The Shadow Chasers

Chapter 2

Mali-U Penthouse Dorm

In the living room, Clover finished sorting the sparse mail on the coffee table, and briefly left to toss the ads into the recycling bin. "Advanced Theater was so good today," she announced.

Alex refilled Oinky's water bowl under the tap in the kitchen, then set it down on a small mat near the sliding glass door to the patio. Light filled the room well, despite some cloud cover. "Cool!" the student replied, looked to Clover, and stood back up."I'm happy with how my psych test went."

"How about you, Sam?" Alex added.

"Oh, things are okay-" Sam started, when the sound of her X-Powder on vibrate interrupted her.

The redhead dug into her backpack sitting on a couch nearby, retrieved what appeared to be a metallic purple compact, and opened up the high tech gadget to accept the call. A holographic image of a slim, balding man in his sixties with a thin mustache in a black suit and tie appeared.

"Evening, ladies. I trust this is a good time to join me?" he inquired politely.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up, Jerry," Sam replied, as Clover and Alex moved to either side of her to look on. Sam ended the call, snapped the device shut, and braced herself. Incredibly, the hardwood floor under the three young women split apart via sliding trap doors.

"Whoaa!" they cried in unison, sliding down a miracle of technology; a World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP) Tunnel. The blue slide sent them sliding an impossibly long distance underground in mere moments from Malibu to-

World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP) HQ- Downtown Los Angeles

WOOHP HQ was a striking tower of glass that reached higher than any other building in the area.  It's distinctive W-shaped top was unique in architecture, and the sides were flanked by rounded semicircular towers connected to the main building.  A tall radio tower and helipad adorned the top of the structure.

Inside the director's office, the ceiling trap doors of the technologically stunning office parted, and the girls dropped down from the opening onto a comfortable Victorian couch with red cushioning. Jerry, the director of the organization for some decades now, was seated at his metallic desk, looking at the desktop monitor. The balding, mustached man in his sixties wore his usual black suit with his suit jacket open. 

"Nice of you to join me. How goes college life?" he inquired a British accent, looking up at his visitors.

"Pretty good, thanks," Sam replied, composing herself after the wild ride. "With the mission shortage, we've been focused on classes, and having a social life to boot." Clover and Alex gave a nod.

"Glad to hear it," Jerry replied. "I hand off most standard missions to other agents, but there's been an unusual theft in Japan that could use the investigative skills of you three," he said, folding his hands and resting his chin on them.

"I took a semester of Japanese just recently! Haven't been on a mission there in a while though," Alex announced, eyes narrowed in concern.

"A police station in Tatsumi Port Island reported a few unusual artifacts were stolen last night," Jerry informed them. He pressed a console button to cause images of the small man-made island, as well as the police station exterior and the three artifacts to appear on the wall-sized monitor behind him.

"Wow, somebody's got guts. How'd they pull that off?" Alex mused, slightly surprised.

"Excellent question. A thorough investigation, including examination of security cameras, has turned up nothing. The artifacts were left there by a CEO named Mitsuru Kirijo. She contacted us after learning of our cutting edge technology in such matters," Jerry said, pressing a keyboard button to bring up the portrait of a young Japanese woman with long, dark red hair that curled down into a unique style.

"I packed the M-Ray Contacts, Laser Lipstick, and other favorites in your Jet pack Backpacks," Jerry said. A button press caused a large drawer to pop out from the front of the desk, wherein laid three pink heart-shaped backpacks with daisy motifs.

"One new gadget inside, due to the need for extensive communication. The Earring Translators," Jerry said. "With them, you'll be able to understand Japanese perfectly. And your voices will be modulated to be understood in Japanese. Your X-Powders can change the language setting for them on future missions," he informed them.

"Wow, that's quite an invention. WOOHP could make quite a profit on the market with those babies," Clover said, visibly impressed. Jerry smiled wanly in return.

"Guess these artifacts must be pretty important if we're being called out," Sam considered as she, Alex, and Clover hefted their backpacks and put them on.

"Yes, unfortunately, Miss Kirijo has mentioned the fate of the world being at stake," Jerry mentioned with a slight frown, and rubbed his forehead. 

Sam leaned forward, Alex gestured expansively, and Clover stood at this announcement.

"Fate of the world!  Really, Jerry?" Alex blurted out.

"You could've mentioned that a little earlier!" Clover added with an irritated huff.

"I thought this was just a theft.  What's this 'fate of the world'?" Sam asked.

Jerry nodded in understanding and tugged at his tie.  "I understand your concerns.  You'll find your contact can explain it better than I," he said.  Alex and Sam stood at this, ready to go. Thankfully, you have 10 minutes to pack for the trip back home, since this may take more than a day. I'll have the jet swing by the usual spot. Sayonara!" Jerry called out, and pressed a button.

The ceiling parted above the girls, and a powerful vacuum pulled the three straight back up through the tube to a chorus of adrenaline-fueled yells as they flew back home.

A/N: Thank you for reading.  Hope you enjoyed.  Please vote and comment to show your support!