[color=faf07f]‘Oh, c’mon. It can’t possibly be THAT terrible!’[/color]

[color=78a9cf]‘It’ll be terrible. Believe me. I shouldn’t be here.’[/color]

Two tiny girls were walking down the busy streets of Penrose. One was eight, the other twelve. The twelve year old was Josefin Hermansson, [url=https://i.imgur.com/vd5d5pr.jpg]a girl with short dirty-blonde hair, colorful skirt, white shirt and a red backpack on her back[/url]. She was shining with excitement. The eight year old was Taihei Kumi, [url=https://i.imgur.com/kGr3MQX.jpg]who was shorter, with shoulder-length blue hair tied into twin-tails, a white shirt with a blue skirt[/url], and an expression like all hope had been drained out of the world.

[color=faf07f]‘You’ll do fine! You took over the whole place in your last mission, correct?’[/color] Josefin encouraged.

[color=78a9cf]‘Yeah. My enemies swarmed me at a bad time and I was almost killed. This time, the objective will be much more fragile,’[/color] Taihei said, in a soft and unhopeful tone.

[color=faf07f]‘Ah, geesh! I’ll teach you to enjoy life yet! Hey, I’ll invite you to see my family next time we have time!’[/color]

[color=78a9cf]‘No. You don’t want me anywhere near your family. Terrible things happen to those around me.’[/color]

Josefin frowned at her travelling companion. She was aware of Asengav’s influence could have negative consequences, but the effect on Taihei was the worst she had ever seen. If she could ever find a way out of this - Josefin winced at the pain in her head at that thought - she’d save Taihei first.

[color=faf07f]‘Anyways! We’ll start our journey of making you happy by arriving in time!’[/color] Josefin claimed. However, at this time, Taihei had suddenly stopped, lifted a stone from her pocket to inspect. She stared at it for numerous seconds, before sighing, dropping the stone back into her pocket and then lifting her phone to type something. Josefin looked on with a confused expression.

[color=faf07f]‘... What are you writing?’[/color]

[color=78a9cf]‘That the “Artificer” and the “Pilferer” will be arriving late.’[/color]

[color=faf07f]‘But, uh, we’re perfectly on time.’[/color]

[color=78a9cf]‘Remember to act scared.’[/color]

[color=faf07f]‘… Huh?’[/color]

Then police sirens appeared heading rapidly in their direction. Josefin was turning to look with an alarmed expression while Taihei just stared blankly ahead. Suddenly the window right next to them cracked open, and two adult men exited the jewelry store with bags over their shoulders.

[color=red]‘Police!’[/color]

[color=gray]‘Damn it, grab hostages! These two will do!’[/color]

[color=faf07f]‘Wah-!’[/color] Josefin’s eyes widened as she was suddenly grabbed and had a gun pointed at her head, and the same with Taihei, who was just looking done with the situation. A van suddenly drove in front of them, door opening to show more crooks, the front pointed away from the direction they were walking.

[color=gray]‘SEE!? WE’VE GOT HOSTAGES!’[/color] The crook holding the currently expressionless Taihei shouted at the police while the two girls were being thrown into the van.

[color=faf07f]‘Seriously!?’[/color] Josefin exclaimed, looking around, suddenly realizing. [color=faf07f]‘No, wait! You’re driving the wrong way!’[/color] She started trying to flail.

[color=78a9cf]‘Quiet down,’[/color] Taihei urged, rolling with it. [color=78a9cf]‘We’ll find a proper opportunity.’[/color]

[color=gray]‘Shut it, you two! One more word and I’ll shoot you somewhere that hurts!’[/color]

[color=faf07f]‘Waaaa… I don’t believe this…’[/color]

And with that, the two agents of Asengav were kidnapped by common crooks and thrown into the back of a van and would be driving away from the police in the absolute opposite direction of where they were going. It would be several hours before they got an opportunity to transform and disable their kidnappers, so for now they had to bide their time.

Somewhere, watching the event through a camera, a mysterious girl with multiple cellphones at her desk, facepalmed in irritation.
[hr]

Lily pouted at first, but then her eyes lighted up at the the mention of Bob. 
[color=fff200]"Aaahh! Fuzzy Bob!"[/color] She screamed, and turned to lean over the back of the couch to catch a glimpse of the fluffy bunny. Ever since Alex obtained the pet, she has fawned over and given it a lot of attention, perhaps even at the expense of Alex himself at some points.
[color=fff200]"Who's a litle floof? Yes youu are!"[/color]
She squeed when the bunny waved his arm, and Lily waved back with a giggle. Then, she puffed her cheeks at Alex' reaction.
[color=fff200]"Oh come on, Alex! That was obviously him saying 'Good morning'!"[/color] She said, imitating a deep voice, making rabbit ears out of her hands.

While Alex checked up on Bob, Lily turned back to look at the news; she looked concerned when it reported about a jewelry store robbery, followed by the disappearance of two girls who were last seen in the vicinity, concluding with an assumption that the robbers took the girls as hostages.
[color=fff200]"A kidnapping! Alex, we have a crime on our hands!"[/color] She jumped up and pointed towards the balcony with bravado. She kept the pose for a while, and then looked back. 
[color=fff200]"Alex, this is when you ans-Whoah!"[/color]

Lily caught the tiny metallic object in her hands with a bit of a stumble, and looked at it in wonder.
[color=fff200]"Ooh, shiny! Wat is it, some kind of-Kiyah!"[/color] She froze, her tongue unable to form words. Her body trembled, and a bright red covered her face.

[i][color=fff200]Oh no, he's done it...AN ENGAGEMENT RING![/color][/i]

Lily looked at Alex, and tried to say something. Instead of words, a strange, high-pitched shriek came out.

[i][color=fff200]We h-haven't even started dating yet, and already he's p-pro-propo-AHH! What should I answer? I don't want to hurt his feelings![/color][/i]

She took a deep breath, about to say something else when the reporter interrupted their regular broadcast with breaking news. Lily used that as an excuse, and turned to look at the TV.

"Reports live on the scene indicate mass hysteria developing on the scene. witnesses report seeing monsters on the scene, while experts claim the the phenomenon is caused by hallucinogenics released by terrorists..."

Lily then took off at a run, and opened the balcony windows.
[color=fff200]"Th-There's monsters to defeat, and civilians to rescue! Let's go!"[/color] She held her hand out in a dramatic pose.

[color=fff200]"Let my spirit gallop across the field of clouds, and strike my foes down with thunderous applause!"[/color]

She glowed yellow, and with a crackle of electricity, transformed. Unlike the sequence from before, this time it looked different, with an emphasis on the motorcycle's parts forming from electricity and joining together under her. By the end of it, she posed while sitting on the motorcycle, a little yellow scarf around her neck and waving in the breeze...Until Lily noticed it, and ripped it off. [color=fff200]"I don't like scarves, Ixion! Stop trying to make me wear one! Anyway, hop on! We got some baddies to bash!"[/color]

[hr]
Sally cocked her head to the side, and blinked. 
"Huh? It's not?" She pondered, her rabbit-ear accessories now drooping down the side of her head. Kimble giggled, and clung to Alicia's leg like an attention-seeking pet. "It's cause Sally's so lucky, right?" Sylvia simply shook her head. "It's always the same with her." She gave a friendly little punch at Penny's shoulder, and smirked. "R&D still needs to wrangle out a few kinks with the flight module before you can use it. But hey, at least you got these new toys to play with. Be sure to write a report on their performance the next time you come back from field work, so we'll know how to improve them," she said with a big smile on her face. "Anyway, you guys can relax for now. I have some reports I need filed, and-"

At that moment, a Beckoner appeared to her, and whispered something in her ear. "Alright, let her in and guide her to the hangar. Might as well get her working right away," she spoke back, not trying to hide the conversation unlike the Patron, who frowned before disappearing in a tiny cloud of glitter. A few minutes later,  Summer found her way through the entrance hall, and then a left turn to the hangar, where Sylvia waited for her with a hand on her hip. "Greetings, Summer North. We're glad to have you here. I'm Sylvia Starshine, and I run the place, kind of. You've already met with your Beckoner, right? If not, you can apply for one at the Human Resources office. It's upstairs from here, a left turn, a right, past the Hall of Divine Judgement, then another right, an at the end of the corridor next to the water cooler." Sally greeted Kyle with a wave. "Here, have a sandwich!"

A Beckoner then appeared, unusual in appearance compared to the others; it was a tiny winged brown bear with beady black eyes and a strange, constant smile on it's face. "Oh, not to worry. I have decided to become the chosen's guide, hmm~" the Beckoner spoke, in a stilted, breathy tone. Sylvia simply stared, but shook her head. "Geez. Well, that makes things easier." She gestured to behind her. "From now on, you'll be reporting to the 'Seraph', Alicia Hayden. She'll teach you how we operate. Anyway, I got some important business to take care of. Later." And with that Sylvia walked off, leaving the rest behind. Sally blinked. "Well, nice to meet you, ehe!"