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 Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 10:22 pm
People, Mica mused, were stupid. She had been on patrol, hoping to come across some homeless people, or a pimp, when a group of bold - or high - youths had approached. Because, you know, there’s nothing odd about a young woman roaming the streets at night in a leather bodysuit.
Seeing a group of women in animal-print leotards scurrying down the other side of the street, Mica was forced to revise her opinion slightly.
“ Whoo-ee, baby!”
“ Me-ow!”
“ Whatcha doin’ girl? You busy? We can give ya somethin’ to do.”
Mica ignored the leers and adopted what she thought was a frightened face. She wasn’t sure if she succeeded – it felt a lot like a grimace – but the boys were too blinded by testosterone to notice.
“ C’mon suga’, it’ll be fun.”
Mica tried to dodge out from the ring, who were slowly herding her towards an abandoned building.
“ I’m not interested.”
The guys laughed. “ Who said we’re askin’?”
Perfect; these guys were her's. At times, Mica wished that the Negaverse’s mission hadn’t been changed, since it would have given her an excuse to kill this trash. It wouldn’t keep her from knocking them about though.
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 10:45 pm
When Wolframite was making his quota, he went to the bad parts of town. The place run by hookers, pimps, drug dealers, and gangs. He could care less about what forced them into this way or life or the whys behind it. To him, they were scum that didn't deserve to be in the city. Eliminated from the streets, the city could only improve. Simply that. Starseed stealing that had recently been changed to energy stealing was just a way to teach them a lesson. You did bad so bad things would happen to you. Simple justice.
After getting a nice handful of energy orbs in his pocket he sat on a ledge and counted a wad of cash. Back when, he used to donate to charities with the cash he took from those he stole starseeds from. It seemed right that their dirty money was used for good and it also made the bodies seem like they were killed for their cash rather than something more precious. Their starseed.
Now, well, he had other plans for it. Sometimes he donated, but he started to feel the desire to keep it. The lesson was still given – the people he took energy from thought they were mugged, would hopefully starve or be killed by whoever they owed money to – and the world would turn for the better. Now he was just rewarded a little more for it.
As he pocketed the cash, he noticed a group of guys chatting up some girl and leading her down an alleyway. Either men not wanting to pay for her services or a group of guys trying to get some random woman to do them all. It was sick really, and he hated it. It made him feel uncomfortable thinking about it, and he usually liked to stop it before anyone undid their pants. (He didn't need to see that.)
Rising up, he followed the ledge of the building as he moved about and then paused when he felt something. Energy. Their energy. Negeverse energy. This close, he wondered where it was from and, suddenly reminded of their new trinket, he reached into the subspace and pulled it out. It glowed, faint purple, and he looked around. Where was it coming from?
He walked on the ledge as the crystal, as if talking to him, went 'warm…warmer….warmer….hot!'. It was then that he noticed the girl and her uniform. Yes, a uniform. As much as some would say it wasn't, it was a uniform.
He paused, and watched. Did she plan on getting attacked or was she….what rank was she? Did she even think she could take them all on on her own? He had to wonder. He didn't remember seeing her before in meetings, but they did have lots of people he didn't remember seeing.
Maybe the crystal meant someone else? He held it and watched the group from his perch, sneering as they called and hooted at her, one guy grabbing his crotch as if offering his package to her. It was insulting really, that he was the same gender as these guys.
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:34 am
Tuning out the hands pawing at her, Mica took the time to take a good look at her would-be assailants. The two in front of her both had pupils that were blown wide, indicating that they were high. Now that she was up close, she could see the fine tremors wracking their bodies and could see how they occasionally swayed; Meth, most likely.
In the blink of an eye, Mica had summoned her cane. Two of the guys laughed – “ Look, ho thinks she’s a pimp!” - but the other screamed, earning strange looks from his friends.
“ She’s got a pitchfork!” Cried the tripping guy, causing the other two to briefly look confused.
Mica struck, punching one guy in his trachea while grinding the heel of her boot into the other’s toes. As the winded guy coughed and spluttered, she twisted out of the way of the second’s enraged tackle, slamming her elbow into the back of his head. With two temporarily incapacitated, she turned to the third.
“ Demon! Demon!” screamed the druggie, before stumbling away as fast as his wobbly legs would let him.
Mica didn’t bother to chase him. In fact, she was a bit pre-occupied. The guy she had winded was back and swinging, and the guy she had introduced to the ground was slowly getting back up. Using her cane, she knocked the first guy’s legs out from under him, then let gravity do the rest; his head hit the ground with a satisfying smack.
Walking to the other guy, she carefully stepped on his hand until she felt something give way, causing the guy to let out a choked scream. Kneeling, she used her cane to keep his head low, then cupped his face in her free hand. Whiping away some of the blood from his nose in a false caress, she said in a cold voice, “ Be useful and keep quiet or I’ll break something else.”
Squeezing his jaw warningly, she began to drain the energy from her victim. She wasn’t sure who was watching – she felt someone nearby – but she hoped they would at least have the courtesy to warn her if her other victim woke before she was finished with this one.
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 11:12 am
The problem with most lieutenants is that they did not think their beginning weapon was useful and, in turn, did not learn to use it. Wolframite admitted that he hated his weapon, a worthless jump rope, and had pushed off the thought of it ever working for him. It wasn't till later that he grew to see that he had to learn to work with it and, through practice and effort, could make it work to some degree. He really didn't understand the true value of the weapon until his upgrade into a Captain and how the same basic principles with his jump rope worked for his bladed chain.
Because of this, he was highly impressed by the lieutenant's skill and cut-throat brutality in getting straight to her purpose. She floored the men instantly, and made sure to keep tabs on those who were still able to get up and move. It was a cold-heartedness that he wished he had when he first started and a few times when she cracked her cane, he winced.
While it was polite to help, he learned that there was a degree of manners in letting someone fight their own fight. She had things under control and, if someone decided to jump her, he might step in. Well, he would step in, but it would just be insulting to jump in as if she couldn't handle herself.
So he on a windowsill, brushing off some glass with his sleeve and watched. When someone actually did rise to advance on her, he raised his hand and called out. "Behind you." He said. It wasn't a quick and urgent call, but just a general Oh, you might want to do something about that sort of call. He knew she could take care of it and the man looked only a punch away from being down for the rest of the night. Maybe even permanently.
When his voice echoed, the man who got up turned and looked around before spotting him. Smiling, Wolframite waved. There was no way in hell the guy could even leap up high enough to grab his foot let alone the windowsill.
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 6:01 pm
Mica had thankfully finished with her first victim when she heard the call from above. Not wanting to risk breaking it, Mica banished the energy gem to her subspace pocket. This only took a second or two, but in a fight those can be crucial seconds. By the time Mica turned around, her second target had pulled a knife. Mica didn’t like knives, oh no, but after many an encounter with them, she had a way of handling them.
Crouching low, she waited, and eventually the buffoon made clumsy charge, lashing wildly with his knife. Mica parried with her cane, and the knife embedded into the handle and got stuck. Tossing cane and knife aside, she punched him in the side of the knee, then leaped to the side as he crumbled. He might not be dead, but every time his knee hurt in the future he’d be able to recall their time together.
Collecting her cane, she pulled the knife out of its handle before sitting on the back of her newly felled victim. She held one hand out to hold the gathering energy while the other went wandering, searching for loot; bingo, MP3 player.
Waving her prize in the air, she looked up and called out dryly, “ Like music?”
It wasn't a "thank you," but in Mica-nese it meant roughly the same thing.
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 7:33 pm
Wolframite clapped, not because he was trying to be rude, but because he was generally impressed by her performance. He actually was a little envious. He hadn't learned which points to kick or punch when he was a lieutenant, and even now, he could have practiced more without it. Still, he preferred not to let anyone get that close.
When she waved the mp3, he shook his hands. "Pawn it. I'm sure he has horrible taste in music. Or keep it." He didn't know if she wanted or needed one. To the victor went the spoils after all. "Pawn the knife too. They don't care about where you got it anyways." He spoke from a little bit of experience. It was best to take the cash if it was laying around, and the guy certainly wasn't the type you wanted to give his knife back to. He'd only use it again, and he liked the idea of being rewarded for doing a service. She cleaned the street. Might as well take the cash.
Slipping down, he landed and walked over, glancing at the fallen men about her. "You are very skilled for a Lieutenant. I'm very impressed. I'd help, but I could tell you had it under control." He wrinkled his nose when one man groaned nearby. "…I usually stick to the roofs just for this reason." He didn't like gathering that much attention. "Are you just naturally skilled or did you practice a lot?" He was curious after all. She was either recruited because she could fight this well or dedicated herself to learn to fight upon being made a Negaverser.
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 8:13 pm
Mica nodded at Wolframite’s advice. That had been her plan, assuming he didn’t want any of the stuff. She collected the MP3 player, the knife, and the shoes of the knife’s former owner; even if they were dirt poor, people around these parts always seemed to have expensive shoes. She stuffed her new possessions into the shoes as she assessed the fellow Negaverse agent before her.
He had an eyepatch. That was cool, and might’ve made him look tough if it wasn’t for the bow, the lack of height, and the heels; it gave all the wrong impressions. Still, Mica had picked up on the “for a Lieutenant” part, which meant he was likely not a Lieutenant, and thus a higher rank then her. In theory, this also meant he was more experienced and more powerful then her.
In response to his question, she replied, “ EMT is my day job, medic is part of my Negaverse job. Between the two, I know how to patch up and break down a body.”
She could see the foot of one of the lugs begin to twitch. The problem with druggies was that while they went down easy, they didn’t seem to know how to stay down.
“ Shall we go to the roof… Captain?” The last part was a question both because she wasn’t sure of his rank – she doubted there were too many Generals though – and didn’t know what to call him.
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:10 pm
She had a job, and not a simple one. EMT meant time, classes, and age. This Lieutenant was older, and a woman with a job. An adult. He stood more at attention as this as mentioned. Just because he was higher in rank in the Negaverse didn't mean he was going to kid himself fin thinking she wasn't older than he was and in some way, his senior. The idea of being a EMT also had its points, as she not only was someone with a worthwhile profession, but someone who served the city outside of her uniform. She was not only skilled but smart.
As he was addressed, he nodded. "Let's, before they start up again and call for help." Cops or other drugged-up morons with nothing better to do. He paid no mind to her stealing the shoes, and followed her up and out of the building until he spotted a ledge that was good for leaping up on. Taking aim, he jumped up and just as soon, jumped again to another ledge and upon the roof. When she followed, he continued.
"I suppose that it wouldn't be a bother if, say, I would need your help with some medical problems if the need came to it?" he asked, wondering if she was available if he should get banged up again. Going to the hospital raised more and more questions, and if e came again after losing his eye, he doubted he could make a worthwhile excuse as to why. After a few times, it wasn't just bad luck and coincidence. Then he remembered that he would need a name if he ever called up for help. "Where was I" He offered his hand. "Captain Wolframite. It's a pleasure to meet you."
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Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 4:29 pm
Mica watched the Captain easily scale the side of the building, carefully observing what ledges he used to get up. Her grace and prowess in fighting did not fully translate to Spiderman-like abilities. She managed to make the jumps, though her knee had scraped against the building at some point; thank goodness for leather.
“ No problem.” She shrugged. “ My skills are always at the Negaverse’s disposal. I’m not an actual doctor though, so anything major-” She paused to look pointedly at the Captain’s eye patch,“- is beyond me.”
For all Mica knew the eye patch was just part of the uniform, but she rather doubted it. If she were to be honest, she’d admit to a professional curiosity as to how the injury was caused – if it was indeed an injury – and how it was fixed. She doubted it was anything she could replicate in her apartment, but knowledge was always useful.
“ Lieutenant Mica.” She shook the proffered hand firmly.
Making allies out of those with higher ranks could prove useful. Of course, that meant she’d have to find a way to get him to stick around for a while.
“ So, that title earned or a bunch of bull?” She drawled, a too-high eyebrow indicated that she was teasing. Mica didn’t bond over stuff like skating or movies, no; sparring, both verbal and physical, was more her speed.
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:34 pm
Wolframite wasn't much of a kidder and when it came to being an officer, he was a worried, serious workaholic. He tended to be overly concerned for others, was driven to prove himself, and held only the highest respect to his superiors and his Queen. When his rank was put into question, the kidding was not picked up. A deep frown sat upon his features in a very frumpy way, and his eyes narrowed as he watched her, breaking their handshake once it was complete. "Nothing our Queen does is bull." He pointed out, and felt personally insulted that she went so far to suggest that he was given a promotion, a rank, that wasn't deserved.
Then again, it touched on a heavy guilt that it wasn't.
Still, to admit this to a lieutenant was not something he could do, and he could only respect the Queen's decision for what she gave him. "My rank was given to me to allow me to better capable at removing serious threats to our city." On threat in particular being Sailor Castor. After a heavy injury, she felt he was better fit to go lock horns with this massive threat when he had more firepower, more strength, and more reasons that he needed to prove himself. It left no room for excuses that he was too weak or that his physical abilities could not match. Any failure at this point would be blamed on him for what he did, not because what he wasn't given. "I hope you notice that nothing the Queen gives is just for fun or because she doesn't feel it is earned. It's not how our group works. If you don't pull your weight, you draw the rest of us down, and on to that, you put yourself to shame and jeopardy by being lazy and setting yourself up for an attack you are not prepared to fight against."
He looked about, hearing someone peel rubber in the distance. The part of the city always put him on edge. There were plenty of dangers and plenty of distractions. Not only did you have to worry about senshi, but the citizens could be just as dangerous. Someone once tried to mug him in this very city block. Horrid. He only came because he felt better stealing energy from these people.
"Do you usually come here to patrol? It's not the most ideal place." He pointed out.
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:31 pm
“ I should certainly hope that our Queen is not foolish. It easy, however, for a person to earn a position of power and then abuse it or not live up to it.”
The eyebrows were dead even again, the voice flat. Mica grew up in a place were people did not wonder whether or not an officials. It was widely known that all officials were crooked, so the only question was as to just how crooked they were.
Tilting her head slightly, she added. “ I am glad that this is not one such case.”
Mica wanted to know what “serious threats” Wolframite had been tasked to remove, but decided not to push. She seemed to be treading on thin ice with the Captain and had no desire to chase him away, or to provoke him into seriously attacking her.
“ Not ideal?” Mica walked to the edge of the building and looked at the streets below: ill-lit and lined with trash. The streets were falling apart from neglect and those that walked them at these hours were considered the scum of the city.
“ This is my home.” She said curtly, not looking back. “ I live here.”
Her home had been one of the main reasons she had joined the Negaverse. She had seen the results of those ignorant outsiders’ meddling, and it was rarely good. To fix these ‘hoods you had to know them, know which parts couldn’t be fixed and which parts never needed fixing in the first place. Mica had the knowledge, and now she had the power. She could clean up the deepest stains, all the while helping the Negaverse.
She could also help the Negaverse by better educating them about the city they lived in and the people they hunted. Mica finally turned around and fixed Wolframite with a questioning look.
“ Has the city evicted you from your home? Have your parents ever beaten you? Has someone you trusted ever betrayed you, enslaved you?”
“ These people are the result of their environment. They are resilient: broken, but not dead. The targets here are more dangerous, but their falls are more rewarding.” She paused, considering her words. “ I could target anyone, but I target this city’s leeches. This place is quite ideal, Captain, because by patrolling here I can fulfill my duties and help this neighborhood.”
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 4:40 am
Wolframite was growing more impressed, and whatever irked feelings he had against Mica were easily dropped off as he moved towards the edge of the rooftop – not too far as he tended not to look DOWN when being up to high – and out at the part of the city she dared to reside in. "I can't say that I have been in such a bad position before. I'm not pampered, but I'm not that bad off either." Which he was grateful for and not ashamed. He liked that he grew up being loved, having a full stomach, and not being beaten or defiled in any way whatsoever. It gave him the morals that he grew up with now from being raised in fair conditions, and it was what he used now to guide him.
"I do the same when I come here. I don't like just picking civilians willy-nilly. If I have to teach someone a lesson, I'd rather pick people that deserve to be taught that what they are doing is bad. We have enough good people leaving Destiny City because of what has happened here. What we need to do is force out the bad." Of course, his range of bad people was probably wider than Mica's as he was less street educated as she was. Far less street educated.
He paused a moment, and then looked up at her. "I wouldn't mind if you ever had big groups of people or someone that could be picked off here, to be involved in taking them out. We steal energy now, but I'm not against the occasional starseed retrieval." He was too familiar and used to it now, and frankly, he deserved to give some people a permanent end. Some second chances were not earned.
Then, he thought a moment. "Do you…find yourself okay living here? I guess you live by yourself?" He thought that if anything, there were plenty of people here that lived alone, unnoticed and not bothered by anyone. It's why it got so bad. Still, if someone was here to keep guard as Mica was, it was a good thing.
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 8:19 pm
“ But how can you know who’s bad in these parts if you aren’t familiar with these people? Nothing here is black and white.”
At least, that’s how Mica saw things. To her, no one was simply “good” or “evil,” but always somewhere in between. It wasn’t the most accurate worldview – not that she’d ever admit it – but it seemed to work. Mica used to share Wolframite’s views, but living here had made her adjust them.
“ I preferred starseeds, but letting people live has its advantages. Dead men tell no tales, but gossip and fear can be useful.”
Of course, Mica took more starseeds then was strictly necessary, but it was for a good cause. Wolframite seemed to get that. If they were supposed to fight to protect this planet from space usurpers, they might as well make it a planet worth fighting for. Mica couldn’t do much about the rest of the world though, so she focused on Destiny City.
“ This area has its advantages. People here tend to ask fewer questions.” Frowning, she added,“ Theft is a problem though.”
Someone had had the nerve to steal the rims off her car. In return, Mica had hunted them down, got her rims back, stole their car’s radio, and stole their energy. It was such a nice radio that she was tempted to go back for the speakers. Well, that and to make the crackhead squirm some more; he had squirmed so nicely.
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:05 pm
Wolframite walked near the edge of the building, not deciding to go Marvel Comics on anyone and stand overlooking the edge. Screw that! He didn't like staring down to remind him how high up he was whenever it wasn't necessary. Still, for effect he did glance down at the riffraff below and guessed that if Mica hadn't shown herself as a Nega, he might have thought she was just any other piece of trash.
"I can see a few people doing wrong. The ones who sell drugs on the corner or those who decide to steal or get drunk and head to their car. I do my best to get the ones I feel are doing no good with their lives or ruining the lives of others." Of course, he knew that sometimes he probably did wrong, but he pushed those ideas as far off from his mind as he could to maintain his sanity and his view that he was in the right.
"I do like the spreading of fear, and energy stealing does save on time. I hated lugging bodies about." He always felt he would be caught, not to mention he had to stage the death to make it look like a mugging. "So do you know these people and groups to know who to target to improve this part of town?" He asked, curious if she was keeping her own record of who to go after and who she saw as harmless. "Because if you ever needed help, I wouldn't be against helping you out. I'm all for helping the city. Even this area. Senshi aren't the only problem we have." He looked below, clearly not impressed with this area.
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 4:20 pm
“ I know a lot of them, but I’m still learning. They’re not the most trusting people.” Mica turned away from the view of the street, but a slight jerk of her head indicated who she meant.
“ Can’t lie, help would be useful. They tend to travel in packs, as you saw.” Recalling her recent fight, she frowned slightly. “ Two is the most that’s advisable to take on, but I sometimes… forget.”
In the heat of the moment, that was. Though you’d be hard-pressed to make her admit it, Mica did like the adrenaline rush of fighting. The more people in the fight, the bigger the adrenaline rush. Mica usually retained enough thought to check for signs of weapons, but even with a clear head it could be hard to spot weapons on people determined to conceal them. Cuts were something she was becoming increasingly familiar with.
As for Senshi, well, they were certainly a problem. Mica liked to think that she was good at collecting energy, and at targeting who to collect it from, but she had discovered that she wasn’t so good at fighting Senshi. Granted, she hadn’t had a lot of encounters with them, but what encounters she’d had were memorable for unpleasant reasons.
… well, wasn’t she slow on the uptake. The little Captain was a prime chance to kill two birds with one stone.
“ I’d like to see you in action, actually. I imagine you’ve a useful trick or two I could pick up.”
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