Further Adventures of Minimate Nina, part deux: Prelude to a Something

In which the groundwork for future stories I haven't bothered plotting out yet is laid!  GET EXCITE!!

Nina:  Time to go see 'the boss', I guess.  I hate this part.

N:  Seriously, he can't just have an office...?

ONE INEXPLICABLE DIMENSION WARP LATER...

???:  Ah, Williams, you've returned.

N:  Indeed I have, mister anonymous shadowy man.

N:  Nice toys.  You planning on building your own army?

?:  I'm sure somebody is.  These are just to whet the appetites of any prospective buyers.

N:  And here I was thinking you were only in the murdering-billionaires business.

?:  We all need to make money somehow.  Speaking of which...

?:  Your fee, in Euros as specified.  Though why you want it that way is a mystery to me.

N:  I take my holidays in Florence.  And keep it, the job's not done yet.

?:  I must be hearing things, because it sounded like you saying you hadn't killed Stark...
N:  That's what I said.
?:  And you're back here because?
N:  There were complications...

N:  Specifically, the-owner-of-this-hair sort of complications.
?:  Yeesh, you scalped them?!
N:  Couldn't be bothered lugging their corpse around - and have you ever tried cutting hair neatly with a combat knife?  It's tricky.  Point is, some MI6 girlscout got the drop on me, which means someone leaked details about the hit to the authorities, and since I know it wasn't me...

?:  Uhm...we've been doing business for months now, Nina, you know I've never betrayed you -
N:  *draws knife*  There's a first time for everything.  You've got ten seconds before I carve your heart out of your chest -
?:  Okay, OKAY!  It was me, alright, but I didn't want to!  It's just - someone else approached me after you took the Stark job, said they were planning to take you out after you killed him.

N:  And you just went right along with it?
?:  W-well, look at it from where I was standing - you'd still pull the hit for me, I wouldn't have to pay you...
N:  You sure put a lot of faith in your new pal's ability to kill me.

Meanwhile, up above...

 Shady Sniper:  Should've known he'd crack.  Easy problem to fix, though...

?:  I'll tell you everything I know, but not here - they know about this place, I'm not safe -
N:  Damn right you're not, get DOWN!
?:  Huh?

BLAM!
N:  Shit!

BRAKKA-BRAKKA-BRAK!
N:  Hup - pretty good aim for such a distance...

N:  Great, pinned down.  Now what?  Think, girl, think!

N:  What's - oh...right.  Big robot.  I can work with that.

N:  Gnrr...come on, come on, where's the 'open' switch already - ah!

N:  In we go -
BAM BAM BAM!
N:  Shit!  Hatch down!

N:  Hah.
WHIRR-CLUNK!

N:  Targeting controls are...eeny-meeny-miney-
CH-CHIKK!
N:  There we go.

N:  Open wide, whoever you are...
M.S.:  Outta here - 

BOOM!  BOOM!  BOOM!
M.S.:  Hup!

Ten minutes and one awkward climb later...

N:  Tch.  Well, this isn't much to go on.

N:  Guess I'd better check this hood in with a paid-off forensics guy - assuming it's not just a red herring.

*sigh*

N:  Whoever did this won't stop until I'm dead...or they're dead.  And those rules suit me just fine.

End of Prologue

(Notes:  Not wholly pleased with how this little pic-story turned out.  I decided to take the pics in a different part of the house to add some location variety and establish that, yes, this is all happening far away from where we were in the last 'Further Adventures...' post.  Unfortunately it was a bugger to keep the light balance right, especially in the shots at the mystery sniper's perch - the main light in the room was broken at the time and I had to hang a desk lamp above the scene, hence everything in the last two shots 'blooming' all to hell.

Still, it got me where I wanted to be going forwards - namely, with an excuse to just fling increasingly difficult enemies at Nina and let her mangle them one after another.  Nina's contact in this story is...well, I didn't bother naming him, it's irrelevant, but the figure is the body of Professor X with a Norman Osborn head.  The machine I'm referring to as 'Chekhov's Mecha' is a GI Joe Steel Marauder, and there's a couple other Joe vehicles parked beside it; I find the ones with enclosed cockpits are a convincing size to interact with Minimates.  Cammy's helicopter from the last installment was a Joe thing too.

And the mystery sniper?  Well, I could tell you who it is, but where's the fun in that?  Speculate!  Suffice to say it's a character I rather like, one with a simple and clear reason to want Nina gone - and they won't be alone in that effort.  Others will challenge our girl in the upcoming episodes.  Wolverine.  C. Viper.  Bane.  Deathstroke.  Chuck Norris.  The frickin' Avengers.  And probably Deadpool, too, because it's me we're talking about here.

I can't promise to keep these things to a schedule - I have work and stuff - but hell, I'm enjoying this.  And so long as it's still fun I'll keep doing it.)