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Life with her mother was getting back to normal pretty fast. Naturally it’d got rather emotional when Imogen had come home from hospital. Both Farrago women had ended up crying more than once, but it had been good to get it out. Now she was sure Imo wouldn’t vanish again, her mother wasn’t texting her every hour to find out where she was. Which was good because that had got real old even if Imo'd been quick to indulge her mother. Tonight she’d barely batted an eyelid when Imo decided to go out though, thankfully, and had managed to text her only twice.

But of course Imogen was trying not to be late home. The set back it would cause would be disastrous. She’d have to stay in again, making sure to make enough noise her mother could hear her if she was in a different room, and neverleavethehousever. But wouldn’t you know something had come up?

*

Youma were everywhere in Destiny City these days.

This particular youma had strayed. It had started out in a group with other youma because they took their victims down together but had lost its way and was alone. The youma did not mind, lurking where it was, It was small but still strong enough to do some damage. It just needed to get someone alone.

*

Imogen’s iPod was playing one of her favourite songs, she was waking briskly because it was freezing out here and she was making good time. She wouldn't be late, her mother wouldn't freak. All was fine. Until something that looked like it belonged in a demented nightmare version of Fern Gully dropped down from one of the trees that lined the street.

It was short, extremely long limbed humanoid thing with sallow skin and big jagged teeth. It had weird boney bits that sort of looked like wings. It was like a zombie faery in bad need of braces.

It also got a backpack to the face.

The scream she gave was part fear, because she’d be an idiot not to be scared, and part rage, because HELL NO. She might not remember anything that had happened at Barren Pines after a certain point but Imogen had still been through hell enough thinking she’d spent a year at a school, probably half drugged out her mind during her last months there that apparently had been run by organ traffickers or whatever. Her mother had thought she was dead the entire time. She also had caught up more on the whole ‘Senshi and Negaverse gangs of hooligans running about the city’ news stories. So just HELL NO.

She really needed a better weapon that her bloody bag!

By now, Imogen had traded her backpack for a nice big stick – more like a small branch really – that had obviously come off one of the trees. Someone’d shoved it out the way by the bins next to their shop front and she’d snatched it up. It wasn’t half bad for giving the thing a good solid whack but so far she’d been busy dodging its attempts to grab her. Sadly she’d got stuck with said shop front at her back, which, ok, meant no attacks from behind but also made her feel pinned down.

Her eyes widened as she saw the rock coming over its shoulder at split-second before it hit and registered Gemini Beta’s voice. When the youma gave a horrid screech and raised an elongated hand to the back of it’s head briefly, she spotted the girl too. Her one real impression, for it seemed hard to get a real impression of any senshi, was of tartan.

“Then get with the a**-kicking sweetie because I think that rock just pissed it off - shoot some laser beams at it or something!” She exclaimed with her own bravado as she got out from between the wall and the youma. Because that’s what senshi did obviously. They shot laser beams and light shows and sometimes sparkles at monsters and down they went. At least that’s what all the news stories and stuff Imo had read had implied, that it was all rainbow lights and glitter - possibly the cutest lil terrorists around.

Still, this one seemed to want to kill the monster and that was perfectly acceptable by Imo’s books.

It was such a shame the senshi were bad guys it really was because quite frankly, this Gemini Beta girl was pretty damn awesome. She’d not sent a Carebear Stare at the monster to kill it, it was true, but she had suddenly become two tartan-clad girls who intended to kick a little monster a**. Now that was either some really advanced terrorist gear or magic and either way it was pretty damn impressive.

“ Whose pinned up against the wall now!”

Okay, so, she was probably over emoting her anger at being attacked just like she over emoted everything. However as Imo brandished her stick and glared, ready to whack the thing again that was probably a good thing. Fiery anger helped fuel her bravery and she was quite ready to help kill the damn thing.

Fiery anger also kept her from running off, which would have been the more sensible thing. It had been speculated that senshi created monsters (when monsters were no just handwaved as teengers in really good masks) as much as they fought monsters, just as it had been that they put people into the hospital more often than saving them. Sadly the senshi did have rather a bad rep. But one thing for sure was that they did kill monsters and Imo, had she been level headed (which….Imo rarely was) should probably have just left Gemini Beta as a senshi to deal with it and run.

The youma’s hand dropped from the nasty wound at the back on its head at last and it crouched for a moment, it’s long limbs making it look like a cornered spider. The bony numbs on its back were raised and it gave a nasty sounding rasping noise as it leapt for one of the trio of redheads.

The youma snarled, landing on the pavement without it's intended prey beneath it, no neck to strangle or snap. With a hideous grin, it's head snapped up and it ran after them with a weird loping gait. It would catch up, even if the double illusion had brought them some time.

*

Imogen's hands clenched on the stick and as the youma appeared, she sneered in its direction. She might have been just a random girl with a sodding stick but she was so angry. It was fight, not flight, that her instincts demanded. But there was her knight in green tartan, touching her shoulders and telling her to go...


"I'll get out your way but I'm not going far!" Imo replied decisively, though she bobbed a bit dithering. That was sort of going along with the senshi's plan and maybe it'd satisfy her yen to hurt the thing to watch. She was sure that the girl'd produce those laser beams soon, that'd seem simple after seeing her make a copy of herself. Before she thought better of it (again) Imo found herself quickly adding;

"Stay after it's dead - I think one rescue's enough to earn a kiss if you want it." She paused just another second to flash a grin as Gemini looked back before she set off running. She'd just go not even half a block, stop in the shadows and watch. She was confident that Gemini could take it down. It was what the girl did, supposedly. But so help her was what was she thinking, flirting with a senshi criminal? Even one that was saving her from the Toothfairy*? She shouldn't want to her to stay, she want to get the hell away from here fast as she could now she was free. Imo decided she was actually going nuts or maybe that this whole thing was some stupid dream.

But then she always did get carried away.


(*It was a fairy thing, it had bad teeth, get it? Imo though it wasn't a bad name for it anyway. And y'know, while trying not to get grabbed she'd not exactly been brimming with name ideas for it.)

Hey, HEY, that wasn’t right!

Imogen’s stomach twisted as the youma leaned in towards the pinned senshi. She’d thought that the end had been near for the Toothfairy, that the place’d be lit up like it was New Years any second now. Instead the girl had been the one to end up on the pavement despite another nice hit to the things head. It just seemed enraged.

Luckily she hadn’t gone far, hoping to get a good view of the monster’s defeat. It didn’t take her too long to jog back over. Unfortunately by now, it had managed to lower its face to Gemini’s and in her haste to get there she couldn’t tell if it had bit her face or her neck. She didn’t even say anything. There was no time to dawdle. Imo didn't even have time to come up with a better plan, since twice now it'd been ineffective. But she didn’t hesitant to being her stick down with all her might down on it’s head again, the butt to the stick rather than the broad side.

The front of the skull was armoured. The back however was less so, possibly in part because of the protection provided by those bony wings and also because it had already taken on rock-hit to the head this evening. There was a sickening but also oddly satisfying crunching sound as she slammed it down and the end of her stick sank into its head just a fraction. That'd get its attention off the senshi hopefully at the very least and if she was lucky do some serious damage.

But those bong wing spurs? Really were there to protect it’s back and as she pulled her stick back – ready to hit it again – one sharp just about moving spur slashed her nearest forearm.

"Hold on, darlin' and I'll shift it..." She paused to glance at her stick (not going to get that out, it could stay where it had ended up) before grabbed the forearm of the youma. Avoiding all it's spikes, she tried her best to lift it as well as drag it sideways off the girl even though it was bloody heavy for such a small, spider-limbed thing. She dragged for all of a second or two before she gasped and dropped it. The deep cut on her own forearm had been so neat and quick it hadn't really registered until it hurt. Now it stung and hard started to bleed through her jacket. Imo's eyes widened. If she hadn't still been all hopped up on adrenaline she'd probably have just sat down and cried. She'd only just got out of hospital not long ago and got all her old stitches out and now she'd need more. Instead she was still feeling rather wired, luckily for Gemini Beta, so she clutched her arm to her chest and tried to tug again one handed. She was a stubborn thing. It was less effective by far than pulling with both hands but it was moving. Luckily besides it's spit dripping teeth it hadn't had any spikes in the front. Once she'd moved it some the senshi could probably help get it off herself.

"This is insane. Really. Barren Hell has nothing on this." Least in her memories it didn't, since she couldn't remember the zombie students. Imo couldn't help but mutter angrily as she tugged. "How the hell did they ever say these things were highschool pranks? That's a bloody monster not some pimple faced moron in a mask."

"What can I say...couldn't keep myself from coming back." She tried to joke, even though she'd turned pale, now her adrenaline was starting to wear off and pain had started kicking in. Still, at least she'd still had enough to come back. Even though the much more sensible thing would have been to simply run and not look back, even once she'd got a good mile and a door or two between herself and here. But Imo had left sense back in the time before monsters jumped down from trees and attacked you.

"Besides I don't think you want a kiss from that thing." Imo teased and jerked her head towards the corpse not wanting to move either arm to point - one was throbbing and bleeding, while the other was busy clutching it to her chest. She was no Gemini but trying to keep things light was much better than freaking the hell out. She reserved the right to freak out later though, re: monsters jumping down from the trees and attacking her.

Yeah. That had really thrown her for a bit of a loop. Terrorists in masks her a**. They were real.

"You're something." She admitted, though from the way she bit her lip and was busy looking down at her bloodied arm, that may or may not have been an affirmation of said irresistibleness. Could have been a soft accusation. No smoke without fire, no monsters without senshi, from what the media said. But she'd helped to save her (nevermind Imo'd actually been the one to kill it. With a big stick).

Imo couldn't help the way her eyes flicked curiously at the senshi's outfit. For one thing, she was only human and Gemini was rather pretty...from what she could tell, which was the other thing. The appearance of her outfit was easier to be sure of than what the other girl looked like herself. All senshi had that glamour gave them anonymity after all and Imo couldn't even tell if she was with a fellow redhead or a brunette or even for a moment when the tilt of Gemini's head made her hair catch the streetlight, a strawberry blonde. Hence her peeking at the leotard and the tartan.

"Thankyou. It'd be an honour. What kind of lady would I be if I turned down such a humble request from my saviour? " Imogen offered her unhurt arm, a little hesitantly, telling herself again just what kind of 'lady' she'd be. A sane one. Yet some part of her desperately didn't want Gemini to go...blame it on fear of more monsters and temporary insanity from the shock of being attacked. Blame that.

She didn't bother sparing a glance for the monster again. She didn't know if Gemini would come back to dispose of it or if it'd go 'poof' like a Buffy vampire once they'd left. Busy with the senshi now the youma was dead.