This little scene has been caught in my head for months. Does it mean anything? Is it going anywhere? I imagine it in anime cel shading, but I'm no animator. With any luck, it's going to be part of a future project.

*WE NOW COMMENCE THE SHOOTY, STABBY, KILL-O-MATIC*

"We don't need to use violence," Mercury said. He was standing out on the factory floor facing Jade Dragon and her small army of Cyber-Yakuza. LEDs on their guns glowed like the lights in their eyepieces.

The beautiful and deadly assassin in red silk; Jade tossed her sleek, blue-black hair back and let out a burst of melodious laughter. And kept laughing. She snorted a few times, gasping for air to keep on laughing and after a full minute, wound up leaning on one of her bodyguards while squeezing her stomach. "Seriously, don't joke like that. You'll make me pee!"

Mercury went on: "My employer only wants the golden scepter of King Kalilianalan. Give it to me, I walk away and everybody lives to laugh at their own stupid jokes tomorrow."

"Nah. It's more fun this way."

Jade flipped over the crates. Her troops began blasting.

Mercury jumped to the side. His tie-tack bleeped and the briefcase on the floor popped open. His guns flew out on programmed arcs. When he came up from his roll, he snatched them and they barked. The first two C-Y's dropped.

Venus splashed the C-Y's crates with laser fire. More C-Y's ducked while Mercury slid behind the forklift.

He called over to her: "How've you been?"

The voice called back from the industrial lathe: "Busy."

Another spray of crimson light and a C-Y fell, neatly clipped in half. His buddies were smart enough to stay down.

"Care to join me?"

"Sure."

She dashed to the forklift. Gorgeous, deadly. Mercury peeled his eyes away long enough to take a pot-shot at a goon as he slipped behind some stacked planks.

They both opened up. Response to a volley of shotgun fire.

"Where's Mars?" said Mercury.

Venus pointed to the top of a manager's boxy office, behind some of the nearby C-Y occupied crates.

"Woah," It was his best Keanu. "How'd he get up there?"

"He is very mysterious," Venus said before making a dash to the next bit of cover. Another lathe.

"Wonder what they make here?" Said Mercury.

"Baseball bats," came the metallic, accented voice from the sneaky C-Y.

"Oh sh-,"

The bat hit Mercury square. His vision swam. He almost missed seeing the C-Y's head explode.

"Thanks Zeus," he muttered. He'd owe him a beer later.

"Graaaaah!" came from the other side of the factory.

Mars shrugged his shoulders. The two shotguns slipped into his hands. He fired both down into the C-Y's, then jumped after the hot shot.

Mercury wasn't going to let Mars get all the glory. Pounding those planks with bullets, he dashed at the other C-Y. His head popped up just in time. Mercury's boot caught it. He landed the kick standing on C-Y face.

He heard the clang of metal. Venus and Jade danced back and forth under the flash of katanas. Mars caught his eye and nodded at the display of hot-girl-steel-on-steel. It was almost a shame to stop them, but Jade was ranked higher than Venus according to the charts. Mercury steadied his aim, and then called to Jade.

"Was that stupid scepter really worth this?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. His shot slapped her to the floor.

They all gathered around her body and through chokes she laughed.

"What rank are you schmucks anyway? 20? 25? Heh. This is the best joke yet!"

She gurgled a bit and fell silent.

"I mean come on! You don't even look strong enough to lift a gun that big! I bet you have some reeeeeeeeal compensating to do!"

Her breath came in a quiet rattle and her eyes closed.

"Oh! Is that what this scepter thing's about? I should warn you guys, it doesn't have any smooth edges, you better have some thick scar tissue if you're-"

Mars said "shut up!" the best way he knew how.

Mercury wiped the brains off his boots. His mobile phone beeped with a computerized voice: "Congratulations! Your ranking has now increased! You are number 12 among the highest ranked assassins in Megatroid City!"

He was moving up in the world.