All was quiet on the desert highway. Then a silver 1983 Mustang raced eastward, reaching over 200 miles per hour. The driver was a woman, about 22 years old, dressed in light blue cut off jean shorts, a white cowgirl tank top tied just below her breasts, and a white cowboy hat, and tan heeled sandals. Her name was Lauren, and she retained a very calm, almost inhuman composure as her car picked up speed. Usually a person loses control at this speed, but Lauren handled it with smooth control. "Tikro, up and alert." She said to a computer screen in her steering wheel. The screen flashed on and a tiny digital hand flipped her off, annoying her greatly. "No thanks, Tikro. Not even if Hell froze over and pigs flew. Wake up, damn it!"
A little Rorouni Kenshin face appeared on the screen, yawning widely. "Really, Lauren, must you be so rude to me?" It yawned again.
"Hey! I bought and reformatted your damned program! I can defragment you and repeat the process!" Lauren glared deadly like at the screen.
"No, that will not be at all neccessary." The figure yawned again. "I take it the usual path to the ranch? Hologram driver and auto-pilot? Clean clothes, and a car change?" Lauren nodded. "Very well. Here's those clothes and the rest should come up shortly."
Lauren unbuckled her seat belt and stepped up, and the seats folded into the car, giving her room to change. Changing quickly, she heard a beep indicating she was en route to her destination as she sat back down. The car reached a grove of trees and she felt it change into something sleeker and more recent. Refastening her seat belt, she took control of the car again and said, "Okay, thanks Tikro. Now please phone home."
"If only you could use that tone with me all the time." Lauren gave the screen another deadly glare. "Okay! Chill out! All right, calling Taylor." Tikro's face disappeared from screen and, courtesy of the digicam Taylor had installed on the living room computer, Lauren saw Taylor and some guy making out on the plushy black futon.
"TAYLOR!!!"
Taylor fell off the futon in surprise as the guy she was kissing scrambled to get up and ran off. "Lauren, that you? God damn it, you scared him off!!! And he was cute too!!!"
"Oh yeah? Well you better be prepared to explain it to everyone, because you've been busted. I'll be there in thirty minutes. I'll either see you then or not." The call ended and Tikro appeared on the screen again. "Tikro, change the make and color again. The white ranching truck, if you please." The car went hidden in a shaded grove. Soon Lauren felt higher off the ground. When the bright sunlight hit her golden eyes again, she turned the white truck onto the highway and raced home. As she saw the neighboring ranches from her own Nightshade Abyss Ranch, she pondered on what to do with Taylor.
The others are probably either out doing their hobbies or on missions, thought Lauren as she turned and drove past the wrought iron gates bearing the name NIGHTSHADE ABYSS. "Taylor, you're toast girlfriend." Lauren muttered darkly as she pulled up in front of her warehouse/office. She shut down Tikro when Jennifer came up on her black stallion. Lauren smiled and cut the engine and got out. "Hey, Jen. Been in the cave today?"
The cave was home to a mysterious Shadow Beast that was sent to Jennifer annonymously. Currently it was her project to train it properly.
Jen was covered in soot, dirt, water, and blood. "Yep," she nodded, patting her steed's neck gently.
"Anything progressive or unusual with him?" Lauren asked, pointing to the filth on Jen. "What's he been doing to you?" She was sure the beast was a male, and Jennifer agreed.