The cyborg was huge, built like a juggernaut, and carrying a weapon the size of a rocket launcher. All to hunt down a skinny hooker, weighing a hundred pounds on a good day.
It was pretty funny really, when you thought about it. She almost smiled...
(Author's Note -Written for Round 3 of Sci-fi Smackdown 7. Subgenre - Alternate Reality.
Story must be set in a Tube Station and include two quotes and reference two characters:
Spike (Buffy) quote - "Don't be ridiculous. I'd bite you in a heartbeat."
Chiana (Farscape) quote - "Oh, you've got something in there, but it's not a brain.")
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Jim Martin took his tablet out of his bag and turned it on. Hopefully he'd be able to get a signal down here. He was squashed into the corner by a young woman carrying a large shopping bag and looking like a refugee from a sci-fi convention, but at least he had got a seat. The train was rattling along from Kings Cross towards Baker Street, deep underground, on its way to Uxbridge, the nearest tube station for the Pinewood Studios.
Pinewood Studios. And his first audition for the small screen. His lips moved silently as he re-read the script. "Don't be ridiculous. I'd bite you in a heartbeat." He was surprised how nervous he felt. One would have thought years of performing live before theatre crowds would have toughened him up, but he was as nervous as if this was his first time. God, he really needed this job. He tuned out everything except the screen in front of him.
Gigi Emsley, took her compact out and checked her makeup. Pale grey skin, blue-grey eye shadow, grey lipstick. She smiled appreciatively. It had taken hours to apply but it was worth it. She looked down at the neck of her leather corset, and beyond to the dark grey leggings. The corset was alright as far as it went, and the knee guards she had borrowed from her skater sister were cool, but she still felt a flash of disappointment that she hadn't been able to find leather leg guards to complete the outfit.
She flicked a sideways glance at the man sitting next to her. He had bleached hair cut close against his head, and a strong face, with a square jaw and high cheekbones. He was wearing a black leather jacket over a black tee shirt and jeans. He looked pretty hot considering he must be over thirty, but he didn't look as if he was going to Comic Con. His blue eyes were focussed entirely on his tablet.
She leaned over a fraction and the word 'vampire' leapt out at her. Maybe he was going to the Comic Con after all.
She leant back in her seat and looked out the window, or rather at her reflection in the window. The slightly shadowed effect made her costume look real, hiding the imperfections. For a moment it seemed as if she was looking right at her favourite Farscape character, travelling along beside her, on another train. She smiled faintly at the whimsical idea.
The train slowed and pulled into the Baker Street Station. "Mind the gap," warned a soulless metallic voice. The doors slid open and passengers got in and out. The doors closed. But nothing happened, the train stayed right where it was, rumbling softly.
With only a second's warning, there was an excruciating, screaming sound of crashing metal, a hard jolt in the back and then everything went black.
~~~
Chiana cocked her head to one side, studying the other passengers, searching for a possible threat. Everything seemed safe enough but ... in her experience, one could never be too careful. A threat could materialise from the most unexpected quarter. Although she was supposed to be having a holiday, she was always on at least semi-alert.
Concentration also helped her to ignore the queasy rolling of her stomach. She smiled wryly to herself, one would have thought a being who had ridden in more space ships than she could remember could cope with this primitive tourist contraption. She didn't know why she had let John talk her into it. But he had been so excited to visit his home planet after all those years of exile, that he had wanted to show it off. For some reason, he had fond memories of this thing called a 'tube'. Apparently they had been the prime means of transport long ago and this one had been kept as a museum piece to entertain the tourists.
"It will be like nothing you've ever done before, Chiana. Think of it as educational."
"Educational?" she had raised a mocking eyebrow.
"Oh I'm more than just a pretty face, you know!" he had smirked.
"Oh, you've got something in there, but it's not a brain." Chiana had said with a smile and rapped him on the top of the head.
"Very funny," he had grumbled. "Now do you want to go for a ride or not?"
Reluctantly she had agreed, and then got even more annoyed when she found the train was already crowded and they couldn't sit together. She could just see the back of John's head, a few seats in front.
Unconsciously, she inched away from the man seated next to her. She never liked being too close to a stranger, no matter how good looking. And he was good-looking, though his black leather jacket and tee shirt were too plain for her taste. She glanced down at his hands, busy with a small holodisc; admiring the white skin, as the image danced between them. Her own grey tones were rather distinctive on this planet, but other than that, her features were close enough to the norm to be unremarkable.
She looked out of the window but could see nothing but her own reflection, staring back. They were slowing down, pulling into a station, called for some odd reason after a fictional character, when something about the reflection caught her eye. For a second it seemed that she was looking at a stranger, someone who looked like her, but wasn't. She stared at the reflection instead of looking out at the station on the other side.
It was that which saved her life. She saw the man's reflection turn away, towards her, and jerked her neck out of range. In a second, she was perched on the back of the seat, his head between her hands, as she broke his neck. Damn Vamps. She had forgotten how much she hated that race.
