Vigilante

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rufusluciusivan
Posts: 1225
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm

Re: Vigilante

Post by rufusluciusivan »

Didn't have video games in mind when I imagined the structure of this part, but yes indeed each installment represents a stage with its own wave of guards. (Though Roxane herself would make a lousy final boss in hand-to-hand combat. Now her bodyguards on the other hand...) The next part shall feature the outcome with the final confrontation, probably with less classic guard-mugging and uniform-stealing and more action and plot, therefore hopefully the structure won't have the time to become too formulaic. I couldn't help but feature one last classic scenario of guards being mugged for disguise before reaching the trickier part. Plus, now the team have all matching uniforms! :lol:

Once again, I tried to feature little details to show that these guards are one cut above your average henchwoman/guard (same with Zoe's reaction to the classic 'throw a coin' trick). Though Edwige was maybe good, but not good enough. Agria's and Cleo's style suit their training and job as black ops, and for Agria it also suits her personality and is a great detail to highlight her cold no-nonsense nature. Cleo's nicer though, hence why she tried to make sure Edwige won't be too hurt after the ordeal.

Wanted to feature this little cameo of Phoebe for a while, though it's a coincidence that this one and the cameo in Pakal happened exactly at the same time. I like your idea: The USB Cinematic Universe. :lol: Parallel worlds are at work I'd say. One day, there might be a giant crossover. :lol:

The 'bound to' joke is like the 'tied up' joke. Painful but hilarious nonetheless. :lol:
Trackman281
Posts: 1600
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 6:08 am

Re: Vigilante

Post by Trackman281 »

Took the words right out of my mouth with that, I mean it's only fair, if you look at all the cinematic universes there are right now, So why can't we have a *Uniform Stealing Universe*. :D
rufusluciusivan
Posts: 1225
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm

Re: Vigilante

Post by rufusluciusivan »

**************

Osana was still staring vacantly in front of her. She was still having a hard time processing what had happened to her.

The redhead wiggled her feet, her toes and her fingers. A part of her mind was telling her that, since she wasn't hog-tied, she could try to crawl to the mansion to look for help.

But what would be the point? Given how confident Klenia and Shayna looked, Osana wouldn't have been surprised to learn that all the outer sentries had been mugged. What would be the point of making the effort to crawl all the way to the manor, only to realize that everyone was trussed up and in the same state of undress as her? No, it was best to simply wait for the authorities to come by and find her. When in doubt, act dumb and play it safe. Osana was a criminal, but compared to most of the other people working in the estate, she was a small fry. They probably wouldn't bother to extradite her...

Hopefully.

The redhead raised her head when she heard footsteps.

Did I give up too soon? she thought to herself.

The red-haired sentry managed to get a glimpse of the newcomer. She moaned in her gag.

The woman was tall, with a tanned skin, green eyes, and brown hair. She was from Okéanis.

Osana felt a sudden burst of hope. The woman was dressed as a fisherwoman. Did she come across the sight of the bound-and-gagged red-haired sentry by chance?

However, she then noticed that the newcomer was carrying an absurd amount of coils of rope on her arms.

Not the equipment of a fisherwoman...

… but the kind of stuff a bunch of infiltrators would want to be resupplied with after dealing with a good chunk of the guards of the estate.

The brown-haired woman noticed her and smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry, but I'm not on your side.” she apologized, confirming Osana's suspicions.

The redhead sighed acceptingly and shrugged. Of course. It would have been too good to be true...

The fisherwoman gave her one last apologetic glance, then walked away. She was going to the manor.

Well, only a few more hours left to wait... Osana thought to herself.

**************

Mary used to pride herself with being a talented infiltrator. She used to think that she was the best of her line of work, an artist when it came to disguising herself.

Then, she got a taste of her own medicine when her boss, Calypso, sold her to the Solomon Syndicate after Mary had failed her one time too many.

She was rescued by Klenia and Shayna along with the other forced workers of the Solomon Estate, but her rescuers intended to give her to the authorities of the Federation.

Mary tried twice to escape her punishment by stealing a bunch of clothes to disguise herself. Each time, she came across Klenia, who quickly put her in her place.

Klenia showed her who the real alpha was. It made the brown-haired woman realize that she was not cut out for infiltration and uniform stealings. So she put her infiltrator past behind her...

… Until she was contacted by Klenia and her friends to help them infiltrate Roxane's estate.

Things were very awkward...

She was supposed to only carry them with her boat, but the team of infiltrators had to be resupplied in ropes before they entered the heart of Roxane's manor. (Indeed, they had to mug quite the amount of sentries on their way. They were now low on supplies.) However, Venia and Amber had to stay to tend to Hazel's and Reyna's wounds. As for Primrose's and Yusufa’s team, they were watching the surroundings in case reinforcements would come. Therefore, Venia had no other choice but to send Mary.

The brown-haired woman sighed.

She was picked because they had no other choice. Venia was kinda her friend, and therefore she knew that Mary wasn't the most reliable person out there. Still, she assured her that there would be no danger: all the guards had been neutralized.

The brown-haired woman passed near a watchtower. Two underwear-clad women were tied to pillars of the tower, and they were having a heated argument. Or, at least, Mary supposed that they were having heated argument, since they were gagged.

More precisely, a tall light-skinned redhead wearing emerald-green underwear was angrily promising a swift beating to a black-haired ponytailed woman, who was desperately trying to protest her innocence. The latter was wearing a black t-shirt bra and black boyshorts adorned with blood red little skulls, clearly the undergarments of someone who was trying WAY too hard to look like a tough woman.

Mary decided that she was NOT going to get involved in their argument.

“Sorry... Just passing through...”

The two sentries ignored her. They were too busy mumbling in their gags at each other.

The brown-haired woman entered the mansion through the back entrance.

Its corridors were eerily quiet.

Well, for the most part...

Mary could hear familiar muffled noises when she passed near the door of a closet, then once again coming from the inside of a storage room.

There was no mistake possible...

Venia wasn't hyperbolic when she mentioned that all the inner-sentries and staff had been mugged.

Not gonna open the doors. Just gonna deliver the ropes. Mary thought to herself.

The brown-haired woman climbed the stairs and walked across the top floor.

Things were as quiet as in the ground floor.

However, as she was approaching the heart of the manor, the door of a nearby wardrobe suddenly burst open. Two squirming bound-and-gagged underwear-clad women fell on the floor. The first one was a green-eyed brown-haired woman with a tanned skin, a square haircut, a lanky figure, a pointy chin, and a crooked nose. The second one was a pudgy woman with icy blues eyes and short blond hair held in place by a black headband.

Both looked at Mary and moaned in their gags as loudly as they could. They were asking her to untie them.

“Oh...” the brown-haired woman commented.

Mary scratched her hair. She was feeling a little embarrassed.

“Well, sorry, but I can't rescue you...”

“MHHHH!”

“GHHHHTHHHHH!”

“Also, I can't leave you in the middle of the corridor. It would be quite the mess.”

The two women's eyes widened when they realized the implications of what Mary just said, and they squirmed even more.

Mary grabbed the brown-haired sentry clad in a bright orange thong and a strawberry red demi-bra, and put her back inside the wardrobe.

“Trust me, this is as awkward for me as it is for you. Probably even more.” she commented.

Then, the fisherwoman did the same with the pudgy blonde clad in a white support bra and white control briefs designed to slightly compress her pudgy waist.

“But it's the only way.” she concluded.

Mary closed the door of the wardrobe to silence their muffled protests.

She then hurried up to reach the part of the building where everyone was waiting for her, and for her ropes. She didn't want to come across another embarrassing situation!

The team of infiltrators was gathered near the door leading to the heart of the manor. They were all disguised as inner sentries.

“Ah, finally! There you are with the supplies!” Klenia commented with a bright smile. “I see that you are fashionably late...”

“I had to deal with a little unexpected incident.” Mary apologized.

Klenia put a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, don't give me the puppy eyes! I was just teasing you...”

“How are Hazel and Reyna?” Piper intervened.

“They're fine. Amber and Venia are patching them up.”

Piper and Annabeth exchanged a relieved smile.

“Your other colleagues are watching the area and the road to make sure that no reinforcement will come.” Mary added.

“Perfect.” Clover commented. “Then, only Roxane and her last bodyguards remain…”

“Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time.” Agria concluded.

**************

Agria, Cleo, Klenia, and Shayna were sent first to scout the area, as they were the more experienced infiltrators of their group.

Indeed, they needed to be extra careful in this part of the building.

The heart of the manor was located at the center of the top floor. It was the part of the mansion that wasn't giving onto the outside. An intruder couldn't reach it directly by going through a window without coming across the guards of the western or the eastern wings.

It was watched by four groups of guards. These sentries almost never left the heart of the manor: their dormitory, their shower room and their eating room were all located there. Depending on the time of the day, two or three groups were standing guard while the women who weren't on duty were either resting or sleeping.

These guards were different from the other sentries.

They were fanatics, Olympian supremacists who used to be affiliated to Jewel Zeno and the Eye, and who therefore were utterly devoted to Roxane. Their current lives revolved around protecting the businesswoman, as she was the direct descendant of Lysandre Barca, one of the twelve founders of Olympus. They had no social lives and no meaningful relationships outside of the villa, no significant other, no quirk and no personal hobby outside of training.

They were for all intent and purpose almost an extension of Roxane's will.

These woman weren't officially part of an army, but they were considering themselves soldiers. They were wearing the same gear as a soldier: black combat shoes, dark grey army trousers, a dark grey military long-sleeved shirt over a khaki t-shirt, and a black bulletproof vest with front pockets. Their pistol and combat knife were strapped onto a grey weapon belt, and each was carrying a small machine gun. Even though they were indoors, they were still wearing a military helmet when on-duty.

These guards were looking down on the other sentries, both the ones from the outside of the building and the ones from the inside of the manor. They were regarding themselves as the elite above the riff-raff.

The team of infiltrators intended to prove them how wrong they were...

**************

Agria and Cleo were leading the small team of scouts. They needed their experience and skills to avoid the patrols. Indeed, while they were disguised as inner-sentries of the manor, they knew that the guards they were impersonating weren't allowed in the heart of the manor without a good reason. Roxane's bodyguards probably wouldn't sound the alarm on sight, but the disguised infiltrators wouldn't escape a thorough inspection.

They needed to get their hands on a few of the bodyguards' army uniforms as quickly as possible, if they wanted to approach and attack them with ease...

“We have to find a way to be able to surprise-attack these women…”

They heard footsteps and barely had to time to duck behind a corner to avoid being seen by a patrol of three women.

“Search the rooms for the dormitory or the changing lockers…” Agria instructed them.

It took them a few tries, but they managed to find something of interest before the next patrol walked by.

Cleo discreetly opened a door.

“I think I have found the solution.” she commented.

The blond special combatant pointed at the inside of the room.

It was the dormitory of the guards.

Currently, the sentries of the squad supposed to take the first half of the night shift were sleeping. They were a group of three. Each woman's uniform was hung on her bed.

Klenia, Shayna, Agria and Cleo shared a look. They didn't need to talk to decide what they were going to do next. The four women entered the dormitory without making any noise and closed the door just in time to conceal themselves from a second patrol.

The infiltrators used hand signs to communicate. They didn’t want to risk waking up the four women. They were going to neutralize the sleeping sentries first.

Agria pulled out a bottle of sleeping drug and a few kerchiefs. She, Klenia and Shayna grabbed one piece of cloth and soaked it with the narcotic. At the same time, Cleo was watching the door of the dormitory.

The first sentry was a light-skinned blonde with shoulder-long hair. A few strands were dyed bue. The second one was a brown-haired tanned-skinned woman who was most likely from Okéanis. The third sentry was a redhead with a short ponytail and a dark skin. The tip of her ponytail was dyed white.

The sentries were sleeping while wearing only their underwear. The redhead was clad in a dark green tank top and black boxer briefs. The blonde was wearing a navy blue tank top and sky blue boyshorts. The brunette was clad in an orange tank top and light red panties. None was wearing a bra.

Silently, Klenia, Shayna and Agria approached their respective victim: the first would be dealing with the blonde, the second with the brunette and the third with the redhead. Cleo watched the door.

They moved simultaneously to neutralize each sentry at the same time, and to make sure that none of them would wake up and have the time to raise the alarm.

One handkerchief soaked with narcotic drug was clamped over each sentry's' mouth and nose.

Three women woke up brutally when they felt a piece of cloth pressed against their mouth and nose. They tried to scream, but the kerchief was muffling their calls for help. They tried to struggle, but they were entangled in the sheets. Plus, their mind was still foggy and their reflexes were numb, as they were still half-asleep. And of course the fumes they were breathing weren't helping their concentration...

The struggles were short-lived.

There were some muffled movements on the three beds, a few soft moans, and then the silence fell as three bodies went limp on their mattress.

The three sentries were once again sleeping. However, this time, it was a deep sleep and they wouldn't wake up before a few hours.

Agria, Klenia and Shayna, exchanged a nod, then grabbed a few coils of ropes.

Each slumbering woman was tied to her bed. Their ankles were bound together, then tied to the frame of the bed. The wrists were bound in front of them, on the stomach, though ropes were also wrapped around their forearms and arms to pin them to their torso to make sure that they wouldn't be able to use their bound hands to remove their gag. A rope was wrapped around their torso and the bed to pin them to their mattress. The sentries were gagged with strips cut from the protectors of the pillows of the unused beds: a few were stuffed into their mouth, then a cloth gag was tied over their lips.

Klenia, Shayna, and Agria covered the three unconscious figures with bedsheets to conceal them.

“Let's bring the others here. We'll use this room as a base of operation to hide…” Agria instructed them.

“... and to hide our generous uniform donors!” Klenia added with a smile.

**************

Posy and Clover were waiting alongside with Piper and Annabeth. Mary was nervously pacing down nearby, as they hadn’t dismissed her yet.

“I'm glad that your friends are okay.” Posy commented to the brown-haired security guard.

“They're security guards.” Piper answered. “They know they have a risky job.” She paused, then couldn't help but add: “Though, when they signed up, they probably didn't expect to be wounded as part of an infiltration mission...”

“I guess that for security guards, it must be very ironic...” Posy agreed with a sheepish smile.

“Though this is a one-time thing.” Piper reminded her. “We'll be back at fighting infiltrators tomorrow.”

“I know.”

Piper hesitated, before adding: “We could still be working together... if you accept my offer... I'm sure Primrose will be delighted to see you put your talents at her service...”

“Annabeth already relayed your proposition. I don’t know if I’m suited to work as a sentry. I lack the discipline. But I’ll think about it.”

“I wouldn’t mind working with you.” Piper confessed. “As long as it’s not once again as part of a crazy infiltration.”

They stopped talking when the door was opened.

It was Agria and Klenia.

“Coast is clear.” the special combatant said. “Follow us.”

“Mary. You will have to stay with us.” Klenia added. “One of them is from Okéanis, so if you wear her uniform, you will look just like her from afar... We could use you as bait.”

“I have retired!” Mary exclaimed. “The infiltrator gig never worked out for me! This business has no room for artists such as myself!” She was trying to find an excuse.

“Would you do it in exchange of an increase of your reward?” Clover intervened.

They immediately noticed the spark in Mary's eyes when a reward was mentioned. The brown-haired woman was selfish and not very brave, but she was also greedy. Immensely greedy. The black woman had indeed quickly understood the personality of the fisherwoman.

“Double! I want double the money!” Mary exclaimed.

Clover looked at Agria.

The special combatant shrugged. “Hieron will spare no expense to put Roxane behind bars.” she answered.

“You've got yourself a deal!”

Mary's eyes glimmered.

Agria and Klenia signalled their teammates to follow them. The brown-haired green-eyed woman eagerly walked behind them.

“You cover our backs?” Piper asked Posy and Clover.

The two Vigilantes nodded.

Then, Piper and Annabeth followed Mary, with Clover and Posy right behind them.

The busty woman looked at the pair of security guards from behind. In spite of their past history, they were trusting her enough to turn their back on her.

“You know, sometimes I'm wondering if everyone's not letting me get away too easily for what I did...” she whispered to Clover.

“I guess it's because they acknowledge the fact that you're genuinely remorseful over what you did.” Clover answered. “And that your intentions weren't selfish.”

“Trying to have our revenge on Roxane was a bit selfish.”

“But you also did it because you wanted to do good, right?”

“Yes...”

“Posy... You can choose to not forgive yourself. It's your right. But then you also have to accept the fact that other people can choose to forgive you... or at least can give you a second chance. It's their right.”

“I... I guess you're right…”

**************

Putting on the discarded dark grey army uniform felt weird.

Mary hadn't donned the stolen clothes of another woman ever since her ill-fated attempt to escape prison, when she tried to flee the country disguised as a train attendant... It didn't end well for her. She had the bad luck of coming across Kelnia and Shayna, who forced her to give the uniform back to its owner, then to spend the rest of the journey bound in her underwear before being given to the police.

The brown-haired green-eyed woman noticed that Agria and Cleo, the two special combatants, were the ones putting on the remaining sets of uniform.

She paled a little while slipping into the dark grey army trousers.

Now that she was realizing that the government-trained assassins were going to be her partners, Mary was thinking tat maybe it wasn't such a great idea. Plus, didn't Klenia off-handedly mention that she would be used as bait? Suddenly, the prospect of receiving double the money didn't sound as attractive as it used to...

The cynical part of Mary's mind was whispering to her that it would be easy for the special combatants to have her shot, or to shoot her themselves, then to pretend that it was an accident. That way, they wouldn't have to pay her.

“Don't worry. We're not going to hurt you.” Cleo said. It was as if she had read her mind.

“Unless you try to run away. In that case, I'll have to put a bullet in your neck.” Agria added.

Mary gulped. She put on the khaki t-shirt and buttoned the dark grey uniform shirt without a word. She felt a little better after slipping the bulletproof waistcoat on. She put on the army helmet.

“You look amazing.” Klenia commented;

Mary smiled awkwardly. “Maybe we should reconsider the deal we just-”

“Hurry up!” Agria interrupted her. “I like my meat shields to be within bullet-blocking distance!”

Mary paled.

“Stop hazing her, Agria!” Cleo intervened.

Klenia rolled her eyes. “Goodness, you're such a jerk sometimes Agria…”

Mary made a small prayer, then followed the two special combatants.

**************

Cleo and Agria made Mary walk in front. They claimed that it was to prevent their targets from getting a good look at their faces, but Mary wasn't entirely convinced that Agria's 'meat shield' comment was JUST a joke...

During their search for the dormitory, the special combatants had noticed that two groups were patrolling the corridors while the third one was probably stationed near Roxane's office room. Given the size of the manor, the calculated that they had the time to neutralize one patrol before the other would finish their tour.

Therefore, they set up an ambush by hiding behind a corner, near the dormitory, waiting for the next patrol to come by.

Their patience was eventually rewarded.

“Go approach them.” Agria whispered to Mary.

The patrol consisted of three women dressed in the same dark grey army uniforms as the soldiers they captured in the dormitory. The first one had short black hair with purple dye, a white skin and dark brown eyes. The second one had shoulder-long auburn hair with green tips, a light skin and hazel eyes. The third one had braided ashen blond hair with a few locks dyed red, faded blue eyes, and a pale skin.

They froze when they noticed Mary approaching them, followed by two women dressed in the army uniforms of Roxane's personal bodyguards.

“Marina? It's not supposed to be the change of shift already. Is there a problem?” the auburn-haired woman asked.

Mary gulped. 'Marina' was most likely the real owner of the uniform, who was currently taking a snooze on her bed while being bound and gagged.

The plan had worked. The guards hadn't spotted her as an impostor at the first glance, fooled by her physical appearance close to the one of the real owner of the uniform.

Agria and Cleo were still making Mary walk in front of them, therefore she had no choice but to approach the other guards. The infiltrators would only have a few seconds to get within reach...

Mary waited a few instants, as long as she could without looking suspicious.

“Y... Yes...” she finally squeaked.

The guards immediately noticed that she didn't have Marina's voice.

However, they were already within Cleo's and Agria's reach. The two special combatants jumped them.

The black-haired guard tried to grab her walkie-talkie.

Agria hit her in the throat with the hedge of her hand. Her strike was precise and calculated. Since Hieron didn't want unneeded casualties to limit the diplomatic incident with Okéanis, the special combatant made sure to not put too much strength into her hit. The impact cut the woman's breath, but didn't crush her throat. Gasping for air, the guard staggered.

At the same time, Cleo brought the auburn-haired guard down with a sweeping kick. The woman heavily fell face up on the floor with a dull thud, and the impact cut her breath.

Agria ignored the black-haired guard who was still gasping for air, and would need several minutes to recover. She rushed at the ashen-blond-haired guard. She grabbed the woman's wrist and violently twisted it to make her drop her walkie-talkie, just in time to prevent her from pressing the alarm button. With her free fist, she jabbed the woman in the face several times to dazzle her. She finished her off with a swift neck-chop that knocked her out cold.

At the same time, Cleo was immobilizing the auburn-haired woman on the floor. The blonde had locked the guard's head into a tight sleeper-hold with her two arms: the left to block her head and the right to compress her throat. The sentry was desperately trying to free herself from the blonde's grip. She flailed her arms and gasped for her, but to no avail.

The black-haired guard, the last one standing, managed to overcome her panic. She remembered her instructions. She had to sound the alarm!

Her hand moved once more to grab the walkie-talkie still strapped onto her belt.

Agria's kick sent the device flying in the air.

The guard drew her gun.

Another kick sent it flying as well.

The guard took a defensive stance, keeping her arms close to her body to protect her ribs.

Agria broke through her defense and kneed her in the stomach. The bulletproof vest absorbed most of the impact, but the guard couldn't help but bend forward. Agria grabbed her arm and violently threw her over her shoulder and to the floor with a martial arts hold.

The impact knocked the sentry out.

At the same time, the auburn-haired guard gave up, succumbed to the effects of Cleo's sleeper-hold, and passed out. Her body stopped shaking and squirming, and went still.

Mary watched the three defeated sentries in awe.

Agria pointed at the ashen-blond-haired woman.

“Mary. Make yourself useful and carry this one. We don't have all day.”

The brown-haired woman complied, but grumbled under her breath. “I'm not paid enough for this gig...”

**************

“Oh, three entire sentries for us? You shouldn't have! You're too kind!” Klenia commented once Agria, Cleo, and Mary returned victorious with the spoils of war.

“Just steal their uniforms in silence.” Agria groaned.

She threw the black-haired guard into Klenia's arms.

Cleo and Mary laid their own unconscious burdens on the floor.

“We’re going back.” Agria said to her two partners.

Cleo nodded and Mary grimaced.

“Good luck Mary! I’ll be with you in spirit!” Klenia commented.

The three disguised women left the dormitory.

“Well, let's clean up everything for when they return!” Klenia said with a bright smile. “Annabeth, this one looks like your size.” she added while pointing at the ashen-blond-haired sentry. “The other's for you, love.” she added to Shayna while mentioning the auburn-haired unconscious woman.

The three women dragged the guards further inside the dormitory.

“Posy. Piper. Can you watch the door?”

“No problem.”

The next couple of minutes were silent, with the exception of the rustle of the protective gears, uniforms and socks being swiftly removed.

The black-haired guard was left wearing a peacock blue bandeau bra and an indigo thong; the auburn-haired guard, a sea green t-shirt bra and forest green knickers; and the ashen-blond-haired guard, a purple brassiere and a marching g-string.

Each unconscious woman was then laid on an unoccupied bed, and thoroughly trussed up with ropes. Just like the first three sentries, they were also bound to the bedframe. Strips of other pillow protectors were turned into makeshift stuff-gags and cleave-gags.

While Klenia, Shayna, and Annabeth were busy slipping into the discarded uniforms and gears, the door of the dormitory was discreetly opened again.

Piper and Posy raised their heads. They were expecting Agria's team.

However, it wasn't them.

The newcomer was actually a bodyguard of the estate, clad in the same dark grey army uniform and military gear!

She was athletic-looking, and had neck-long black hair that were dyed blue, dark brown eyes and a fair light skin.

The sentry had been discreet while opening the door because she wanted to fetch something in the room without waking up the colleagues who were supposed to sleep.

She froze when she saw the people assembled: three women dressed as inner-sentries, three others dressed as bodyguards of the heart of the manor, and six human-looking figures lying motionless on six beds and concealed with sheets.

Then her eyes fell on Piper and Posy.

“YOU!” she exclaimed.

She didn't even hesitate or ask questions.

She raised her machine gun to shoot the two women.

“Look out!” Posy exclaimed when the sentry aimed at Piper first.

The busty brunette grabbed the machine gun to prevent the guard from shooting.

She succeeded, and saved Piper’s life, but the sentry easily freed her weapon and violently hit Posy with the butt of her machine gun.

“Fine! You'll be first, you fat cow!” she spat.

“Don't you dare!” Piper exclaimed.

She jumped the guard. However, having learned from the brief fight between the sentry and Posy that she witnessed, Piper didn't try to disarm the sentry. Instead, she kicked her in the knee. A low blow, but an effective one.

The sentry fell on one knee. Piper took advantage of her predicament to twist her arm behind her back.

The woman grunted in pain and anger.

“No! Not this time!” she barked. “This time, I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!”

She attempted to reach her walkie-talkie with her free hand, but the strap of her machine gun was hampering her movements, and Posy quickly confiscated the device.

“Give it back! You cow!” the woman with blue hair barked.

“Can somebody put a sock in her mouth, please?” Piper exclaimed.

Posy did. Literally. She grabbed the first thing that she could, in this case the discarded socks that Annabeth removed to put on the ashen-blond-haired guard's uniform – socks included. Then she shoved them into the guard's mouth.

The woman grimaced and glared daggers at her.

“Hey! I kinda liked these socks!” Annabeth joked.

Posy smiled awkwardly. “Sorry...”

“Well, I suppose that necessity knows no law…” the blonde joked.

“Now, I propose we enlighten this fine lady on what happens to the people who try to harm our friends.” Clover intervened.

The guard's expression of anger melted, replaced by an expression of fear.

**************

Between the six of them, the guard didn't even stand a chance.

No sooner said than done, she was down to her ocean blue sports bra and striped red-and-black boxer shorts, bound to one of the bed with ropes, gagged with socks and a makeshift cleave-gag, and covered with a bedsheet.

The infiltrators ignored her thrashings and angry muffled groans for the moment, figuring out that she deserved some humiliation.

“Piper, she's your size.” Annabeth commented.

“She seemed hell-bent on killing you...” Clover intervened while the brown-haired security guard was slipping into her disguise. “Do you know her?”

“I think I remember her... She was one of the guards in Roxane's previous estate. Called Janette I think."

“I think I remember her as well.” Posy added. “We knocked her out twice, first to escape the basement, and second when we ambushed the squad of guards in the forest...”

“Well, then she missed the occasion to have her revenge. Her loss. Sucks to be her.” Klenia concluded.

She was interrupted by the door being opened.

“We may have a problem.” Agria commented. “The current patrol only had two guards.”

Behind her, Cleo and Mary were dragging, respectively, an unconscious white-skinned guard with waist-long braided chestnut hair with one red strand and a ginger-haired tanned-skinned guard with a chin-long square cut.

“Oh, it's been taken care of. Don't worry about that.” Klenia commented with a bright smile. “Just bring us these two, and we'll be able to pay Roxane a little visit.”

“Also, why am I not surprised to see that you gave the chore of dragging these two to your teammates?” Clover added with a mocking smile.

Agria ignored her.

**************

The ginger-haired guard was wearing orchid-colored bikini panties and a flamingo triangle bra; and the chestnut-brown-haired guard was clad in a black thong and a carmine demi-bra. Once they had been relieved of their uniforms and their duty, the two women were also laid on beds and bound to the bedframe with ropes, gagged with strips of pillow protectors, and covered with a sheet.

Posy and Clover put on their uniforms.

The t-shirt, military shirt and bulletproof vest were a little tight as far as Posy was concerned, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Before leaving, they took the time to make each lying woman breathe a dose of narcotic drug with a soaked kerchief, just to be safe. Including the furious Janette. They didn't want to be disturbed while dealing with Roxane, and also didn't want these women to miss their rendezvous with the police.

Once they were satisfied, the infiltrators left the dormitory.

**************

The last three remaining sentries were stationed in front of the door of Roxane's office room.

They were wearing the same dark grey army uniform, helmet and bulletproof vest as the other bodyguards. One had dark blond hair, a white skin, a tall body with long legs, and piercing blue eyes. One strand of hair was dyed brown. Another was muscular, black-haired and brown-eyed. There was some orange dye in her hair. The third one was smaller and more portly, with straw-colored hair, green eyes and a slightly tanned skin. The tips of her hair were dyed blue.

During her day dreams, Posy had often wondered how the final confrontation with Roxane would play out. Often, she was imagining a big climactic fight with the criminal’s last squadron of loyal guards.

Well, apparently it wasn't going to be the case...

Eight against three (nine counting Mary) and with two special combatants on their side, the guards wouldn’t stand the ghost of a chance.

Well, it won't be an even fight dear Roxie... It will be an HUMILIATION... Posy thought to herself.

The idea was pleasing her a lot...

They jumped the three guards from both sides and gave them no quarters.

The scuffle was brutal and intense, but short-lived.

**************

“Do we truly need to take their clothes? It's not like we have a use of them.” Piper commented when Klenia moved to remove the uniforms.

“Well, they're criminals. Do we need another reason?” the latter retorted. “Besides, I bet they're the kind of women who keep hidden weapons under their uniform. Trust me, I know the type.”

Klenia turned out to be right. The three women were each carrying a switchblade hidden under their t-shirt. Piper rolled her eyes when she saw the infiltrator's proud smile.

The guard with black hair was clad in dark blue boyshorts with a pattern of yellow lightning bolts and a maroon bandeau bra. The woman with straw-colored hair was wearing puce control briefs and a beige push-up bra. The one with dark blond hair was wearing candy pink panties with a pattern of white little hearts and a white brassiere with a pattern of yellow smileys. Clearly, she chose the wrong profession.

They quickly hog-tied the three women with ropes to make sure they wouldn't free each other: they wrapped one coil of rope around the wrists, another around the upper-arms, a third one around the thighs and a fourth one around the ankles. Then, they connected the ropes binding the wrists and the ones binding the ankles with one final rope. They gagged the guards with a few layers of tape wrapped around the lower face. Though they weren't afraid that they could call for help, not anymore since all the guard were now trussed up somewhere. They gagged these women to prevent them to try to use their teeth to release their friends.

They didn't bother with hiding the three bound-and-gagged women though: there was no other guard left to find them anyway.

Clover, Posy, Klenia, Shayna, Piper, Annabeth, Agria, and Cleo all shared a look. They nodded.

It was time to settle things once and for all.

Mary followed them with an awkward smile.

**************

Roxane Barca was in her office room, sitting behind her desk and filing some papers.

She was still wearing her trademark red, black and white clothes: a crimson red knee-long business pencil skirt with a matching business jacket, a crisp white shirt, red high heels, black stockings, a gold ring adorned with a ruby, and gold earrings adorned with one ruby each. One lock of her dark brown hair was dyed purple.

When a group composed of two vigilantes, two infiltrators, two special combatants, two security guards and one fisherwoman burst into the room, the businesswoman was completely taken by surprise.

“YOU?!” she exclaimed when she saw the Vigilantes.

She had an almost comical dumbfounded expression, with her mouth wide open.

That look on her face alone was worth the complicated infiltration they had to go through.

Clover and Posy appreciated it at its fair value.

Roxane managed to regain her composure and got up to face them.

“So. You barbarians finally came.” she scornfully commented. “I didn't think you'd have enough skills to pass my guards. I thought they’d manage to shoot you like lousy dogs.”

“I see you haven't gotten rid of your detestable arrogance.” Clover retorted. “Hopefully, we're about to rectify that.”

Roxane raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Let's not waste our time listening to her.” Posy commented. “Let's do it.”

She and Clover moved to approach her.

“Oh, you think you are so high and mighty... But in fact you're just as hypocritical as I am.” Roxane commented. “Isn't your goal to stop criminals?”

“Of course. That's why we're going to beat the hell out of you.” Posy said with a terrifying smile.

“Then why are you working with one?”

Roxane pointed at Klenia.

“I mean. Have you even checked her criminal record?” she continued.

“She's a better person than you.” Posy retorted.

Roxane chuckled wickedly. “The handball players she mugged just because she wanted to try one of their outfits would probably disagree with you, and so would the football players. And they are far from the only victims. So many women mugged for no other reason that to satisfy her own selfish urges...”

There was a moment of hesitation.

Posy couldn't help but briefly glance at Klenia.

Roxane smiled. Her hand moved to reach something in a drawer of her desk.

A bullet flew right next to her cheek and hit the wall behind. Roxane didn't have the time to finish her movement and open the drawer.

Agria had made a warning shot.

The corrupt businesswoman moved her hands away from the desk and showed that they were empty.

Agria rolled her eyes and groaned in annoyance at Clover and Posy. “Are you truly going to let her play mind games with you?!” she exclaimed. “I say, we deal with her first, then we settle things between ourselves. I didn’t fight a small army of guards to see you debate about morals with Roxane Barca!”

Posy and Clover shared a glance, and nodded. They had recovered from their brief moment of doubt.

They walked toward the corrupt businesswoman. Their teammates allowed them to go alone. Clover and Posy were the ones who suffered because of the Eye, which Roxane was financing. The two Vigilantes would therefore be the ones who'd arrest the woman.

Roxane paled a little, and actually looked scared for a few seconds.

However, she forced herself to put on a brave face again.

“Sure, barbarians. Indulge in your violent pleasures. But then what will happen to Zoé?”

Clover and Posy stopped dead in their tracks and shared a worried glance.

Roxane smiled triumphantly.

“Yes! I've made my researches about you, Vigilantes. That's how I learned about your little... peculiar family. I know that, on the official adoption papers, she's the daughter of Mikani Noyokaze. But I also know that, for all intent and purpose, you are her adoptive mothers almost just as much as Mikani.” She chuckled scornfully. “I guess you Provincials are still polygamous savages...”

“You wouldn't dare-” Clover said.

“I've left a few mercenaries in the same town. Tough criminals-for-hire. They are something akin to... a guarantee. Zoé seems like a fine girl. I shudder at the prospect of the accident that could happen to her... I mean, a girl of her pedigree. As a woman from Olympus, it would break my heart to see her harmed.”

“You know...”

“... who she truly is? Please. I was part of the Eye, remember? How long do you think you could hide the truth to me? Of course I know.” Roxane shook her head condescendingly. “The last descendant of Constantin Basileus... You barbarians have no idea of the value she has in the eyes of the people of my country!”

Posy clenched her fists in anger.

“Zoé's not your thing! She doesn't belong to you or to your country!” Clover barked at her.

“Of course she does.” Roxane retorted. “A pure blood flows through her veins. Her place is with people like me. Superior people. I was actually devising a plan to have her kidnapped. I must admit, Hieron is a lot smarter than I thought. You fools probably never suspected all the things he set up to protect Zoé and her little family. You barbarians came here sooner than I anticipated, but I won't hesitate to have my team kill her. I prefer to see her dead rather than growing up to become part of you Provincials!”

Posy and Clover were feeling both furious and powerless. Behind them, Klenia was ready to jump at Roxane to pummel her. Shayna actually had to physically restrain her, as it could put Zoé's life on jeopardy.

“We're wasting time here!” Agria barked. She looked at Roxane. “Do you have already called your mercenaries?! Are you currently in communication with them?”

“What?” Roxane frowned. Taken aback by the special combatant's outburst, she wasn't able to hide her reaction of surprise.

“I guess it means no.” Agria commented. “Perfect.” She aimed at the criminal's head with her handgun. “If you try to touch anything on your desk, I'll blow your brains out.”

“Mercenaries aren't of any use if you can't warn them in time...” Clover said. She had realized the mistake Roxane made by bragging to them, just like Agria did a few seconds ago.

Posy couldn't help but chuckle. “The idiot... She started monologuing... Classic mistake.”

She, Klenia, Shayna and Clover snickered mockingly.

Roxane's face became ghostly white.

“One of my guards will call them!” she shrieked.

“Then it's a good thing that we've dealt with all of them.” Posy retorted.

“The staff will-”

“Also been dealt with.” Clover said.

“The outer sentries-”

“Now, you're just starting to embarrass yourself.” Posy interrupted her.

Roxane blinked.

“Face it, Roxie.” Clover mocked. “All your mercenaries are bound and gagged somewhere. And most of them have been divested of their clothes. You're basically the only woman still standing.”

“Also, we'll call Aster and Mikani as soon as we've dealt with you, to warn them about your little team. Your mercenaries may quickly discover why you don't want to mess with former infiltrators of the Rebellion...” Posy added.

Roxane lost it.

“This can't be happening! I am the direct descendant of Lysandre Barca!” she barked. “A superior blood flows through my veins! I can't be bested my mere Provincials!”

Posy rolled her eyes. “For the love of Goodness... Show some dignity in defeat! Be a woman!”

“Curse you! Curse you all! CURSE YOU!”

Roxane however soon found herself unable to curse anyone anymore... when they shoved her own red socks into her mouth to shut her up and wrapped a copious amount of tape around her lower face to shut her big mouth.

Then, Clover and Posy methodically stripped the businesswoman down to her lacy ruby red high-cut panties and matching lacy full-cup bra. Once again, their teammates let them to everything themselves.

“I wish Amber was here… She would have loved the spectacle…” Clover commented.

The Vigilantes mummified Roxane's legs and the upper part of her body and arms with tape. They also wrapped tape around her fingers, hands and wrists. Finally, they tied some ropes around her legs and arms. Just in case. Plus, they wanted to take the time to humiliate her a little. So they added a crotch-rope and a hog-tie.

The furious businesswoman squirmed on the floor, but she couldn't do anything against her predicament.

She had lost.

Roxane helplessly glared at Klenia, who was giving Aster and Mikani a call.

“Cuhrs yhh! Cuhrs yhh hll!”

“Now, I know I shouldn’t encourage uniform stealers, but that is one pleasant sight…” Piper mockingly commented.

She, Annabeth, Shayna, Clover and Posy snickered. They were maybe from different backgrounds, but they were united by their common hatred of the corrupt businesswoman.

**************

Seated inside a car with tainted windows, Kaie was watching the back entrance of the nearby flower shop.

So boring... she thought to herself.

Kaie was a mercenary-for-hire. She was wearing black calf-long boots, navvy blue jean shorts with black fishnet stockings underneath, a brown belt, a white t-shirt with a red skull and cross-bones, and a black studded leather jacket. Her left ear was pierced, as well as her nose.

Kaie had been hired with three other criminals-for-hire of similar background to watch the building and mount a kidnapping of the young teenager living here. Sure, her adoptive mothers were former infiltrators and rebels, but the criminals were confident. They weren't scared of a florist and her employees!

Kidnapping some brat? It would be an easy job!

Kaie’s hair were dyed entirely purple. The mercenary had a short assymetric haircut, with a short left side and a longer right side, as a bang was swept to the right, covering her cheek. She had a lightly tanned skin, golden brown eyes, and an angular face with a pointy chin.

Kaie heard someone tap on the window of the car.

She recognized Aden's outfit. Because of the ceiling of the car, Kaie couldn't see her face, but that beige t-shirt and that disgusting black jacket splattered in lemon green were a dead giveaway.

She opened the window of the car.

“Aden! I told you to watch the alleyway! What do you want? I swear, if it's to ask me another cigaret-”

A hand grabbed Kaie by the nose and forced her to put her head out of the window.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Hey bitch! What's the big ide-”

As she was cursing, something was shoved into her mouth to silence her. It was cold and metallic.

Kaie's eyes widened.

It was the barrel of a pistol!

For the first time, the criminal-for-hire properly looked at the woman.

She was indeed wearing Aden's clothes: black ankle boots, black jeans, beige t-shirt and black leather jacket splattered in lemon green. However, she wasn't Aden. She was a raven-black-haired woman with a pale skin, who was slightly shorter than average but still very intimidating-looking. Her brown eyes were burning with anger.

Kaie paled. She recognized that woman. Mikani Noykaze. Former infiltrator of the Rebellion. Also, the adoptive mother of the girl they were hired to kidnap.

And currently, she was shoving a gun into her mouth.

The mercenary panicked. Sweat formed in droplets on her forehead. She tried to say: 'Wait! Don't shoot! I can explain!', but she had a hard time articulating because of the barrel of the gun. “Whht! Dhn't shht! Ah chn hxplhhn!”

“The only words I want to hear come out of your shithole are: 'Yes madam.' Understood?” Mikani coldly commented.

Kaie blinked.

“Yhs mhdhm!” she then obeyed.

“Now, you will nicely exit your car and follow me in the backyard of Aster's shop.”

“Y... Yhs mhdhm!”

“And once we'll be away from prying eyes, you will strip naked and spend a few hours trussed up and gagged until we decide to call the police. It will be a nice lesson.”

Kaie's eyes widened. However, she clearly saw that Mikani was within an ace of killing her. The woman was livid with rage. The mercenary understood that only unconditional obedience would save her life.

“Y... Yhs mhdhm...” she whimpered.

**************

Aden was lying on her stomach in the backyard of the flower shop. Her limbs were tightly hogtied, with her hands bound behind her back and directly tied to her ankles, like a turkey about to be placed in the oven. She had shoulder-long dark blond hair and two pigtails, one on each side of her head. Her eyes were blue and her skin was light.

The mercenary was completely naked. Her black boyshorts and her grey socks had been shoved into her mouth to gag her, with her black t-shirt bra bra used as a makeshift cleave-gag. Tape had also been wrapped around her lower face anyway, therefore the bra had been added solely for the purpose of humiliating her.

Aden was still trembling with fear. The mercenary considered herself a tough no-nonsense woman. However, the look in Mikani's eyes when she ambushed her and stole her clothes... That look TERRIFIED her.

The blond criminal-for-hire raised her head when she heard people walk into the backyard of the flower shop.

Mikani was coming back. She was escorting Kaie.

When she saw her teammate, Aden couldn't believe her eyes. The purple-haired woman was a mean criminal-for-hire, the kind that didn't let herself be walked over. And yet, Kaie was now looking on the verge of tears, scared for her life.

Without any complaint, like an obedient child, Kaie took off all her clothes one by one and dropped them on the ground. When she was down to her dark purple figure-hugging panties, blood red tube top, and black socks, she didn't dare to protest or even to hesitate. She removed them as well.

Who are these women?! What kind of monsters are they?! Aden thought to herself.

Mikani ordered Kaie to lie on her stomach, then she tightly hog-tied the purple-haired mercenary, binding her ankles and wrists together, just like how she did with Aden. Next, she picked up the discarded underwear.

“Open your mouth.”

Kaie grimaced. “Please... I was just following orders...” she begged.

“What did I tell you?” Mikani retorted with a cold voice.

“I...” Kaie bit her lower lip, then whimpered: “Y... Yes madam...”

Mikani filled the purple-haired woman's mouth with the underwear, then wrapped several layers of tape around her lower face.

Finally, she took off Aden's jacket, commenting about how ugly she thought it was. She put on Kaie's studded leather jacket to rub some salt in the wound and to humiliate her.

“You two are getting off lightly.” the black-haired woman then said to them. “Aster left your two pals inside a dumpster.”

Aden and Kaie shared a glance.

We shouldn't have accepted that job... We shouldn't have threatened the daughter of such women...

Indeed, one should never threaten the cub of a mother bear.

**************

From the inside of a dumpster, the two naked mercenaries looked at Aster with pleading eyes. The first one was a woman in her early thirties who had a light skin and blue eyes. Her hair were short and dyed bright red. The right side of her nose and her lower lip were pierced. The second one was around the same age. She had collarbone-long jet black hair, a pale skin, and dark brown eyes.

Both criminals were trussed up with ropes and gagged with tape. Their undergarments (a red set of underwear for the first one, a blue set for the second one) had been shoved into their mouths.

Aster grabbed the lid of the dumpster. She was wearing the black leather jacket splattered with blood red paint, the crimson red t-shirt, the black studded trousers, and the black studded boots of the red-haired criminal.

"Enjoy the smell." she commented to the two women.

Then she closed the lid.








Epilogue:

**************

They called Hieron once Roxane was secured. He sent a team of Special Ops that he had been keeping on stand-by to retrieve her. These people were efficient, but not the best when it came to subtlety or discretion, hence why they often needed the subtler infiltrators to go first in order to soften things up for them. The Special Ops were going to round up and extradite Roxane, her personal bodyguards, and the sentries that were guilty of serious crimes. The lucky ones, the ones whose crimes were not serious enough to justify an extradition, would be left on-site. An anonymous call would be made to the police to tip them off about the women's predicament.

A line of criminals, still bound, gagged and only clad in their underwear, were escorted inside a few stealth boats.

Clover waved mockingly at the two bullies, Betty and Susanne, when she saw them. “Enjoy the prison, I heard they bully the newcomers! Hope you like getting a taste of your own medicine!” she exclaimed to them.

Amber snickered.

One of the two Special Ops escorting a squirming Phoebe was complaining: “Man! Who thought it was a good idea to tape her together with a guard we DIDN'T need to extradite?!”

“Tell me about it! She really didn't want to be separated from her swimsuit-clad colleague!” his colleague added. “She headbutted me in the face!”

Agria glared at Cleo.

The blond special combatant pretended to be busy elsewhere.

“Hey, you, calm down!” another voice interrupted the two Special Ops.

Being half-naked, gagged and having her wrists bound behind her back wasn’t deterring Diane in the slightest. She was trying to kick Ayano with her bare feet, and two Special Ops had to physically restrain her while the black-haired sentry was hiding behind a third agent.

"Goodness... I am not paid enough for this!"

Piper, Annabeth, Primrose, Yusufa, Katniss, and Madge had regrouped around the wounded Reyna and Hazel. Reyna was repeating that her wound was nothing. Hazel was hamming it up because she enjoyed being pampered by everyone.

Shayna was waiting with her sister.

Mary was also standing next to Venia. The brown-haired woman was watching the events with a slightly dismayed expression. Apparently, her brief bout as an infiltrator didn't rekindle the flame. She only wanted two things: to go home and to receive her money.

Posy and Klenia watched together Roxane being loaded last in a stealth boat, after Janette and her other personal bodyguards. The businesswoman, still bound and gagged, had the time to cast them one last hate-filled glare before she disappeared inside the vessel.

Well, good bye Roxie. And good riddance! Posy thought to herself.

“I enjoyed being able to have at least one nice little adventure with you Vigilantes before you quit... I guess we'll now be going our separate ways.” Klenia commented once the corrupt businesswoman was out of sight.

Posy nodded. “I'll be forever grateful for the things you taught me, but I can't follow the same path as you anymore. Not after what happened with Shirley.”

Klenia shrugged. “I understand. What are your plans now?”

“Piper and Annabeth want to recruit me, but I don't think I have the discipline needed for a good security guard.” Posy answered. “I'll have to think of something... I'll ask Hieron if there's a way to put my talents at the service of the law... A bit like the special combatants, but without the 'black op assassin' part of the job.” The busty woman shrugged. “Or maybe I will become once again an ordinary librarian. What about you?”

“I'll probably settle with Shayna for a while, give a hand at the flower shop... I rarely do long-term plans. I'll also have to explain everything to Aster and Mikani...” Klenia winced in anticipation.

“Any chance that I can change your mind... about you-know-what?”

Klenia thought for a moment. “I make no promises. Shayna is always telling me that I should take it easy. I'll try to listen more to her advice...”

“Depending on the path I choose, we may not be on the same side the next time we meet... I don't want to have to fight you.”

“One can be an adversary and a friend at the same time.” Klenia answered with a shrug.

Posy smiled lightly. She was taking Klenia's last sentence for what it was: a permission and an invitation to move on. During the past few years, the brunette had followed Klenia's path, but it was now time for her to follow a new one. One that would fully be hers, and for that she had to distance herself from her former mentor.

“Thank you.”

"Take care of yourself."

Klenia briefly squeezed her shoulder, then went to regroup with her wife.

**************

Clover and Amber regrouped with their friend shortly after Klenia left.

“You seem to be feeling better...” Clover commented.

“... as if you've been released from a weight.” Amber added.

“That's because I have.” Posy answered.

Clover understood what she meant. “Another step in the path of redemption?”

“You can sum it up like that, yes.” Posy said with a nod.

Amber looked at the stealth boat in which Roxane had been loaded. “So, it's a win for us, right? We've finally done it?”

“It looks like a victory to me. The Special Ops took every document she had in her office. The judges will have enough evidences now.” Clover said.

“I feel a little strange... We've spent so much time working to bring her down... And now that we've finally done it... I feel at peace. Not even necessarily overjoyed or happy. Just at peace.” Posy commented.

“Must be a feeling of closure.” the black woman explained.

Posy chuckled. “How can you be so good at reading me and my feelings? You're better than me at understanding what I feel!”

“Must be a natural gift.” Clover said with a grin.

Her two friends chuckled.

“So, a new page is about to be written.” Amber said. “A new path awaits us.”

“A path to atone.” Posy concluded with a nod.

The brunette quickly glanced at Piper and Annabeth, who were talking with their colleagues. The two security guards noticed her and nodded to salute her.

The message was clear. Their offer was still valid.

Posy intended to keep in touch with them.

“Exactly. I don't know how different it will be from our previous one... But it's definitively a new beginning.” the busty brunette commented.

“Hieron may have something in store for us.” Clover intervened.

“Well, we're free to choose what we want to do. But we'll do it later. Today... Today we celebrate!” Posy answered.

Amber beamed. “Exactly! When we're home, let's go to my bar! I'm inviting you!”

“Now, that's what I'm talking about!”

**************

And indeed, the three friends partied like there was no tomorrow. They would of course have to decide what they were going to do with their lives next, but for one day they chose to relax and postpone their decision. Posy suspected that the road to redemption would still be long, but she was sure that she was on the right track.

She knew however that, as long as she was with Clover and Amber, she would have help.

Roxane was finally trialed for her many crimes. With the documents they found in her villa of Artemise, the judges this time had enough evidences to put her behind bars for the rest of her life.

Her close followers and all the sentries that were extradited with her were also convicted.

The other sentries of the estate, the ones whose crimes weren’t serious enough to justify an extradition, were all found by the police thanks to an anonymous call. For better or for worst, most of them chose to keep working as sentries-for-hire. Time would tell if they’d end up one day regretting their decision...

The news quickly spread that Primrose Security was getting contracts with the government. Even more clients started to require their services. Their business became more booming than before.

Agria and Cleo kept working for Hieron. They were his top agents and they helped him solve a lot of problematic situations.

Mary... received a hefty sum of money. She was happy.

And as for Klenia...

...

...

...

well...

… In Aster's shop, shortly after Klenia's return.

“Now, I know that you are angry that I went on a dangerous uniform-stealing-related adventure without warning you first. I made a mistake, I should have told you... But for the record, I'd like to say that it wasn't only MY idea. Shayna was on board with it. And Zoé too. Right you two?”

Klenia's question was met with a deafening silence.

“Come on, tell them! Zoé! Shayna! Tell them it wasn't only my idea!”

But Zoé, as crafty as always, denied all implication. And Shayna, with an apologetic smile, kept silent.

Sorry love, but better you than me. the blonde's eyes were saying. I'll let you use the new padded handcuffs on me as an apology.

And the worst thing? Klenia couldn't even be angry at her wife. Not when she was giving her that little pouty smile. (The promise of being allowed to have fun with her and their new pair of handcuffs was also no stranger to her feeling.)

“Now, Aster, Mikani... Let's just discuss things like the grown-up women we are... Right? Right? Mikani... What are you doing with these ropes? And Aster... Is that duct tape? Come on! Don't you think it's a little childish? Mikani, Aster, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!”

**************

THE END
Last edited by rufusluciusivan on Thu Sep 15, 2022 2:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
tirepanted3
Posts: 1934
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:40 am

Re: Vigilante

Post by tirepanted3 »

Always a triumph when you wrap up a new story. Characters reunite, villains get their comeuppance, and more women get their uniforms stolen. What more could we ask for? :lol:

As always, I was glad to see the return of Mary. Her introductory scene in this chapter was spectacular, charting the trail of muggings and restraints that the Vigilantes have made through the Barca mansion. And Mary's reactions to some of these scenes (“Sorry... Just passing through...”) were priceless.

As for Mary herself, I can't help feeling sorry for her once again - not only is she forced into being the "supply girl" on the team for this mission, but Agria is just downright mean to her. "Meat shield" is just plain rude... :lol:

As I anticipated, the final chapter played out much like the final round of a video game, with the final round of guards being the most committed to Roxanne's cause and thus presumably the most difficult to defeat. I quite enjoy the "social hierarchy" of the Barca mansion, how different sets of sentries and employees are considered superior to others. Helps the mansion's security structure feel more vibrant, as well as more threatening.

The Vigilantes showed some smart strategy in going after the more vulnerable sentries - i.e. the ones sleeping in their beds. Almost feels like cheating, to be honest. Especially since the guards had already removed the uniforms prior to being mugged. ;)

The takedowns of the uniformed guards were fast and fun. Unfortunately, these guards aren't nearly as professional as they claim to be - you'd think they would have sensed something was wrong earlier, when they didn't receive communications from any other guards in the mansion. But I suppose they don't care to keep in contact with the "lesser" guards.

Also a shame that one of the guards is named Marina, yet she never gets a chance to make any bad puns or immature jokes. Clearly she's no match for the other Marina... :lol:

So much for the "climactic fight" with the final guards - though honestly, I found it funny how quickly and easily they were dispatched. I like the little exchange between Kleina and Piper about whether they should strip the last three guards. (Had they recruited a few more Vigilantes to their team, it would be a moot point.)

Roxanne reveals how truly evil and cowardly she is in going after Zoé. Fortunately, she received her comeuppance pretty quickly. And it was great to see Aster and Mikani return for a curtain call - it seems fitting that the final uniform thefts of the story should be made by them.

A nice epilogue, resolving the various character arcs nicely once again. We get a meaningful final scene with Posy, Clover, and Amber, the gals who started the ball rolling back in Part 1. They've carried the story well.

As for Klenia... I know we should feel sorry for her, and I do a little bit, but it's fun to see her occasionally get a taste of her own medicine. ;)



All in all, "Vigilante" was a great sequel/spinoff story to the Utopia series. Cleanly divided into four "acts" (with each one longer and featuring more uniform steals than the last) with great development for characters like Posy, Clover, and Piper. The mansion infiltration was a bit lengthy, but lots of fun, and nicely split into different stages. The dialogue, as usual, was clever and funny, and plenty of the USB victims were given depth and personality.

I had a great time reading the story, and as always I look forward to your next one, whether it's in this universe or the "Pakal" world. Great job.
Trackman281
Posts: 1600
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 6:08 am

Re: Vigilante

Post by Trackman281 »

I was wondering when the next part of this adventure was coming, I'm very pleased it has arrived. 8-)

Haha, awesome opening with Osana, that made me chuckle more than what it probably should have, nicely done. :D

Loved the little comment about the two sentries gagged, yet still having a heated argument in the process. I remember the scene of these two very fondly from before so I'm happy to see they get another little cameo appearance. :lol:

In all fairness that entire scene with Mary was outstanding, I loved watching her going through all the parts of where some awesome fights and USB scenes had occurred prior to that, this scene was a great idea, well done! :D 8-)

I enjoyed the scene afterwards, I like the bit of history / lore there with Roxanne and of course, I like the idea of a group of hardened veterans soldiers, who consider themselves Alpha going up against a group of REAL Alpha's (infiltrators naturally), you've written an awesome scene in the next part haven't you, this is going to be great. :D

I was right as well, that scene with the three sleeping sentries being taken out by Agria, Klenia and Shayna was amazing, it was very well executed and I will say that this was an original takedown as I honestly don't recall seeing anything like this before, outstanding work. :D

That was a nice scene with Posy, Clover, Mary, Piper and Annabeth. It allowed for a nice break in between the USB scenes to have their personalities and characters shine through, I must admit I've very keen to see if she will accept Piper's offer, I probably already know the answer but I'm curious to see which way you'll be taking this. :D

The whole interaction with Posy and Clover was naturally a highlight for me, the Vigilantes are such an awesome group, they really are one of my favourites, these little scenes just show how strong their bond is together, I like these moments they have together, it's really nice. :D

Agria and Cleo's somewhat cold hearted states shine through again, it is cool to see this, YES I know that Cleo is the more calmer and more relaxed one of the two, but she can have her evil sides too, Agria is just an all round bad arse, she's awesome. :D

Plus I do feel for Mary, it genuinely must be difficult for her, I'm finding myself routing for her more and more as this chapter goes on. :D

Brilliant fight scene afterwards, it was very well written and the fight scene itself was explained in great detail, I liked the part as well of where they immediately recognized that it was Marina's voice so they new she was an imposter, that's another very rare trait to see, just proving that these guards are more competent that they colleagues from before, your bringing a load of originality in this chapter and it's amazing to see. :D

Plus I do like the way all these lovely sentries have dyed hair, aaahhh truly one of my weaknesses. :D 8-)

Hahaha, the following scene was great, Janette being taken down by Posy and Clover, then Annabeth getting annoyed as she quite liked those socks that are now shoved in Jannete's gob, plus how dare she call them fat cows haha. :lol: Can't wait to see how our group teach her a lesson. :).........And you didn't disappoint, Janette is once again another guard who thought now was her moment to shine and take her revenge, but alas this is not meant to be.....Guards will never get revenge on an infiltrator, the universe would be so out of balance if that ever happened. :D :lol:

I also see that even when not on screen Agria and Cleo are doing what they do best and that's taking down guards / sentries. 8-)

Eleven against three for that final guard fight......Geez, they didn't stand a snowballs chance in hell did they, awesome work. :D I also liked the part with Piper questioning why they needed to take the last three guards uniforms, obviously this makes sense given Piper real occupation and the fact, she's just a long for the ride this time, but it was still nice to see, plus it was a good idea to see if they had concealed weapons. ;) Finally they are infiltrators, stripping a guard of her uniform after they defeat them is page on one of the infiltrators handbook. :lol:

HAHAHA! WHAT AN CONFRONTATION! That smug arrogant Roxanne got exactly what she deserved, I must admit you had me holding my breath for a moment there as I genuinely wondered what was going to happen to Zoe if she managed to let her mercenaries proceed with the plan, that was very clever as I was so caught up in my own mind that I never once stopped to question.......How is she going to contact them anyway. NICELY DONE! :D

I also had a smile on my face when she was just going through the list of all the different waves of guards she had, only to find that YEP, the team have already been there, knocked them out, stripped them, tied them up, got the shirts (literally). Amazing writing here. :D :D

I loved the entire afterwards with Aster and Mikane taking down the four mercenaries who Roxanne had hired, I noticed that all four of the mercenaries clothing was that of the Gothic punk style look, very nice indeed, plus all those different dyed hair style, heck yeah! 8-)

Loved the epilogue, now why doesn't that surprise me that Phoebe was annoyed that she was removed from a certain swimsuit clad beauty haha. ;) :lol:

I found it funny that still even now Diane is still trying to kick Ayano as if it's still some how her fault she ended up as she did haha. :lol:

Nice to see that Reyna and Hazel are making a full recovery and why doesn't that surprise me either that all Mary wants to do is go home and ger money. :D

That was a nice scene as well with Klenia and Posy, yes they have to go their separate ways for now and discover their own paths, but fate will ultimately draw together again at some point, I mean after all, it always does. :D ;)

I like the ending to this scene as well, indeed the next time see the Vigilantes, we will see a newly and improved team, they will always be the top dogs, so I can't wait to see what the future has in store for this trio of amazing characters. :D

Haha the final ending scene, now THAT was awesome! 8-)

This was absolutely PHENOMENAL, I truly loved this series from start to finish, what a sheer delight it was as well to read through this entire ARC, the story was so well crafted, the characters both good and bad were all expertly written, wow, just WOW! This story was just a master piece through and through! :D

I loved the scene at the end of where it shows what all the characters did and or are doing since the infiltration of Roxanne's mansion, plus it was such a great sight to see Roxanne herself finally being carted away. I truly, TRULY enjoyed every moment of this entire spin off and I absolutly can't wait to see what the future holds for all of these characters. :D :D

P.S......So many awesome dyed hair sentries......So cool........Hhhmmm I guess this means as well Phoebe will more than likely be transferred back to Heartfelt cities, prison.......That could be interesting. ;)
rufusluciusivan
Posts: 1225
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm

Re: Vigilante

Post by rufusluciusivan »

Tirepanted: I'm glad I could wrap up this storyline and give closure to these characters. My goal is to try to put to stories the ideas I have left in mind before the end of the year.

Honestly, out of all my climaxes / finales, this one is probably my least favorite. In hindsight, adding a final layer of guards was probably a mistake. It dragged things on and I ended up impatient to finish the story. Not to say that I dislike this part, as it allowed me to bring some good moments that I wouldn't have been able to feature otherwise: some nice banters such as the one you mentioned between Piper and Klenia, giving Mary some spotlight one final time, the takedown of the sleeping guards, and Aster and Mikani teaching a lesson to these mercenaries USB-style... However, it's clearly not my favorite post at all!

The point was indeed to show that for all their arrogance, these guards aren't nearly as competent as they think they are. The staff arguably put up a better fight than them! I thought it was fitting to defeat a villain such as Roxane, who has a huge superiority complex, by denying her an awesome climactic confrontation: her final guards are curbstomped and she herself is completely undone because of her own arrogance. Not only is she humiliated by the characters, but she's also humiliated by the narration!

Agria is indeed a huge jerk, but I enjoy writing her lines. Mary is indeed mistreated by the plot once more. It's probably her bad karma from the time she was working for Calypso. :lol: Well, she has a happy ending this time. She earns a lot of money!

I was glad to be able to give some closure to the three Vigilantes with this part 4 and this epilogue. I didn't anticipate that I would grow to like these characters so much! (Actually, the challenge was to give them a satisfying closure without repeating what had been said in Protecting One's Lifestyle.) There's arguable something that's both amusing and arousing about the idea of a uniform stealer getting a taste of her own medicine, and Klenia is a perfect candidate for that!

Thanks for you thoughts on the series as a whole. I'm sharing your sentiment. Looking back, it's interesting to watch the story getting bigger and more complex. What was supposed to be a mere one-shot ultimately ended up as a full-fledge series, with the last two acts being the length of multi-part USB stories. And as I said, I didn't expect to end up having so much fun with the characters of Posy, Clover, and Piper. Ultimately, I don't regret at all writing this spin-off! Now, only the Pakal world needs some closure...

Trackaman: Arrived at last! I too was growing more and more impatient to be able to finally conclude this storyline.

The introduction scene with Mary was a ton of fun. A perfect way to make some call-backs of a few of these sentries I really liked writing, and to show the aftermath of this uniform stealing spree from the perspective of an outsider.

I enjoyed a lot writing the interactions between the characters in this part (between Clover and Posy, Piper and Posy...) so I'm glad you enjoyed them.

Agria's a jerk, no questions asked, but she a badass jerk. Cleo on the other hand doesn't have one mean bone in her entire body, and that's why she's sometimes even more terrifying.

Mary is mistreated by the plot, but she deserves some bad karma. She used to work for a human trafficker after all...

Well, most of these sentries are from Olympus. A country where dying strands of the hair to showcase one's Faction is the standard, so... ;)

Poor Janette! Klenia summed it up: 'Sucks to be her.' Serves her right for insulting Posy! :D Adding the details of the socks was very funny. Janette is kind of a jerk, so she deserved some humiliation. Indeed, guards will never get a lasting revenge on an infiltrator...That's just not how it works.

Roxane and her final guards were thoroughly humiliated - even by the narration as they weren't allowed to have a climactic fight. But that was the point. ;) Roxane's defeat being caused by her monologuing, and the way she slowly realizes that all her waves of guards had been taken out, were incredibly satisfying to write.

I suspected you'd enjoy these punk-looking mercenaries. ;) I wanted to end the story (before the epilogue) with a little final mugging.

The epilogue itself was a ton of fun, especially the call-backs of a few mercenaries. Poor Phoebe though! They didn't let her enjoy her predicament long enough. (We won't tell Raven, of course. :lol: ) I really enjoyed giving each main character of this story a little interaction, as it was their final appearance in this storyline. Plus, the Vigilantes receive some closure (a second time). I grew very fond of these three characters, so it was important for me.

I just noticed that out of all my uniform stealers, Klenia's the one who ended up bound-and-gagged the most.

I'm happy that you enjoyed this story. While I'm not entirely satisfied with the finale, I am very satisfied with the closure I was able to give to this arc: the heroines have undergone character development and the villain is behind bars.

I know you like dyed hair, so I tried to add a few of them. Judging by you PS, it's maybe not the last we hear of Phoebe apparently...
esercito sconfitto
Posts: 7096
Joined: Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:06 pm

Re: Vigilante

Post by esercito sconfitto »

what I regret is that Zoé, despite being the designated target of the whole plan, has a minimal part in the tale, just a mention...a real pity, she is irresistible.
but as for the rest, I loved the story , especially because - like I said it previously- at some moment it is a complete and detailed report of a Fortress conquest battle, what in these last weeks is the centre of my interest

Rufusluciusivan, many thanks for your efforts! :D
rufusluciusivan
Posts: 1225
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm

Re: Vigilante

Post by rufusluciusivan »

You're welcome. Honestly, the efforts are more than worth it given all the comments and reviews I receive.

Zoé is a character I really enjoy writing. I think Lizéa summed it up best in Final Gambits: A smiling proper-looking schoolgirl... with the eyes and the mindset of a shrewd businesswoman. Her appearance in this story had always been supposed to be a little cameo, but in hindsight it's true that she ended up criminally underutilized. Well, maybe another time, one day, who knows? She's around 13-14 in Vigilante (was around 10 during the events of Final Gambits), so in a few more years she may one day become directly involved... I know I said that she wouldn't choose to become a full-fledged uniform stealer and would instead become a social worker because it suits her backstory of an adopted child, and I stand by it, but on the other hand she's been raised by six former infiltrators who have made quite some enemies... Statistically, it's almost impossible that uniform stealing won't be part of her life at least once! :lol:

I'm glad you appreciated the whole 'stronghold-invasion' angle of Part 4. While I'm mitigated about the final post, I certainly enjoyed all the other ones of this part! It is indeed something I've never truly done before. Had to mark the occasion with this finale somehow! ;)
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