Bubble Gum Fury

Disclaimer: Now here's another fine mess I've gotten myself into!

In an age of scientific wonders, the human body is still the world's most
dangerous machine. TM

< >: Thoughts

Chapter 3

Terry and the Knight Sabers

"Are you all right Miss?" Terry asked as he knelt down toward Priss.

Biting back the pain she felt when her knee had scraped against the
pavement, Priscilla Asagiri looked up at the tall, and yes even she had to
admit, ruggedly handsome and well-built man who was helping her to her
feet. However, her usual tough girl attitude came to the fore as she tried
to shake off Terry's arm.

"Get your hands off me! I don't need your help... OW!" Priss winced as she
felt another stab of pain from her knee. She looked down and frowned as she
saw that her left pants leg of her jumpsuit was torn at the knee and a
large, ugly bruise was forming. There was also a thin trickle of blood
running down her shin from a large cut below the kneecap.

Terry shook his head gently as he supported her with an arm around her
shoulders and leaned her against him. "By the looks of things, you look
like you need a lot of help and..." Terry stopped when he caught the smell
of gasoline. Priss also smelled it and looked over her shoulder to where
her motorcycle had crashed. Her eyes widened as she saw that the gas tank
had cracked and was leaking fuel. Furthermore, the steel post of the
traffic light had been snapped clean off with the wiring exposed and
sparking.

"Oh crap, it's... whooooooaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

Before Priss had a chance to register what was going on, she found herself
being swept off her feet and carried away by a pair of muscular arms. A
second later she heard a large explosion as her bike blew up.

As soon as she heard the explosion, Priss had reflexively closed her eyes.
In that brief span of time, she suddenly felt as if she was in free-fall,
with the wind whipping against her. When she opened her eyes again, she
looked up at a smiling Terry Bogard and then down at herself, still being
carried in his arms. She became very embarrassed to finding herself in this
compromising position and said in an angry voice, "Put me down you jerk!
I... huh?" As she started struggling in his arms, she noticed something
strange. They weren't on the ground. Priss looked down and saw that they
were on the roof of two-story building, on the opposite side of the
intersection. The remains of her bike were scattered all over a fifty-foot
area. The sharp bits of metal, plastic and glass would have cut into her
like shrapnel from an exploding hand grenade, but they had somehow avoided
the blast and were now on the roof of a building. She could have sworn that
only a couple of seconds had passed. How did they end up more than thirty
feet above street level?

Some thirty minutes later...

"Where is she?" Nene asked as she and the other Knight Sabers continued for
their missing member to show up. 

Linna shrugged as she assumed that Priss was out joyriding again. Sylia
maintained her calm demeanor and assured them that Priss would show up
eventually. It was then that the telephone rang. Sylia went to answer it.

"Hello, this is Silky Doll Lingerie. May I help you? Yes, this is Sylia
Stingray. Yes, Priss is a friend of mine. What?!"

Nene and Linna's heads went up at Sylia's outburst. They were wondering
what was going on after Sylia said to the caller, "Yes, we'll be right
over."

"What is it Sylia?" Linna asked.

"Priss just had an accident. We have to get to the hospital!" Sylia said as
she picked up her purse and motioned for Nene and Linna to follow.

An hour later...

"Well, her knee is swelling up a bit from the fall, but other than that
cut, she doesn't have any major injuries. She will be fine in a few days.
I'd suggest that she keep off that leg for a week or so and let the
swelling go down."

"Thank you doctor." Sylia said as she and the other Knight Sabers sat in
the room where he had bandaged their friend's knee. After waiting for the
physician to leave, the three turned their attention to Priss.

Priss still acting the tough girl, shrugged and said, "Ah, this is nothing.
You guys didn't have to come here just for me."

"Hey, it's okay." Linna said with a shrug. "In any case, what happened to
you?"

Priss frowned as she replied, "It was just a stupid mistake. I hit a wet
spot in the street when I was putting on the brakes and skidded into the
pavement."

"You were probably going 50 km over the limit again." Nene said with a
smirk.

"Oh shut up!" The brunette was not in the mood for another one of Nene's
lectures.

Sylia decided to change the subject. "Priss, the doctor told us on the
phone that someone had brought you in after the accident. Where is he?"

Priss shrugged and said, "I don't know. I haven't seen him since I was
brought here. The way he brought me here was unbelievable though."

"What do you mean?" Sylia asked.

Priss started telling her friends about how she suddenly found herself on a
roof of a two-story building after her bike exploded, and then the stranger
proceeded to run across the rooftops at a fast clip with her in his arms.
It had taken him only ten minutes to get her into the emergency ward.

"Are you serious?!" Nene said after Priss had finished. "He jumped from
roof to roof? That's at least thirty feet between buildings!"

"I know." Priss agreed. "I didn't believe it myself and I was being carried
by him! He even jumped down from twenty feet and it looked like it was
nothing to him!"

"So, do you think he was a Boomer?" Linna asked.

Priss went silent at this, then slowly shook her head. "No, he... I know
what a Boomer is like. He didn't FEEL like a Boomer, you know what I mean?
He acted as if everything was normal, even though he was jumping higher and
faster than any ordinary person. I can't really explain why, but he acted
too... human to be a Boomer."

"Maybe he was a humanoid Boomer, like those BU-33Cs and Sexaroids. They
been know to have almost humanlike qualities." Sylia suggested.

Priss felt a stab of sadness as she remembered the two Boomers she had
known as friends, Sylvie and Anri. She quickly put aside those feelings.

A few minutes later, the four women headed toward the outpatient's desk to
pay the doctor's bill, but were pleasantly surprised to find out that it
had already been taken care of.

"What? It's been paid?" Priss said in confusion.

The nurse nodded as she said, "Yes. That man who brought you in paid for it
in cash."

"Is he still here?" Sylia asked.

"No, I'm afraid that he left after he heard that Miss Asagiri's friends
were here to pick her up. Oh you're very lucky to have such a good-looking
boyfriend. That hair, those eyes, that body..." The nurse sighed.

"He's NOT my boyfriend." Priss said coldly as she and the other Knight
Sabers departed.

As they were walking down the street, Linna was already pestering her about
the man who had saved her. She was always on the lookout for any date
prospects.

"Oh come on Priss, give us the details! What did this guy look like? What
was his name?"

"He wasn't really anyone special!" Priss shot back. "He was just some guy
who helped me out a little, that's all!"

"Oh come on now! A guy who can jump up buildings and run across rooftops?
The nurse said that he was a real hunk. At least tell us what his name
was." 

Priss stopped for a moment and paused to think about the name of her
rescuer. She then said in a slightly embarrassed tone. "You know, I never
thought to ask him about his name. All I can tell you is that he looked
American, was tall, blonde, had a red baseball cap on his head and wore a
red, sleeveless jacket."

Somewhere else in MegaTokyo, Terry Bogard laid back on his bed in the motel
that he was currently staying at. His jacket and cap were hanging over the
back of a chair beside his travel bag, and the Lone Wolf was deep in
thought over his current situation.

He was in a technologically advanced future world that was Earth, yet not
his Earth. He had no idea how he got here, and even less of how to get back
to his own world and time. His only clue was that strange robot that he
fought in Nevada. Could that have been a Boomer? It certainly looked like
the one he had fought in the tournament. Could that company Genom have a
connection to it?

Terry sighed loudly. There were just so many missing pieces to the puzzle
and he really didn't have any idea of what to do next.

At the moment, money was not a problem. He had won huge sums of yen in the
street-fighting tournaments, and that last fight with that Boomer had
provided him with enough cash to survive on for months. Even after giving
the Renolos family that amount to pay for their bills didn't make much of a
dent in his savings. The odds of him winning against that Boomer in the
tournament had made him well off, though it did take a bit of 'persuasion'
to make the hosts of the tournament pay him off. They had tried to welch on
the deal, but Terry soon showed them the error of not honoring a bargain.

As Terry continued to think about his situation, his mind began to drift
back to when he had saved that girl. He had to admit that she was quite
attractive. Her scarlet eyes were what caught his attention the most. They
seemed to display a kind of anger, sympathy, fear and a fiery spirit, all
at once. It reminded him of two other sets of eyes, belonging to his lost
loves Sulia and Lily. Terry had always looked to the eyes as he considered
them as windows to a person's soul. In Lily he saw fear, kindness, and
sadness from a life of hardship and servitude. She also had a pure heart
that never got to express itself, due to her life under Geese Howard's
control. He had vowed to free her from her bonds, but had failed miserably
when that bastard Geese murdered her. He never forgave himself for not
being able to save her.

In Sulia, he saw an innocent soul that he found so very pure that he had to
protect it. In Sulia, he also another chance at love as she seemed to
accept him and all of his flaws. However, that relationship was also doomed
as Sulia willingly gave her life to save him and defeat her twin brother
Laocorn. 

<What am I thinking? I just can't get close to any girl. Not again. Every
time some girl gets close to me, she... dies. I won't take another chance.
> Terry paused in his thoughts as he remembered back to those lonely months
after defeating the God of War. Then he recalled what his friend Joe
Higashi had said to him once.

Flashback...

Joe: Do you want to be called Terry 'the Lonely Wolf' Bogard for the rest
of your life or what?

End of Flashback...

Terry sighed heavily again as he decided to table those thoughts for later.
It was at that time that he decided to go out for dinner. He would start
looking for a way home first thing the next day.

At the AD police station, Nene was just getting off work as her friend
Linna was waiting for her at the front desk. The two decided to head toward
a nearby fast-food restaurant for dinner then catch a movie. At the same
time, coming from the opposite street, Terry Bogard was walking toward the
same restaurant.

Just as the two Knight Sabers exited the building, Linna stopped and
pointed toward Terry, who happened to be across the street.

"Hey Nene, look over there! Didn't Priss say that the man who saved her
wore a baseball cap and sleeveless jacket?"

"Hmmm, that could be him." Nene said as her eyes roamed over Terry's
well-muscled form. "He is cute."

"Cute nothing!" Linna disagreed. "We're talking prime beefsteak here! I
really like the shoulders! And that face! Oooh, I'm in love!"

Nene snorted. "You're always in love! I've seen you fall in love three
times a week!"

"I do not!" Linna said hotly as she turned to face Nene.

Before the argument could escalate any further, an explosion was heard
nearby which caused both to turn their heads in the direction of the noise.
They also heard the familiar wail of police sirens. It was at that time
their signaling devices went off, alerting them that Boomer trouble was
brewing. However, before they could duck out of sight, a huge shape came
crashing down in front of the restaurant.

The Boomer was one of the latest models of combat variants; a 75-D
Devastator with twin gatling guns mounted on its shoulders and a gun pod in
its chest. The gun pod consisted of a high-velocity autocannon, two lasers,
a flame-thrower, and a grenade launcher. In addition, naturally, like all
combat-type models in MegaTokyo, this one was going completely berserk.
Moreover, things weren't made any better when two BU-55Cs and one Doberman
Boomer joined it.

"Oh hell!" Linna gasped as she saw that the odds didn't look good and them
without their Hardsuits.

On the other side of the street, Terry was just as surprised to see four
Boomers come out of nowhere and start attacking without reason or warning.
Across the road, he saw two women duck for cover as the Boomers began to
open fire. Forgetting his hunger for the moment, he began rushing toward
the machines to attack. That was when something fired from above, catching
one of the BU-55C Boomers in the back. He stopped, turned around and saw
two more objects drop down from the sky. 

Priss was in her Hardsuit with her Motoslave attached to it. As she dove
down with thrusters blazing, her Motoslave opened up with its autocannons.
Behind her, Sylia was also in her Hardsuit, with her flight pack engaged.
She began adding to Priss' barrage with her own lasers. One Bu-55C was
struck hard and began to fall under the withering fire as pieces of it were
being blown off. However, before it could be completely destroyed, the
other Boomers turned and began to return fire. Priss and Sylia had to take
evasive action to avoid being hit.

Down on the ground, Linna and Nene rushed over to an alley. There, Mackie
pulled up in the transport truck with their Hardsuits. The two wasted no
time in getting into the truck and began undressing. Mackie leaned over to
get a peek at the girls, but Nene threw her shirt into his face, blocking
his view. This was to the teen's dismay, as he wanted to see both girls in
all their naked glory. Since the Hardsuits were connected to the Inner
Softsuits that the Knight Sabers wore to control their movements, the
members of the team had to strip down to their bare skin, since
undergarments interfered with the cybernetic links. 

Once they had their Softsuits on, the Hardsuits followed and the two exited
the truck to join their comrades.

Meanwhile, at the scene of battle, Priss and Sylia deftly dodged the
counterattacking Boomers. That was until Priss laded hard on a roof to
avoid a blast from the 75-D's gun pod. She landed on her injured leg and
winced as pain flared from her knee. Though her mecha cushioned the impact,
her injury still slowed her reaction time. She was just a second too slow
to avoid the next volley from the Doberman and the BU-55Cs. The shots
struck the area blow her, causing that portion of the building to collapse
under her. Priss went tumbling down to the pavement and hit the sidewalk
hard. Falling debris showered her, including large chunks of masonry and
metal. A support beam slammed into her and Priss soon found herself pinned
beneath it. What made things worse were that the Boomers were now aiming at
her again. 

It was at that time that a green Hardsuit flashed onto the scene and
slammed into the Doberman. Priss was relieved to see Linna engaging the
Doberman and distracting the other machines. She worked to free herself
from the rubble. Unfortunately, she found that she had no leverage, and
couldn't fire her thrusters, which were damaged in the fall.

Sylia fired away with her lasers at the Devastator, but its thicker armor
plating made it resistant to high impacts and heat. It retaliated with its
gatling guns and other weapons, in which Sylia just barely managed to
evade. However, as she engaged her thrusters to try maneuvering to a better
firing position, one of the BU-55Cs leapt up and slammed into her, knocking
her down to the pavement.

On the other side of the battle, Nene came out in her Hardsuit and ran over
to where Priss was still pinned down. She bent down to try and free Priss
from the rubble, but since the Motoslave was wedged tight underneath the
debris, Nene realized that she would have to extricate Priss from the
exo-armor. However, just as she was about to open the manual locks, she
heard a loud crash behind her. 

"Look out!" Priss shouted.

Nene turned around and saw in horror as Linna was knocked away by the other
BU-55C from behind. As it was no longer engaging her, the Doberman turned
on its original target and aimed its weapons to fire. Nene knew that this
was the end. She tried using her own laser against it, but her weapon was
about as effective as a peashooter. She kept on firing continuously, but
the blasts were having little effect. 

"POWER WAVE!"

The streets trembled beneath them as both Knight Sabers heard the shout.
They saw huge blast of energy suddenly strike the Doberman from the left
side, blowing off huge chunks of it. The ground curdled and split as the
attack traveled across the street. The Boomer was sent reeling as the
attack swept it off like tidal wave and slammed it into a nearby building.
There was a huge explosion when the blast collided with the structure,
causing the two-story building to collapse in on itself. Fortunately, no
one was in the building as it had been condemned last year. The damaged
Boomer was crushed under tons of rubble.

"What the hell?!" Priss exclaimed.

Nene looked back in the direction of where that blast had come from, and
her eyes widened as she saw the same man she and Linna had seen before,
running toward them. She then looked down at her gauntlet and was shocked
to see that her laser had been damaged from a piece of flying debris caused
by the exploding Boomer.

Priss also stared in shock as she recognized Terry as the same man who had
carried her to the hospital. <No way! He did that?!>

Terry wasted no time as he ran toward the battle scene. After watching the
strange, armored people suddenly appear and began fighting the Boomers, the
bare-knuckle street fighter assumed that they must be the Knight Sabers
that everyone had been talking about. He was about to leave the Boomers to
them when he saw the Doberman about to fire on two of them. He also saw
that the other two were having some problems with the remaining machines
and he could not stand by and let them be killed. After sending a Power
Wave to deal with the Doberman, Terry went to help the one in the green
Hardsuit. Sparing a quick glance to where the dark blue one was, he saw
that the one in the magenta armor was helping her get out. With that in
mind, Terry leapt into battle.

Linna groaned, as she was slammed hard into the pavement. The BU-55C had
caught her off guard when she was busy fighting the Doberman. Now the
murderous mecha was about to aim the heat blasters mounted in its chest at
her. The martial artist of the Knight Sabers was dazed from the attack and
her Hardsuit's displays were showing major damage readouts. Linna was just
about to raise her gauntlet and use the laser cannon, when the Boomer was
suddenly hit hard from behind. The machine pitched forward, but managed to
maintain its balance as it turned to face its unexpected attacker.

Terry recognized the Boomer as similar to the one that he had fought in the
street-fighting tournament. Before the robotic creation could react, Terry
launched a hard straight kick to its chest, causing the heat blasters to
buckle inward. He followed through with several blows to its midsection,
then a sweep kick while it was off balance. 

Linna could not believe her eyes as she saw Terry's fists actually leaving
deep dents in the Boomer's metal surface. Her Head's Up Displays were
giving her readouts on the force in which her rescuer was hitting with.

<What the...? Twenty-two hundred and sixty pounds per square inch? That's
not humanly possible! > Like Sylia, she began to think that Terry was some
kind of Boomer.

The BU-55C went down hard on its back after Terry knocked its legs out from
under it. It struggled to get up, but as it was just got back to its feet,
its opponent launched himself into a vertical, reverse spin kick.

"CRACK SHOT!"

Linna gasped as she saw the Boomer's head blasted and went bouncing off
like a soccer ball before exploding. She had just witnessed someone
duplicate Priss' thruster-assisted Leg Bomber kick without a Hardsuit. Who
or what was this guy?

Terry wasted no time in finishing off his foe. Quickly delivering several
more blows to the Boomer's midsection, Terry slammed into it with a
shoulder charge and sent it reeling backward. No longer able to take any
more abuse, the Boomer went crashing back down and went still.

Terry looked down at Linna, then ran off to help Sylia, leaving her to
wonder in shock. She watched in awe at the man that she had been ogling a
short while ago, take on the last two Boomers. She was not the only one
though as Priss and Nene also looked on. At the moment, Priss was leaning
against her comrade after finally being freed from the Motoslave.

Sylia was shaking her head to clear it after hitting the pavement. She just
barely saw the BU-55C and the 75-D take aim and rolled to her side to avoid
the first volley of shots. Unfortunately, her Hardsuit had taken
considerable damage. It was slow to respond. One shot nicked the thrusters
on her back, damaging the flight capabilities of the suit. She also saw
through her Heads Up display that her power was running low. The damage
assessment readout showed that her battery pack had also taken a hit. When
another blast struck into her chest, she felt her suit begin to lock up.
She rolled to a stop and found herself weighted down by her own Hardsuit.
Her display monitors winked out as their power was depleted. She had to
raise her visor to see and felt her blood run cold at the sight. The BU-55C
and the 75-D were preparing to release a final and lethal barrage.

"Sylia!" Linna shouted out as she began running toward her, though she knew
that she would not make it time. Her Hardsuit had suffered considerable
damage and was slow to responding.

"POWER WAVE!"

Sylia turned her attention on the shout and saw a man in a sleeveless
jacket and a red baseball cap suddenly striking the ground in front of him.
To her amazement, a huge blast of blue-white energy suddenly appeared and
moved toward the Boomers like a tidal wave. The ground shook as the blast
tore a wide trench into the asphalt. 

The BU-55C took the full force of the attack and blew up. The Devastator
managed to evade it, though the very heat of the blast caused several areas
of its alloyed surface to become charred. It then focused its full
attention on the newcomer, disregarding Sylia.

Terry nodded as his plan to get the machine's attention worked. He knew
that he only had a second or two before it would start firing on him, and
he had to take it out fast. Since this Boomer was larger and far more
heavily armored, he needed something special. He nodded as he sent another
Power Wave to buy him some time. As soon as he struck the ground, he leapt
back, took a wide-legged stance with his arms held out, fists clenched and
focused his inner energies.

"What's he doing?" Priss asked as she saw him glow with a blue light.

"What's that?" Nene wondered.

"Huh?" Linna gasped.

Sylia was speechless.

As the Devastator moved to dodge the Power Wave, the ground beneath Terry's
feet began to glow. In less than a heartbeat, the Lone Wolf became
surrounded by a cyclone of wind as he prepared to launch his attack.

"HAKKYOKU SAIKEN! FINAL ATTACK! SEN PU KEN!"

Terry sent himself into a brutal spin, causing the tornado to increase in
size and wind velocity. The huge column of wind streaked forward and
slammed into the Devastator. The Knight Sabers had to duck for cover as the
winds picked up and tossed about anything that wasn't nailed down. 

Inside the tornado, the Boomer was subjected to hundreds of high-impact
punches. Its body jerked around as it received enough damage to ensure its
destruction. Then, amazingly, the massive machine was sent flying upward to
a height of around 300 feet before it self-destructed in a huge explosion.
Its fiery remains showered the ground over an area radius of half a mile.
Fortunately, no one was hurt and the pieces fell on more buildings that
were scheduled for demolition.

When the winds died down, Terry fell on his knees. Though he had gotten a
lot stronger since his battle with the God of War, the Hurricane Punch
still took a lot out of him. He was breathing heavily and needed time to
rest. However, as he heard the approaching sirens of the police, he decided
that now was a good time to leave.

However, he looked over to where the Knight Sabers were, he saw that they
were in no shape to leave under their own power. With the exception of the
one in the red-trimmed armor, the others were struggling to get to their
feet. It was then that a large truck came speeding to the scene. The
vehicle stopped between Terry and the Knight Sabers and he glimpsed the
face of the driver, who appeared to be a young boy of about seventeen or
so. The rear of the truck opened up and the armored vigilantes began to
enter it. That was when disaster had struck.

The truck had stopped in front of the only Boomer that wasn't totally
demolished. The BU-55C that Terry had decapitated began to stir to life
again. It started to raise an arm and a small concussion blaster popped out
from a hidden housing, aimed directly at the boy's head.

"Look out!" Terry shouted as he began running toward the truck.

Mackie heard Terry's warning and was just starting to see the weapon when
it opened fire. By sheer luck, Mackie managed to lean to the side to avoid
the full force of the blast. However, he still caught a glancing shot on
his right temple as the window exploded and sent glass flying every where.
Sylia's brother keeled over to one side in the driver's seat and slumped
down unconscious. His head began to release a trickle of crimson.

"Mackie!" Sylia screamed as she saw her brother take a hit. Before she or
the others could do anything else, Terry reared back and sent a fist into
the chest of the Boomer, slamming back down and causing it to short out. He
wasted no time in opening up the driver's side of the truck and checking
the injured Mackie. He nodded as he saw that the boy only suffered a minor
concussion and that the wound was only superficial. 

"We have to get him to a hospital!" Terry addressed to the Knight Sabers in
the rear of the truck.

Sylia and the others found themselves in a crisis situation. The AD police
would arrive any minute and Mackie was in no shape to get them out of the
area. This stranger, Boomer, or whatever he was, had just saved them all.
She couldn't just have him drive them to the nearest medical facility
without revealing their identities, but Mackie needed help. The others,
with the exception of Nene, were also in bad condition.

As the sirens of the ADP got loud enough that Terry decided to take the
decision out of her hands. He jumped out of the truck took a stance, just
as the first ADP cars began to round the corner. He focused his ki and
struck the ground.

"POWER WAVE!"

The huge blast of ki energy erupted from the ground and caused the pavement
to curdle and split as it dug a wide trench. Terry aimed the blast to stop
in front of the police cars, causing them to swerve away from them. Terry
also didn't want to get involved with the local authorities, especially
with no identification. As the Power Wave kept the ADP distracted, Terry
gently set Mackie into the passenger side of the truck, then got into the
driver's seat. Though the truck did have some advanced controls that were
unfamiliar to him, the Lone Wolf saw that the basic layout of the truck's
console was similar to trucks of the 20th century. Putting the gearshift
into drive, Terry gunned the engine and soon the truck was out of sight as
the Power Wave faded away.

Inspector Leon McNichol got out of his car after the strange blast faded
away and gaped at the destruction that was left. Four military Boomers,
including a space combat model and a heavy-duty ground assault type were
nothing more than smoking piles of twisted metal. The area looked like it
had been the victim of an earthquake. He looked off into the distance at
where the truck vanished over the horizon and shook his head. There was no
doubt in his mind as to who the people inside were. After all, he knew the
identity of one of them. 

"Priss." Leon sighed. Even though he wanted to get close to the beautiful,
yet tough girl, he knew that she wanted nothing to do with him. He still
hoped to crack that strong-willed faade she had around her, and there were
times that he thought he might be getting somewhere. However, in the last
few weeks or so, Priss remained as aloof as ever and Leon became even more
depressed about it. 

After discovering Priss' double-identity as a Knight Saber, he had thought
he could get close to her by showing that actually approved of her actions
against Genom. He also thought that their common hatred of Boomers would
also help bridge the gap between them. However, Priss still kept him at a
distance, despite these facts.

Leon shook his head as he began ordering his units to begin investigating
the area and called forensics.

In another part of the city, the truck had come to a stop and Terry was in
the back tending to Mackie's injuries. The Knight Sabers looked on
nervously as the street fighter applied a bandage to Mackie's head and
nodded as the boy slowly began to regain consciousness.

"Looks like he's got a minor concussion and the cut only looked worse than
it was. He'll be all right, but I'd still prefer if you would get him some
medical treatment." Terry looked back to the Knight Sabers and said, "It
looks like you could also use some help." As he got up, the four armored
women took a tentative step back.

"We can handle it ourselves." Sylia said confidently, though her suit was
the most damaged of the four. Even if they were fully operational, after
seeing Terry demolish four Boomers single-handedly, she was unsure of
whether or not they could take him on. She indicated to Mackie. "We can
take of him. There's no need for your presence any longer. We thank you for
your... help."

Terry paused as he gazed on the Knight Sabers. It was obvious that they
were on edge toward him and he couldn't really blame them. After all, he
had just displayed the most powerful technique of the Hakkyoku Saiken and
that tended to unnerve people. It was also plain that they wished to keep
their identities a secret. They refused to remove their armor in his
presence, even though it would be wiser to get out of those damaged suits
as soon as possible. 

Nodding his head to them, he got out of the truck and said, "All right. If
you think that you can take of yourselves, then I guess I better be going
then. See you."

Just as Terry turned to leave, Priss called out to him. "Wait!"

Terry turned around. "Yes?"
"Who are you?"

Terry gave the blue-colored Knight Saber a smile and said, "Terry Bogard."
With those words, he leapt up to a nearby roof and was gone from sight. 

A few days later...

"I'm telling you that the scanners said that he was human!" Nene said as
she sipped a cup of coffee. The AD policewoman was with Linna and Priss in
a bar, discussing the events of their last battle with the Boomers.

"No way!" Linna said in disbelief." You're telling me that he wasn't a
Boomer? How could he throw those energy blasts and create that tornado.
He's got to be a Boomer!"

"Think what you like, but the scanners in the truck were all working fine
and they read him as 100% human."

"No way!" Linna couldn't believe that someone so powerful could be human.

"I don't understand it any more than you do, but we still have to keep an
eye out for him." Priss interrupted. "Sylia wants us to put him under
surveillance and find out all we can about him."

"Good luck!" Nene said. "I looked up his name and he doesn't appear on any
of the police files or any other network I've accessed. There's absolutely
no record of a Terry Bogard that ever existed. No birth certificates, no
address, nothing at all. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack!"

"Well, we have to find him." Linna interjected. "He saw Mackie with us. He
could identify him and make the connection between him and the Knight
Sabers. Our secret identities are in jeopardy!" She then gave a bit of a
whimsical smile. "Though you have to admit, he was really cute."

"Linna!" Priss couldn't believe that she was being so flippant at a time
like this.

Nene decided to join in the teasing, though she too thought Terry was a
very good-looking man. "Come on Priss, lighten up. Linna was only kidding,
right? Besides, Sylia said that we need to keep him under watch and it
doesn't hurt to keep an eye on that hunk." 

"Well don't expect him to just walk into our hands!" Priss said.

It was at that moment that a tall man with long blonde hair and wearing a
baseball cap came through the front door of the bar, intent of getting a
beer.

To be continued...

Author's Notes

Well, that takes care of chapter 3. For those of you who are wondering, yes
I do intend to have Terry hook up with one of the Knight Sabers. Which one?
Well, you'll have to wait and see. As for Genom, this little event will get
their attention as well as few more surprises are in store for Terry.


