A long, narrow truck pulled to a stop on the high walkway in lower downtown. The vehicle shifted back and forth as three men climbed out of the cab. Two were rather large, one husky, the other fat. The third was a thin man, covered from head to foot in leather. The one in leather was a Prop, a mercenary, and the dangerous one.

They had come to a stop in that area because sitting on the edge of the walkway was a girl. Small, thin, covered by a dirty, plastic poncho against the ever-falling rain of Mort. It was hard to tell much about her, her head was resting on her chest; her short hair fell forward to hide her face. Still, she was young, and that was all the skin trade was interested in.

The fat man approached her first; in his chubby hand he held a hypo-gun loaded with Bio-block. It was a rather open move, but it was dark, and the high walkway was deserted. The girl did not even look up as he approached. It was possible that she was already drugged out of her mind. So much the easier for them.

He was beginning to reach forward when the girl did something totally unexpected. She kicked back off the walkway, dropping out of site.

The three men looked at each other, surprise on their faces, though it was difficult to tell with the Prop as his face was completely hidden.

"Must've known what we was planning," the husky man said. "Chose death over getting caught."

"Stupid bitch," the fat man said. "Now we got to find another one to fill up our load." He moved to the edge of the walkway, looking down, expecting to see the girl's broken body forty meters below.

A hand reached up and grabbed him by the belt. A quick pull and he was falling, screaming all those forty meters to the ground.

The other two had not seen what had happened; to them it looked as if the fat man had just fallen. They stood there, trying to figure out why two people had just decided to throw themselves from the walkway.

The soft roar of a pair of Fusion-Turbines made both men look up. Above them was a figure in a suit of Silverback armour. As the armoured angel tossed away a plastic poncho the Prop realised that the girl had not tossed herself off the walkway, and it was very likely his fat companion had been pulled. The though had him going for the pistols at his side. Before he could reach them a knife, hurled with exo-armour assisted strength, punched though his throat, cutting his spine as it exited.

As the body hit the ground the armoured figure landed upon the walkway and grabbed the husky man around the wrist. A pull and a snap of her forearm broke his arm in three places. He screamed in pain, screamed even more as she jerked him around, flinging him over the side of the walkway, and then holding him from a fall by his broken arm.

"Shut up," she snapped, giving him a shake. Her words and the pain cleared his head for a moment. He knew he was in a great deal of danger and that his only chance of living rested in the hands of the armoured girl holding him.

"That's good," she said as he stopped screaming. "Tell me, who are you with?"

"Slap and Tickle," he said, breathing hard, trying hard not to start screaming again.

"And where are you operating?"

"I can't tell you?"

She let go of his hand, letting him fall for a moment before grabbing it again, brining him to a painful stop. "You can."

Tears were streaming down his cheeks. He had lost control of his bladder. He had almost passed out from the pain. "They'll kill me," he sobbed.

"What makes you think that I won't?"

"Down at the old Handara warehouse, level three."

"Thank you," she said, and the let go of his hand. He screamed all the way down. She did not even watch. "This is Operative Yamamoto, I need a Shiver team at Walkway One Fifty Six, sector 7B, lower Downtown, immediately," she said into mike in the Silverback's helmet as she walked towards the truck.

"Roger that Operative Yamamoto," the voice on the other end replied. "Expect a team to arrive in five minutes."

"That's too long," she pulled open the rear doors of the truck. "I need them hear now."

"I'm sorry Operative Yamamoto. There are no teams close enough."

"Understood," she said as she looked into the truck.

A metal bar ran the length of the roof. From it, hung like meat, were about twelve people, very young men and women, girls and boys. Plastic cuffs were wrapped around their wrists, they hung from those cuffs. The taller were able to rest their feet on the floor, most were hanging above it. All were too drugged to do anything.

The desire to move was in her heart. She had come close to hitting a Skin Trade operation and getting the big players, but had always shown up too late. There was a mole somewhere, leaving information. She was certain that the Shivers cold get to her faster.

She wanted to leave, but was unwilling to leave the victims there, where anyone, or anything, could get at them. So she waited until the Shiver unit showed up, rolling onto the walkway in one of their APCs.

She gave them a quick briefing on what had happened there, then, satisfied that the victims were in good hands, leapt from the walkway, slowing her fall with the turbines, landing softly on the ground below.

Nearby, hidden under a pile of garbage, was her SCAF bike. The armoured security plates slid back at her command, the engine roaring to life. She straddled the powerful vehicle, gave it power, and roared out onto the street. Once she got some speed she activated the main turbine, lifting the bike into the air. The hydraulic system pulled the wheels into the main body, changing the bike to a one-man helicopter.

Speed was of the essence now; if she could get to the old Handara warehouse before the people could clear out she might just be able to shut down Slap and Tickle. It was a long shot, she knew, but she had to try.

Soon she was dropping below the street, spending through walkways and roads, passing close to buildings. Three levels under the so-called surface of Mort was not too deep. Not when it was possible, if suicidal to travel down 285 levels. Still, it was deep enough for her. She hated lower Downtown, hated it for so many reasons, only partly because that was where her prey lived and thrived.

Ahead of her was the warehouse, and old, supposedly deserted building. It looked deserted, but the Skin Trade did not survive by making their presence obvious.

The SCAF dropped to the roof of the building, the turbines throwing up a close of dust, grit and dirt. She rolled off the bike, moving quickly, just in case, making for her way to a doorway on the roof.

As it was there was no threat there. There was not much of a threat anywhere. As before she had arrived too late, perhaps only by minutes, but that was all it would take. There were a few people left there, desperately trying to gather up something of value.

She dropped to the warehouse floor, her automatic pistols ready, and ordered all there to put their hand on their heads and not move. Those too stupid to listen she shot, wasting bullets on them, but dealing with the problem quickly. Those that remained were smart enough to do as she ordered and therefore smart enough to be worth questioning.

There were also a number of victims there, about half dead. The Skin Trade was like any other business. They got rid of inventory that did not sell. She had to keep her temper as she questioned those she had left alive. They knew little, could tell her little, and were not nearly as smart as she had hoped. Hangers on, temp work, just people looking to make a little extra money and not interested in asking too many questions.

Mort was full of people like that.

When the Shivers arrived she turned the scene over to them and tracked her way back up to the roof. Soon she was flying off on her SCAF, heading home.

"Listen to me, this is a great deal," Anna Growlska told the woman sitting across the desk from her.

"I'm not sure," the woman said doubtfully. Her name was Tian Chen, though she was more widely known by her assumed name of 'Black Lightening'. It was a professional killer's name, flashy and easy to remember. She was tall, muscled, her black hair in a crew cut. Not really attractive, but she had a certain air about her that served her well on the contract circuit: A mix of deadliness and grace and sex.

"What is there not to be sure of? It's a great sponsorship deal, good money, solid name brand, everything you could want." Anna was also tall, but not so tall as the contract killer, and she wore her white hair long. Pale skin, white clothing, cool demeanour, there was a reason they called her the ice queen. Her pale blue eyes met and held those of Tian.

"I don't even use 'Feel Fresh Tampons'," Tian said.

"Well, you will now, all the time. When you're bleeding, you use one of them. Hell, you take a gunshot wound, you stick one of them in the bullet hole if you have to."

"I don't bleed. Had all that womanly stuff shut down when I went pro."

Anna sat back in her chair, looking a little surprised. "No shit."

Tian nodded. "The last thing you want is to smell of blood down in the sewers. Carriens will come after that."

Anna said nothing for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Perfect. You don't need them, but you still use them. That's how good they are."

"What are you talking about Growlska?"

"The tampons use a symbiotic bacteria to keep things clean, you know? You can leave one in for days if you have the mind to, not that I would, and they're good for things like yeast infections and crap. They'll keep you fresh so no stinking carrien will be tracking you by smell. Perfect."

Tian nodded after a moment. "It does sound good."

"I'll get the company on the line and see if they'll go for it, and I'm sure they will. You'll have to make some big deal about using them before you go into the sewers, or onto a Gore Zone, and crap like that, but nothing that you should not be able to handle." Anna was smiling broadly. She knew that Tian was going to go for it, and was going to get a lot of money. Of course Anna would get her cut.

Gear packed away, bike locked up in the garage, a shower to wash the grime of the work from her, civilian clothing with no obvious weapon, Operative Yayoi Yamamoto was out to pick up some groceries and a few other things. Dressed in a pair of loose trousers, a white blouse, raincoat and pink, designer umbrella, she did not look much like an operative. That was the effect she had wanted.

Soon after she had joined SLA industries, and after graduating from Meny, she had picked her niche. Some breast reduction surgery, some removal of fat around her hips, a little tweaking of her hormones, all had taken a few years off her age back then. Nothing had changed either. She was the perfect bait for those who hunted children and the very young adults.

She had made it her speciality, and was very good at it. A number of BPNs had fallen her way because of her looks, and they had paid well. She had performed well enough to receive a number of perks. The Silverback armour was one, the SCAF another. Everything she needed to keep the Skin Trade off balance, and to hopefully shut it down, one day.

Yayoi was twenty-two and looked like she was somewhere between twelve and fourteen years of age.

The grocery store, 'Mr. Greens Food Bin', was a chain that was rather common in Uptown and Suburbia. It carried a bit of everything, with large amounts of basics. Yayoi cruised the aisles, filling up a basket with various bits of synthetic foods and a few pieces of real, orchard grown fruit. Expensive in Mort, but Operatives always had money for luxuries.

After she paid for her dinner she crossed the rain soaked streets to the HappyLife Pharmacy. Another of the chains that were common in Uptown and Suburbia. A lot of HappyLife's stock was recreational pharmaceuticals. Beat and Alice and others drugs like that. Of course there were plenty of medical drugs as well, analgesics, Kick Start, cough drops, vitamins and a huge amount of other things.

Yayoi picked up a package of Kick Start Solo, having run low on the powerful healing drug earlier that day. She looked at a display case full of combat drugs, considered picking up some Ultra-Violence, but decided she did not really need it. She drifted to the back of the stores, past the feminine hygiene products (noting that the Feel Fresh Tampons had a new spokes person) into the section where the diapers were.

She looked the small selection over, and then grabbed a package of MoonieMan bedwetting pants; not really diapers, but close enough for her, and went to the front to pay for the purchases, swiping her finance card through the machine.

With her bag of food in one hand, and the package of diapers tucked under her arm, the Kick Start in her pocket of the raincoat, she headed home.

Home, the small apartment, with a balcony and the small garden on it, was a far cry from the tiny place in Suburbia that she had started out in. Still not the best place she could have afforded to live, but she liked it, and moving was a pain.

Before opening the door she checked the sliver of a matchstick that she had slid into the door, a small tell that would let her know if the door had been opened. Satisfied that nothing was out of place, she tapped in a number on the code pad and used her palm print to unlock the door. A lot of security, but it was necessary. Operatives often made a lot of enemies, and they had a lot of valuable property.

She did not relax completely until she had swept the apartment, not that there was a lot to check. The main room with its couch, and vid (turned off) and a few chairs; the small, functional kitchen; the small, functional bathroom; the comfortable bedroom, with its weapons and equipment safe in the corner. Satisfied that she had nothing to worry about, she put the food in the kitchen, set up dinner, and then returned to her room.

Yayoi stripped, folding up her clothing, placing it at the foot of the bed, until she was dressed in just a pale, pink camisole. She tore the package of bedwetting pants open, removed one of the white, garments, and then pulled it on, drawing it up her thin legs. She took a moment to enjoy the feeling, running her hands over the padded material. She felt, well, secure.

From a drawer in the bureau she took out a pair of pink plastic pants, with a yellow duck on them, and pulled that on over the bedwetting pants. She liked the slight rustling sound they made when she walked.

Happy and relaxed, she returned to the kitchen to finish making her dinner.

After she ate she sat down on the count, her Oyster computer on her lap, and began reviewing the case notes she had been making over the last two years. She felt she was close, just needed a little more work to get it figured out.

As she worked she relaxed her bladder and wet the bedwetting pants, enjoying the wet warmth that spread around her bottom.

Anna lay on the massage table as a talented Ebon worked the kinks and pains out of her back. She was looking through the pages of a magazine called 'Submissive Styles'. It was a magazine with a growing readership, and it was looking for the right person to represent them.

Anna specialized in things like that. Sponsors wanted Operatives or Contract Killers to use their product, which was easy for places that sold weapons, armour, drugs, clothing and vehicles. But what did the place that sold nose-hair trimmers do? That was where Anna came in.

She found people who did use, or could be convinced to use the product in question. The fat operative who was constantly stuffing his face with Creamy-Crunchy-Logs was the perfect spokesman, far better than the painfully thin Waster who never ate one in their life. Sure, the fat guy was not too pretty, but his armour had lots of space for ads, and her was good at his job, so got a lot of press time.

Working on deals with that, she had made herself rich. It was her niche, one that she held with brutal efficiency. Now she was trying to figure out whom she could get to shill for 'Submissive Styles'. He or she would have to be pretty. Maybe something for that Frother, Yvonne.

She turned over so the masseuse could work on her front, her fingers working the tension out of Anna's body. I needed this, Anna thought. She enjoyed her work, but it could be so stressful.

Later, back in her office, Anna looked over the many requests she had received from various companies that were hoping she might find them the perfect representative. She put each one in a different pile, or file, or in the garbage can, and made notes as she went. She also took time to look over the information she had on Yvonne. The professional drug addict was pretty, had the right look, and was maybe the perfect person to wear the Submissive Styles logo. Certainly worth making an appointment to talk to her.

She looked up from her desk at the vid unit that was always on. The excited voice of a Third Eye anchorman had caught here attention. On the screen a slight figure in a suit of Silverback armour was emptying the clips of a pair of pistols into a group of armed men. According to the caption at the bottom, not that a lot of Mort's citizenry could read it, they were part of the Skin Trade group, Puppy Talk.

Anna had seen that operative before on Third Eye news, but had no idea who she, or maybe he (you never could be certain when they were wearing armour) was. She (assumed) did put on a good show. The FEN 603 pistols were pumping out a lot of lead; obviously the operative was not too concerned with the bullet tax.

Then, perhaps because the bullet tax was a concern, or maybe to put on a good show, the pistols were put away and a MAC combat knife was put into use. That was when the blood started to fly, literally. The speed of that armour made the hits with that blade particularly deadly. Anna watched, quite impressed with the operative's skill. Credit where credit was due.

Anne whistled appreciatively as the armoured figure launched into an aerial somersault, neatly snapping one man's neck with the kick, landing, sweeping another man's legs, and then plunging her knife into his chest, pinning him to the ground, before going on to finish off the rest.

Definitely a Kick Murder operative. Very good at what she did.

Anna had been watching a tape of the battle. The scene switched to a pretty boy at the scene talking about how a blow had been dealt it the Skin Trade, and how that over sixty people had been liberated from the slavers. It was good stuff.

Then the camera angle changed and there, in the background, was the operative, her helmet off, giving Anna a good, but quick look at her face.

"Rewind and freeze," Anna commanded. The vid unit did as she said, rewinding a few seconds, and then freezing. "Advance frame by frame." She watched as each frame was presented to her. "Freeze," she ordered when she had what she wanted. " Magnify five times and print."

The small printer beside her desk whirred and a sheet of paper was produced. Programs had enhanced and cleaned up the picture. In the middle of it was the operative, a young looking woman with short black hair, pulled back into a tight ponytail. "Very nice," Anna said softly. Then she reached for her phone, she had some enquiries to make.

Yayoi yawned as she made her way through the crowds that filled Slayer's Crib. It was in that huge building that operatives like herself picked up the BPNs that paid the bills. The place was crowded, like it always was, as people shuffled through the process of getting their next job. She had already signed in, which had taken an hour, and was waiting for her appointment.

The day before she had managed a minor coup, taking out a Puppy Talk storage centre. Lots of information had come from that, but it was going to take time for that information to reach a point where it would be of use to her. She was waiting for someone to make a move, and then she would sweep down on them.

Of course they knew that, and were going to lay low for a bit. That being the case, she had decided to find another job, hence her visit to the crib. As she knew it was going to be a long wait, and leaving even for a minute was almost a guaranteed way to loose your place, she had come prepared. Prepared in this case was pair of the MoonieMan pants under her clothing.

It was almost an hour before she was finally seen, at which point she tool the White BPN to investigate potential Darknight incursions in lower Downtown. Well of course there were Darknight agents in lower Downtown, that was nothing new, but someone obviously thought that this might be the start of a larger problem.

She took the BPN and headed out of the crib. She would hit her place to kit up before going on. She was just starting down the stairs of the BPN hall when she heard someone call her name.

She turned and saw a tall, well-dressed woman standing not so far away from her. "Miss Yamamoto, I'm pleased to meet you."

Yayoi almost asked 'why', but decided not to. Being polite was always a wise because mouthing off to the wrong person might get you killed. "I'm sorry, you seem to have an advantage."

The woman smiled. "Anna Growlska." She held out her hand towards Yayoi. "I'm an agent."

Yayoi took her hand. "Pleased to meet you Ms Growlska." It was not entirely true, but Yayoi smiled sincerely.

Anna laughed softly as she released Yayoi's hand. "I'm not certain that you mean that, but I don't blame you. Can we talk? Perhaps have a coffee."

"I'm not sure. I have some things to take care of…"

"It is important, and may be quite valuable to you."

Yayoi wanted to say no, but again, survival instincts took over. Anna was well dressed, looked like she had money, and something said that she was not a minor player. Not the kind of person it was safe to blow off in SLA industries. "Can you give me a few minutes?"

"Of course," Anna smiled.

"I'll be back soon then," Yayoi told her as she went off to make some phone calls. She would call in some favours and start the investigation going.

A few minutes later, as promised, she returned to where Anna waited. They went together to a nearby coffee shop where Anna got them both some expensive coffees.

"I'm not going to waste any time," Anna began after taking a drink of her coffee. "I've looked into your credit purchases for the last two years…"

"I would have thought that such records would be private," Yayoi interrupted.

"Not at my level of security clearance."

"I see," Yayoi said, filing that piece of information in the back of her head.

"Now, I've noticed that you have bought a fairly steady supply of bedwetting pants, the occasional package of diapers, plastic and rubber panties, and a number of other, similar things. According to the records you don't have children and you live alone."

"I use them," Yayoi said, stating it simply and right out. It was not something she was going to lie about. "And I don't care who knows." She added that just in case this thing was about blackmail of some sort. Not that she thought it was. This was Mort after all, wearing diapers and such was nothing.

"I'm glad to hear that. Might I ask why you wear them, I mean, do you need to?"

"No," Yayoi said, shaking her head. "I don't need them, at least not for any physical reason. I simply like wearing them."

"They make you feel good?"

"Yes, and secure I suppose." Yayoi wondered why the woman was interested, and also why she was answering those questions.

"Wonderful."

"Wonderful?"

"I would like you to become a spokesperson for Grimble and Pradst, do you know who they are?"

"One of the largest producers of, well, lots of things, on all of this, and a number of other, planets."

"Yes. They make the MoonieMan pants you buy, as well as a number of brands of diapers, and other things along those lines."

"Are you suggesting that I let their diaper division sponsor me?"

"Yes," Anna smiled. "It is a perfect match."

"I don't think so."

"Don't be so hasty. G&P are part of SLA industries, and helping them sell is an important service to the company after all. And they will be able to offer you a lot of money."

Yayoi considered what Anna had said. The truth was that Yayoi was constantly worried about being seen as disloyal to the company she worked for. It had stared the day she had chosen not to have a finance chip installed. The thought of being constantly monitored by a biogenetic organism in her brain just seemed wrong to her.

Failing that, she had done all she could to make sure that she would be seen as loyal to the company. Now Anna was offering her something that might very well do that.

"It's not like it is all that different from things now. You don't seem to be ashamed by your choice in underclothing. Now you'd just be letting more people know about it."

"What would this entail?"

"A few patches on the shoulder of your armour, maybe one on your back or chest, I'll try to keep it to a minimum and tasteful. Are you wearing a diaper or something right now?"

Yayoi felt her cheeks grow warm. Somehow that question just seemed more personal, but she nodded. "One of the MoonieMan pants."

"Perfect. You'll wear one of those whenever you go out, under your armour, when you get home you switch to a diaper. That's just the way it has got to be. And you'll do some commercials, magazine photos, that kind of stuff."

"I'm not sure about that, the commercials and magazines. It won't be good if too many people know who I am."

"Wrong."

"Pardon?"

"That is just wrong," Anna told her. "Okay, when you started out, going the low key approach was a good idea. It made sense, allowed you to work undercover and such. Good plan, but now you want to expand out a little."

"I don't understand."

"Go public. Be the darling diaper girl who is going after the skin trade. Show that cute little face and body of yours to people. They will fall in love with you. You'll get an army of people throughout the city that would die just so you might smile at them. They'll give you information, happily, for free, saving you weeks of work and lots of credits."

Yayoi said nothing. Was Anna right? Would she become a media darling? If she did, then it was possible that things would get easier. Popular Operatives and Contract Killers did have a useful fan base, though they also had to deal with stalkers.

"I'm going to have to think about," Yayoi finally said.

"Think all you want. I'll start the ball rolling, but don't worry, nothing happens until you want it to." Anna smiled widely, showing her perfect teeth.

That did not completely reassure Yayoi for some reason.

G&P's administration offices were housed in a large building in Mort Central, a blocky, slate grey building with no windows. In a small conference room Anna Growlska was meeting with three very important people in the company. One of them was the Vice President of sales, the other two worked in the paper products division.

The vice president leaned back in his chair, looking at Anna for several seconds. "It sounds rather interesting, but are you certain that this operative can give us the media coverage."

Anna smiled as she stood up. "I brought this," she told them VP, taking a data-slug from her pocket and plugging it into a slot on the table. On the far end of the room a vid screen came on. "This is from Third Eye news, two hours ago. Operative Yamamoto went after a group of Darknight subversives working in lower downtown."

On the vid screen a figure in a suit of Silverback armour leapt from a rooftop, coming down on top of a figure wearing a suit of beat up Dogeybone armour. The figure in the heavier dogeybone armour should have been able to deal with the slight figure in the lighter suit, but that was not what happened.

Moving faster than the Darknight agent could react, Yayoi took her enemy apart, sliding her knife into openings, killing her enemy by pieces.

"There were five fully trained Darknight operatives, and roughly thirty civilians who had been turned by Darknight. Operative Yayoi took out four of the subversives and twenty of the civilians. The rest were dealt with by two contract killers who were sent in by Third Eye news for a bit more colour.

"Watch the operative hunt, she kills with a minimum amount of energy, but always puts on a good show. Look at that kick, shatters the man's kneecap, then she catches him with an elbow as he falls forward. Look at the blood fly."

Indeed blood was flying, the man's jaw was ripped from his head, and it looked as if his neck was broken as well.

"And then she grabs the gun he was trying to use, spins like a dancer, and empties the clip into those two suckers who thought they could snake up behind her."

"She is rather talented," the VP said.

"Here's a good part coming up. Two subversives, heavily armed, good armour, back to back, ready for anything, or so they think. And then she drops down, look at that. Snaps her neck, and snaps a kick into hick back, takes the woman's MAL cannon, and then boom. Sprays the man all over the place. Beautiful, right?"

"She is great," the woman from paper-products division said. The VP gave her a slightly cross glance. It was obvious to Anna that he did not want to appear too interested. Far too late for that.

"There is some more, but I cut that out. Here, this is the last bit that is worth watching. The Shaktar is a turned operative; his own people have been hunting him for month. She gets the drop on him and proceeds to take him apart, a piece at a time."

The Shaktar stood over three meters tall, and was wearing a suit of customized Crackshot armour. The big, lizard like species were excellent fighters, some of the best in the World of Progress. It did not appear so with Yayoi using superior speed and pair of Blitzers, obviously loaded with HEAP rounds, to finish him off.

"She even left him alive for Shaktar justice," Anna said, sounding a little breathless. "She was made for entertainment."

"I think we might be interested," the VP said as the vid switched off. "We'll want full sponsorship rights of course."

Anna turned on him, smiling. "I'll give you both shoulders and nothing else. Six month contract, only renewed if she wants it."

"Excuse me?" the VP asked.

"She's going to be a star, and if you want in on the ground floor, that will cost you. If you are not interested, I'm sure that Happy Faces will be happy to have Yayoi wearing their bedwetting pants."

The VP said nothing for a time, then nodded. "I think we can work out something that all of us can live with."

Yayoi was lying on her couch, resting. Her fight earlier that day had taken a lot out of her. Sure, she had pumped herself up with Kick-Start Solo, and all the wounds had healed, but she was feeling exhausted. She had not expected to have to deal with a Shaktar, had not expected to have to fight at all. Everything had just fallen into place and she had the choice of going after them or letting them go.

It was lucky that the backup had shown, though she had not called for it. Then there was Third Eye News' presence. That had surprised her. She suspected that that Growlska woman had something to do with it. She hated being in the spotlight, it always made her worry. It looked like she was going to have to deal with it however. She had received a number of sponsorship offers in the last few hours. It had gotten bad enough that she had disconnected her phone, with her knife.

It looked as if she was going to need and agent, and was going to have to get used to being in the spotlight.

She sat up when someone rang her door chime. The security monitor showed Anna standing outside of her door, looking up at the camera, a big smile on her face. Yayoi debated pretending she was not at home, or asleep, but ended up opening the door.

"Good to see you," Anna said, smiling broadly as she entered the apartment.

"Thank you," Yayoi answered. She closed the door.

Anna looked around. "Place is a bit small, not that there is anything wrong with that, but you might want to look into getting a bigger place eventually."

"Why?"

"Because," she paused, "well, it will be expected. After all, you are going to be a star."

"I'm still not sure about what you proposed."

"Well, get sure. We've got a great offer from G&P. They really loved your little show today. You're quite the killer."

"I'm just doing my job," she told Anna, her voice sounding a little clipped.

"And a good job it is. You've been getting a lot of calls about sponsorship, haven't you?"

"A few."

"Well, you're going to have to accept it sooner or later, unless you want to be constantly bothered." Anna took a seat on the couch.

"There is that," Yayoi said. She sat down beside Anna. "So why don't I just let one of the weapon's companies sponsor me?"

"Because to them you are just another operative. To G&P you are special. You'll get a far better deal with them then you will with BLA, or KARMA. If you are going to be shilling, you might as well get the best deal and be seen as the most valuable to the company, right?"

Yayoi nodded. "What sort of deal are they offering?"

"Well, first of all I've got you a six month starter contract, and you are the one who is in control of that. You want out, you get out. Lot of operatives and contract killers end up not being able to call the shots."

"What else?"

"You get five hundred credits a month. You'll have the MoonieMan logo on your right shoulder and the Cummfies logo on your left. Over your right breast will be the G&P logo. Once a month you'll have to do some sort of advertising deal, commercial, or magazine. There is also a one hundred credit appearance bonus, for each minute of coverage you get. It's a nice deal."

Yayoi nodded. It did sound very good. "What else does it entail?"

"You wearing one of those MoonieMan pants right now?"

"Yes."

"Good answer. From now on you wear them, except at home, when you wear a Cumffie diaper. From this point on no panties touch that fabulous bottom of yours. About the only time you take one off is to change it, when you use the toilet, or when you are fucking."

"Oh, I don't have to wear them when having sex? Gosh, that is convenient," she said sarcastically.

Anna smiled. "It is. They wanted to put in a clause that would keep you from having sex."

"What?"

"They want to push that innocent look of yours. They think it might spoil it if you are spreading your legs. I figured you'd rather keep the option open."

"Thank you."

"Hey, I'm looking out for you. The happier you are with this contract the better things will be."

"I suppose."

"Come on Yayoi. Cheer up. You'll be left alone from now on, you've got a bunch of money coming in, and in six months you can put the screws to G&P to double, perhaps even triple what you are getting paid."

Yayoi nodded. "Or I can just cancel the contract."

"You could, but you won't want to."

"We'll see."

"Yes we will. Now," she reached into her jacket, "let's just get this contract signed and you can start making money."

At that moment the security buzzer sounded.

"I wonder who that is?"

Anna put the contract in front of Yayoi. "That will be a month supply of diapers and bedwetting pants for you. Sign the contract, I'll buzz them in."

G&P had moved quickly. When Yayoi went to pick up her armour-it had needed some repairs after her fight with the Darknight subversives--she found out the company had put the logos on it, as well as a number of other improvements. Included with those was some alteration that allowed for the extra padding she was now sporting around her waist.

There were also some new weapons, all sporting the G&P logo. Not one to ignore the extra firepower, she suited up, getting ready for another day on the streets.

For the next week things went on as they always had, but a rather noisy altercation with some Slap and Tickle agents brought the press. The questions they asked were fairly standard, until one of the reporters said, "From the logos you are wearing, it is obvious you are beings sponsored by a diaper company."

"Well, G&P make a lot more than just diapers, but I'm specifically aligned with MoonieMan bedwetting pants and Cumffie diapers." She felt a little embarrassed saying it, but she did not show any.

"And is it true that you actually wear these things?" the woman asked, sounding a little incredulous.

Yayoi gave them her best smile. "Of course. I'm wearing a MoonieMan right now. After all, it is hard enough to get the smell of sweat out of my armour, can you imagine how hard it would be to deal with the smell of urine?"

The reporters loved the answer, as did G&P. The people watching on the vid liked it a lot as well. She become, overnight, the 'Diapered Operative', the innocent child who was going after the stealers of innocent children.

Like Anna had predicted, everything went perfectly and wonderfully. She became a media darling, it was almost as if they could not get enough of her. Of course that was due in part for the fact that Yayoi went out of her way to avoid the media.

Three weeks after signing the contract she did her first commercial. She explained that there were many types of security she had, from her guns, to her armour, to her diapers, which kept her happy, and her skin soft and healthy.

It caused quite the stir, for a few days.

She settled, happily, for the most part, into her new situation.

The rain was falling heavier than usual, coming down in sheets, washing the streets of uptown clean, rushing through Suburbia and into Downtown. In Downtown it was flooding out parts of the city, huge waves of water, crashing through lower sections, washing anything loose, including the people, out into the Cannibal sectors.

Not a pleasant fate.

Yayoi clung to a piece of rust railing, tucked into it, listening to the roar of water below her, scanning the dark corners, looking for her target.

There was a Carrien about, one of the member of the mutants that roved the Cannibal sectors. Most were unintelligent monsters, possessing a pack mentality and a wide streak of viciousness. Lately though, a more intelligent kid of breed had been rising up in the places outside of Mort. Yayoi had heard that some hade even joined SLA industries.

That might be true, but it had nothing to do with the beast she was hunting. It was working for Slap&Tickle, and it was trying to kill her.

Most unfortunate really.

Shifting about carefully, not trusting the rusted metal framework to hold her weight if she were to make any sudden movements, she set her attention on a different area. The helmet of her silverback contained a fully loaded sensor suite: IR, Low Light, UV, Sonar, and a low powered radar array. There was not much that went on around her that she could not be aware of. Still, range was limited, and there was a lot of noise of all types in the area.

Below her the flood was abating, most of the water had already swept through She waited a moment, then dropped down, her jets fired to slow her fall, and splashed down into knee deep, cold, dirty water. It was noisy, but that was the entire point.

If she could not find her monster, she would bring the monster to her.

Her MAC knife slid from its sheath at the small of her back. She crept forward, looking about the darkened corners, searching for her prey. There was some noise above her, people whose apartments were above the floodwaters. They were not noises that concerned her.

A body floated by in the water, being washed out of the city. Just another unlucky soul in the city of death. She stopped and watched him drift by, her attention apparently on the corpse. That was when the attack came, as she had suspected it might.

A sonar pulse detected the approach of the Carrien, letting her know it was creeping up behind her. She played dumb to that fact, waiting until it sprung. Then she spun about and dropped under its attack, raising her blade as the same time to slash it across its ribs.

It was fast though, and managed to lash out at her, catching her a blow that sent her sprawling back to land in the water. It quickly flowed above her, leaving her lying on her back, submerged, and for a moment dazed. Then, before she could surface, something heavy landed on her. Strong, skeletal fingers found her throat and began to squeeze.

The thrashed out under the water, terrified for a moment, not thinking. She desperately tried to throw the thing from her, but she had no leverage, while it had plenty. She could feel the pressure on her throat growing as the armour began to fail.

There was something in her hand, the hilt of the knife. She had forgotten it in the panic. At least she had not let go of it. She lashed out with it, slashing and cutting up until the fingers lock on her throat was released.

She shot up, breaking the surface, dirty water streaming from her armour. Not far away the Carrien stood, cut up, but not out of the fight. It had just retreated to regroup and reassess the situation. Yayoi was doing the same, and she did not like the way things might turn out. It was big, fast and deadly strong. Not an easy fight by any means, if she played its game.

That she had no intention of doing.

She released her hold on her knife and went for one of her pistols. The Carrien sprung at her in that moment, as she had hoped. She aborted her attempt for the pistol, grabbed the knife before it hit the water, spun about to her left, and laid the edge of the blade along the Carrien's throat, cutting deep.

Not taking a chance that the wound was fatal, she spun about, leaping high, landing on the things back and riding it down into the water. As they fell her knife was lifted and driven down into the Carrien's back multiple times. They hit the water and, now less deep, and the Carrien was forced under by her weight.

She stabbed it several more times, still thinking it struggling, then shifted her grip to its head. She pulled back, the knife cut down into the bloody water three times. When she rose she held the Carrien's head in her hands. Its body was pulled along by the receding water, only to be caught in the doorway of a building.

That was when she became aware of the lights and the noise.

An aerodyne with Third Eye News logos was descending, the powerful spotlight trained on her, as well as cameras. The aircraft came to a hover a small span above the water, throwing what remained into small waves. A reported jumped out and splashed towards her. So pumped on adrenaline and fear as she was, Yayoi almost shot him.

As it was she managed to control herself.

"Yayoi, Yayoi!" he called out as he approached. "We saw it all. Tell me, why were you after that Carrien," he demanded, sticking his microphone at her helmet. For his troubles he came close to getting a knife in his gut.

"It was working for Slap&Tickle," she said in a voice more calm than she expected. Suddenly the helmet she wore seemed too tight. She pulled it off, wanting to breathe, as bad as the air might be. Of course that would look good for the cameras, but she was not thinking about that. "He was sent to kill me," she explained once she helmet was off. "I guess he failed." She was not trying to be funny, but that was the way it would play.

The reported nodded, and then said, "I guess those diapers you are wearing got put to use," he joked.

"Probably," Yayoi agreed, having no idea whether it was true or not, just that it was the thing to say.

Anna often said the prospect of money made her 'juices flow'. It was not true, the pleasure she received from money was not at all sexual. Still she liked saying it, things like 'Those figures make my gusset so damp.' Of course had it been true, she night need to wear MoonieMan bedwetting pants herself.

Yayoi was pure gold. There was no other way to describe her. She watched again as Yayoi cut the head of the Carrien off, holding it up as the decapitated torso floated off. And not just any Advanced Carrien, but one with a name and a reputation: Grussle Prindost. Stupid name of course, but what could one expect out of a Carrien, advanced or otherwise.

Mr. Prindost had something of a large bounty on his malformed skull, and a lot of big names on his tail. That Yayoi took him down, and in such an image friendly manner, was another plus for the girl. She had even got a call from G&P, asking if Yayoi might sign and extended contract, even though the original one was still five months from expiring.

She had said no, of course. Let them sweat and worry that she might sign with some other company. When the contract was up they'd end up paying big to keep Yayoi.

Anna laughed at the thought as she stood from her desk. That little girl was going to make a lot of people rich, and most importantly that included Anna herself.

Yayoi left her armour on the floor near her bed. She was going to have to get it repaired. The neck section needed repair, and her jet pack had become, some how, fouled in the water.

She pealed off her bedwetting pants and took note of the large, yellow stain in the padding. It looked as if she had made use of them. She tossed the soiled garment into the waste can and went to take a shower. She was not particularly bothered by the loss of control. That sometimes happened when one got scarred. And at least she did not have the get the smell of piss out of her armour.

After the shower she sat on her bed, a towel wrapped around her, a Feelgood cigarette burning between her lips. She did not smoke too many of them, but at that moment a little anti-depressant was the ad execs ordered.

She finally stubbed the cigarette, half smoke, out in an ashtray by her bed. She stood up, letting the towel fall from her body, and walked to the packages of MonnieMans that spilled from her closet amongst the Cummfie diapers.

A pair of fresh MoonieMans was soon wrapped around her hips, groin and bottom. The padding pressing deliciously against her. She looked through the closets and found a short, knit, black dress in the back. She put it on, pulling it over her head and down her body. She looked good in it, always had. Of course it showed, slightly, her padded bottom. It did not look bad, and it was the sort of thing that she was being paid for.

She posed in front of the mirror and blew herself a kiss. She was a child molester's dream, which of course was the point. She grabbed a shoulder holster from a pile of odds and ends and slipped into it. A BLA710M, a new toy, a gift, from G&P, went into the holster. She pulled on a beat up leather jacket and headed out of the apartment, stopping only to pull on a pair of ankle boots. It was out into the rain, looking for some fun, and maybe some trouble.

Time, as it often did on Mort. While many operatives climbed high, only to fall hard, that did not seem to be the case with Yayoi. She was still hot, still in demand, and still doing her best to keep her life private. It all was related.

The Skin Trade's numbers were down a little, and young girls were not being grabbed as often, for the obvious fear that it might end up being Yayoi. Still, young boys were helping to make up those numbers. The Skin Trade was not so easily dealt with.

G&P was doing well. A lot of parents had decided to keep their young children in diapers, figuring that if it was good enough for an operative like Yayoi, it was good enough for their kids. And it kept them from having to take the time to potty train the kids, which meant more time to watch the vid.

And a new market had opened up for the diapers. Girls, from about nine to sixteen had started wearing them. It had become fashionable. A few other demographics opened up, but none in such numbers as the aforementioned.

She had a lot of fans, and many of them were embarrassing her. It seemed roughly two out of ten women had their maternal instincts fired up by Yayoi, and a lot of them would dearly loved to take care of her. It was embarrassing. A number of men were seeing her as something of a sex object, it was all very Lolitaesque. She did not mind the men quite so much, though a good number of them were perverts. At least that perversion was something she understood, kind of.

And there were other bits of weirdness.

A new cartoon was showing up on the Vids. The adventures of Yayoi, it was called. Pure tripe really, and not anyway true to life. In the cartoon Yayoi was a little girl who had the power to transform into an adult who could fight against the enemies of SLA.

Yayoi was rather disgusted by it. A child in an adult's body? And a very sexy adult body as well. That was the sort of crap she was trying to fight against. There was not much she could do about it. Anna had sprung that contract on her as a bit of a surprise.

There were more changes to come.

The first one was that she was moving. Not that she wanted to move.

"You have to move," Anna said. "This place is all wrong for you now."

"I like this place," Yayoi said, rather peeved, as men from the moving company continued to pack up her life in plastic boxes.

"Your new place has two bedrooms, a proper living room, a full bath, kitchen, and great security. And you are getting it quite cheap. A little gift from G&P."

"I have no need for all that," Yayoi told her. She really did not want to move, and especially without it being her choice.

"Well, that's the thing. You sort of do need that." Anna actually looked a little embarrassed.

"What do you mean?" Yayoi demanded, sure that it was something she would not be happy with.

Anna drew Yayoi off into a corner where they could have a little privacy. "Do you remember when I told you I'd hire you an assistant, someone to handle the fan mail and stuff like that?"

"Yes," Yayoi said, wondering where it was going.

"Well, I went to Fridays Staffing, you know, they provide specialist assistants?"

Yayoi nodded.

"I made a deal with them. They put one of their people at your disposal, you mention them in some of those upcoming interviews you are doing."

"Sounds fair. So what is the problem?"

"Well, you know that they will provide any sort of assistant. If you need someone you can fuck when you get home, who will make your breakfast, and handle basic secretarial stuff, they can get you that."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Your assistant is also going to be," Anna paused, "your nanny."

"Excuse me?" she asked, disbelieving.

"That was my take on it when they told me. The bastards got that one by me. You have to respect them though."

"What do you mean?!" she hissed.

"Well, just a secretary is nothing. Who is going to pay attention to that? But a nanny, that is something that will make people sit up and take notice. I wish I had thought of it. I would have gotten a lot more out of them." She shook her head. "I hate being out manoeuvred like that."

"No," Yayoi said. "I do not want someone living with me, taking care of me. I don't need it and I don't want it."

"We already signed the contract, remember?"

"Break it!"

Anna actually looked shocked at that. "We can't break a contract. It is immoral, and more importantly they'd sue us."

"I don't care." Yayoi turned as if to walk away.

Anna grabbed Yayoi's shoulder and pulled her about to face her. She knew that she was taking a chance, operatives were not often the most stable bunch, and more than one agent had ended up dead at the hands of their meal ticket. Sometimes you had to take the chance if you wanted to big creds.

Yayoi stared at Anna, not sure what to do. Hitting the agent seemed like a good place to start, and once she was on the floor, switching to kicks, but she decided to hold off on that, for the moment.

"You get sued, you lose. They own you. It is that simple. This contract, like all the others, ends in three months. Then we make the deals you want."

Yayoi wanted to challenge that, but she knew it was true. In SLA Industries, contracts were near holy in the respect in which they were held. For an operative, breaking one was usually a bad idea. Three months was not very long, she told herself, though she thought it might be the longest three months she would know.

"You are right," Yayoi said. "I don't like it, but you are right."

"Good. That is talking sense. Now, you are going to have a live in servant, which means you'll need the room, so we might as well go."

Yayoi sighed loudly and nodded. "Let's go."

The new apartment was farther up in Uptown, closer to Mort Central, and therefore more expensive. It was not the kind of place that Yayoi would have chosen on her own; it was a little too ostentatious for her tastes. Along with all the rooms that Anna had mentioned, it also had a glass in balcony full of plants. That was something of a luxury.

Yayoi looked around as the movers quickly carried the boxes in, placing them in one of the bedrooms and in the living room. In the larger apartment her possessions seemed to be few.

Soon the movers were done and they left. Anna opened the doors to the balcony and stepped out onto it. "It is a crappy view," she said. "Still, it is a view."

Yayoi took a small knife from her pocket and began cutting open the seal tape on the boxes. She took things out and put them where she wanted. Moving quickly. There was not much. A few pieces of art she had picked up, some mementoes, including a broken knife from her first mission as an operative. There were other things as well, things for the kitchen, clothing, similar items, but those she left, for the time being.

Anna had come out of the balcony and dropped down on a couch that seemed too small and too dingy for the room it was in. They both were waiting. Not long afterwards the security buzzer sounded. Anna got up and picked up the phone by the door. After a few words she buzzed the visitor in.

"That's her," Anna said.

"I guessed," Yayoi told her tartly.

A minute or so later there was a knock at the door. Anna checked the security monitor and then opened the door, letting in a young woman, probably about twenty-three or four-if her appearance could be trusted. She wore her blonde hair cut in a bob, and her eyes were a light brown. She was dressed sensibly, in a pair of slacks, a blouse, with a raincoat over it.

She left her shoes by the door and walked over to Yayoi. "Miss Yamamoto, I am Justine LaVeau, from Fridays Staffing."

"So I guessed," Yayoi told her, giving the woman a look over. She seemed pleasant enough.

"I am to be your personal, executive assistant, and your nanny."

"I have been told," Yayoi said, shooting an angry look at Anna.

"Good. I think we should get some things clear."

"What?" Yayoi asked, looking at her.

"I am aware that you are a trained and very competent operative. In fact I'm sure you could kill me without a problem if you so chose."

Yayoi did not say anything to that. Doing violence to the woman had never really occurred to her.

"I understand that, and when you leave this apartment of course you are completely in charge, but when you are inside of it, I am the authority figure."

"It is my apartment," Yayoi told her, a slight edge to her tone.

"Actually it is not. It is being rented to you by the Department of Housing, as all housing is, and G&P are picking up most of the cost."

Yayoi was actually surprised by such an answer and could say nothing to it except, "I suppose."

"We are in a child-caregiver relationship, and you are the child. There can only be one authority figure in such an arrangement, and that will be me. You do understand that, correct?"

Yayoi nodded. "Yes I do. And you understand in three months this is over, do you not?"

"Of course," Justine said, nodding. "Until that time I plan to do my job as well as I am able, both as your assistant and as your nanny."

Yayoi relaxed slightly at that answer. It was obvious Justine was not some person who was looking to take enjoyment in babying her. That it was just a job to Justine made Yayoi feel better about it all.

"Well, I think I'll be going," Anna said as she opened the door. "Take care Yayoi, see you tomorrow." And she left, closing the door behind her.

"Do you have any luggage?" Yayoi asked Justine, trying to be polite.

"It will be delivered soon. Are you planning on going out soon?"

"Well, no, not really. I was just going to unpack."

"Well, we better get you into a diaper then."

"Excuse me?" Yayoi asked.

"According to your contract with G&P, as you are in the apartment you have to wear one of their Cummfie diapers." She took Yayoi's hand and led her towards the bedroom. "Let's get you into one."

"I can take care of that myself," Yayoi protested.

"I'm sure you can, but it is part of my job, so I'll do it."

Yayoi stilled any further protests, realising that they were fruitless. She allowed Justine to lead her into the bedroom and then sit her down on the bed.

When Justine began to look around Yayoi said, "All the diapers and stuff are in those boxes over there."

"Thank you," Justine said, and began to go through the boxes. In a matter of moments she had everything she needed and returned to the bed. Justine put the supplies down and then quickly set about removing Yayoi's pants. She put them, and the weapons in the pockets, close at hand before pulling the MoonieMan off of Yayoi.

She tossed the absorbent undergarment into a trashcan near by.

"Lay back and lift your hips," Justine instructed.

Yayoi did so and Justine slipped the diaper under her bottom. A little skin cream, a little powder, and then she taped the diaper snugly around Yayoi. "There we go," she said, and then turned and began to look about the room.

"You did that very well," Yayoi said, a little impressed. She had always had a little trouble putting her diapers on, and they never seemed to fit quite right.

"You don't think you are the only person who requires this kind of treatment." She pulled some clothing out of a box and turned back to Yayoi. "At Fridays we try to meet any reasonable need." She was holding a pair of walking shorts in her hand. Those quickly were slid up Yayoi's legs and over the diaper. "All done."

"Thank you," Yayoi said. What else was she going to say? She sat up and then got to her feet.

"Is there anything else you need?"

"No, I'm just going to finish the unpacking."

Justine nodded. "I expect that my things will arrive soon, so I'll be doing some unpacking as well. If you'll excuse me," she said, and then left the room.

Yayoi stood there for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders. Justine was probably not going to be so bad, though it was a little weird to have a nanny. Putting that though from her head she began to unpack.

Her room had a proper weapon's closet, with a very good security lock, and armour lining. It was already filled with a few weapons, more gifts from G&P. She opened up the security boxes that her weapons and armour had been packed in and moved things into the new lock up.

Sometime during that work she heard the buzz of the door, and then heard Justine telling someone to come up. Obviously her nanny's stuff had arrived. Yayoi continued to unpack, putting everything away where she wanted it.

She was nearly done getting all her clothes put away when Justine entered her room. "Are you hungry?" she asked.

Yayoi looked at the woman and nodded. "A little."

"Finish up here, I'll make an early dinner for us." She left the room.

Yayoi was a little put off by the fact the woman entered and left her room without asking, but decided that was the way it was going to be. Justine had probably never asked a child for permission to enter their rooms.

By the time she finished unpacking dinner was ready. Yayoi was a little worried about the fare she might face, but there were no baby bottles or such there. Just a well cooked meal.

Justine put a plate in front of Yayoi, everything on it already cut up, and then tied a bib around Yayoi's neck.

"I really do not need this," Yayoi said, but did not try to stop Justine.

"Probably, but I don't like taking chances with my charges."

She frowned slightly, but put up with it, and the food was quite good.

After they both had finished Justine cleared the table and put the dirty dishes in the washer. She washed her hands at the sink, and the brought a damp towel over to wipe off Yayoi's hands and face, though both were unstained by food.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom?" Justine asked as she removed the bib from around Yayoi's neck.

"I don't need your help for that!" Yayoi protested.

"If a person in my care wears diapers, then I assists them in the bathroom, just in case. That is my policy."

"I'd like you to make an exception this time."

She shook her head. "I don't make exceptions. Why should it matter? I've seen all there is to see."

"It is a private thing," Yayoi felt her cheeks grow warm. "I'd be embarrassed."

"Don't be silly," Justine said as she took Yayoi's hand and pulled her up from the chair. "There is no need for you to be embarrassed. It is just a natural thing," she explained as she tugged Yayoi towards the bathroom.

Yayoi was thinking about how to protest when they entered the bathroom. Her arguments died on her lips because of what she saw. It was not a big bathroom, but it was the first one she had been in that had an actual bath, and it was very well appointed.

Justine did not seem to be surprised by the luxury and quickly unbuttoned the shorts that Yayoi wore, letting them drop to around her ankles.

Yayoi was suddenly brought back to the present. "I can take care of this myself," she said, a last try.

"I know. But I won't let you." Justine pulled the diaper free and gently pushed Yayoi down to sit on the toilet.

Justine turned her back, to give Yayoi a little privacy, and gathered up the diaper and tossed it into another trashcan. She left then, leaving Yayoi alone in the bathroom. Yayoi took advantage of that and took care of her business. Justine returned just at the end, an armload of diapers with her. She put them into a closet by the door, then returned to Yayoi's side.

"Let's clean you up," Justine said, pressing the button that activated the bidet. A warm jet of water sprayed her, cleaning the area between her legs and her bottom. Justine had Yayoi stand up and finished cleaning her off with baby wipe. Yayoi blushed deeply at the treatment.

Another diaper was soon wrapped around Yayoi, and the shorts once more on. Justine lightly patted her padded bottom. "Go and do what you need to. I'm going to start looking at your correspondence and take care of that."

Yayoi nodded and did as she said. She was glad that Justine would be doing the assistant part of her job and not being her nanny, if at least for a short time.

The next day Justine sent Yayoi out of the house, freshly bathed, and with a clean MoonieMan under her armour. As Yayoi climbed onto her bike she put her nanny from her mind. She had some hunting to do, and some new weapons to try out.

They crowded around Yayoi, calling for her, pressing close about her. They were her fans, apparently, desperate to get close to her. She had just shut down a small gathering warehouse that Puppy Talk had set up. The shivers were cleaning up, brining out the few prisoners, and the lucky, ex-slaves. The many dead within were going to have to wait for the coroners to come.

Yayoi wanted to move away from the people, fast, but she might have hurt someone if she did that. Some operatives had no problems with doing such things, but it was not Yayoi's style. She put up with the people about her and she signed the various things shoved towards her. A small boy patted her behind, obviously wanting to know if she really was wearing a MoonieMan. She could not have put up with that, except that he was a child.

Someone handed her a diaper to sign. She did so. A young woman, probably about seventeen years old, moved in front of Yayoi, pulling up her skirt to show the MoonieMan she wore. "I'm your biggest fan," she said to Yayoi. "I want to be just like you. Sign my security panties," she said happily.

Yayoi might have sighed, but she knelt down and signed the front of the MoonieMan. She then stood up and moved through the rest of the crowd quickly. As she neared her bike a pair of shivers moved forward to offer a little crowd control.

Glad for the respite, she quickly got onto her bike and drove away, waving to the people behind her once.

Things were just becoming crazy.

Some distance away she stopped the bike and took the time to review her investigation notes. Puppy Talk would be hurting for a while, but Slap&Tickle and Delicacy would just move in to pick up the slack. She was going to have to come up with a way to damage them all once. Of course that was likely to be very difficult.

Her com beeped. She answered it, saying, "Yes?"

"Yayoi, this is Anna, I have some new, possible sponsors who would like to meet you."

"I'm not really interested," Yayoi said in an offhand manner. She had a lot of other things to think of.

"Don't be stupid," Anna chided. "You have to be interested. That is just the way things are."

"Anna, I don't want any more sponsors," Yayoi explained in an exasperated tone.

"Listen here," Anna said, her tone taking on a harder edge. "You are a SLA Operative, which means protecting the World of Progress. There is a company that is part of the World of Progress that wants your help. You will give it."

Yayoi winced slightly at the tone and the message. There was a threat there, and if Yayoi was afraid of anything, she was afraid of being thought of as being against SLA. "I understand," she said, unable to keep her voice from being sullen.

"Good," Anna said, I'm sending you the address, be there as soon as you can."

Yayoi enjoyed the look of consternation on Anna's face. Since she had told her to show up as soon as she could, Yayoi had done that. She presented herself dressed in armour that still had some blood splatters on it, and with her weapons.

The place where she had come was the main office of Garion Fashions, a mid sized clothing producer that specialized in higher quality, high-end items. As GF was most well known for sexy clothing of all types, with a special flair for evening ware, Yayoi was pleasantly surprised.

"You could have taken the time to change, or at least put your weapon elsewhere."

"You said to hurry," Yayoi told her as she removed her helmet.

She shook her head. "Come on then. Let's meet the clients." She turned and walked towards the main entrance.

Yayoi followed her, looking about the richly appointed lobby as they entered. The security there took note of her, but she had her SLA Industries badge on display and they let her pass, keeping an eye on her however.

Anna walked past the reception desk and made straight for the elevator. No one tried to stop her, or Yayoi. The elevator doors opened as they approached and Yayoi and Anna entered. There were no buttons or other controls in the elevator. Obviously someone else was controlling where they were going.

The elevator rose some unknown distance and then the doors opened, allowing them to exit into a large reception area. A woman dressed in a smart, three-piece suit, met them. Miss Growlska, Miss Yamamoto, please come with me." She turned and led the two women into a nearby conference room.

In side the room were two men and two women. One of the men looked to be middle aged, balding and a little fat; the other man was younger, with long red hair. The women were identical, tall, thin, with Asian features.

The woman who had led them into conference room said, "I am Gwendolyn, I'm heading up our new youth line."

Yayoi did not care for the sound of that.

"Please, have a seat, and I'll introduce you to the rest of our team."

Anna walked over to the table and took a seat. Yayoi stood where she was for a moment, and then followed Anna's lead. For a moment she hesitated, worried about getting bloodstains on the chair, then she sat anyway.

Gwendolyn took a seat at the head of the table. "I'm glad you could come," she said to Yayoi. "I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Karl Jung, from finance." She indicated the older man. "That is Mr. Tood Rine, he is with marketing. Miss Yeefo and Miss Mio Chen, they are our designers."

Anna and Yayoi politely acknowledged each of them.

"I'll get right down to Business Miss Yamamoto. We are planning on marketing a line of clothing for children, from newborn to about ten, maybe a little older. It is going to be called Checkers and Patches, and we want to sponsor you."

Yayoi said nothing for a moment, then asked, "And this would entail me wearing these clothes."

"Of course," Tood said. "You would work great with them. We figure that we can get about thirty percent market penetration in the first year, with you acting as model and spokeswoman."

"I'm not interested," Yayoi told them.

The people around the table looked a little surprised at that. Anna rolled her eyes.

"We could be quite generous," Gwendolyn said.

"I'm sure you could, but I don't feel like dressing like a child."

"And the diapers you wear are not dressing in the fashion of a child?" Yeefo asked.

"That is different."

"To be truthful I think these clothes we make would suit you better," Mio said. "Your body is that of a child."

"And yet I am an adult, and I like to be reminded of that." Yayoi was getting angry.

"I'm sure that we can work something out," Anna said, obviously trying to get things back on track, or maybe just to keep a fight from breaking out.

"Hey, it's just clothes, right," Tood said. That earned him angry stares from Yayoi, Yeefo and Mio.

"I'm not going to parade around in rompers and short dresses just to make you a lot of money!" She stood up suddenly, knocking her chair over. "I'm getting tired of being this City's darling little girl. No more. Find someone else to play this game."

Everyone was quite, even Anna, and Gwendolyn was frowning, as if she just realised that things were not going to go as she hoped.

"That's too bad," Karl said. "Lot of people thought we had a winner here. Even Mr. Slayer picked up ten percent of our stock when news got out that you were going to be helping us."

"Mr. Slayer?" Yayoi asked, her throat suddenly dry.

"I'm sure he'll understand. Its just money, right?"

Yayoi knew it was not just money, and was fairly certain that Mr. Slayer would not understand. He was not the understanding sort. She considered the possibility that Jung might be lying, but decided that she did not want to take the chance. She picked up her seat, right it, and then sat down. "Tell me what you are planning."

Gwendolyn smiled graciously as she stood up. "Well, the fashions for the older children should fit you as they are. We'll be making specially modified versions of the outfits that we make for the younger children." She looked at Anna. "Can we get space on her armour?"

"No," Anna told them.

Gwendolyn nodded. "Okay. We give her a supply of clothes, all types. Anytime she is seen wearing them in the media, we pay her one hundred credits."

"Two hundred," Anna countered.

"That is acceptable," Karl said before any bargaining could start.

"This contract ends with all the others," Yayoi said.

"Yes, that is how we are doing things right now."

"That is a bit inconvenient," Tood said.

"That is the way things are."

Yeefo and Mio had stood and walked to stand by Yayoi. "Come with us. We'll take some measurements and you can try on some clothing," Mio told her.

"You will look very pretty," Yeefo added.

Yayoi got to her feet and followed after the two women. Behind her Anna was working out the deal that was going to have Yayoi dressing in a very juvenile manner for the next two and a half months.

Justine usually presented a very professional manner, but she was obviously having some difficulty maintaining that faced with Yayoi and her clothing. She was wearing a very cute set of bibbed, pink overalls, a kitten on the bib. The white blouse she wore was trimmed with fine lace around the collar and the cuffs. She tried to hide a smile and failed. "You look very cute," she said.

Yayoi sighed heavily as she entered the apartment, followed by several men and women carrying garments bags, boxes, and various other things. They began to pile things up.

"I take it that this is all clothing?"

"Yes," Yayoi nodded. "Most of it not quite as bad as this," she said, indicating the outfit she wore, brushing her fingers along the inside of the legs to indicate the snaps there. "Some of it worse."

"I suppose this is why you have a magazine shoot tomorrow."

Yayoi dropped heavily onto the couch. "Two crazy women are going to dress me up like a doll and then photographers are going to snap pictures."

The last of the boxes was placed on the floor and suddenly the apartment was empty but for Yayoi and Justine.

"It does make sense," Justine took a seat beside Yayoi and reached up to straighten the bow in the smaller woman's hair. "You are a good model for this sort of thing."

"That's what they said."

Justine brushed her fingers across the shoulder strap of the coveralls. "Is this Animattire?" she asked, sounding as if she did not quite believe it.

Yayoi nodded. "Checkers and Patches clothing line is to feature extensive use of Animattire. That amazing, living cloth that will not get dirty and will repair itself," she said, sounding as if she was quoting someone else. "It will even grow a little bit, just so your children do not outgrow things too fast."

Justine leaned in close to Yayoi. "It smells like talcum powder."

"A proper scent for little girls," Yayoi said, once more sounding as if she were doing an imitation of someone. "Almost of the Checker and Patches clothing will smell like talc, to a greater or lesser extent. Of course the boys get it to a lesser extent."

"That's too bad. As I recall from my girlhood, most boys need it more."

Yayoi laughed at that, smiling. "I suppose your right."

"So, are you staying in?" Justine asked, looking at Yayoi in such a way that it was likely she wanted to test the crotch snaps in the overalls.

"No. I have to get back out and check on some leads."

"I'll help you get undressed," Justine said.

Yayoi sighed and nodded. "I thought you would."

There were only a few weeks left until Yayoi's contract ended, at which time she was going to have to decide if she wanted to renew them. It was not that the past months had been unpleasant; in fact, it was often quite the opposite. Oh, she did not care too much for certain things, like being dressed as a two year old, and having a personal assistant who cut up her food and took her to the bathroom. The money was very good, and some of it was fun.

She was also doing quite well in taking her fight against the Skin Trade, and she was getting the public more and more behind her. She was showing them that something could be done, that they did not have to give up. Help from the civilian sector had been steadily growing.

Just that afternoon she had managed to catch two very important people who worked for Delicacy and Slap&Tickle. The Shivers were interrogating them at that moment and by the next day she hoped to have more names. It was a good situation.

She had decided to have some fun. One of her favourite bands, Muddy Kitten, was playing at the Pit. She would go and watch them and get wonderfully drunk. It was a simple and yet time-tested plan.

For her outing she chose a simple, salmon blouse, and a dark green, A-line jumper with a skirt that could have been longer. Of course, as that bitch Mio had said, the clothing did seem to suit her. She wore a 'Happy Kitty' shaped backpack--Happy Kitty being all the rage with the under eight set-that held her money, ID, and a few weapons.

The taxi she had hailed dropped her off near the Pit, the ultimate bar on all of Mort, probably the entire World of Progress. She put up her umbrella against the rain and walked quickly towards the door, her shoes splashing in shallow puddles.

The Pit did not look like much from the outside, but that was because the majority of it, nine levels, were underground. The huge slabs of granite that were the five doors, known collectively as Deth's Door, were open. She joined the crowd flowing it, stopping only long enough to turn in her BLA revolver and MAC knife at the weapons check. Then was through the winding ways of the barricades, all under the eyes of Deth and his security people. Deth was a rather imposing Shaktar, and he did a good job of keeping the peace.

As she shuffled through the barricades, passing though weapons scanners, she noted that a reasonable number of patrons were dressed in a rather juvenile fashion. While Kinderpunk had always been something of a fashion choice, it had grown since Yayoi had hit the scene. There were a few who had taken it way too far, however. Some distance ahead of her in the line she saw a woman with a hugely padded behind, probably wearing three or four diapers, dressed in footed pyjamas.

Most were more moderately dressed, like Yayoi herself.

Two men ahead of her, not knowing that she was behind them, were talking about it.

"Man, this place it like a fucking pre-school," the one in the kilt, likely a Frother, said.

"I know what you mean. Shit, I find myself looking a girl and suddenly I start feeling like a pervert." The other one said.

"It's crazy. What happened to tight, short skirts with lacy panties? You know, and I'm fucking you not, I was with this girl the other night…"

"That red head with the big tits?"

"That was the one. Anyway, I'm with her, and we're getting heavy, and I slide my hand up her leg and guess what I find?"

"You're kidding?"

"No. She's wearing this diaper, and I'm certain that she's pissed it, and maybe even crapped in it. So she looks at me then and says, 'Do you want to change me?'"

"No. So what did you do?"

"Took her into the bathroom and changed her," he paused. "changed her into a woman after fucking her."

"Beautiful."

Yayoi shook her head at the talk. It was all kind of funny. She wondered how long it was going to last. She could not see it lasting much longer. After all, there had to be a better fashion statement than diapers.

She soon passed beyond the entrance and took the stairs down to the first level, Stasis One. It was a vast nightclub. It was loud, and bright, and full of people. The bar was one continuous counter that went around the outer wall of the level and was nearly two kilometres long, with a staff of a thousand. There often still was a wait.

Yayoi went to the bar first, ordered a three shots of tequila, downed them quickly, and then took a bear with her out onto a walkway, crossing towards the elevators. She crossed over the well, an opening that went down seven levels. A rather far fall, but Yayoi had no problems with heights. She had, on her first night in the Pit, crossed the cage above, moving through the network of lights, all for a two-credit bet.

The elevator took her down to the second level, the Cave. There were two large stages there, and four smaller. Muddy Kitten was playing on one of the smaller ones. They were not quite well enough known.

She entered the stage area, got a seat up close, and waited for the music to start. The bad came out about twenty minutes later, five women, three guitars, a base and a drum kit. It was a good, solid band. As soon as the music stated Yayoi was up on her chair, dancing and singing along to the hard-core music. It was a little dangerous as the music had become popular with the Frothers, and their dancing could turn messy.

It was a three hours set, and of course Yayoi had to empty her bladder. Fortunately the MoonieMan pant allowed her to do so without leaving.

When it was over, far too soon, Yayoi stumbled out of the stage, soaked in sweat, though her clothing was far better off than her. The wonders of Animattire, she thought, wiping the perspiration from her brow as she made her way to the washroom.

Most of the toilets were in use when she entered, but Yayoi did not need them. She found an out of the way corner and then slid the sweat and urine soaked MoonieMan from under her dress. From her backpack she took out a replacement garment and some wipes to clean herself off.

As she was pulling a fresh MoonieMan up her legs a tall woman, heavily built, looked over at Yayoi from where she stood in front of a stall, waiting. "Must be convenient," she said.

Yayoi looked up at her and smiled. "It can be." She was still a little drunk.

She left the bathroom, feeling better, and made her way to the elevator, taking it all the way to the bottom of the Pit, Treachery. It was surrounded by a motorcycle track, and held a number of smaller, quieter bars.

The races did not interest at the moment, though they had in the past. She instead made her way to the Respite, a quiet bar with a restful atmosphere. She took a seat at the bar and ordered three gin and tonics. She was just finishing the third when she felt someone gently grip her shoulder.

She turned, about to tell whomever it was to piss off, but found herself looking up at a familiar, and very handsome face.

"Yayoi," he said to her.

"Theo," she answered, a little breathless. She reached up and put her fingertips on his chest, feeling the hard muscles under his tight shirt. "It's been a while."

He smiled down at her, reaching out to gently cup her chin. "Just got back on planet."

"Oh," Yayoi said, feeling her heart begin to beat faster.

He took her hand and gently pulled her from the barstool. Then he led her out of the Respite and into the Mass. It was a large bar, its staff dressed in tiny scraps of clothing. Big vid screens were playing the AlienSex channel, and there were a number of private booths, but they did not go into any of those.

A small table was free, and Theo led her to it.

She looked up at Theo. He was tall, and well built, but not muscle bound. His blonde hair was short, and his blue eyes so wonderfully clear.

He ordered some drinks from a beautiful waitress, hardly paying attention to her, his eyes fixed on Yayoi.

"I've missed you Theo," she told him. It seemed like the thing to say.

He smiled and reached down, grasping the hem of her dress. He pulled it over her head, she raised her arms up to make it easy. "I've missed you as well Yayoi. I've dreamed of you." He looked at her, dressed only her blouse, the MoonieMan and her socks and shoes and reached out and began to undo the buttons of her blouse.

The waitress came and put their drinks on the table and then left when it was obvious they did not want anything else from her.

Yayoi let him take the blouse from her. She was nearly naked and shivered slightly though the bar was warm.

"You had such wonderful breasts," Theo said, running his fingers down her sternum. And the most wonderful curves, a small woman, but you were a woman," he told her, taking his hands away from her.

"I still am," Yayoi told him, almost pleading.

"You don't look it."

"Who cares what I look like Theo." She shifted about and took a seat on his lap. "I'm still Yayoi, you're still Theo."

He shook his head. "I see a child when I look at you. It makes me uncomfortable."

Yayoi shifted about and kissed him. "Close your eyes," she whispered.

Theo suddenly pulled her tight against him. "I've so missed you."

After that things went much as they would in the Mass. There were no non-participants allowed in the bar, so everyone there was most often too involved with their own pleasures to pay attention to Yayoi and Theo. Not that either would have cared.

Some time later Yayoi lay across Theo's naked body, his skin warm with sweat. She was naked as well, she realised that she was not wearing her MoonieMan. It was probably the longest she had been without an absorbent garment wrapped around her in the last few months. The thought made her laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing." She gently kissed his chest, tasting his sweat and musk. She lifted her head and looked at him. "Come home with me."

He smiled and shook her head. "I'm being sent on a case in a few hours. I really have to leave."

Yayoi pinched him. "Bastard," she said.

He shifted about, sitting up, depositing Yayoi on his lap. "Sorry. I didn't even think that I would run into you. I thought maybe you had a bedtime or something."

"Ouch."

"Sorry."

"I understand it. I don't know how it happened, but suddenly it is like I am a child again, at least in many people's eyes."

"Give this stuff up. Go back to living things quiet."

"Do you think I can?"

Theo was silent for a moment, then he said, "No." He lifted Yayoi from him and put her gently on a seat. Then he stood and began to get dressed.

"Theo," Yayoi said hesitantly, "do you still find me attractive?"

He sighed. "Only because I knew how you used to be, from Meny." He looked at her. "If I found you attractive now, would you even want to be with me?"

"Probably not."

He pulled on his pants and then grabbed his shirt and shoes. "I'll call you when I can."

"I'll be waiting."

He nodded and smiled, and then he left.

Yayoi watched him go, watching as he pulled on his shirt, his perfect muscles playing across his back as he did so. Her hand found its way between her legs and for a time she nursed a drink and masturbated, wondering if giving up her adulthood had been such a good idea.

Finally she dressed, pulling her last MoonieMan from her pack, Theo had ripped the other from her and had tossed it away. She had to search a little to find one of her socks, but soon she was dressed and ready to go.

As luck would have it one of the elevators opened as she approached. She ran and got in, wondering for a moment why no one had gotten out. It did not really matter and she counted herself lucky, sometimes the elevators could be really slow with all the people in the Pit.

The doors closed and the elevator ascended. It stopped shortly afterwards and opened on a level of the Pit that Yayoi had never been to before, and that fact told her exactly where she was.

Sinokenon.

The seventh level of the Pit, where the Necanthropes were, the level they had claimed for their own and that no one else came to. And yet the doors had opened and Yayoi stood facing that level feeling very afraid.

Necanthropes. They were members of the Ebon race, and the Brain Waster, who power over the Ebb had become so great that they underwent a change. Some were monsters, some were beautiful, all were powerful and beyond the understanding of the likes of Yayoi.

She did her best to avoid them.

Now she was in the area of the Pit that they came to.

She was reaching for the controls, planning on closing the doors, pressing all the buttons, anything to get her out of there. Then a hand with a grip like steal closed about her wrist and pulled her from the elevator, into Sinokenon.

The Necanthrope that had grabbed her was tall, and appeared a beautiful Ebon woman, but her arms and legs were oddly jointed, her mouth to broad and full of sharp, pointed teeth. "Dolly," she said with a voice like breaking ice. "I have found you."

Yayoi felt herself quake, for the grip on her wrist, for the words of the Necanthrope, for the meaning of those words, for so many things, but mainly for a terrible feeling that something was crushing her.

"Pretty dolly," she said, her free hand gently playing with Yayoi's hair. The fingers danced, spider light, down Yayoi's face, and across her body. "Dolly's been naughty," she said, her fingers stroking the air just in front of Yayoi's groin. "I'll have to punish you." She smiled, showing her sharp teeth once more.

Yayoi wanted to scream, but she felt as if she was no longer in control of herself. Her limbs felt like wood, and her mind felt as if it was full of cotton. The sense of being crushed became stronger. It was as if everything she were being compressed, forced into a smaller and smaller ball, until it would collapse on itself, leaving nothing but…dolly.

Just as it seemed that everything must shatter and she be destroyed, another sense enveloped her. It was a sense of great discomfort, but it seemed to force the power that was trying to destroy her away, at least partly.

Something moved up behind the first Necanthrope, it looked like something out of a nightmare, with long, long legs and arms, and a sense that it had too many eyes. It put a clawed hand on the first Misanthrope's shoulder, pulling it roughly back. The woman shaped one turned on the newcomer, hissing loudly.

The second one spoke in a deep voice. "Do not do this. It will be your destruction."

"She's mine. I want her."

"Then ask the Preceptor for her and see what he says," the second snapped.

The first once cringed back, looked longingly at Yayoi for a moment, then moved quickly away.

The second one turned it horrific countenance towards Yayoi. "Go," it said.

Yayoi stumbled back, through the doors of the elevator, which had opened, and bumped into the back of the car. The doors closed on the Necanthrope and the elevator began to ascend. She stood there, pressed against the back of the wall, breathing heavily. As her mind began to return to something close to normal she realised there was something wet and heavy in the back of her MoonieMan. She had soiled herself with fear. That was the first time that had ever happened.

When the elevators opened on Stasis One she stumbled out, almost falling. She pushed through the thick crowd, bouncing off people, at one point falling down and landing on the mess that coated her bottom. She struggled to her feet and forced her way out, almost as if she was swimming towards the surface, desperately trying not to drown.

She was not completely in her right mind; she barely remembered to collect her weapons before she left. Had anyone been waiting outside of the Pit to kill her, it had happened before, she would have certainly been killed.

Fortunately luck was with her and she was soon seated in the back of a taxicab, aware but not caring of the mess she sat in, on her way home. She sat there, arms wrapped around herself, shivering. Her sense of self was still fractured; she was not entirely certain who she was. Once she found herself sucking her thumb. She pulled if from her mouth and forced her hands into her lap, each gripping the other tightly.

She managed to get into her apartment building, through the security door, and took the elevator up to her floor. That was when she lost it. Her hands shook and she could not open her door. She pounded on it, beginning to cry.

When Justine opened the door Yayoi fell into her arms, sobbing loudly.

For a moment Justine looked surprised, but professionalism and training took over. She held Yayoi up, and half lifted her and had pulled her into the apartment. Yayoi might be below average height, but she was not so light that Justine could easily handle her.

She shut and locked the door and then took Yayoi into the bathroom, sitting her down on the tiled floor. She drew the dress off her, and then undid the blouse. Next came her shoes and then socks, leaving Yayoi dressed only a very soiled and leaking MoonieMan.

Justine tore the sides of the pant, and then gathered up some wipes. She began to clean Yayoi, gently wiping the mess away. She left Yayoi lying there for a moment as she turned on the water from the tub and began to fill it.

She took the soiled MoonieMan and tossed it into the garbage and then helped Yayoi into the tub. Yayoi let Justine do it all, let her clean her up, simply relaxed in the hot water that surrounded her. She still shivered, remembering the Necanthrope that had almost destroyed her mind.

Soon she was out of the tub, wrapped in a thick towel, and taken to her bedroom. Justine lay her down and put her into one of the Cumffies. Then Justine took one of the more juvenile pieces of clothing that she had received from the Checkers and Patches line. It was a footed sleeper, with snaps in the crotch, and made of a fuzzy pink material. She did not complain, partly because she was beyond saying anything intelligible at the moment, partly because it was wonderfully soft and warm.

Justine left her lying on the bed, leaving for a short time. When she came back she was carrying a foil packet full of pills. "Drum," she said, popping one of the pills from the foil. She put it into Yayoi's mouth and Yayoi swallowed it.

Justine sat beside Yayoi as the drug took effect. A sense of well being and calm descended on her and she slowly slipped into a catatonic state during which call she could hear was the beat of her heart.

Hours later when she came out of the drug induced catatonia she was alone and the room nearly dark. She reached out to the bedside table where the foil packet of Drum rested. She popped another pill free and swallowed it, letting herself return to that state of knowing nothing.

When next she became aware she chose to close her eyes and sleep, just a normal sleep.

She woke later to find Justine changing her diaper. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

That continued for a time, Yayoi did not know how long, she jest slept deeply, each time she woke, usually when she was being changed, she felt more herself.

Finally she woke and sat up, feeling the need to go to the bathroom. She got up from the bed and made her way to the bathroom. She was met halfway there by Justine who helped her as she always did.

"How long was I out of it?" Yayoi asked as she sat on the toilet.

"Three days," Justine said.

"Three days? Wow."

"I take it something big happened?"

Yayoi nodded, but said nothing.

After Yayoi was cleaned up and put in a new diaper and a clean t-shirt, Justine brought her into the kitchen for a meal. Over the food Yayoi told her what had happened with the Necanthrope. It was easier to tell than she would have thought, like it was some long ago dream.

"So you remember," Justine said softly.

"What?" Yayoi asked her.

"The Necanthrope was Adanlia, she has some sort of weird thing going on with turning people into play things. I heard she was punished harshly for what she tired to do to you. Took a hit to her SCL."

"How do you know this?"

"Dark Lament came by. Some of their specialists have been undoing the damage that Adanlia did. They were not sure if you would remember what happened."

"At least they cleaned up after themselves," Yayoi said softly.

"They sounded really sorry. They said a lot of things about making it up to you. I'm sure you'll be hearing from them soon enough."

Yayoi stood suddenly. "I'm sick of this!"

"What?"

"I've had it. I'm going to get my hormones tweaked back to normal, get some growth going, get a breast job and all that! I'm tired of being a child. It is time for me to grow up!"

Justine looked rather shocked by all that Yayoi had said. Then a sad look appeared on her face and she shook her head. "You can't do that Yayoi. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean I can't do that!?"

"You've become very valuable as you are. What does SLA industries do to people who try to destroy things that are valuable?"

Yayoi opened her mouth, but did not say anything. She just stood there, a look of shock on her face.

"As your administrative assistant I must inform you that SLA Industries will not let you do what you wish. If they have to they will just find someone else to be Yayoi Yamamoto, and if you are lucky they may kill you. If you are not lucky they might give you to Adanlia."

Yayoi sat down heavily in her chair, going limp, like a puppet with its strings cut. "I never thought of that," she said softly.

"It is unfortunate, but you would not be the first operative to find out that one's person was not longer completely in their own control. There is not much you can do, but try to get as much control of your life as you can. There is a line there, and you have to be careful to never cross it."

"Are you a lawyer as well?" Yayoi asked in a quiet and calm tone.

"As much as I need to be in order to be a good administrative assistant."

"You are a woman of many talents Justine."

"Aren't we all."

Yayoi laughed softly at that.

"Tell me," Justine began, "what brought this on? There has to be more to it than the unfortunate business with Adanlia."

Yayoi did not say anything at first. She reached for a glass of juice and took a drink. "Theodore Trance." She put the glass down.

"Theodore Trance?"

"We were students together in Meny. He was so hot."

"I see."

"I was not too bad then either, and we got along well. The sex was great, but we were also really good friends. I loved him."

"I take it that everything did not go happily?"

"He got sent off world right after graduation, to Dante, or another War World, I'm not sure. They needed him, something about requiring a good intelligence operative. He left, and I went to work in the streets of Downtown. It was then that I decided to go with the young look, maybe I never thought he'd come back."

"But he did."

"Oh yes." Yayoi laughed. "And the past few years have been good to him. "Lord is he hot. I can still feel his muscles under my fingers, the smell of his body, his taste." She smiled and looked off at nothing.

"He was not so impressed by your look."

Yayoi's smile was gone and she shook her head. "He's not much into the young look. When we were sixteen I looked to be on the other side of puberty and likely to be a very attractive woman. Now I look like I'm maybe thirteen, and with those clothes on, I look, maybe eleven." She looked at Justine. "Those clothes have been designed to make me look younger."

"I know."

Yayoi shook her head. "I want Theo. I don't want him to feel guilty when he fucks me."

Justine nodded. "I can understand that, but the choice is no longer yours."

"I know," she said in a small voice.

At that moment the phone rang.

Justine got up from the table and went to answer it, leaving Yayoi alone with her thoughts, not that Yayoi's thoughts were good company at that moment. Justine was right, SLA Industries was not about to let her change, and Yayoi would never think of going renegade.

She might have to face the fact that she was not going to have much luck with relations. Good men, like Theo, might very well be turned off by her appearance. Men who would be attracted to her, well, she would have to kill them, or at least hurt them.

The ridiculousness of it all made her laugh softly.

"Yayoi," Justine called, she was standing in the entrance to the kitchen holding the phone, "it's Anna."

Yayoi held out her hand towards Justine who put the phone in her hand. She put it to her ear and said, "Hello Anna."

"Yayoi," Anna's voice came over the phone, "I'm glad you are feeling better."

"Just needed a little rest and a complete brain rebuild."

"That Necanthrope was a real bitch. You know that we are suing?"

"I've heard."

"She won't try that again."

"Unless she gets permission," Yayoi said softly.

"What?"

"Nothing. So Anna, what are you calling about?"

"How are you feeling?"

Yayoi doubted that Anna was asking about her well being out of any kindness. "All right, considering. Why?"

"Well, it seems you've been challenged."

"Challenged?"

"In the Contract Circuit. One of the killers has issued a challenge. Media has picked it up. It is getting some play."

"I don't watch the vid that much."

"I know. You're weird."

"I'm not a Contract Killer."

"It is a bit out of the ordinary, but the officials are going to allow it."

"Who made the challenge?"

"Your sponsors are very interested in this. It means big coverage."

"Who made the challenge?"

"It will do your career a good deal of help as well."

"Who is it?" Yayoi wondered why Anna was circling around the issue. Could it be one of the top killers, like Johnny Automatic, or Video Nasty, or Deity? No, none of those would challenge her. This had to be something else.

"It's Pig Man."

"Pig Man," Yayoi said softly in disbelief.

Anna must have taken her tone for fear. "He's good, I know, but you can take him, I'm sure of it."

"I'll fight him," Yayoi said simply.

"Damn it Yayoi, you walk from this and you'll destroy your rep!"

"I said that I will fight him."

"You can't…" Ann paused. "Did you say you would fight him?"

"Yes. Send the details to Justine." She cut the connections and put the phone aside.

"What was that about?" Justine asked.

Yayoi walked past her. "Some business. I'll be in my room."

Pig Man. A Prop, an enforcer for Delicacy. It was no coincidence that he had challenged her. They were making an attempt on her, or her reputation. Pig man had a reputation for incapacitating his opponents and then dragging them off into the Skin Trade. A lot of people were afraid of him.

She could guess the Trade's thoughts on it. If she refused she would b branded as a coward and would lose her street cred. People would not want to talk with a coward. How could a coward help them, after all? If she accepted, well, then they would be hoping that she would lose, and they would get their hands on her. She suspected that there were a number of people that would like to buy her, including a rather unpleasant Necanthrope.

Of course, she did not plan to lose.

She opened her weapons closet and began to looks through her items of destruction. She was going to have to make some choices.

"It's an active factory, remember that," Tian Chen said.

"I know," Yayoi said, looking over her weapons.

"All your IR and UV and things like that will not work. Too much noise and heat."

"Right. Don't trust the sensors."

"And there is a lot of dangerous stuff in there. Probably vats of chemicals, and maybe even some molten metals. Make a wrong step and you may end up dead."

"I understand," Yayoi took out her MAC knife and looked the edge over.

"Are you listening to what I'm saying?!" Tian demanded.

Yayoi looked up at the contract killer, an advisor that Anna had sent her, and nodded. "I know all the dangers, I also know that he doesn't know the layout of this factory, so we are even in that. I have speed on him; he has strength and experience working for him. I have to be careful, move fast, hit him and fade into the noise and shadow."

"He'll be expecting you to do that."

"So I have to throw him off. Do something he won't expect first, put him off balance. I should expect nothing consistent and be ready for anything."

"Adapt your fighting style as you need."

Yayoi nodded and sheathed her MAC knife. "I know what I have to do."

Tian looked speculatively at Yayoi. "I wouldn't want to fight this guy."

"I understand that. Being dragged off to slavery is not a pleasant thought. He uses that fear as his main weapon."

Tian nodded. "You learn fast."

"I'm getting to know the Skin Trade and those who work for it quite well."

"Better be careful."

"Why?"

"The darkness might look back."

Yayoi said nothing, but nodded after a few seconds. "Good advice."

A soft chime sounded in the dressing room.

"Two minutes to start," Tian said. "You'll both start at opposite ends of the factory. Keep in mind that spot-bee drones will be around. Most of the time the person at the control knows better than to give way your location, but sometimes accidents, and not accidents happen. Keep moving, but always know where you are going."

"Right," Yayoi said as she put on her helmet. It was time to send a message.

The first exchange of blows came a few minutes into the battle. Yayoi dropped from the high scaffolding, a bungee cord keeping her from slamming into the ground. She emptied a clip from her FEN pistol into Pig Man, then cut the cord just as she lightly touched down on the floor. As she dove into cover Pig Man fired back at her. The impacts were stopped by her armour, but she felt them all the same.

There were several more exchanges of that sort, Yayoi being flamboyant, hitting him and fading, as she had planned. She knew she was putting on a good show, that the people watching would be quite pleased. And the fights had been going on for several minutes.

Everyone hated a fight that ended too quickly.

Yayoi was crossing a narrow beam, balanced over one of the promised vats of chemicals, when her luck seemed to run out.

Small explosives blew the beam free, and she and the metal were dropping towards the boiling concoction below. Yayoi twisted and fired her turbines, clearing the area. She landed bad, having to avoid hitting a tangle of metal and machinery.

That was when Pig Man hit her.

It was a brutal attack, fast and hard. She lost track of how many times she was hit, lost track of most everything. He stood over her at one point and emptied his Gunhead SMG into her back. It shredded her turbines; she would not be getting away that way, and several rounds cut through the armour and into her.

She fell from the platform she had landed on, falling several meters to the ground, hard. She lay there, unmoving. Yayoi knew little other than pain. Somewhere in the distant part of her mind she was aware that her MoonieMan was soaked, Probably with piss, maybe with blood. She did not care.

The steel, grate floor she lay upon vibrated as Pig Man approached her. He would pick her broken body up now; ready to take her off into the Skin Trade.

"Someone is going to love you," he said. "Probably going to have to take the time break you. You are going to wish I killed you."

He was standing over her. The grating creaked as he knelt down.

Yayoi bit down on a tiny chip that had been fixed to her inner lip. An injector, nestled safely between her thighs, enjoying the extra padding of the MoonieMan, pumped a cocktail of combat and healing drugs into the tender flesh.

Pig Man put his hands on her her.

Yayoi exploded into action, her MAC knives tearing into the very surprised and very unfortunate Prop. He had been taken completely by surprise and went down hard. She did not kill him though.

With her armour and drug enhanced strength she grabbed his wrist and lifted him as high as she could. She drove one of her MAC knives into her wrist, pining that arm to the metal wall. She lifted his other arm up and pinned that one as well in the same manner. He hung there, crucified, barely sensible.

Yayoi leaned in close, part of her helmet was broken, allowing her to see him with her own eyes, for him to see her lips move. "Tell your bosses that they are next." She then slammed her knee up between his legs, rupturing his testicles. He vomited before he passed out.

She stumbled away from him, almost falling. The healing drugs coursing through her system were helping her, but she was still badly hurt. Close by a door out of the arena had opened and that was where she went.

Outside were the fans that had come to watch, but Yayoi paid them no attention. She pulled her broken helmet from her head, letting it drop to the ground. It was then she discovered she was crying. An after reaction to the stress and the rugs she guessed. She moved forward, making her way to the ready rooms under the stands, where she could rest and get some more Kick Start and other medical aid.

The crowd began to cheer loudly, but Yayoi did not really hear them.

Anna had watched the fight, growing more and more worried about what might happen. And then the worse did happen. Yayoi brutally attacked her opponent. How could people see her as an innocent when she hanged Pig Man up like a wall decoration? That might be too much for even the jaded spectators of Mort. She had the uncomfortable feeling that several companies were going to hang her up like that for costing them Yayoi.

Then something wonderful happened. Yayoi began to cry, beautiful tears running down her face. The drone cameras following her caught them perfectly.

Anna did not know if Yayoi was really moved to tears, or if she was hurt, or if she was faking it, she did not care either. All that mattered to her was the Yayoi had held onto her innocent look. The viewers would see her crying in sadness for what she had done. It was what they wanted to see anyway.

Things were looking very bright.

Yayoi sat at the table, Justine beside her, Anna sitting near the middle of the table. The rest of the people around the tables were representatives from companies that wanted to offer sponsorship deals to Yayoi.

Yayoi was dressed in a pretty dress of dark, red material like velvet, white stockings, and shiny, black shoes with bright golden buckles. She looked simply adorable. Of course the people around the table were not looking at her as if she were a child.

Yayoi looked up from the papers she had been reading. "I suppose first of all I should state that I plan to keep G&P as my primary sponsor."

The representative from G&P visibly relaxed, and a representative from another big company that had hoped Yayoi might wear her company's diapers looked disappointed.

"The same deal as before," she told the man from G&P, but there will be times when I will chose not to wear your products, and that will be my business."

"Of course," he said, not about to argue with his rival sitting across the table from him, obviously ready to make an offer.

"Good. Now, I will say right off that I am not accepting the deals for Yummy Baby Foods, Happy Nursery Furniture, nor Great Baby Goods."

The representatives from those companies looked rather disappointed.

"So, let's go into more detail." She looked over at Anna.

Anna got to her feet. "Let's talk money," she said with a smile.

"You got what you wanted," Justine said as she and Yayoi entered Yayoi's apartment.

"Mostly," Yayoi agreed. "I'm pleased with the way things went."

Justine closed the door while Yayoi took off her shoes.

"Thank you for making me part of the deal you made with Fridays Staffing."

"I like you," Yayoi answered simply as she got to her feet.

"So, are you going out, or should I make dinner."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Yayoi asked her.

"What?"

"We're in the apartment. Shouldn't you be putting me into a Cumffie?"

Justine looked a little surprised. "But I thought the deal you made with G&P…"

"Allows me to wear panties when I want to. The same as my deal with Checkers & Patches allows me to wear the more mature clothing from Garion Fashions when I want to."

"Such as when you might be meeting a certain Theo Trance calls?"

Yayoi smiled. "Among other such times when I want to be seen as a young woman. Still, I promised to wear what they wanted most of the time. So, since I am in the apartment, I better get into my Cumffies."

Justine smiled and shook her head, then took Yayoi by the hand and led her into the bedroom. Soon Yayoi was lying on the bed as Justine taped the diaper up around her.

"Do you think thus room could use a proper changing table?" Yayoi asked Justine.

"I thought you did not want a deal with Happy Nursery Furniture."

"Maybe I want to see if they are willing to make a bigger offer."

"You are handling this a lot better than before," Justine told her as he helped Yayoi sit up.

"I just realised that I have to live like this. I might as well have some fun."

"We might as well get a crib in here there. You might need a bigger apartment."

"That is the deal I am hoping for from HNF."

Justine laughed. "Let me get you into some play clothes. Those toys from PlasticKo should be arriving fairly soon."

"I would not have made that deal, except that I just loved the Yayoi Yamamoto toy line."