//------------------------------// // Case 15: Shadow Shopping Spree // Story: SPD Emergency // by cyberlord4444 //------------------------------// Cruger looked at his Morpher. It was a good Morpher, and it did what it was supposed to do, but nowadays it felt a bit lacking. All it had was a single form, a good form but still only one. If he could do things the original Cruger couldn’t, why couldn’t that apply to his Morpher as well? Before he could consider the matter further, he felt a surge of dimensional energy. Picking up his Morpher, he went to investigate. “Well,” he muttered to himself, “let’s go see what happened this time.” “Guten Morgen~!” a very strange and echoing voice called out, its source completely hidden from sight. “A good morning to you too,” Cruger shouted back, “at least I think that’s what you said. Now, since you are in my verse, the polite thing to do would be to introduce yourself.” “Ah, where are my manners?” A shadowy being coalesced in front of Cruger, eldritch and multidimensional in nature, yet oddly flat and ill defined. “My name is Aaron Heibai, Mister Cruger. A pleasure to meet you.” “Likewise,” Cruger frowned, “so, how did you know my name?” Aaron’s shadowy face split into a smirk, a line of bright white tracing its way across his head area like a jack o’ lantern smile. “I know approximately 99.99% of Everything, mate. Oh, and I read the script.” He held up a sheaf of papers, then casually tossed it to the side, where it dissipated into a flock of doves. Cruger’s eyes tracked the doves for a few seconds before they returned to Aaron, “Discord or Pinkie?” Aaron shrugged, “Neither. Both. Either or. Personally I think it’s neither. I’m just a shopkeeper, you know.” He pet a few of the doves as they settled on his shoulders, then let them vanish back into the eldritch energy they spawned from. Cruger’s eyes widened slightly, “Shopkeep? You have my interest, let’s see if you can get my attention.” With a wink and a twirl, Aaron dissipated back into shadows, anticlimactically revealing a simple pair of glass automatic sliding doors. As the doors slid open, Aaron walked through, revealing a seemingly endless shop behind him. “Tada~” Cruger whistled, “You my good sir make Walmart look like a 6 year old’s lemonade stand. Now, what say I tell you what’s on my wish list and you tell me where I can find them.” Aaron nodded and let Cruger in through the doors, “Well, to be honest, the shelves are for show. Too many people get lost wandering through them without a map, y’know? I’ll do you one better. Tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you.” Cruger nodded, then tapped his chin in thought. “Well, first off I was an engineer before I was a Displaced, so a few new tools. How about a DS9 Tricorder and the Tenth’s Sonic Screwdriver.” “Done.” Aaron pulled the requested items from a nearby portal, setting them upon the checkout counter behind him. “Is there anything else you’d like to purchase?” Cruger grinned, “Well, I don’t want to sound too fanboyish, but how about a bat’leth?” Aaron snickered, “Always a classic, that one. Done.” Said bat’leth dropped seemingly from nowhere, clattering to a halt on the checkout counter. Cruger’s grin shifted to one that was a bit snarkier, “Now, let’s put that claim that you have everything to the test.” He pulled out his morpher, “Think you got an upgrade for this? Specifically one that will allow me to acquire additional modes.” Aaron examined the morpher closely, rubbing his chin, “Hmm… a first generation Patrol Morpher, eh? Boy, haven’t seen anyone use a relic like this in a while. You’re in dire need of an upgrade, mate.” Tapping the surface of the morpher, Aaron smirked as he infused the morpher with swirls of arcane energy. “There. Seventh generation Patrol Morpher for just about everything you’d need.” Cruger looked at it, “Two questions. First, did you leave my music files alone? I recently traded a number of songs with a Displaced I met on vacation that I have yet to listen to.” “Of course I did. I only added, I didn’t take anything away.” Aaron crossed his arms and snorted, moving behind the counter and ringing up the purchases. “No offence, just making sure,” Cruger replied. “Second, and slightly more seriously, does it come with a bunch of preset modes that I have to use or a bunch of empty slots that I can fill with whatever I want?” “Bit of both. You get like fifteen presets and ten empty slots. Your total is, well, good thing for you since you get a first-timer discount, five hundred bits.” Aaron, slid over Cruger’s requested items and waited patiently. “Mind cutting it down a bit if I offer other stuff?” Cruger opened a small portal and pulled out a textbook, “to start, how about this primer on Dimensional magic I wrote myself?” “....” Aaron looked flatly at Cruger, “... Mate. You just offered a book on Dimensional Magic… to an eldritch abomination that routinely travels across the multiverse to sell people things.” “Never said you had to use it, you got a store, put it in the book department. But if you’re gonna be that way,” Cruger pulled out an ingot of silvery metal, “Dimensium 5, cast aluminum rendered molecularly stable via Dimensional magic. I’d take a shield made of that stuff and pit it against Cap’s any day of the week. I normally use it for Zord construction. If you don’t like that, I’ve got a bunch of other kinds to offer ya.” “Hmm… that’s useful. I’ll take six and waive the rest of the cost. Unless you have something even better?” Aaron raised a shadowy eyebrow, looking at Cruger expectantly. “I do, but I’ll save that for if I have to purchase a Deus Ex Machina from ya,” Cruger replied snarkily as he fished six more ingots from the portal, “so, six ingots of Dimensium 5 for the Morpher upgrade, bat’leth, Screwdriver and Tricorder, plus one more for a tip. We good?” Cruger held out a hand. “Of course we are,” Aaron shook Cruger’s hand and took the ingots, dropping the rest of the goods in a paper bag and holding it out to Cruger. “There ya go.” “Thank you,” Cruger replied before dropping the bag into another portal. “By the way, if I wanted to shop here again, how would I?” “Well, I added my contact info to your morpher, so there’s that.” Aaron smirked again and saluted. “Everything good?” “That it is. By the way, before you go, I think I know where you can make a bit of a bundle.” “Oh? Do tell,” Aaron raised a curious eyebrow. Cruger tapped Zinnia’s Token, “it’s a Pokeverse where the only Pokeball in existence is a Premier with a spell that allows it to replicate itself when you catch something with it. Add to that the fact that they are under attack by no less than two evil Legendaries, one of which is a brainwasher. Sounds like you could unload few Pokeballs there, high demand low supply and all that.” “Mm, I’ll keep that in mind, thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me….” Aaron and the shop abruptly disappeared, the only trace of it ever existing was a receipt fluttering in the breeze, and the faint scent of of chocolate ice cream and ozone. “Try not to gouge them,” Cruger called out. He then turned and walked back to his apartment, flipping his morpher open, “Hey Zinnia, got some good news on the Pokeball front…”