"Why...Why did it have to end up like this...?!"
A spy by trade - codename Ms. 3 - had prided herself on her dirty deeds being executed perfectly. Assassinations. Theft of secret compounds. Infiltration of government-funded, highly protected facilities. Ms. 3 had accomplished all of these in just one night, retreiving the GS-2001 formula from a secretive lab, taking out multiple state agents and its lead scientist in the process. GS-2001 was supposed to be the next step for humanity's evolution, supposedly, in the form of a caplet containing a highly-concentrated mix of hormone enhancers that would, theoretically, enhance the human body in some manner when ingested - though, the formula was still untested. Ms. 3 didn't quite care about any of that - she cared mostly about the cases of money her employer would give her upon delivery of the caplet. However, she had run into a snag...
"Of all the stupid things...!"
Ms. 3, finishing her crime, had to flee the scene before the men in black suits swarmed the building and overwhelmed her. Sliding down the backside of the building from a gutter, Ms. 3 had managed to find herself in a network of back alleys, where she could sneak into any number of buildings to blend in with the crowd. Choosing one at complete random, the spy was pleased to see it happened to be a movie theater, filled to the brim with throngs of people - an excellent avenue to get away. Slipping into the bathroom, the woman disrobed, removing her black pants, sweater, and skull-cap, and wig, and replacing her attire with some more casual wear and sunglasses she had packed with her equipment. Abandoning all of her spy gear behind a drop ceiling panel, Ms. 3 had the perfect getaway plan all set, and decided - as a reward to herself - to enjoy a picture show for roughly 90 minutes, enough time to relax before meeting her employer at midnight. Ms. 3 had purchased a large bag of popcorn, intentionally choosing the stalest, coldest bag prepared behind the counter, intending for it to be a simple prop to help conceal GS-2001 when she exited the theater, and slipped the caplet inside the bag, wrapped in a napkin for safekeeping. The spy had looked away for only a minute, leaving the bag unattended, before she had suffered the biggest mistake of her professional career...
"Hey, Apollo! I got the popcorn!"
She looked away for only a second, only to find out her bag was accidentally switched by the cashier next to her, and was forced to watch after paying as it was given to some ditz in green clothes and pink sunglasses. The woman looked to be in her mid-to-late 20s, and happily skipped to what was supposedly her boyfriend, a young man in his mid-20s with spiky brown hair and a nice-looking red polo and khakis ensemble. The kind of people Ms. 3 hated to be around - the lovey-dovey plebians - the woman of which would unfortunately have to die in this theater for the spy to get her reward. It could have been as easy as silently pulling the woman into the restroom when she turned the corner, breaking her neck, and leaving her in a stall, but the lady was attached to her boyfriend like glue, as was the other party, getting the woman alone would prove to be an impossible task. Alarmingly, Ms. 3 caught the outline of another concerning object...
In the woman's back pocket, on jeans that seemed too tight and hugged her rump, was the outline of a forensic scientist's badge.
"If I killed her, a contractor for the police, people would notice. Fast. It'd bring I and my employer unwanted mumblings, and mire the transaction! I need to get that bag isolated, fast...!" Ms. 3 was nervously sweating, and tried to not let it show on her face, as she silently tailed the two lovebirds, listening to their inane chatter about their work and friends they knew. The man evidently was a lawyer - a wise one - who would likely see to the spy's downfall if any harm came to his other half, Ms. 3 pondered for a moment if there was anything she could do to distract the young man, presenting some sort of distraction to him, by means of flicking a coin of somr sort. The two stopped, bringing their pursuer to a halt, where she ducked behind a wall and watched the two. The woman had a look of disappointment on her face, as she was clearly eating the popcorn.
"Apollo - this popcorn's kinda stale..." she complained.
"Want me to go back and get another, Ema?" replied the young man.
"Nah, I got a secret weapon to make anything taste good, no matter how long it's been out! Check this out!" Ms. 3 wondered what in the hell the woman was talking about, as she watched the green-shirted girl saunter over to the butter dispenser stationed outside a theater entrance - and the spy's blood ran cold. The forensic scientist pratically smashed her hand atop the butter dispenser, letting a hot stream of salty liquid hit the popcorn and seep to the bottom of the bag - where GS-2001 lay, unbeknownst to the two. "There! That should do it!"
"That moron!" Ms. 3 thought, biting her thumbnail, "The napkin and capsule will dissolve with that much heated liquid applied! It likely broke open, if it hit the bottom already! I need to end this...!" Ms. 3 reached for her silenced pistol, before forgetting it was in the women's restroom, with the rest of her items, behind the top of a ceiling panel. She swore under her breath, as she watched in horror as the woman dug into the likely contaiminated snackfood, shoving a fistful in her mouth.
"Mmmm~!! That's good! Tastes kinda tangy!" The woman stuck her hand into the bag, grabbing another handful, and pressed it into the male's mouth, passing by his lips. "Try some!"
Ms. 3 was horrified to see the two unknowlingly consume the compound, costing her all her cash, and doing lord-knows-what to the two's bodies.
"Yeah, not bad!" The boyfriend responded, before grabbing the woman's hand. "Come on, there's our theater, let's get our seats!"
The couple had disappeared into the darkness of the theater, leaving Ms. 3 to her own devices - she had to get a backup plan, fast.
"Perhaps..." she whispered "If I take them back to my employer with me, he can extract the compound from their DNA..." The plan was a longshot, but it was all she had. Steeled, the crook had followed the two into the movie, in order to try and win back her stolen goods...
-----
Ema Skye was the happiest girl in the world, in this moment. Spending the evening with her boyfriend, Apollo Justice, who she recently had begun dating, catching a movie together like a normal couple, away from the hustle and bustle of crime scenes and courtrooms. The film in question was a silly sci-fi film about young punks who eat a nerdy scientist's concoction and grow to tremendous sizes before robing themselves in makeshift undergarments and taking over the town - it was bound to be unrealistic shlock, the kind of shlock Ema liked to laugh at and tear down. And now, she could tear it down with a loved one by her side. Sitting comfortably in her seat as the previews began to go, Ema took back a massive swig of her soda, as she glanced at Apollo. He wasn't watching the screen, and instead looked about the room, looking semi-nervous.
"What's up, Apollo?"
"Nothing, it's just... I get the feeling like we're being glared at, somehow..." Ema turned her head to look around the room - nothing looked out of place, there were groups of people who had just taken their seats, topping off with one serious-looking lady gazing at the screen, but nothing outwardly looked suspicious, to Ema's eyes in this environment. She made a noise of acknowledgement with her mouth, before returning to slouching in her seat.
"It's probably just an employee, if I had to guess. They usually get mad at me when I leave too much discarded snacks on the floor in the theater - I'm one of those messy types, who leaves the floors all sticky and sugary! They probably got me on a wanted poster here!" Apollo chuckled, letting the tension diffuse.
"If you say so, sure." Ema tried to take another swig of her soda, but felt her stomach rumble, and made a noise of disapproval. "What's up?"
"Ah, nothing, just... Must've been something I ate! I probably should've packed an antacid, or something..." Apollo made a similar noise, getting Ema's attention. "You too?"
"Yeah, just now. You thinknit was the popcorn? We probably should have gotten a new bag after all."
"Yeah, maybe you're right... Let's just see how the film goes, I'll duck out to the restroom if it gets any worse, and see if I can grab a new bag."
Ema set the popcorn bag down next to her - catching the eyes of someone watching them in the darkening theater. As the previews ended, and the film began, the watcher had removed herself from her seat, and tried to see if she could get to the front row without being noticed, slowly slinking down seat by seat, with the intent to pass rows, and escape the watchful gaze of the employees. As the woman tried to slowly proceed, intent on reaching the popcorn bag, Ema and Apollo held hands in the front row, the two trying to fight the dull churn in their stomachs, starting to spread through the rest of their body, as the announcer called out the film's title over the groovy background music.
"CITY OF THE GIANTS!!!"
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