//------------------------------//
// 5: A New Dynamic 
// Story: Melody of the Future 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	Sigma grumbled to himself as he waited for the one who was supposed to meet him here.  The damn mercenary was over an hour late!  Did he think it was easy to be inconspicuous when you were over 8 feet tall with a huge pink cape and a face on your chest?  ...admittedly, he probably could have chosen a less conspicuous body for this meet up...but he was Sigma!  He wasn't about to go slinking around like some common criminal!

"Siggy, baby, there you are!" a calm, collected, playful voice called out.  The figure accompanying the voice was nearly as conspicuous as Sigma in his own way.  He wasn't as tall as Sigma, but was dressed in blue, white, and gold armor, his blue hair trailing out behind his helmet.  An orange visor hid his eyes, and he seemed to have a permanent impudent smirk on his face and a relaxed air about him.  "No wonder I couldn't find you before now.  I thought you said this meeting was a secret!"

"Enough of that, Dynamo!" Sigma barked out.  "You're over an hour late!  Do you want the Maverick Hunters to find us?"

Dynamo shrugged.  "What does it matter if they do, Siggy?  I can just turn you in for the bounty for information leading to your capture or destruction if they do.  Nothing illegal about being a mercenary, so I'm in the clear."

"Stop calling me that!" Sigma snapped.

"Why should I?" Dynamo demanded.

"It makes it sound like you aren't taking me seriously," Sigma growled out.

"Oh, good," Dynamo replied.  "I was afraid I was being too subtle."

"What?" Sigma roared out.

"Seriously, Sigs, why should I take you seriously?"  Dynamo began ticking off his fingers.  "First time you went out, the Hunters completely prevented your objectives, the pony stole your dog, and X and the pony both one-shotted you.  Second time, you got beaten by having a dog sit on you.  Third time, you laughed yourself to death in your first form before being two-shotted in your second, and your big bad virus plan failed before it could begin.  And your last plan unraveled before it even got off the ground, and you ran off with your tail between your legs."  He spread his hands wide.  "Why should I take you at all seriously?"

Sigma's eyes burned with rage.  "Do you have any idea what I could do to you here?"

"Nothing," Dynamo replied, as relaxed as ever.  "You can't risk damaging me, because you know I have the Maverick Hunter's wavelength on speed dial, and could have them here to take you down before you could blink since this place isn't teleport shielded.  Even if you got away, I could give them the whole plan.  And you can't infect me, or you wouldn't be offering to pay me money to do this job for you."

Sigma struggled mightily to control his temper.  "If I didn't need you, you'd be dead where you stand."

"Exactly, Siggy-wiggy," Dynamo taunted.  "You need me.  None of the hard-core Mavericks will work for you, and none of the other mercenaries will give you the time of day.  I'm your only option to carry out this job."

"You will respect me!" Sigma roared.  "I am a God amongst Reploids-"

"You're an egotistical idiot," Dynamo countered.  "If not for your virus, you'd have been permanently decommissioned long ago, and completely forgotten to history.  Now, did you actually have a job for me?  If you just called me out here to vent, rant, and rave, for that I charge by the hour."

Sigma continued to glare death at the impudent mercenary, but eventually got himself under control.  "Here," he said coldly, rage still seething in his voice.  He handed Dynamo a tightly sealed capsule.  "Your first job is to get this aboard the Eurasia space colony, past the viral scanners."

"Pay in advance," Dynamo said firmly.

"Half up front, half when the job's complete," Sigma countered.

"Goodbye."  Putting the capsule down, Dynamo turned to leave.

"Fine!  Pay in full ahead of time!" Sigma snapped angrily.

Chuckling, Dynamo turned back.  "Pleasure doing business with you.  How soon do I get the money?"

Grumbling under his breath, Sigma handed over a cash card, which would download its credit contents to any account just by being scanned.  "I'll have another job for you after that."

"Oh?" Dynamo asked curiously.  "What sort of job?"

"Once my plan goes into motion, the Maverick Hunters will try to counter it," Sigma explained.  "Delay their attempts to build countermeasures however you can.  Challenging a high level Hunter amidst their construction sites, perhaps?"  Privately, Sigma hoped X or Zero would destroy this impudent mercenary.

Dynamo's eyes widened, and then he laughed.  "Oh, I know just what I'm going to do," he chuckled.  "I'll even give you a 10% discount for this job."

"Oh?" Sigma asked with interest.

"Yup!"  He held up the cash card.  "Another one of these, less 10% what's on it, for each attack on the HQ.  Payment due now."

Grumbling, Sigma handed over two more cards.

"It's been a pleasure Sig!" Dynamo stated happily as he started to saunter off.

"You do realize my plans will destroy the world as you know it!" Sigma snapped one last time.

"Nah!" Dynamo countered.  "X, Zero, and Octavia will thwart you completely and obliterate you again, just like always.  So I have no guilt profiting off your incompetence!"  With that, he blew Sigma a playful kiss before warping away.

Sigma glared after the mercenary...and then sighed.  He made a mental note to rethink his method after this plan, success or failure.