Sneakman

Sneakman is the third track in Kiwi Blitz. It is named for “Sneakman” from the Jet Set Radio OST.

Summary
Blitz meets the Raccoon, a notorious thief, and prepares for a fight. (This episode continues in track 4.)

Plot
This track begins with one pre-title page, on which we learn that the Raccoon, the costumed thief Francis mentioned to Steffi on the way home in Track 1, is planning a theft from the American Museum of Natural History "tomorrow." We also learn that Heinrich has repaired the damage to Kiwibot sustained in the battle with Arachbot in Track 2, and that Steffi, or "Blitz" as she now wants to be called, has a new costume to go with her secret identity, mostly green with yellow highlights, so quite different from her usual orange and purple outfits. Also different is that it features balloon pants, a style that does not meet with Ben's approval. We soon learn that Francis, her father's assistant, made the costume for her. Alas, it doesn't quite cover her pink hair.

After the title page we start the following morning, when Steffi is awakened by Francis, who is frantically searching for Heinrich. We observe Steffi's bedroom, with yesterday's clothes strewn on the floor, but otherwise none of the clutter of the stereotypical teenage bedroom. She sleeps with her metal prosthetic leg detached and shoved under the bed. At the foot of the bed is a white-and-gray very flat animal, which we later learn is a rabbit named Winston (after Churchill), although it looks very different from the typical rabbit. (Much later, on page 646, the hovertext says "It's a new breed we call the Don'tAskQuestions Lop.") Its water bowl and litter tray are also on the floor. Steffi sleeps with headphones playing music all night. Her daytime headphones are charging on her nightstand. The room also contains two coin-op-style video games.

Steffi opens her bedroom door (which is labelled "Steffi's Arcade"), to find out what the problem is. It seems packages have been arriving all morning from all over the world and Francis needs instructions on what to do with them. Steffi goes back in her room and emerges in her daytime attire (not her costume) to investigate. This has apparently happened before, because she says "let's see what it is this time."

They find Mr. Frohlich, but he has no idea what the packages are either, so they set to work opening them. Steffi opens a package that appears to contain a human eye, not attached to a head. She finds this disturbing. The eye turns out to belong to a robot, which has been shipped to Heinrich in pieces by his Japanese roboticist friend Ishinomori. We learn that building robots is now illegal in Japan "since the civil war," but Ishinomori has continued to design new ones anyway.

That evening, outside the museum, we see Officers Bahia and Cho, who have secured the perimeter and removed civilian bystanders -- but they don't notice Kiwibot's beak sticking out from behind a wall. Steffi hears footsteps on top of Kiwibot, which turn out to be caused by the Raccoon, who cheerfully welcomes her to watch the coming escape. The Raccoon's costume includes an arm-mounted grappling hook on a tether, that can be shot out, hooked on a building across the street, and then retracted to propel the Raccoon across the gap.

Kiwibot is not quite so agile, but we learn that it has a compressed-air-powered jumping ability that allows Steffi to follow the Raccoon onto the roof. Kiwibot can also deploy nets to capture an opponent, but the Raccoon is quick enough and athletic enough to evade the nets. The Raccoon points out that news helicopters are covering their battle, thereby distracting Steffi long enough to jump across another street.

Eventually the Raccoon, cornered by Kiwibot, escapes by breaking a window to enter a building, something Kiwibot is too big to do. Steffi responds by leaving Kiwibot and following the Raccoon into the building. She grabs the Raccoon's leg, but instead of just holding the thief and notifying the police, she says, "Finally ready for a fight?"

Commentary
It's not apparent why Steffi considers a fight to be necessary, especially since she cordially waits for the Raccoon to finish eating a sandwich. A real superhero would just haul the Raccoon back out of the building to be arrested by the police. Perhaps Steffi is unconsciously treating this encounter as if it were a Robot Battle League competition between friends. Nor would a real supervillain agree to a fight, instead of just dashing off as soon as Steffi appears in the building.

It's a big deal that Steffi leaves her mech to pursue the Raccoon. Her sense of invulnerability has a lot to do with being surrounded by metal; Ben, too, thinks leaving KiwiBot is a big mistake. This aspect of the track is important as a foreshadowing of later fights.

Sound Bite
Often in Kiwi Blitz, the author provides pages that are not officially part of a track, but show a disconnected scene, often in flashback. These are called "Sound Bites."

After Track 3 is a one-page Sound Bite in which five-year-old Steffi is unwillingly being driven by her father to Taekwondo practice, where her friend Ben will meet her. She complains that the other kids will make fun of her, that Ben makes fun of her accent, and that it should be her mother driving her. Her father doesn't quite answer that last point, but makes a couple of attempts that he never finishes, but that convey to us, if not to Steffi, that her parents no longer get along.

Characters Introduced

 * The Raccoon