Katyusha sat in her office, a smirk on her face as she looked at her two right-hand women, the Fyodorova Twins, and their enforcer, Geneva, standing before her. She leaned back in her chair and spoke with authority.

"Ladies, we are ready to move forward with the attack on the Meteor Corp HQ, and you three are the key to our success. With everyone attending the Snowclover meeting and all of the world's most powerful warriors being gathered there, this is our perfect opportunity to strike while their backs are turned."

The twins exchanged a mischievous smile, while Geneva cracked her knuckles in anticipation.

"The plan is simple. We hit the Meteor Corp HQ tonight on the graveyard shift, when they least expect it." Katyusha continued, looking at the twins. “Yuroslava, Vladislava, you both will be in charge of disabling the power substations and shutting down their power system. Geneva, you will lead the attack and be our muscle as always. You have yet to let me down, so keep up the good work this time around as well."

The twins nodded in agreement, while Geneva flashed a grin and flexed her arms, showing off her muscles.

"But remember, we need to get in and out of there quickly." Katyusha warned. "The Meteor Corp has cutting-edge tech just like us, and we can't afford to get caught."

"Don't worry, General Katyusha," the twins chimed in unison. "We have everything under control."

Katyusha smiles, striding up to the twins and placing a hand on both their shoulders. She leaned forward, fixing the twins with a steely gaze. "I expect no less from you two," she said. "You are my most trusted and deadliest duo. Now I need you three for a very important mission.”

She gestures towards the table at the center of the room, where a holographic map of the city is displayed. The twins and Geneva move closer to the table, their eyes focused on the map. Katyusha pointed at a building with the Meteor Corporation logo above it. Katyusha then pulled up an image of Piper. “There is a doll attached to the building's supercomputer in the command chambers. I need it for my research on my newest technological advancement. Be sure to retrieve it for me during this mission.”

“Da, Katyusha. This'll be a simple in-and-out for us,” Geneva boasted. The twins and Geneva exchange high-fives, their excitement palpable.

Katyusha nodded, satisfied with their response. She couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at having such loyal and skilled soldiers in her employ.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind, and she turned to Geneva. "There is one more important piece of information I need to share with you before you embark on this mission."

Geneva raised an eyebrow, awaiting her orders. Katyusha continued, "Gen, Piper is unlike any other doll you have come across. She is a very expensive and advanced piece of technology, possessed with a powerful AI. Be careful during the retrieval. Any damage to Piper will render her useless to us."

Geneva's smirk turned into a frown, but she nodded in understanding. "Loud and clear, General Kat. Understood," she said. "We'll take extra care in handling the doll. No damage will come to it.”

"Happy to hear," Katyusha replied, her expression shifting to a sly grin. "One last thing. The Meteor Corp has a unique agent working for them. She's known as 'Trixie'. She'll likely try to stop you from retrieving Piper.”

Katyusha chuckled, admiring their confidence. "Never doubt yourselves, ladies. You are the best, after all," she said. "Now, you all know your roles. Go and prepare. The mission starts in an hour. I'll be monitoring your progress from here. Countin' on ya."

★

“Trixie,” Sarolta said, her voice stern and infused with urgency. “My radar is picking up on several unidentified vehicles headed towards the Meteor HQ. I need you to head there immediately.”

“But ma'am, how in the world am I going to get there in time? You know how far it is from here?”

“Figure it out.”

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The phone beeped, and Trixie looked down at it to see that Sarolta hung up on her.

Man, she can be so cold sometimes, Trixie thought. I knew Sarolta leaving you in the HQ was a bad idea, Piper. But how will I get there in time?

Well, Trixie, Piper said. Svenja has the Memory Portal technique, correct? Maybe we can ask her to use it on you so you can teleport there instantly.

“That's a great idea, thanks.”

…

“What?! Is that so?!” Svenja exclaimed.

“Yep, so I need your help to get there in a hurry.”

“Fair ‘nuff. Hold on one sec,”

Svenja put her hand on Trixie's shoulder and focused her aura, sending her away in the blink of an eye.

★

Trixie's feet hit the ground, standing outside of the marvelous multistory Meteor Corp HQ. As it was the graveyard shift at this time of night, most of the lights in the building were turned off. As Trixie entered the building, she was hit with the quiet and almost desolate feeling of the graveyard shift. She looked around, noticing the lack of activity in the place.

"Damn, it's so quiet in here," she muttered. "Like a ghost town."

"Looks like everyone's sleeping except for the security guards. And maybe some night-owls working overtime.” Piper added.

Trixie nodded, looking around the dimly-lit lobby. "Yeah, it definitely looks that way. Let's hope we can get in and out of here without too much trouble."

She started to make her way towards the elevator, still marveling at the quietness of the building. The sound of her boots reverberating on the tiles was the only sound audible.

Then, there it was, the sound of a helicopter in the dead of night.

“A helicopter? Now? Something is obviously off—”

Before Trixie could take another step, the sound of a large vehicle crashing through the building’s thick glass walls shook the floor, causing the alarms to go off and triggering the lockdown mechanism, closing Trixie inside. Regaining her balance, Trixie looked behind her to see several Platinum Army Strikers unloading from the iron truck that just smashed through the building.

"Piper," she whispered urgently. "Have you been able to access the building's internal network yet?”

"Almost," Piper replied, her voice cool and collected as ever. "Just give me a few more minutes."

Trixie nodded, her eyes darting around the lobby, scanning for any movement. A few security guards were running around, trying to contain the situation, but they were quickly overpowered by the Strikers.

Finally, after a few tense seconds, Piper piped up again. "Access granted. I have interfaced with the surveillance system and there are staggering amounts of Platinum Strikers at the roof of the building and the bottom floor where you are.”

"Strikers at the roof and the bottom floor? Damn, that's a lot of Strikers to fight through," Trixie swore under her breath, her heart rate quickening as she looked around, trying to find a way out of the mess.

"Any idea what they're after?" she asked, trying to keep her cool.

There was a pause before Piper responded. "Unfortunately, I can't see what they're targeting in the building. The security system's cameras aren't giving me enough information to determine their objective.”

Trixie cursed again, realizing that she was in the dark when it came to the enemy's objective.

Her mind raced, trying to come up with a plan. "Okay, Piper, stay focused on finding out anything you can about their target. I'll deal with the Strikers on the ground level.”

With a sense of determination, Trixie began to make her way towards the source of the commotion. As she rounded a corner, she was met with the sight of several Strikers standing guard. They hadn't noticed her presence yet.

Quickly, she ducked behind a pillar and took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart and come up with a plan. She had to be smart about this, or else she was dead.

Piper, can you tell me how many Strikers are on the ground floor? Trixie mentally asked.

"There are approximately ten Platinum Strikers on the ground floor," Piper responded. "But be aware, there might be more, as the surveillance system is not giving me a clear picture of the whole floor at the moment.”

"Got it," Trixie said quietly. Ten Strikers sound quite annoying, but she'd handled more in the past. She just needed to come up with a plan.

Her eyes darted around, trying to find anything she could use to her advantage. There was a large piece of furniture nearby that she could use as cover.

"Okay, here's the plan," Trixie murmured to herself. "I'll take cover behind that furniture and try to take out as many Strikers as possible before they can react. Then, I'll make a break for the stairway and head up to the second floor.”

Taking a deep breath, Trixie readied herself. She had to be quick and precise. She peeked around the pillar and saw the Strikers still unaware of her presence. That was her chance.

Without wasting any more time, she darted towards the piece of furniture, keeping a low profile and staying out of their line of sight. Once she had taken cover, she prepared herself to make her move.

"Showtime," she muttered, her fingers clenching as she steadied her breathing. She knew this was going to be a tough fight, but she was trained for situations like this. She just needed to keep her head on straight and take them out one by one.

Once she was sure the coast was clear, she made her move. She lunged from her hiding spot towards the nearest Striker, catching him off guard. She delivered a quick, but powerful, uppercut to his chin, sending him sprawling to the white marble floor. Without giving herself time to catch her breath, she quickly moved on to the next one. She ducked under his swinging arm, delivering a sharp jab to his stomach. The Striker stumbled back, winded, but still standing.

Undeterred, Trixie spun around, her foot connecting solidly with the back of his leg, causing him to collapse to the ground. She followed up with a swift kick to the head, knocking him out cold. Three down, seven to go.

Trixie took a moment to scan the room. She could see the other Strikers reacting to the commotion she was causing, their weapons now trained directly on her.

“...Time to do this, even though I may need it for later,” Trixie said, her aura surrounding her and freezing her surroundings. She then shot her aura outwards, freezing the soldiers solid.

“There…that handles that…”

A Meteor Corp agent left his hiding place and stepped up to Trixie, his smile wide as he held out a hand to shake. “Trixie! Boy, are we glad to see YOU!”

Trixie shook his hand eagerly and nodded. “Yeah, been a while, hasn't it? I heard you guys needed my help.”

“Hell yeah, we do. What are the Plats thinking, striking at this time of night! Do they have no bounds or morals?!”

“Never have, and maybe never will. Now, I'm off to handle the rest of them.”

“Good. You better be careful, it's even more hectic on the upper floors.”

Trixie looked at the stairwell ahead of her, then back to the agent. “Thanks for the warning. Stay safe.”

As Trixie made her way up the stairs, she could feel a sense of unease settle over her. The noise of the helicopters and the commotion going on outside was muffled by the tall walls of the building, but it still managed to penetrate to the lobby. Trixie glanced at the surroundings as she reached the top floor, her senses on high alert. She reached the door to the second floor, taking a deep breath.