Light and Man (AAT and Stargirl)

AAT-08317 straightened his red tie.

The assassin stepped out of the limousine as he drew a card from a pocket inside his black suit jacket, a purple-coloured invitation bordered with somewhat golden leaf lines. His shined shoes touched the velvet carpet that was rolled out for any invitee that were to arrive to the event. A series of camera lights flashed as AAT-08317 slowly made his way up the carpet walkway. His eyes only completely focused on the building in front of him: the Art Museum of Chicago. It was a formal event for local millionaires in the region, some charity event for the disadvantaged in regions of subsaharan Africa. There would be money that would go to those, of course.

10% of all donations.

The other 90% were being used to fund a Board of Associates. The millionaires made their profits off a variety of firms and businesses, but they all worked for one single goal: the exploitation of resources around the world to fund an international criminal syndicate known only as: SPYDER. This criminal organisation stole, killed and fought to secure assets to further a financial empire that would dominate the politics of the Third World. A vicious cycle that cranked only to bring in more profit and power.

Usually, AAT-08317 would have no reason to be concerned with such affairs. But the Administration found news that SPYDER had been leaking into Russian State servers to extract secret information. There was a bidding ring not only for art today, but for financial, political and military information meant to be kept secret by the Russian State. This information had to be destroyed, and the affiliates of this wing of SPYDER killed.

Guards to the event stopped AAT-08317, as the assassin only handed his invitation to one of the guards. They took it gently, as they only nodded their head and handed the invitation back to AAT-08317. The assassin glanced over to a separate line that had been formed for regular attendants, before he pocketed his invitation and entered through the main doors of the facility.

Stargirl stared up at the rather large stone building with her bright blue eyes opened wide up in amazement. Her mouth wide open in a very giddy looking smile as her gaze moved from the building itself, to the fancy clothed people walking on the red line, to all the flashes off the cameras. There were just tons of people at the event, and Stargirl sure loved people. So much so that those who stood around her in line began to get annoyed with her constant “Hello!”s and other introductions.

The girl just stood in line patiently, wearing a white hoodie and a red checkered skirt with thigh-high socks covering up her legs. Wearing these things felt weird to Stargirl, she had never wore clothes before, but her new best friends told her everyone on this planet does so she should too. The poor naive creature also didn’t understand why she had to wait in line so much, and walk behind a bunch of people when she can just fly straight to the door. It's quicker, right? But again, her new best friends explained that she shouldn’t fly around too much in public because people would get scared and Stargirl didn’t want to scare anyone, she certainly doesn’t like being scared.

After a long wait, Stargirl’s patience was awarded with being allowed entry into the Museum, but first she had to give a lady green papers with weird symbols. She had some in her pocket that her friends gave her, but it took a while for her to figure out which paper the lady wanted! Finally, Stargirl made it inside, her amazement radiating off of her as she looks around at all the things humans had in the past. This was, of course, the reason her new friends told her to visit the museum; to learn more about the people of Earth.

AAT-08317 slowly stepped into the museum, looking around at the other dressed attendants as he stopped just short of a red rope that separated the section for the VIP's and regular attendants. The assassin glanced over the many art pieces that decorated the walls, or were mounted on easels, statues formed from marble or granite. The assassin then turned his gaze down toward a regular attendant that just stepped through the door, his straight and emotionless face watching the look of wonder and naivety. AAT-08317 sensed footsteps walk up behind him, before he turned on a heel to face the man who was about to reach out to tap his shoulder, but pulled back immediately under the scowl of the assassin.

"I assume you are Mr. Young?" The man asked, before he offered a hand to AAT-08317 to shake. The assassin merely nodded his head, taking the hand as he applied a firm grip that shocked the other man. "W-welcome to the Art Institute. Have you had a look around?"

"I have not." AAT-08317 replied, before he pulled his hand away, "But I heard this locale has Venetian. Where may I find it?"

"Why, Mr. Young..." The man replied, "good tastes. Down into the regular visitor area, front of the museum. The bidding starts in five, don't stray. We have quite the collection."

"I've heard." AAT-08317 replied, "What time?"

"Bidding starts at 20:00, Mr. Young." The man responded, "You'll be seat number 8."

The man reached out and patted AAT-08317's shoulder awkwardly, before he handed the assassin a black coloured ticker. The man skulked off into the crowd again. Slowly the assassin stepped toward the red line that was being protected by guards, as they quickly opened the line and allowed AAT-08317 to step down into the crowd of regular attendants as he approached a piece unmistakably Venetian, slowly passing by the strange and new visitor to the museum before he stopped in front of the oil painting of a Venice 'street,' setting a timer on his wristwatch before he removed a tablet-like device: his IZYCHENIE computer before he swiped his fingers along the binary, near impossible to translate text.

Stargirl stared at all the sculptures and paintings displayed in the museum, though some of them depicted naked people.  Why were they naked?  Aren’t humans supposed to not be naked?  Why did Stargirl have to wear clothes?  The poor cosmic being’s mind swam with confusion on such a simple concept of anatomically correct paintings, letting out a soft whine before scratching her head.  She had learned much from her new friends, but she still had a ways to go.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a sharply dressed man looking at her and did the polite thing by turning to look at him, flashing a smile, and waving.  Though the man didn’t respond, he went to go talk to another man.  Disappointed in not getting to talk to someone, Stargirl pouted before turning to look at a painting of a human city with a lot of rivers between the streets.  She saw people on boats holding poles, and the rays of the sun glistening off the water.  “...Oooh..” She stared at the painting for a good moment.

That is when the man who looked at her before suddenly stood next to her.  She slowly turned her head to look up at him with a curious tilt to her head before speaking in a soft, juvenile tone, “Hello..”  Her eyes turned to the painting, noticing that he was looking at it as well.  “...There’s lots of water there!  Those people must have lots of fish, right?”  She pointed at the painting and looked back up at the man, trying to strike a conversation.

Someone spoke to him.

The assassin turned his head and glanced down to the woman who looked up to him, her head tilted at a curious angle. It was the same one he looked at earlier, with that odd expression of naivety. And here she was now, asking like a child about the condition of Venice. His expression didn't change, nor did it form into a look of disgust or acceptance. It just remained neutral.

AAT-08317 nodded his head, deciding to address the woman's question politely: "Indeed. Venice is a costal town, after all. Used to be one of the most impressive trading centres in the world, back in the middle ages. Now it is nothing more than a relic."

The girl watched the sharply dressed man closely as he spoke, paying attention to what he was saying. She only understood about half of it, but she pretended to know better in order to learn more. She liked learning new things, especially about life on planets. And this planet has the most life she has ever seen! “..Uhm.. water.. Yes.. I think its pretty!” She nods her head slowly with a bright smile.

Her attention then turned to the statue of a naked man, possibly a renaissance sculpture of some kind, and pointed to it. “..That stone man is naked! I thought people don’t like naked things? Why isn’t the stone man wearing clothes too?” She asked curiously, her questions sounding nonsensical, as if the girl was somehow disabled mentally. Though she spoke about people as if she wasn’t one of their kind. Either way there was clearly something off about the young girl.

AAT-08317 simply watched the girl gesture toward the stone man, early renaissance. The assassin sighed, before he spoke: "It is meant to show the beauty of the human body, it doesn't mean it is fine to be naked."

Something was clearly wrong with this individual, but AAT-08317 was curious. He then asked: "What is your name? Where are you from?"

Something buzzed on the screen of AAT-08317's device, in a strange text that Stargirl likely wasn't familiar with. The assassin glanced down at it, seemingly unconcerned if the strange woman saw it. It was nothing more than numbers, and occassional Cyrillic characters.

“So he’s naked ‘cause he’s pretty?” Stargirl blinks her eyes softly before looking back at the statue. She didn’t understand it that much, not yet, at least, but she didn’t want to question it anymore. Humans are weird, but she has to fit in. Looking human will only get her so far, she’ll have to act the part as well. Her attention returned to the man once she was asked her name, causing her to pause for the moment as if she was trying to find the right words. She first received her name a very long time ago, from a civilization of aliens who saw her as their sun goddess, “Kyo’nei N’sar,” which in their language meant “Daughter of the Sun.” Though when asked her name for the first time on Earth, she had to explain it by pointing to the sun and placing her hand to her chest, thus the first two Earth words she would learn became her name. “I’m Stargirl!” She smiled after her trail of thought.

She’d curiously look down at the device he was holding, human technology being completely new to her, as well as their written word. She definitely couldn’t read what was on it, but was fascinated how the device was animated. “What’s that thing for? Is it a telephone?”

AAT-08317 turned off the screen as he listened to Stargirl. He found it incredibly odd, the way she was acting. The assassin attributed it to lack of social interaction, mixed with some level of derangement. AAT-08317 only nodded his head, as a few spectators laughed a bit at her 'name'. The assassin stood still for a bit, looking over the renaissance statue for a while before he spoke: "So you are one of those superheroes, then?"

He noticed very quickly that she had focused on his tablet-like device, as he merely lifted the now black screen for her to see. AAT-08317 shook his head, "It is for work. I have a job to do tonight."

Stargirl tilts her head again slowly at his comment, thinking for a second on what he meant.  “I don’t know what those are, but I’m Stargirl.” She nods her head slowly and looks down at his device, learning that it was just something for work.  “You work here!?” Stargirl looked up at him with amazement, “So you see all these pretty things a lot?  That’s really nice!  I’m working too, I’m supposed to come here and learn about human history.” She smiles happily, letting out a childish giggle.  “There are a lot of stone people in history.”

AAT-08317 stood by silently, taking the questions offered by Stargirl as he made a mental note to not ever enter regular attendant space ever again. The assassin shook his head as he simply replied to her first statement: "Very well, then... Stargirl. Pleasure to meet you."

AAT-08317 looked at Stargirl as she asked whether or not he worked at the art museum. He simply shook his head, before he responded: "No, I do not. I barely have time to look at these wonderful things. But if you need history, I recommend you read a book or take a class. This is art, it is culture."

The assassin looked down to his wristwatch, noting the time before he turned on a heel as he glanced back at the crowd of VIP who were starting to file into a different room. AAT-08317 narrowed his eyes, as he witnessed a guard flash a pistol that was located under his armpit as he buttoned up his suit jacket. The assassin stepped forward with no warning, nor did he even mention he was leaving as he headed for the carpeted section once more.

Stargirl tilted her head slowly at the man’s comment about reading books instead of visiting a museum. That confused her even more, because she was told to go to the museum specifically because she couldn’t exactly all too well yet. But the idea of books having even more history for her to learn made her smile with excitement. She couldn’t wait to learn to read better! Her smile faded when the man just up and walked away without saying good buy. Something that seemed rather not nice to her, but she waved at him all the same, “Bye bye, Mister suit guy!” She called out with a giggle before turning to go look around at other exhibits.

AAT-08317 ignored the call out as he stepped up to the red line to be admitted back into the carpeted area. Two guards flanked him, the assassin sensing their movements behind him before he removed his black ticket handed to him only moments prior. As he approached the doorway that the other VIP's entered, he flashed the black card to the guards before he entered himself. There were nine seats organised in a half circle around a pulpit, with seven of the seats already occupied. AAT-08317 circled around to the eighth leather seat before he slowly sat down and rested his arms along the armrests. The man that spoke to him before took a seat at the ninth position, before he glanced to the assassin and spoke: "May the highest bidder win."

AAT-08317 only stared at the man, before he turned his head to the man that then stood at the head of the pulpit. He was a finely dressed man, greying hair and beard as he rested his aged hands along the base of the stand. AAT-08317 analysed the old mans features, before he spoke: "Welcome esteemed guests and dignitaries to our humbled little gathering."

There was a low laugh throughout the crowd.

"It is a honour to know that you would all be so noble to help our little cause in the slightest," the man continued, "Now our pool is willing to donate a few pieces for your collections. Parting gifts, of course. But we have other things on the bidding block, I am sure you will all be interested in."

An overhead projector flashed on behind the man, revealing a series of three photographs of different men. Under their pictures were names appearing in a Israeli text. Spies from Jerusalem, AAT-08317 could only assume.

"Israeli spies operating throughout Middle East in the fight against terrorism." The man continued, "Let us start bidding at $200,000 per head. Are there any takers?"

A green light lit up under someones sear, the aged man smiling before he spoke: "A small start of $210,000 for Yaut. Anyone else?"

AAT-08317's senses immediately burned with what seemed to be attempted silent footsteps, and the clicking and tapping against metal. The assassin turned his head only as soon as he saw someone lift a submachine gun. His reflexes honed at the shale that emerged from the darkness, looking straight down the barrel of the weapon before a gunshot echoed. AAT-08317 dodged to the ground as gunshots and screams were heard. Five guards stepped out with their own weapons, two of them killed immediately as the VIP's screamed in horror. The aged man was immediately covered by the three other guards, as he scowled under the sound of three gunshots: "Get me out of here!"

One of the attackers yelled: "He's got the data! Old man, mid 50's, greying hair! Get him!"

AAT-08317 immediately removed his silenced Cz-45 as he lifted the weapon towards one of the attackers and fired. The head of the man shot back immediately as blood splattered. One of the bidders was killed in retaliation.

Tonight was going to be a long night.

Stargirl was staring intently at an old japanese illustration of a shogun and his men, having seen some of that type of art before when she first landed. It interested her how some paintings looked really different than others, some looked real and others really didn’t. She, of course, couldn’t read the text accompanying the painting so she had no context of what it was trying to explain but she liked looking at it all the same.

That’s when she heard the screams and the very loud pops of a gun. Her immediate reaction was to cover her ears tightly and let out a whine in fear, where she’d usually just leave the area as quick as possible to get away from the noise. But something stopped her from panicking; the screams that came with the gunshots. People were in trouble and possibly hurt! Stargirl couldn’t let that happen, even if she was scared. She’d slowly pull her hands away from her ears and furrowed her brows, moving toward the locked VIP door. A guard tried to keep her from moving closer to the dangerous area, but found himself being pulled along with her, unable to move her no matter how hard her tried before giving up and fleeing the scene himself.

The people, attackers and victims, would suddenly see the locked door crumple like a soda can and pulled off its hinges with little effort before being set down, a young girl in a hoodie standing in the frame. One of the gunmen reacted by firing a shot at her, which struck her in the chest right where her heart should be. Stargirl reacted by taking a step back and looking down at the hole the bullet created in her hoodie, but seemed to not be injured in any way by it. Her gaze would then move to all the blood and the corpses. People were hurt, and the people who hurt them were still holding the weapons.

Suddenly, the girl’s eyes would light up bright with solar energy like miniature stars in each socket and she’d clench her fists. “...No more people get hurt!” She yelled out before firing a bright beam of radiant plasma at one of the shooter’s guns, slicing into it with ease, though without harming the gunman himself. She’d then turn to another shooter who was about to fire and darted toward him so fast that if someone would have blinked they would have missed it entirely, the force of her movement even caused some of the chairs to fly out of her way. In an instant her hand was on the man’s submachine gun, pushing up upwards so that it was firing into the ceiling before crushing the barrel with her fingers. Stargirl would turn around, without even touching the previous shooter, and glare right at AAT who also had a weapon on him.

AAT-08317 stared back.

The assassin lifted his Cz-45 to the man whose weapon was being held before he fired off two rapid shots that caused the attacker to let go and drop his weapon. He didn't scream, as his shoulder and throat bled profusely. AAT-08317 then turned his weapon to the prone attacker whose weapon had been melted by Stargirl. It was as if he didn't fear, as he looked at the odd girl. It all made sense to him now, but that wasn't his concern. She moved quick, was incredibly strong and had eyes that shot melting beams.

An asset.

The assassin spoke, "I don't want people hurt either. These are bad men, who are trying to take something that can hurt even more. Millions. Billions. This entire planet can be destroyed, if they get away."