evidence. And I don’t remember asking you to tell me what you think it is.” Bridge, being the team’s Red Ranger, felt like he had a duty to speak up. “Sir, he was just-” “And you, Carson,” Commander Brock turned his attention to Bridge as he handed the vials to Gunter. “You let your whole team get thrashed by a perp and then you embarrass yourself by getting nowhere with I.D.ing her. It’s been two hours, Carson. What the hell have you been doing?” “Commander Le-”, Bridge started to explain, but Lesnar wasn’t finished. “Shut up. You’re the goddamn Red Ranger. Start acting like it.” The Commander was clearly in a worse mood than usual. "Now do your jobs and take the detainee to the holding cells. We’ll give her a few days so she can learn how to talk again." “Commander Lesnar," The Spirit said, "Holding that girl for that long seems unethical. If I may just ask a few questions--” “I gave an order," said the Commander. "I expect it to be followed. This isn't whatever backwards agencies you were from, this is the Verse City S.P.D." The Commander turned to leave with his entourage in tow but stopped short of the door. "I’ll remind you all that anyone caught without a record of Verse City identification is not a citizen of our city. She has no rights here. As far as I'm concerned she's a potential threat to the safety and security of our city. So we'll keep her here as long as we need to." And with that, Bridge was alone with his squad and Detective Spirit. None looked to happy about the Commander's decision or attitude. But it was their job to follow orders... "I guess that’s that," said Z defeated. Bridge felt like he should say something encouraging, something a leader would say. But silence remained as everyone dispersed. All that remained was to do the job. _______________ --Holding cell inside Verse City S.P.D. S.P.D took Vin downstairs for lockup. After passing security doors and winding corridors, she found herself at the jail cells. Six cells along a stone wall complete with metal bars. Metal. The irony wasn't lost on her. If she only had more of that in her system. Vin burned too much of her metal reserves during her fight with Bridge and his team. Honestly, if she'd just been more careful by walking the streets of the city instead of steel pushing, she wouldn't be in this situation right now. But she had to toss that thought aside. She needed to stay focused if she wanted to get out of this mess. With no vials left on her person, she took mental note of what she had stored in her body. No steel. No iron. She had still had tin, something she would need to enhance her senses for a chance to escape whenever an opportunity arose. Plenty of copper and bronze, though they wouldn’t be of much use in a world without other mistings. She had zinc and brass which might come in handy to distract or enrage the guards. But only enough pewter to last three or four seconds. That was it. She needed to find her vials that they took from her. Without a word, the spandex guards locked her in one of the cells. It wasn’t large by any means, but it was certainly better than she’d been treated back home in similar situations. One bed on either side of the cell for her and a cellmate. A green creature with raggy-looking clothes sat on his bed, his large black eyes were almost expressionless. He didn’t seem hostile though. The two guards that escorted her left, leaving three others in the room. These guards looked nothing like the spandex ones Vin had encountered so far. They were shorter and less human. They wore matching blue and grey uniforms and talked amongst one another, ignoring their captives. Besides herself and the green cellmate, there were three prisoners. A man and a woman shared a cell and wore large red “R”s on their uniforms. The other was a large man in a cell to himself. Dark shades over his eyes with a ridiculous haircut. And he was loud. “Come-on,” the man said. “Can’t you see I’m innocent?” "Quiet down, you pervert!”, one of the guards responded. “You've been singing that same tune this whole time. Nobody's buying it.” "Hey now have a heart,” the man continued his plea. “I’m not a bad guy, my momma said so.” “I don’t care what your momma thinks. The girl was sixteen, Mr. Bravo. Galactic Patrol and Verse City law states you are indeed the bad guy.” “She said she's single!" This back and forth continued well into the next day. Vin kept to herself and searched for opportunities to break free of this prison. She learned more about her cellmate, Greedo. He was a petty criminal and didn't speak in any language she understood. The big guy was Johnny Bravo and he didn't seem like a fighter. The other two, Jesse and James, told their story in rhyme and didn't seem like they would be any help either. Guess it was up to Vin. Vin's plan formed in her mind when Bridge walked into the jail. “Hey Vin. Feeling up for a chat?” Vin responded with silence. “I’m asking you to talk to me,” he tried again. “I’m sure this is a misunderstanding because I don’t think you’re a bad person.” Bridge was naive and easy to manipulate. She flared zinc. “You wouldn't understand the things I've done. You're too simple.” Vin said. "Simple?" Bridge looked hurt. The zinc was working on flaring his emotions. "I'm trying to be nice and your just making things harder." "You're a fool. You're the one who told me to talk to your Commander. So where is he?" For a second Vin wasn't sure if it was going to work. But then he pulled a guard to his side. "Let her out. She's right, the Commander will talk with her." The guard opened her cell and in one swift motion Vin grabbed the keys, elbowed the guard in the face and knocked Bridge down with her knee. She tossed the keys to Greedo. "Help the others!" He caught the keys and sprang into action. ________________ Vin will be rushing for the door to find her other vials and escape. The vials are being kept in the contraband lockup. Bridge will try to stop her and Greedo from freeing the others and escaping but will try not hurt them if he can help it.

Part 1 --In the locker room of the Grand Cross-Galactic Budokai Tenkaichi Arena The medical droid removed the last bit of shrapnel from Shrek’s back. "Watch it will ya? Ow!" It wasn’t deep, but damn if it didn’t hurt. "My apologies, sir,” the medical droid said. “This unit wishes no harm to you. My primary purpose is rehabilitation of contestants.” "Well, I'm not feeling rehabilitated and I’m not a contestant anymore, now am I?" Shrek tried to turn around to smack the little robot but the ache of his body and the bandages wrapped around his torso hindered him. "The GCGBTC extends--” “The what?” Shrek interrupted. “The GCGBTC, an acronym for Grand Cross-Galactic Budokai Tenkaichi Committee,” it explained. “They are the organizers for the tournament and were the ones that contacted you requesting your participation.” “Oh, well why didn’t you say so?” Shrek rolled his head, sarcasm dripping in his tone. “That makes perfect sense.” “I’m glad to hear that, sir. As I was saying, the GCGBTC extends medical care to all participants. It is our wish that you leave here with the best--" "Yeah yeah." Shrek stood as the droid finished patching him up. "Just give me my reward so I can be on my way.” Shrek couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here or why he’d decided to participate in this dumb tournament. But what he did remember was someone had told him he’d get a monetary reward for participating and a wish granted if he won. Either way, he would get something out of this whole ordeal. The droid didn’t hesitate, responding, "Right this way, sir." Shrek followed the mouthy robot through the locker room as he tightened the towel around his waist. He looked around as he walked, searching for any signs of the woman who beat him in the tournament. He’d have liked to give her a piece of his mind before leaving. If she were unarmed of course… Other competitors sat around tending to their wounds, some by themselves and others with aid from robots. A young girl was bandaging herself up in a corner alone. Apparently she had refused the complementary medical service. A man with considerably broad shoulders stood in his own corner with two tournament officials. He held a straight posture despite the evidence of pain he must have been in. His clothes were torn in places and he had a few burns on the bare skin that Shrek could see. He remembered this guy had gone up against a kid that could control monsters. He’d lost quickly in that match and he didn’t look happy about it. At least he was saying as much to the officials standing in front of him. “Creatures should not be allowed in battle. What honor is there having pets do your fighting? Tell me!” But that wasn’t any of Shrek’s business. He continued out the locker room, following the droid until he reached the arena clerk to be paid for his participation. *** Wrapping up her arm, Vin watched the green ogre leave the locker room following behind a short robot doctor. She recalled declining to speak with the weird thing when it offered to give her medical aid. Vin was more than capable of taking care of herself. That said, Vin’s bell was still rung. The dizziness she felt was gone, replaced by a headache just behind her eyelids. Her vision became spotted as she finished wrapping her last wound. Her fight with, what was his name? Spider-Man? He’d sounded like a joke, but the kid wasn’t messing around. She was still gauging his strength in the ring when he surprised her with some kind of electric shock. It dropped her guard and left her open. Spider-Man webbed her to the wall and that was it. She kept playing the fight over in her head, thinking about every mistake she’d made. Her stupid mistakes costed her and now she’d have to return home with nothing. She rested her head on the steel lockers, hoping the cool metal would soothe her head. What am I going to tell Elend? ‘Sorry, I didn’t win so our world is doomed?’ She still couldn’t recall how she’d gotten to the tournament, but she remembered agreeing to it. With what they were promising her, she couldn’t turn it down. Thinking about it made her head hurt worse. She focused on the pewter still in her system, burning just enough to weaken the drum in her head. Better to leave some in case she needed it. She considered burning more when the other contestant in the locker room started yelling again, “Clearly, you don’t make the decisions around here. I have no need for you!” Vin had ignored his outbursts earlier, but now he seemed like he was done arguing. The man gripped the organizers in each hand and threw them into the far wall, cracking stone. She could hear their bones snap. Vin, taking mental stock of her metals, observed the man now floating in the air. She heard the organizers call him M. Bison before he decided to smash their heads in. Bison’s pupiless eyes found hers, sending a chill down her back. “Ah, Venture was it? Tell me, did I scare you just now?” Vin couldn’t explain it, but she could feel his power. His purple aura surrounded him as it drew further out into the locker room. He landed on his feet again and approached her slowly. “No.” Vin burned her bronze to see if the power she felt from him was allomancy, but no result. Bison wasn’t an allomancer. He was something else. “You certainly seem the contrary. I will make you an offer. You have talent for someone so young,” Bison said, raising his hand to her. “Join me. I have plans to claim this arena for myself. You could stand by my side.” “You do realize they’re going to send security? I think they can handle you.” Bison’s grin turned into a frown. “But what about you? Can you really afford to deny me?” Vin braced herself, but just as Bison took another step, the locker room door opened. *** Shrek felt exposed as he loomed over the female clerk’s window. She was small, even for human standards, and staring intently at her computer. “Hello,” he said, “So, question. How do I get home? I don’t remember how I got here.” He had tried to ask the droid the same question before it scampered off, but he couldn’t get a word in edgewise with it droning on about regulations and the history of this place. The clerk giggled at his question, but didn’t look up from her computer screen. Shrek almost thought it was cute. But it made him miss his wife, Fiona, back home. And that’s where he wanted to be. “Look, I got places to be, lady.” “It's best not to ask too many questions, Mr. Shrek,” she said. “The GCGBT Arena likes to keep its secrets, ya know? We don’t even fully understand how it works.” “It’s just Shrek. Mr. Shrek was my father,” he corrected her. “And what do you mean it has secrets? It’s a building.” “I’m not at liberty to say, sir. I’m just told to respect the building and keep my badge on at all times.” Shrek read her badge. Julie Dressa. GCGBTA Clerk. Nothing unusual about that. But hadn’t he heard that name before? Had the droid told him? He looked up and down the hallway and realized he was having a hard time recognizing anything he saw. The hall was littered with items that he knew, but the names escaped him. The clerk cleared her throat. She was smiling up at him and holding out a slip of paper. “Here’s your check. It’ll auto-deposit into your world’s currency when you get home.” “Home… right. But how do I--” “Follow the blue arrows until you reach a transfer box.” She pointed left down a curved corridor. “Anyway, just step inside and you’ll be home. You won’t remember how you got there, so expect some significant confusion. Your body will be altered to its original state. I’d advise taking it easy for the next twenty-four hours.” Okay, now she was starting to sound like the droid. Shrek took the check but hesitated. “And… if I don’t? What will happen?” “Just take it easy, sir. The body can only endure so much trauma, ya know? The effects of the transfer box linger, so you’re going to be uncomfortable for a spell.” Shrek forced a smile back and followed the blue arrows, hoping he could walk off the chill down his spine. After a few minutes, he finally saw what the clerk had described, a booth with a curtain drawn on each side. The dead giveaway was the large print reading ‘Transfer Box’. Shrek drew back the curtain and squeezed inside. He really didn’t know what to do after that. Shrek had never been in a booth because he’d never found one big enough. This one fit surprisingly well, he realized. Inside the booth, the walls were covered with safety tips, most of which Shrek ignored. At the bottom of the long list were two buttons. A blue button that read ‘Home’. A red button that read ‘Verse City’. “Well, that really narrows it down,” Shrek said. He went to press the home button, but a loud sound thudded outside the booth. He peeked his head out and noticed he was next to the doors of the locker room he’d left earlier. Strange, he thought. He had walked quite a ways from where he started. Looking at the locker room, Shrek remembered he was only wearing a towel and bandages. His shirt had been riddled with bullet holes and blood, so he had tossed it. His pants and boots were fine, but he had forgotten them after taking the shower they recommended. The droid said it wasn’t because of his ‘odor’, but for the healing properties the water had. Yeah, right. It was best to go back for his things. He could grab them quickly and satisfy his curiosity about the sound at the same time. He was sure he could find his way back to the booth anyway. *** Vin braced herself, but just as Bison took another step, the locker room door opened. The green ogre entered gingerly despite his size, but froze when she and Bison noticed him. He met her eyes first, then saw the two figures crumbled on the floor. “Sorry, just came back for--” the ogre started to say, but was cut off as Bison’s purple aura flung him into the adjacent lockers. Vin rushed to help him, but her heavy feet wouldn’t move. This was the second time she’d been surprised today. Bison seemed pleased with himself, the edges of his mouth creasing into a grin. “What were you saying about security?” Vin threw her bag at her side, metal coins scattering the air between herself and Bison. She burned steel, hurtling coins towards him. ____________________________________

Part 3 --Outside the Grand Arena, Verse City. "And stay out!" The security officer shouted at Vin, Shrek the ogre and M.Bison as they were forcibly shoved past the open gate of the arena. Vin wasn't happy about being pushed out of anywhere. She wanted to knock the shit out of the guard, but the gate closed behind them. Damn. There went her ticket back home. If it hadn’t been for Bison attacking her in the locker room, she wouldn’t be in this predicament. Vin eyed him, but he walked away without even a glance. Apparently, he’d satisfied himself with his performance and wanted nothing to do with them. The arrogance of this guy made Vin feel sick. "Well…" Shrek said. "How 'bout lunch?" Vin chose to ignore him, reaching into her coin pouch and plucked out a metal coin. She dropped it to the ground and burned steel, flinging herself into the air. Once high enough, she burned iron and pulled the coin back to her hand. Vin hung in the air, feeling weightless as she observed the massive city before her. She noticed signs that read 'Verse City'. An interesting name. It was unlike anything Vin had seen. Lights made of color and a sky that was crystal blue. The buildings were tall, even towering into the sky in places. She reminded herself she was falling and burned more steel, finding more metal below her. She wasn’t sure if Shrek was watching her, but she felt bad for leaving him there. He didn’t even know her but helped her in the fight with Bison. Speaking of him… She saw him walking down a street not too far away so she pushed against one of the metal buildings, sending her in his direction. She kept herself in the air, finding it easy with the overabundance of metal around. She could see Bison walking alone, seeming uninterested in everything around. He walked for a few blocks, eventually pausing in front of a building and walking inside. Vin had to maneuver herself to a nearby rooftop to get a view of the place. She couldn’t tell what it was or why he chose this place to enter. Out of all the shops and buildings, this one by far was the most plain. Why am I following this guy? Looking for another fight? Focus Vin, you need to get back on track. The thought about why she came to Verse City, why she entered the tournament, came to mind. Money. If she'd won the tournament, she would have money she could bring back to her world. And in turn, back to her husband Elend. They said that the prize money could be turned into any currency from her world. Meaning she could have solved so many of their problems back home. But she’d lost… And now it was time to go home empty handed. Vin’s plan had failed, and she knew that she should regroup. But the rebel in her hated the idea. If she could fix her world, then she’d do everything in her power to do so. Elend might scold her, but shouldn’t she at least try to bring something back from this world? When would she have an opportunity like this again? Vin burned steel, sending herself back into the air. She glided with careful burns of steel and iron, using the tallest buildings as anchors. The entire city was metal, making travel easier now that she didn’t need to use her coins. She crossed rooftops, took in what the city offered in it’s grand size. Most of the places and people she couldn’t even describe. There were metal objects zipping down the streets at incredible speeds. Some of them were in the sky. Vehicles, perhaps? Burning tin to enhance her sight, she noticed the objects were like carriages, people inside controlling them. Latching onto one of those with some pewter or iron, she’d have a great way to get around. Though, she likely wouldn't find anything at that speed. One of the vehicles came her way, flashing blue and red lights. A wailing siren followed and the piercing sound caused Vin to stop burning tin. Her head throbbed and she almost forgot to push off the building she was hurdling toward. She course corrected and continued down her path, the wailing machine following close behind. A male’s voice could be heard over the siren. “This is Verse City S.P.D! You are in violation of air traffic laws. Please return to the ground!” “Violation?” Vin replied back, realizing that the wind wouldn’t carry her voice anyway. She burned more steel instead to keep distance. Her instincts told her to always be weary and on guard, in case there were trouble. Her struggle with M.Bison reminded her of that. She wasn’t about to be caught off guard again. “Return to the ground, immediately!” the voice shouted. She burned iron and pulled herself toward the flying vehicle, twisting so she could land on top of it. But her sudden move made the metal machine turn to avoid her. Vin continued her motion and pulled on a building instead, pushing off in a different direction. Vin passed two blocks and the vehicle followed in pursuit. Guess they didn’t get the hint that she wasn’t going to give up. She heard the voice over the siren, but instead of listening, Vin burned steel and the tiniest bit of duralumin. Her body rocked against the metal behind her and pushed her forward. The light from the buildings became streaks as she passed them at break-neck speed. In seconds, the sound of her pursuers faded. Feeling that she was at a safe distance, she stopped the burn and slowed. She had plenty of duralumin to spare but--- ZAP! Vin’s world went dark. Feeling only the seizing pain of electricity course through her body and the hard, cold ground beneath her. *** Her head pounded but Vin came too. She burned the pewter in her system and it dulled the pain quick and cleared her head. She got up from the ground and saw in front of her were hundreds of towers generating some sort of electric field. She must have hit it without realizing. Hard to maneuver when you burn duralumin. She needed to be more careful. Even with her senses dulled, she heard the footsteps behind her. Vin turned to see the vehicle hovering above her. Five masked individuals stood with weapons drawn. Each mask wore a different color, likely some rank between them. “Stay where you are, put your hands in the air and get on the ground. We are S.P.D. We just wanna ask you a few questions---” Vin burned steel and duralumin, throwing the color squad to the ground and skidded along the pavement. The push sent Vin backward, but she balanced herself quickly and poised for her next attack. They weren’t getting anything from her. ___________________________