Factory

The next few days were awkward, yet pleasurable. Having everything out in the open, Factory and Misty made progress towards a stronger bond and grew their friendship into something more; something that made their s.e.x.u.a.l encounter meaningful. Although the situation was a bit like declaring a winner and then asking everyone to race.

Max, being the most well-learned of the trio, surmised that the drug must affect individuals differently, similar to alcohol having certain persona effects on people. She had attempted to research any information on the drug but none existed. Factory felt ashamed that her induced personality was openly s.e.x.u.a.l, but she was determined not to ever take the drug again. Factory was happy that she now had a relationship that was more romantically involved, but she wished it had developed from a better start.

As the days went on, Factory began helping out in the bar and was happily conversing with a customer while Max and Misty did the same. It was a pleasant time for her life and a great milestone. There was finally some routine she could count on. There was finally some reassurance to the day. She wasn't frightened about what the next twenty-four hours might bring and instead happily embraced every new adventure, no matter how small.

Unfortunately, a day's adventure came that was no small challenge. In the middle of the busiest time of day for the bar, the front door was smashed inward with the bouncer following right after. Debris from the door and the surrounding frame peppered the crowd inside and caused a few injuries.

"Henry!" Max yelled out to the unresponsive body on the floor.

Without time to take in what had just happened, loud mechanical whizzes and thumps suddenly pulled everyone's attention towards the entrance. Standing cold and emotionless was a small security mech-suit. The armor was a robotic vehicle that stood up on two legs and carried two large machine guns for arms. It made the driver hidden in the c.h.e.s.t cavity stand twelve feet tall, barely fitting in the hole now present in the front of the establishment.

"I told you stupid bitches you would pay for what you did!" the mech-suit announced over a speaker.

"Get down!" Max exclaimed.

Just as the three girls quickly dropped to the floor behind the bar, the mech-suit fired its two guns upon the crowd and randomly all over the establishment, killing everyone in sight and covering the floor it stood upon with empty shells.

The counter held up well against the barrage of incoming fire. Thankfully the security class for the armor meant the caliber of rounds were small so the penetrating power was limited. As the invader took a moment of pause to observe the damage done, Max quickly popped up from the cover of the splintered bar and fired several shotgun blasts.

The suit reacted to the attack with a flinch against the pellets but then quickly aimed to fire back. Before it retaliated, however, more gunfire came toward it from a submachine gun Misty was wielding. The combined gunfire was too much to stand and take and the mech-suit quickly jumped backward and disappeared back into the mall.

Grabbing Factory, Max and Misty quickly retreated back into their home and went to a large wall in the living room with a single painting on it. Tugging gently on the painting, the wall suddenly split open to reveal a hidden room filled with guns and other weapons laid about on racks and crates. Factory didn't know what to make of what was happening and could only stand and watch in awe.

"F.u.c.k.i.n.g asshole thinks he can f.u.c.k up my bar and get away with it!" Max angrily talked to herself. "I am going to f.u.c.k his world up!"

"He's going to pay for all those people he slaughtered!" Misty chimed in.

"Um…" Factory attempted to join in. "Can I help?"

Misty hugged Factory tight and looked her in the eyes. "You don't have to, sweetie. You can stay back here and be safe if you want."

"No, I want to help. I can help," Factory replied.

"Okay then," Max said. "Pick something mean."

Max grabbed a large machine gun that she needed a shoulder sling to use and then gestured to Misty and Factory. Misty grabbed hold of a large bolt-action rifle without a scope and then smiled at Factory, who was looking very nervous.

"Um…" Factory said again, trying to think about what to choose.

She looked over the guns in the room, trying to hurry so they could go after the mech-suit, when suddenly she noticed a pair of shiny revolvers on a little table. She picked them up and examined them fondly, thinking about the first gun she had purchased. Although, the shiny revolvers were much larger and heavier.

"Nice choice," Max commented. "Everyone make sure you have plenty to reload with and then let's get that f.u.c.ker."

Stacking up against the wall near the ruined entrance, Max looked at Misty and Factory with a nod before swiftly tossing a flash grenade into the mall. Following the flash, the girls quickly rushed in after the bright explosion but the mall was quiet and empty. No customers or store owners could be seen anywhere, save for a few dead bodies lying in the lobby of the bottom floor. The girls took cover behind the thick metal safety barriers of the walkway and looked around for their target.

"I don't see him," Misty said. "Maybe he's trying to bait us out where he wants."

"Yeah, like we'll fall for that crap," Max answered.

"Wait, I see movement below us," Factory called out.

With a clear view of the spiral stairs from top to bottom, the girls could see several armed men in green military uniforms rushing up the steps.

"What the hell?" Misty observed. "Who is that?"

"Hired help, I think," Max replied. "Let's take care of those stairs."

All standing up at once, they were immediately made to take cover again as gunfire slammed into the barrier. Suddenly feeling brave, Factory took a quick peek at the incoming fire to see that the mech-suit had taken a shooting position from a nearby clothing store. With speed and precision she didn't know she had, Factory quickly took aim with one of her revolvers and fired a shot that made the left leg of the suit fail and the enemy fell over in a helpless mechanical mess. Factory was dumbfounded at her performance.

"Wow, great shot," Misty congratulated her.

"Yeah, that was f.u.c.k.i.n.g awesome," Max agreed.

Instead of accepting their kind words, Factory looked very confused about what had just happened.

"What's wrong-"

Misty's inquiry was cut short when more gunfire came towards them from the advancing soldiers reaching the top floor.

"Think you could pop off another shot and get them to take cover, ace?" Max asked Factory.

"I think so," she replied.

Moving to the end of the barrier where it turned a corner and followed the walkway to the stairs, she quickly glanced down towards the armed men. Factory's enemies were partially exposed to her new positioning, thinking they had a trio of helpless girls pinned under fire. Just like with the mech-suit, when she took a glance at her enemy, time seemed to slow down dramatically. She could easily distinguish individual shots from the automatic rifles they were firing at her friends and make out the shapes of the muzzle flashes. She was amazed at what she was doing, and with a careful steady hand she squeezed off another shot that tore through an enemy skull.

Losing a soldier immediately demoralized the remaining men and they quickly took cover in fear and confusion. When the enemy was in hiding, Max and Misty came and out rested their guns on the barrier and took aim.

"That old metal might stop your bullets but not ours!" Max yelled to the hiding enemy.

Letting loose the full speed of her machine gun, the high caliber, belt-fed gun ripped the barrier apart and shredded the mercenaries behind it. Misty watched carefully with her rifle in case anyone managed to survive, but was instead witness to all of their deaths at the hands of Max. The top of the stairs was a gruesome sight as the floor was littered with discarded weapons and pools of blood. Now being free of distracting gunfire, the girls went to the mech-suit to confront their would-be seeker of vengeance.

Before approaching it, Misty made sure to disable the arms with a shot each from her rifle. Her gun used a terribly powerful round that destroyed the mechanical workings of the machine guns making them useless scrap. Factory guessed her shot to the leg must have been lucky, striking some sort of crucial wire or tube. The mech-suit had fallen over in such a way that blocked the c.o.c.kpit hatch from opening, trapping the pilot inside.

"He's stuck, what do we do?" Misty questioned no one in particular.

"I guess we'll have to leave him in there," Max sighed. "Wanted to shoot him in the face but I can't move this damn thing to let him out."

"We should blow him up."

"An excellent idea."

Quickly retrieving what they had described, Factory handed a small block of explosive clay rigged up to a simple mechanical timer to Max. It was a simple enough device that comically looked like a brick wrapped in paper with a watch strapped to it. After setting the explosive with little care right on the hatch of the suit, the girls returned to the comfort of their home, hearing a pleasant nearby explosion.