//------------------------------// // Pack It Up // Story: S.M.I.L.E. Agent Aria Blaze // by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof //------------------------------// "Hey there, Bandit," Firecracker Burst called out as she walked toward Aria's desk. She leaned against the desk, grinning as she crossed her arms. "How's raiding trashcans treating ya?" Aria let out a growl, turning to look up at the fiery-orange haired agent. Bruises circled each eye, dark brown and hints purple discoloring the pink skin. "One more raccoon joke, and I'll shove you in one to find out." That got a laugh from Burst. She then stood up, turning to face Aria as the smile got smaller. "Seriously, though, we got a special assignment. There'll just be three of us, and likely won't run into many civilians, so you can go like that." Her head tilted. "But... if you like, we can requisition you a pair of sunglasses to wear until you heal. Or, if you would prefer, there's make-up." She looked past Aria and raised her voice. "Kerfuffle is pretty good at applying it if you need help." "That's really sweet of you to say," Kerfuffle said as she approached from the other side, "but it's only basics that anyone can pick up from magazines or the internet." She had a smile on her face as she reached the pair. "I'm sure that Ari -- OH DEAR LORD! What happened to your face?!" "I had a run in with Tempest Shadow at a night club and got in a fight," Aria repeated for the... twentieth time? She had not actually been keeping count. All she knew was that it was way more than she had liked, which was more than once. Aria had even tried given some sarcastic answers, but that only lead to the person asking, "what really happened?" making her have to answer anyways. Kerfuffle took a hold of Aria's head, a concerned look on her face as she leaned in close. Soft, warm fingers gently caressed along the nose and around the eyes, stroking across tender skin. "Why didn't you come see us?" Kerfuffle asked, brow furrowed and lips turned down. "Because I can deal with a broken nose on my own," Aria replied, "and you can't do anything about the bruising anyways." She took a hold of Kerfuffle's wrists, and pulled the hands away. "So, what's this assignment?" she asked Burst. "An escort mission," Firecracker Burst announced. She placed an arm around Kerfuffle. "We're to take Kerfuffle here to an old abandoned farm not far from town." Her grin grew. "Supposedly, it's haunted." She waggled the fingers of her free hand. "Ooooooooh." "We don't know if it's actually haunted," Kerfuffle stated. "There's some rumors and stories, but nothing confirmed. General scans don't pick up unusual reading, while more focused attempts do, but at extremely low levels. As such, there may be nothing there for us to investigate, but there is too much for us to ignore." "So," Aria pointed a finger at the girl, "you're going to see if there's actually something there to check out," she then pointed at herself, "and we're going in case something goes wrong?" "Pretty much." "And if worse comes to worse, I get to blow the whole place up," Firecracker Burst added, grinning maniacally. "Although I'm hoping it doesn't come to that," replied Kerfuffle. "Do we at least get some cool weapons to hunt ghost with?" asked Aria. Images of lightning shooting backpacks likes in Spirit Smashers formed in her mind. As it turned out, the answer was "no." Even if the devices in the movie were possible, the theory behind them required specific scientific data collected directly from ghosts already. Doing that required being able to keep a ghost in position long enough to scan and study. In other words, they had to catch a ghost, to study it, so they can make the devices that would let them catch ghosts. Although there had been efforts, they had not been successful. Weapon-wise, Aria was given her shock gun, and a rod of salted iron, with mystic symbols etched into it. A rather simple weapon, but one that had proven its effectiveness against ghosts, fae, and humans. Most of the time was spent packing scientific equipment. Like the scanners: there was a scanner for thermal changes; another for electromagnetic fields; a third that picked up errant or altered radio waves outside typical broadcast signals, although it could pick up those if someone wanted. There was a video camera, a digital picture camera, and an instant film camera (because some stories had apparitions appearing on one, but not the other). They even packed a large package of glow sticks, in case the ghost or such caused electronics, like flashlights, to stop working. "So, what happened after the fight with Tempest?" asked Kerfuffle as they put the last of the equipment into the back of the SUV. "Nothing much," Aria answered. "Went home and watched Camp Campy with Sonata." She could not help but roll her eyes at the memory. It had been one of those over the top absurd comedies, like the Vengeance of the Dorks or Cop Training series. The type where the main character constantly broke every rule, but were too stupid to be subtle or sneaky about it. Only got away with it because the plot made the antagonists dumber, incompetent, or just unable to do something about it. And that did not even include the stuff that was out and out illegal. "Oh," said Kerfuffle. She moved to sit in the back seat. Firecracker Burst already sat in the driver's seat, leaving Aria to take the passenger. "Now before we get going, I want to tell you two things," said Firecracker Burst. She held up a finger. "First, seat belts on before we get going. This thing cannot outrun the police, especially with city traffic, and I don't want us to get pulled over." Another joined it. "Second, driver picks the radio, passengers shut up, or walk." Burst turned to face forward. "Now, does anybody need to go before we go?" The question lingered in the air for a second. "Well, since you've brought it up," Kerfuffle said from the back seat. She moved toward the door, pushing it back open. "I'll be right back." Aria let out a groan of annoyance, made all the more by the sound of Burst chuckling. A few minutes later, after Kerfuffle had returned and everyone had buckled up, they finally got going.