Striker Report Chapter 22

                                         Striker Report
                          Chapter Twenty-Two: Triple Variety

A few days had passed since Rouge had joined the Time Bounter Hunters. She found it just as confusing starting off as Krystal did. Being a hunter of gems, the bat didn't find it exactly easy to simply give up her attraction to shiny objects. But within those few days she also learned to attain patience, finding out that the Spectators seemed to always keep a watchful eye on their squad the most. Rouge didn't pay them any mind however, being a challenging and mischievous kind of girl, she began to think of ways to still try and get what she wanted. She had also bought a house in the neighboring Grove City, being given the money to do so by Tikal. She really didn't think that someone really as nice as her existed. But she also believed that Tikal was easily naive with such a nice attitude.

The Protector unit was still not complete, and were not eligible to go onto difficult or complex missions without a fourth member in their squad. But after finding her third member only days ago, Tikal didn't see any reason at all to rush and find her fourth member, she thought best to get Rouge used to a mission anyway before having to be stuck with two new members. Upon searching through the task list, Tikal found a mission she thought was suitable to Rouge's tastes, and a bit of a relief from the hard missions that she guessed they were going to be encountering soon.

In the head squad room...
      A cerulean vixen was humming to herself as her green eyes scanned through the instruction pamphlet of the new weapon she was handed. 'I don't see how this is going to be as good as my staff...' she thought herself and then twisted the weapon gracefully that was in her hand. Putting the book down onto one of the tables in the room, she began to swing the new staff around with ease at the air and at nothing in particular. As she was getting the feel of the new weapon, she heard a mature voice began to laugh softly. Before the vixen could look entirely towards the direction, the voice began to speak. "Honey why don't you relax, we're not going to be fighting any time soon, I don't see why you're training now Krystal." it remarked. Krystal glanced her eyes onto the bat that was sitting in one of the chairs. "Well Rouge, you may never know when duty calls. And that also reminds me, haven't they issued you a weapon yet?" she asked curiously. The bat crossed her legs and then shrugged, "I haven't gotten any word about any weapon. Though I'm not sure I would accept it anyway, I like using my fists and feet you know." she answered.

      Krystal was about to respond, when the door to the room opened, revealing an orange echidna. She had a heavy stack of papers in her arms and she seemed to slightly struggle with the heavy weight in her hands. "Papers are only light when it's a few sheets." she huffed as she almost waddled towards the closest table. Her team looked at her with a cocked eyebrow as Tikal finally set the load of papers onto a table. She let out a huge sigh of relief as she turned towards her team. "Ok you two, I got us a mission." she exclaimed in an excited tone. "And I suppose that's a good thing... right?" Rouge asked. The orange echidna halfway glided towards the bat with her arms outstretched, "Oh but it is a good thing, it's a perfect time to test your skills in battle and in some other stuff I can't recall right now." she explained quickly while stopping in her tracks. She looked up towarfds the ceiling in deep thought as she thought about the new mission she was going to tell them about.

      "Now let's see... the time is forty-two eighty three, when a rogue started to make his own group to go against the Time Bounty Hunters. Since he does know about us, it's best if we take caution with this guy, but during that time period he doesn't have too many followers, last time I read up on him anyway." Tikal explained. "Wait... ok I don't get it, why not just go back a few years before hand or something and just take him in, why must we be stuck with the dangerous part of his life? That doesn't make sense." Rouge remarked after crossing her arms. "Well I wondered that too when I first got here, but I'll try to explain it the best way I can. You see, since all of us hunters go back through time and make a difference, we don't know if other things that were supposed to happen get affected by this difference or not. It would be wrong for us to take in somebody who hasn't done the crime... yet, so to speak. We have to get enough evidence that it's about to happen, some times their lives do change through our previous acts of going through time, maybe making them think that instead of us being bad people, they might want to join us. It's... complicated." Tikal finished while sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "You're telling me... ok, I'll just go along with it, let's get this mission over with then." the mature female stated before standing up quickly from her chair. Tikal handed them both a MADIC and then put one into her own wristband. The other two followed suit and then heard a beep as confirmation that the wristband read the chip properly. A strand of data popped up on the clear glass face of the wristband, showing the three hunters the objectives of her mission

      "Can you guys enter the portal without me? I'm going to get my regular staff." Krystal exclaimed and then sprinted towards the door. Tikal and Rouge watched as she left the room and then looked down at their wristbands, "Ok, here we go..." the echidna whispered and pressed a few buttons on her wristband. Suddenly a gaping vortex opened up in front of them and the two looked at each other in a brief and quick silence. They then turned towards the portal and then entered into it, getting instantly sucked into the infinite space around them. Being only her second time looking at the portal, she looked around in amazement. "Even Dr. Eggman hasn't made anything mesmerizing like this..." Rouge gasped. Tikal raised an eyebrow at the name, "Well let's hope whoever that person is never does." she replied and then looked straight forward again. After a few minutes the orange echidna stepped down onto a blank space that Rouge couldn't see. Not asking any questions, she quickly did the same and then almost felt the complete weird feeling of touching a ground she didn't see. She watched as the vortex began to show signs of sucking itself away from the two hunters and then completely disappear out of their sight.

      Tikal looked down at her wristband again only to press a few buttons. "Ok, we're in the right time zone. I think it's best if we wait for Krystal to show up." she advised as she looked at her surroundings. She noticed that they were both beside a huge corporate building. They were in a spot where regular traffic did not pass by and would make them safe from viewing eyes. It seemed like a law firm at first glance from the moderate hunter. 'Why would our target be in here?' Tikal thought  Suddenly another portal opened up next to them and a royal blue vixen dashed out of it's mouth. "Sorry, I think somebody tried to hide my staff from me, there's no way I put it on a high shelf where I found it." Krystal remarked quickly and felt the vortex behind her beginning to disappear. The three hunters looked at the building in front of them and then at each other. "So... ready to get this party started?" Krystal asked in an enthusiastic tone. "One thing, check your wristbands to see what the objectives are... I don't want this to turn out just like at the tournament." she advised quickly. The two hunters only nodded in response and looked down at their wristbands. They pressed several buttons and then watched as the glass face began to display a stream of data. "Hmmm... Terrence Blake is our target now..." the orange echidna began and then a hologram image popped up on each of their wristbands. It revealed the head of a white tiger with yellow eyes, a rare breed to say the least.

      The images faded and then the three looked over at each other. "We know who we're looking for, so what do we do now? Just stake out till he shows up?" Krystal asked. Rouge shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know about you two, but I can't sit around doing nothing. That's just not how I like doing things." she remarked. Tikal rested both her arms behidn her head as she casually walked towards the entrance of the building, "You're problem is that you have no patience Rouge." she commented in a bored tone. "I do have patience thank you!" Rouge snapped quickly. "Wait, are you just going to walk in there? Remember you said yourself that he knows a bit about the TBH, what if he notices who we are by some kind of device?" Krystal asked. This caused the orange echidna to quickly twist the upper part of her body to look at the vixen. "Well... I just don't plan on walking right in there alone. He shouldn't be able to recognize all three of us." she remarked. "Fine... but if we get shot at I'm going to take your payment. Plus I think you're wrong, whoever are target is will certainly recognize us. I mean look at these outfits..." she began and tugged at the one piece purple suit she was wearing. "You're telling me he's not going to know from these ridiculous things who we are?" Rouge asked in an irritated tone. The orange echidna only huffed, "I have a solution for that." she replied quickly and started to press a few buttons on her wristband. "Tikal are you sure you're thinking right? This sounds like the other Tikal to me." Krystal giggled. Tikal quickly flailed her arms up in the air as she turned around to face the vixen. "I'm not being controlled alright? I know what I'm doing." she barked at her. Krystal smiled nervously as she put up her hands in defense, "Alright alright, sorry I mentioned it." she replied. Rouge only scratched her head in confusion as the two hunters turned towards her. "Long story." they both said in unison.

      "Fine... well let's get this over with so we can try and get back to the base, I'm really in the mood for some chocolate and I saw one of the hunters baking a cake in the rec room." Rouge blurted out. "Wait, press these buttons in this sequence and you'll be able to camoflauge your outfit while wearing the standard hunter suit." Tikal insisted and began to show them both which buttons to press. They all pressed the last button at the same time and then they began to glow, showing off light from their hiding places. It began to quickly fade and the three looked at each other curiously. They were all wearing a variety of business suits, with Rouge being the only one with a pair of pants with it. The other two girls were sporting skirts that reached just above their knees. "Wow Tikal... you look really strange in a business suit." Krystal began to giggle as she pointed and laughed at the echidna trying to adjust the fake glasses on her face. "You're the one to talk! Ooooo..." she began childishly, already starting to walk towards the front of the building. The other two followed her and then entered into the large entrance, looking around cautiously for something that could help them find the target they were looking for.

      The place had a very large lobby that seemed just as warm and inviting like major hotels. A young jackal that looked to be around his later teens looked up as he heard the main door open. His eyes widened at the sight of them quickly, but he quickly gained his composure and put on a sweet smile as they drew nearer to him. "Hello you three... may I assist you with anything today?" he asked in a polite tone. Tikal was the first to reach him and the first to respond, "Well actually, we're looking for a Terrence Blake, do you know where his office may be? We have some urgent business to discuss with him." she replied in the same polite tone. "Ok... can I have your name please?" he asked as he turned swiftly in his office chair and then began typing on his computer. The echidna's expression changed to a surprised one as she thought about it very quickly. "Uhhh Lakita... Flare, yeah Lakita Flare." she said quickly.

      The jackal only paused his typing, but he did not turn back towards the echidna. However he began typing rapidly again and then faced the crafty echidna. "Ma'am I don't see your name in the system... would you like me to set an appointment Ms. Flare?" he asked kindly. Tikal only sighed with relief as she nodded. "Yes, that would be wonderful." she responded. Krystal leaned over towards Rouge and then began to whisper, "If this worked so quickly, I might have to wear a business suit coming into the bank, it takes hours to get service there." she mumbled. Rouge nodded and then crossed her arms, watching her leader coax the young jackal to help set their appointment. "Ok, he should be notified shortly, in the mean time, would you three please sit in the lobby? Water fountain is on the left and the restrooms are on the right, make yourself comfy." the jackal offered and then turned back to his computer. The three hunters walked a bit away from him and then began to go towards the set of chairs that was against the wall. "Tikal... is this supposed to be part of your plan to make EVERYBODY see us in this timeline?" Krystal almost seethed in a low whisper. The orange echidna only rubbed her head with embarrassment and only answered with a smile. Krystal and Rouge sighed heavily and shook their heads, 'This is gonna be another long day.' she thought to herself.

                                              To Be Continued