Let's turn up YOUR heat [Rockets?]

[Alix Taylor]

So much had happened. Alix couldn't even begin to touch on any of the recent experiences that she had. First, with the disaster at the contest, then the incident with Akika, and now this. The island was a wreck. Mt. Cherry had erupted, and the rockets were all to blame.

More specifically in Alix Taylor's mind, Tray Waters was to blame. He instigated this. He was at fault. Anger replaced the hurt long ago as a certain tomboy peered through the canopy of forest that surrounded Megalos. Along the the hazy ash that littered down every second, she was more than covered in her position.

"I'm sorry Mikey, but you'll have to stay hidden for this mission," the girl whispered to her companion. Worry replaced bliss as a pair of large, concerned eyes failed to disconnect from hers. The girl sighed internally, as this mission meant as much to him as it did to her. Although the turtle only belonged to Tray momentarily, he felt partially connected to him as well. The blond had hurt them both. A small hand touched her, eyes pleading under the headband. Alix almost caved, but she forced herself to shake her head.

"No, they'd recognize you instantly. I need you to stay here, in case something goes wrong. You'll need to bust me out, okay?" A heartbroken nod answered her question as she leaned forward to gently kiss his forehead.

"Thank you."

Turning back to view the captured city, she watched as rocket vehicles constantly drove in and out, weaving through the streets to intimidate any remaining villagers. Alix had an idea... but entering like this? She'd be recognized too easily. Another wonderful perk of being close to Tray (in the past. He was a stranger to her now).

The girl had a pair of sewing scissors and a pocket knife. She dug through her bag, finding the minuscule blades first. Holding her palm out, she stared at the object with disdain. This was probably one of her stupidest ideas yet. However, she quickly moved before she could second guess herself.

SNIP SNIP SNIP

Chocolate locks piled around the girl's knees as she sheared off inches of hair that she had been growing out for so long. A gasp sounded to the girl's left, but she ignored the water pokemon. This was her decision.

Eventually, Mikey had to help her. She just couldn't cut her hair evenly, but that was okay. Mikey fixed it up and evened it out, making it look manageable. Once the reptile finished, the girl slowly raised a hand to run it through her choppy strands of hair.

It really was gone...

Looking back to Mikey, she nodded slowly. Then she crept forward. Her plan was relatively simple. Sabotage. First, the vehicles. Alix wanted to cut off their transport. It was a big island. If she could limit their supplies (like food and water), she'd slow them down. But how...?

A rocket walked ahead, whistling loudly in the dim haze. Alix's eyes narrowed as an idea materialized. She stalked behind the rocket, whom which remained oblivious to her presence. She inches closer and closer, step by step until she was only a foot or two away when she stumbled and made noise.

The rocket whipped around, cigarette lolling out of his mouth, but Alix had already shot forward. Drilling her fist upward into his chin, she successfully triggered the 'shut-off' nerve as the rocket went out cold. Grabbing a hold of his ankles, she dragged him towards the forest line, where Mikey sat waiting. She quickly stripped him of his rocket attire, leaving him in a pair of checkered boxers. Mikey tied him up and gagged him, leaving him to be a problem dealt with later.

Alix quickly ditched her own clothing and slipped on the pants, grateful for the belt that accompanied them. This grunt was not overweight, but her wasn't exactly her size. Regardless, she yanked on the ugly shirt and tugged on the boots. Oh, well, they were only about five sizes too big. Great. The brunette slipped off her socks and stuffed them into the toe of the shoe, which helped somewhat. After she yanked the gloves on, she felt relatively set. Oh wait, the hat! Grabbing the cap, she slipped it over her messy head of tangled choppy locks. She turned to Mikey, shrugging. "Do I look convincing?" she asked honestly, to which the Squirtle nodded eagerly. She mirrored the action, before turning to head back out.

Hazel eyes burned as a certain disguised tomboy was out for revenge.

[Disguise {Male}]

[Alix Taylor]

Alix wasn't stupid. She wasn't about to prance in front of a group of rockets and get caught. No, the disguise was a safety net in case someone saw her. It would allow her to walk around without having to hide behind every opaque object.

Regardless, Alix made a beeline for the parked vans at the edge of the cleared lot. She looked around inconspicuously, before deciding that she had enough cover. Sliding around to the side of one of the vans, she instantly disappeared under it. Feeling more covered, the tomboy rolled over, yanking the jagged pocket knife from her belt. Staring at the underside of the vehicle, she quickly identified her target. The serpentine belt. Grabbing it, she sawed through it with her knife, leaving the material to hang loosely from the underside viewpoint.

The serpentine belt was a good target. It's damage wouldn't show for a few miles, but no rocket would get far. Without the belt functioning, the engine would overheat and breakdown, outside of town. So, when each of these badboys rolled out, they'd break miles away and need repair. Either the unlucky SOBs would have to push the van back, or call a mechanic. Regardless, time would definitely be wasted, plus a decent amount of money. Alix would have liked to rip the spark plus out as well, but she didn't want to risk being seen.

The tomboy carefully glanced around, noting the lack of boots anywhere nearby. The girl smoothly rolled to the undercarriage of the next automobile, slicing through the belt with ease. She proceeded to move down the line, sabotaging anything and everything that she could. She din't know how many vehicles were damaged, but it took her a fair while. Once complete, the disguised figure rose on the far side of the van, before walking away nonchalantly. What else could she mess with? She had to be casual, so she pretended to be out for a smoke break. What? The guy that she knocked out was a heavy smoker, with all the cigs that he had in his front pocket. The girl lit one, having it poke out of her mouth, but never inhaled it. In fact, she had to keep from choking on the stench.

Regardless, the heat of the dimly lit smoke was calming. Alix sighed, hands shoved in her pockets as she stared upward at the dim outline of the sun. Would it ever appear again? And if it did, would the island look the same? Smoke trickled upwards as the brunette zoned out, blatantly staring off into the distance. What? She had full intentions of worming her way into a building for more sabotage. However, she needed to be casual as to not get caught. A dispassionate look spread across her face, as she told herself to get into the right mindset. She was going for a laid-back, easygoing smoker. Yeah. Sighing into the butt of her disgusting prop, the female shifted her weight. This wasn't going to be pretty...

[TW (Disabled)]

“Paras paras. Parasect.”

The words somehow escaped the face of a bug-eyed Mushroom Pokémon, one whom utterly lacked a mouth. It was a three foot creature with pearl-shaped eyes, large claws, four hind legs, and a massive mushroom on its back. This was Parasect. The Mushroom Pokémon walked alongside a relatively short adolescent (roughly 5’4”). The boy was about seventeen years of age and was a new recruit himself, having been a member of Team Rocket for no more than four to five months. As a Grunt, he wore the typical all black attire with the bold and sizable red ‘R’ on the front of his shirt. He walked with a strange glide, adjusting his dark sunglasses every so often. This was Carlton O’Donnell. This was Parasect’s trainer.

“Yea, yea, Perry. I see him. That dude smoking over there, acting all cool.”

“Para, Parasect.”

“Yea, you’re right, Perry. He’d make for an excellent wingman.”

And with that, the two made their way towards the unfamiliar Rocketeer. The other boy looked to be about the same age as Carlton and was more or less dressed the same. He was probably of equal ranking as well. Adjusting his sunglasses as he neared the new face, a wily smile snaked its way across the bug trainer’s lips, causing his spiky moustache to arch in a particularly peculiar fashion.

“Hey, bud. How’s it hangin’?”

This was all he said as he leaned up against the wall, placing the sole of a single foot against the surface and shifting his weight onto the other. Hands in his pocket, Carlton stood in hunched over. Slowly turning his head in the direction of the other Rocket, his smile grew.

“Hey. Check out that fine piece of abdomen right there.”

“Parasect!”

“Haha, even Perry here wants to hit it. What about you? Damn, and she’s got a fine friend. What’re the chances, man?”

[Alix Taylor]

Crap. Apparently she had caught the attention of some short creepy guy and his accompanying parasect. When he addressed her, she simply shrugged before taking a good look at the fellow. Half grown in rat-stash, thick black sunglasses, short stature, slicked back hair, goatee... Oh yes, Alix just found herself a catch.

"S'fine," she puffed in response, deepening her voice so that it could cover for an average male tone. She really didn't want to hang around this shrimp. She had things to do. Like, find out where the main files were kept, or find the central storage facility. The situation only got worse when this kid started talking about some passing female rocketeers. Ugh... Well. Maybe she could give this guy some pointers.

"Chances keep dropping if you continue gawking like that," she said, puffing out a breath of smoke. She spat the cigarette on the ground, quickly squishing it with the heel of the worn boot. Leaning back against the wall, the tomboy calmly closed both eyes and spoke smoothly. "S'kinda like fishing. Go ahead, comment of how big and tasty the fish are, but you're not gonna get any. Hell, go out in the lake chasing them won't land you much either. But, if you're patient, drop a line in the water. You'll get a bite."

Hah, here I am lecturing some twat about getting a girl when I can't even get a decent guy myself. How Ironic. After that lesson, Alix took to her running thoughts. She was a basic rocket grunt. What sabotage could she do? What was the worst thing? Well, she guessed that burning something important suited her fire-like style. But what? Food supplies? Uniforms? First aid supplies? Hm... Wait. She had it.

Battle plans. Rocket paperwork. Yes, that was what she wanted gone. So... which building did she need to infiltrate? She just needed a minute inside. Then she could set it on fire... yeah. Hopefully, with her luck, Tray Waters would be inside the building designated for arson.

[TW (Disabled)]

“Chances keep dropping if you continue gawking like that,”

A thick, black, caterpillar of an eyebrow cocked up in curiosity. What was up with this dude? Was he joking? Was he one of them girly-boys who were all “respect women-yada-yada”? Man, this was a sad looking Rocketeer. He didn’t even have balls. Even Perry was looking at the clown as if he had a screw loose.

That’s when the boy continued with his assessment on how to successfully attain broads. An interesting metaphor about fishing had managed to capture Carlton’s attention. It did hold some merit. Simply staring at the fish swimming won’t put one on your lap. Jumping into the water and wildly chasing the fish seemed like it’d be more successful, but then again, what did O’ Donnell know about fishing? He was a bug trainer. Ask him about the evolution and lifecycle of insect-like powerhouses and he’d be able to go into great depths, but fish? No, that was certainly not his forte.

“So… are you a Water Pokémon trainer?”

If so, then perhaps his Rocketeering colleague’s evaluation on p*ssy-hunting would be worth adhering to. If not, then he was probably talking out his ass. People do that a lot these days. Why? Who knows and who really cares. The real question was, was this guy in that same category? Or was he some sort of womanizing god? Did he have women swooning over him left and right?

Carlton looked left.

Carlton looked right.

No… there were no females swooning. Then perhaps he was something like Dr. Phil? He might be a relationship expert in theory, but failed in practice. Wait,

… what’s a “Dr. Phil”?

[Alix Taylor]

The words didn't seem to really sink through the kid's skull as Alix sulked. One, she didn't have time for this half-pint. Two, he looked at her like she was an idiot, which she wasn't...hopefully. Three, she was so, so tempted just to break cover here and whoop some rocketeer ass. Her hand was itching to move to her hip or her mouth (as Mikey could be called with a whistle), ready to summon her pets. However, the girl demonstrated restraint. This mission would test her reserves of patience. She was not a child anymore. She was an adult biologically, but mentally? She didn't quite feel up to par with the 'adult' image that she had for herself, but she was learning. She was more than aware of her naivety and was on her way to fixing it.

For now, she just had to worry about shooing this little twerp off. Judging by his demeanour, his pokemon and his attire, he was of no use to her. At the same time though, he could be stupid enough to fool. Could she somehow trick him into spilling however much knowledge his fat head held? It couldn't be that much, if he was just a grunt like she expected, but some info was better than none, right?

Smirking at his comment, Alix spoke in a low tone to reply slyly, “You could say that...” the words lingered in the air like the ashy taste of the cigarette on her tongue. Alix wasn't just a water pokemon trainer. She didn't limit herself to a single type, but if she had to, it would be fire. Fire. She needed to burn some supplies. Bring on a shit storm. Something. Glancing around, appearing bored, she surveyed the surroundings. There were buildings that were obviously occupied by the invading rockets. She knew that she'd never be able to burn them all, but that was also a good thing. If she set this camp on fire, the rockets would put it out before it spread to the town. They'd have to in order to save their camp. So, the question was, which building?

Alix glanced back to the greasy kid. Hm... she needed to snoop, but not suspiciously. Leaning forward, Alix rolled her shoulder and got a loud pop in response. Apparently her body was still sore. Eh, whatever. Turning to the guy, she rubbed the back of her neck in a fashion that almost hinted embarrassment. “Hey man, I just got here a few hours ago. Can ya show me where the bathroom is? I need to take a shit.”

Regardless, the notion would hopefully get the shrimp to shove off so she could snoop around.

[TW (Disabled)]

“You could say that…” Well, that was informative. Why was this guy being so secretive? He did know that the “mysterious” type wasn’t “in” with the ladies anymore, right? Women started to see that as a clichéd gimmick. ‘And this guy is giving me advice on how to get girls?’ It was almost laughable. Carlton was a far better ladies’ man than … than … wait a minute.

“Hold on, what was your name again? I just realized I hadn’t asked you and we’ve been talking for quite some time. I’m Carlton O’Donnell by the way, just in case you were wondering.”

It was then that the young man asked him where he could find the bathroom. Boy, did Carlton know how that tune went.

“Haha! Oh man, tell me about it. This place is freaking huge. One time, I was chasing a piece of tail and got lost in the conversation. She was a smart girl (sweet too) so the conversation was quite riveting. Anyway, I got lost in the conversation and just kept walking without keeping tabs on the direction we were going. Get this; I ended up at the other side of the camp. Haha, it was crazy. I’ve never even been to that side of camp, my work doesn’t take me there and I’m not usually the adventurist type. But I can tell ya, man, it was a bitch and a half to find my way back here.”

Carlton stopped there for a moment before he remembered that he’d been asked a question that required a practical answer, not a vaguely relevant story.

“Ah, but the washroom you need. You can’t find it? Is this not your side of camp? What do you do here anyway? I’m part of the research and development team. Well, I’m a bodyguard for the research and development team. Same difference really. I’ve poked my nose into their experiments every now and again. It’s quite interesting. But yea, what do you do?”

With that, the petite fellow began walking in the direction of the bathroom. He wasn’t on duty at the moment, and felt generous enough to help out his compatriot by escorting him to his destination. The Rocket’s camp was quite large so explaining all the twists and turns the unnamed Rocketeer will have to make would be a mouthful. Even then, the guy would probably forget anyways and find himself lost. No matter, his off duty colleague was there to help him out.

[Alix Taylor]

"If it weren’t for bad times, you wouldn’t know the good times."

______________________________________

»» Alix tried to internally keep at ease. She wasn't all too worried though, this kid seemed ignorant of her true intentions. In fact, he kept yammering on...and on... and on. Rolling her eyes, Alix glanced aup and idly wondered if she could ditch the dodo. Hadn't the clue been enough? She needed to hurry up. After all, that guy that she had previously knocked out would awaken eventually. She couldn't risk having her cover blown without doing anything but sabotage a few vehicles. No, she cut her hair off. Dammit, she cut ALL her hair off for this mission and she was damn well going to get something out of it!

»» Half-listening to shrimpy-mc-shrimp blabber on about getting lost himself, Alix kept her gaze hidden under the brim of her hat as her chocolate eyes scoped around. The camp was larger on the inside, much further than she had seen from her hiding place in the bush. In fact, she was progressively moving deeper into the belly of the beast. She honestly didn't like it. If she was discovered now, she'd have a hell of a time breaking free from the very hive that she had snuck into. Besides, the greaser hadn't revealed much aside from the sheer size of the place, plus the fact that he hadn't kept tabs on where he had walked. Alix decided to learn from his mistake as she took in markers that reminded her of the way back out. It seemed stupid at this point to leave Mikey in the shrubs. Sure, he was watching the unconscious body of the rocket that she had taken out, but she might need him. Sure, she could whistle pretty loudly but would Mikey be able to hear? Would he be able to find her? Turtles weren't known for their sense of smell...

»» Alix almost bumped in to the back of the kid when he suddenly stopped without much warning. Alix internally groaned as he began to question her. Why question? Why couldn't he have just sent her off on her way? Damn, he was asking good questions too. Alix tried to look disinterested as she stared off into the distance. Body guard eh? Well, he did have a fully evolved parasect. That wasn't ideal... because he was asking too many questions that she didn't have fantastic answers for. “I'm in the IT department. I left for a smoke and couldn't find my way back,” she huffed in a low tone, sliding her gaze around as they walked behind one of the buildings. There was... no one here. Okay, she had two options here. Bluff her way further, or attempt to start something. This boy had a bug type, which was favourable for her because Matthew could probably take it out with one Heat Wave. Still though, he had said body guard. Thus, she'd need to take out his team, which could very well be six fully evolved pokemon. Alix chewed her lip. She could try and knock him unconscious, but that was risky. What if she couldn't get his to black out and he called for help? Then she'd really be screwed. She needed to distract him, then punch him out like she did the last rocket. She flexed her fingers in her glove, noting the slight swelling of her knuckles. She was a woman, not a machine...

»» Maybe she could distract him. She slipped Matthew's pokeball into her left hand, tensing up as she quietly said, “Hey... did you hear that?”

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