Editing Prose Magica: A Spoonful of Sugar Part 2

	A deserted parking garage, three stories below ground. Alex shook her head. Something felt wrong, and she'd told her comrades as much over and over. She took a deep breath of the stale air, shifting her weight onto a different foot as she huddled behind some white sedan. The silence was deafening. Every muscle in her body ached to get up and -do something-. But, she was a professional. She did her job, and she did it with precision and efficiency. Her fingers tightened around the grip of her pistol. They itched for action.

Her earpiece crackled to life, nearly making her jump straight out of cover. 

"Any signs of movement, Alex?"

"Negative, Kay," she whispered in response. "Nothing yet."

"Understood. Remain on standby."

Alex glanced at the figure huddled beside her. The other girl was breathing a bit too heavily for comfort, and Alex could feel her shaking through the car. There were seven of them; that one being Maggie, if she remembered right. The newest of the batch. Short orange hair that barely made it past her ears, topped off with a big yellow bow. Her costume had always weirded Alex out. It looked like someone had thrown some short-sleaved officer's jacket over a white one-piece swimsuit and called it a day. Her fighting style was even more half-assed - she just hucked exploding cannon balls at things. Alex couldn't help but admire the simplicity of it.

Then there was Kay - the intrepid leader. Tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed with a pure white maid outfit. Alex had always been surprised that she hadn't ended up as a Warmaster or even a rank leader somewhere. She used some giant space cannon like none of them had ever seen before. Kay always gave them pills whenever one of them accidentally ended up too close to the beam. Radiation poisoning or something. Apparently even magical girls had to worry about that.

Alex scratched at her messy black hair. The gasmask perched on top of her head kept making her sweat and itch too much. They'd all been given them prior to the mission. Alex figured they looked spooky as hell when they switched the thermal imaging on. Big, glowing red eyes. Anyone with any sense left would shit themselves as the sight of their squad. It was just too bad that Kay said they were after someone even scarier.

She looked over her shoulder, peering at another magical girl brandishing what looked like a raygun from the fifties three rows down. The other girl flashed a toothy grin and a thumbs up, which Alex answered with a smirk and a nod. How she had ended up on point with the new girl was a mystery. Sure, they had a Callidus hiding top-side watching the security cameras, as if that was somehow reassuring. Jiang - some Chinese girl with her hair in those weird buns and a stupid black and yellow jester hat. Alex was ninety percent sure that wasn't even her real name. The rest of them were further into the garage, spread out behind cars and pillars.

"Kay," the radio started up. Jiang. "I- I think I see someone on camera three. She's-" The Callidus paused. "She's got a cane? I think? And she's- she's waving at m-"

A sickeningly crunched sounded from the Callidus' end. Alex could make out the sound of too many bones snapping as something hit her. Hard. Something made a squelching thump - probably the girl's body hitting the ground.

"KAY!" The Callidus screamed. A serious of wet coughs sputtered through, sending static over the radio. 

"KAY! THERE'S-" Another series of coughs, along with a different sound in the background. It sounded like something metal slowly being dragged over concrete.

"Oh god, no. OH PLEASE, NO!" The girl pleaded. "KAY, THERE'S A SECOND ONE! I REPEAT TWO TARG-" 

The grinding sound ceased for a brief moment, before a high-pitched scream was cut short.

Then silence.

Alex's leg was shaking. In the blink of an eye, their squad was down to six. The mission had barely even started. Jiang was supposed to disappear as soon as she spotted the target, but... Two. No one had said there would be two targets. Just the crazy doctor. A god damn CRIPPLE! The black-haired girl ran that horrid grinding sound through her mind over and over. It was heavy, whatever it was. A hammer maybe? A sledge hammer? That had to be it. But there was no way in hell the crippled doctor could carry something like that.

The whole squad was silent. Not a single peep out of any of them. She needed to hear something, anything.

"Kay?" Alex tried. "Orders?"

I took a moment for the squad leader to respond. "Check your equipment," she said. She sounded shaken - unlike the usual calm and cool Alex had come to know and rely on. "Stay- Stay calm, everyone. There are still six of us and two of them. We can..." Her voice trailed off for a moment before she seemed to remember other people were listening. "We can handle this."

She didn't sound so sure. 

So Alex waited. Time seemed to stretch on and on, with only a stray cough here and there breaking the silence. Maggie grew more anxious with every minute. Alex almost worried that her breathing would give away their position. She checked her watch. It was nearing one in the morning. It had been over ten minutes since Jiang went dark without the slightest sign of the target. TargetS, Alex mentally corrected herself.

She couldn't help but imagine what could be taking them. Maybe they'd left? They figured out that it was a trap and got the hell out of Dodge. Seemed reasonable enough. Alex was about to volunteer to go check when something thumped against the car beside her - Maggie.

The younger girl was breathing even more heavily than usual. She coughed and sputtered before her body went limp, falling over onto the ground. Maggie seized, her hands grasping at her throat as foam began to bubble up from her mouth.

"Shit!" Alex muttered. "MASKS!" She screamed, pulling her own gas mask down. "EVERYONE, MASKS!"

Then she heard it. That awful grinding, speeding up and growing louder.

A delicate tinkling sounded against the ground behind her as a cluster of objects scattered among the cars and rolled to the ground. A series of pops echoed through the garage as dense, pale green smoke billowed outward.

"SMOKE," someone called out.

The grinding sound sped up as it rushed Alex's position, joined by a howling, screaming fury. She managed to flick on the thermal imaging just in time to see an orange blur leap straight over the car she had been using for cover. The target screeched with rage as it charged one of Alex's squadmates. The thermal vision made the girl's head look like little more than a pumpkin as it exploded into dozens of orange flecks that splattered over the cars.

Alex fired until the magazine ran out. It was hard to miss the roaring monstrosity as it made a bloody mess of her squad. Yet, nothing seemed to stop it. The orange mass of heat jumped over another car, bringing down her hammer on another girl in an overhead strike. It missed her head entirely - instead separating her left shoulder from the rest of her body.

Her name was Brooks. It was Brooks, Alex was sure of it. She tried to get up again, despite missing a full quarter of her body. She was rewarded for her tenacity with another savage blow to the sternum, shattering it and everything behind it. The hostile girl slammed her hammer into Brooks' torso again and again until her torso was little more than a pulpy mess of tissue and bone fragments.

Alex's breath caught in her throat as the girl turned to look her straight in the eye.

The creature threw her head back in a high-pitched, manic cackle before disappearing behind a car. Alex took a deep breath and ducked back into cover, taking the opportunity to reload. She was panting. Jiang, Maggie, Brooks... who else? There was a fourth. It was Maxine, wasn't it?

"Kay," Alex whispered. "Kay, are you there?"

After a moment's hesitation, the squad leader responded. "Alex? Is that you?"

"I'm here. Who else is still up?"

"Just us and- and Emily I think-"

"I am sorry to say," a third voice cut in, "zat fraulein Emily is no lonker vis us. You have mein deepest condolences. Vile I am sure zat you all have had a great deal of fun today, I am afraid zat ve vill have to be wrapping zis test up. I sank you for all of ze vunderful data zat you have provided for me tonight."

Alex's head snapped up as she heard a bang echo through the garage. She could hear the grinding again - distant and growing quieter. Holding her breath, she peered over the hood of the car and disengaged the thermal vision on her mask.

Nothing.

There was no sign of movement in every direction. Only neat rows of blood-splattered vehicles and concrete pillars. She slid back down, holding her knees close to her chest. Her eyes wandered to Maggie's motionless form lying beside her. Every now and again the girl's body would spasm as a bubble rose from her throat. She didn't sign up for this. She didn't sign up for any of it.

They were supposed to be hunting a cripple! A Venenum, even! Hardly any combat capabilities! It should have been like fish in a barrel for a squad of six Vindicares and a Callidus. Now there were two left - soon to be one if the other girl was going after Kay.

Alex rocked back and forth, hugging her knees as tears welled up in her eyes. She had to make up her mind. Cut her losses and run or stay and risk being turned into a human piñata. Kay was still somewhere in the parking garage. Probably. Assuming that thing with the sledge hammer hadn't already found her. Whatever it was, nobody could call it human any more.

The black-haired girl slipped a hand into her pocket and pulled out a quarter. Heads - she'd play the hero and go after Kay. Tails - she'd run. She flicked it up and watched it tumble in the air. It barely left her hand when she heard the scream. By the time it hit the ground, Alex was already on her feet.

She sprinted out of that garage like a bat out of hell. It was a primal, instinct-driven flight born from man's earliest days being chased by predators. Up and up she went, clearing each floor in a matter of seconds. She had to survive, she told herself. The sound of heavy, ragged breaths reached her ears. She couldn't tell if something was chasing her or if they were her own. Either way, it didn't matter. She smiled as she caught sight of the entrance barricades, giving her a final burst of speed. 

Then something pricked her hip.

Her legs seemed to simply cease functioning as she tumbled into the rear bumper of a van while her gun skidded underneath it. The mask was torn off of her crying face while her elbows and knees scraped along the ground. Alex groaned, forcing herself into a sitting position. Her eyes widened as she yanked a dart out of her side. Her legs refused to work, not budging an inch as she tried to get herself up. She was paralysed. 

It was then that she heard it. It wasn't the grinding of metal, nor the banshee screaming of the girl who had massacred her squad. Only a rhythmic thumping with a couple of seconds between each one. 

Alex panicked, grasping at the van desperately trying to pull herself upright. She had barely gotten onto her knees when something hard and thin collided with her side, throwing her onto her back.

"I vould ASK," came a voice, "zat ze test subjects NOT LEAVE ZE TESTINK AREA."

Doctor Emma Strauss stepped up beside the fallen girl, then placed dug a knee into Alex's gut, putting her weight on her cane. She observed the test subject from behind her circular glasses for a few moments, grinning through wickedly pointed teeth. The doctor adjusted her top hat as she leaned in closer to her captive.

"Vhat is your name, fraulein?" She asked. It sounded so sincere, so innocent.

The other girl was breathing heavily, panic-stricken and sobbing. Strauss couldn't even tell if her words were reaching the wretch.

"VHAT IS YOUR NAME?" She yelled, seizing the girl by the throat.

"A-A-A," the girl swallowed hard, forcing back her tears, "Alex. A-Alex Madison."

"Alex?" The doctor suddenly shifted back to her more friendly demeanour as she relinquished her grip. "Zat is short for Alexandra, ja?"

Alex nodded quickly.

"Such a pretty name," Strauss remarked. "Und who are you vorkink for, Alex?"

"N-n-n-no one," Alex stammered, trying to speak between her sobbing. "We-we're b-b-bou-bounty hu-hunters."

The doctor chuckled to herself. "I sink zat vas a very poor life decision, hm? Goink after ze Sirteents' bounty, ja?"

The girl nodded.

"Und how much is DOCTOR EMMA STRAUSS wors zese days?" The doctor asked, adding emphasis to her full name. "No less zan-"

"Te-ten thousand e-each," Alex answered, "and e-enough grief seeds to r-re-retire."

"Ten sousand?" Strauss repeated the number incredulously. "TEN SOUSAND?! I am INSULTED! Zose dummkopfs could barely tell hydrogen cyanide from hydrogen peroxide visout me!"

The doctor clicked her tongue as she reached into her cape and produced a battered old clipboard. Alex watched as she spent a minute filling in details with a pen attached with a string. After a moment, Strauss turned to her captive once more.

"Now," Strauss started, tapping the pen on the clipboard, "on a scale of vun to ten, how afraid vould you say you are? Vun beink how you feel playink vis a little puppy or kätzchen, ten beink permanently catatonic."

"I- I don't-"

"HOW AFRAID ARE YOU?!"

"I- I don't know!" Alex wailed, fresh tears streaming down the sides of her face. "A-a-an eight? I don't know! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"

The doctor made a muffled grunt of acknowledgement as she tried to stifle her laughter. "Good, good. You are beink very brave, Fraulein Madison. Ve must all make sacrifices for ze furzering of science."

After another few moments of notes, the horrid sound of metal grinding against concrete picked up again. It was far slower this time, growing louder and closer. For the first time, Alex got clear view of the beast of a magical girl that had decimated her squad.

She was short - no more than five feet tall at most. Her hair was long, straight and coloured a dark green. It seemed as thought she was wearing nothing more than what was once a white sundress, now soaked with blood and perforated with more than a dozen bullet holes. Alex could smell the sheer volume of blood even from where she was lying. The girl's face was obscured by a gasmask of the exact same make as Alex's own, and what she had thought was a sledge hammer turned out to be little more than a pipe welded to a thick, solid wedge of steel. Fresh blood seemed to constantly trickle down from her hands - one of them clutched tightly around the back of Kay's collar, dragging her limp body along the ground.   

"Kay!" Alex screamed.

"Ah! Milica!" Strauss clapped, pulling herself up. "Just in time! And vun captive unconscious, as ordered! Toll!"

The doctor crouched down in front of the unconscious squad leader, lifting the blonde's chin to inspect her. She carried on for some time, checking the body for injury, before finally standing back up and giving Milica a pat on the shoulder.

"Very gut, very gut!" She exclaimed, marking several things down on her clipboard. "Vun unharmed, vun unconscious... Somevhat beaten up, but in perfect condition. Subject shows exemplary control over her actions und handles each objective vis ease. Vell! It seems to me zat ze first field test of ze Mark V vas a complete success, vouldn't you say Milica? How are you feelink?"

Milica's head twitched unnaturally as she tried to respond. "G-g-g-got a bi-b-bit of a he-head ache, D-Doc."

"To be expected, I suppose," Strauss muttered, jotting it down. "Did you remember to brink me vhat I asked for, Milica?"

"O-oh y-yeah!" The blood-soaked magical girl promptly dropped both her weapon and the squad leader's body before pulling out a handful of soulgems. "I a-almost f-f-forgot!"

"Oooh, you are just a darlink!" The doctor squealed, taking the gems for herself. "I could not ask for a better subject! Ve vill go far, you und I! Now take off zat mask, you look silly."

"I th-thought it made me lo-look s-scary..."

"Oh ja, so s-s-spooky vis your speech impediment," Strauss muttered. "Let's see... eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf! Perfect! All accounted for! Now vhat do you sink ve should do vis all zese soulgems, hm?" The doctor's eyes flashed back toward Alex - who was trying desperately to reach her gun under the van. "Anysing you vould like to do, Milica?"

"I- I thi-think I- I w-want-," she stammered, her head jerking and rolling around on her shoulders, "I w-w-want t-to SMASH 'EM UP!"

Alex's head snapped up at the sound of Milica roaring. "Wha- NO!"

"Now do you remember vich is vich, Milica?" Strauss asked in an almost motherly tone.

The girl pulled the gasmask from her face, stared down at the assortment of gems, and blinked. Her brow crinkled as she thought, finally mumbling a muted, "N-no..."

Strauss sighed and touched her fingertips to her forehead. "Milica, Milica, Milica... Vhat vill I ever do vis you?"

"I-I'm s-s-suh-sorry, Doctor..."

Strauss let out a long, deep breath before laughing and tousseling the girl's hair. "Oh vhat ze hell! I can't stay mad at you vis results like zis! Go on, have fun. I need to go speak vis Fraulein Jiang."

"Th-thanks, D-Doc!"

As the doctor slowly hobbled off, Milica crouched down to look straight into Alex's tear-filled eyes. As she did, she wiped a few messy strands of hair out of her vision, smearing her face red with fresh blood.

"L-le-let's ha-have some FUN."

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	The heavy steel door of the security room slammed shut behind Strauss as she stepped in. In the middle of the room, a girl with a black and yellow jester hat idly spun about in a swivel chair, humming some tune to herself. A sledge hammer and a dead, badly beaten security guard rested on the ground off to one side of the room. The Callidus hopped off of her seat and walked toward the doctor, dizzy and wobbling.

"Welcome back, Doctor," Jiang greeted. "I trust everything went well?"

"Stupendously so!" Strauss replied, clasping her hands together excitedly. "I do not sink I have ever had a first field test go so vell! Of course, zere are still some minor adjustments to be made, but zat is to be expected."

"Then our work today is concluded?"

"It pains me to say zat it is," the doctor said with no small amount of sorrow in her voice. "It vas a pleasure vorking vis you, Fraulein Jiang. I vill send a full report to your Officio in ze mornink, alonk vis payment for your services, of course."

"The pleasure was all mine, doctor," the Callidus responded, bowing her head. "Our incubator wishes me to pass on that he is looking forward to our future business arrangements."

"Of course!" Strauss laughed. "Und tell your varmaster-"

"Spymaster, doctor."

"Ja..." Strauss narrowed her eyes and peered at the Callidus over her glasses. "Spymaster... In any case, ze offer for tea is alvays open."

"I will pass on the message, but you must understand," Jiang shifted uncomfortably under the doctor's gaze, "she is rather... picky about the company she keeps."

"As alvays," Strauss muttered, sighing. "Zat kinder needs to lighten up, I sink."

"Most people would say the exact opposite," the Chinese girl giggled.

The doctor smiled, flashing her jagged shark-like teeth. "I am not most people."

As if on cue, there came a light knock at the door. A moment later, Milica's head poked through the opening before she slowly stepped into the room, still dragging her maul along the ground. The girl clutched at her stomach with a bloody hand as she stumbled in, groaning faintly.

"H-Hey, D-D-Doc," Milica mumbled, trying to hold her lips together between words, as though she were about to be sick. "A-a-and Miss J-Ji-Jiang."

Strauss blinked and tilted her head. "Vhat's wronk?"

"I- I, u-um," the bloody girl stammered, nearly whispering, "I a-ate one..."

The doctor let out and exasperated sigh as she began to rummage around under her cape. "Vhat have we talked about?" She asked, in the same parental voice that she seemed to reserve for Milica alone.

"D-d-don't e-eat so-souls..."

"Und vhat did you do?"

"I tho-thought it wo-wo-would look s-scary..."

Strauss shook her head and pulled out a vial of clear liquid. "Next time, sink about how scary you vill look srowing up in ze garbage can, hm?"

Milica nodded glumly and took the vial, then sauntered over to the trash bin in the corner of the room. Strauss couldn't help but smile at the bloodied girl. She didn't seem stupid, just a bit on the slow side. The doctor winced slightly as she began to feel something resembling maternal feelings toward Milica. 

"Kids," she muttered, chuckling softly.

Jiang glanced around the room before stepping over to the numerous monitors that lined one of the walls. Alex was huddled over the broken body of her late squad leader, sobbing. Her body was visibly shaking even from the security camera's blurry video feed. The Callidus sighed and shook her head.

"They were good girls," she remarked, "if not the brightest. A bit too desperate to get out of the magical girl game, if you ask me."

"As ze stupid often are," Strauss added.

Jiang nodded, then stretched out her hand toward the doctor. "I suppose this is as good a time as any for us to part ways, Doctor. It has been a pleasure."

"Likevise," the doctor replied, shaking the Callidus' hand. "I hope zat ve vill be able to vork togezer again some time-"

The loud crack of a gunshot echoed through the building. Jiang's gaze snapped back to the video feed, where Alex's body lay still beside Kay's. Strauss remained nonplussed, only flashing one final, toothy grin.

"Good help is so hard to find zese days."