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 Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:04 am
Maybe Ilmenite had been more nervous after the battle than he realized: not in the world-shattering horrified way that many of his fellow Officers seemed to be wrapped up, but in smaller things. In the listless edge he had, not quite willing to get up out of bed; in the decrease of appetite, only eating when he forced himself; in the way he avoided people, entirely out of character as it was. In the fact that he hadn't been going out either for fun or to do his duty.
This was his first night daring to step, and he couldn't help but jump a little every time there was a sound, certain that a senshi would pop out of nowhere, his movements gone jerky and awkward. It was his first time wearing the uniform since the end of the battle, since he'd made his way home, tired, on the subway.
Zink had warned him against haunting his personal favorites, and against hunting where he played, but tonight Ilmenite just needed the security of familiar grounds. This was his justification for the rather poor decision to haunt a dive bar about a block and a half from the library, where college students lingered after classes, loud and chatty, books under their arms...
He had to lurk for fifteen minutes before one of the girls split off with a laugh and a wave toward her friends and headed down the empty side street. Ilmenite, for his part, stopped her with a friendly smile and a request for a cigarette, his eyes big and hopeful, her tipsy enough that she didn't question the strange clothing: just blinked at him and then went fumbling through her things.
Her eyes went down and he reached out very gently to slip fingers through her skin toward the pulse of energy at her core.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:12 pm
Anthony Darrow was ready to get himself home. He was tired, in his usual way, at the end of the work day. The lights were off, the computers shut down, the library empty. He had Dogby on her leash and was walking with her, limping on his cane.
Locking the doors leisurely, in no real rush, he sighed and looked around. He was still getting used to the new route he needed to take, which was the opposite of where he used to go to get home, since the move. It was a nice house, much bigger than the apartment, and at least in a better area for Nate to live in.
Get him away from the thugs and vandals he was apparently making friends with. Not that Tony was under any delusions of being able to control or even influence his son at this point.
Sighing, Dogby pulling at her leash, Tony started the walk home. It was a quiet night, the weather nice, with not too many people on the sidewalks with him. At least it wasn't completely barren: that usually meant trouble was ahead. And Tony would really enjoy a day, from morning to night, without trouble in it. Of course, that simply wasn't possible.
He paused when he heard something strange, not too far into his walk home. A cry of surprise, maybe, though it was short. Every nerve ending in his body was suddenly alight, and he made to investigate the alley the sound had come from. A dumb decision, surely, but he could not help himself. In the back of his mind, he knew it would be something bad: someone in trouble, something that would easily be over his head. But even knowing that, how could he, a reasonable man, a responsible man, leave someone in danger? He was capable of doing something, anything, and there was no excuse not to act.
Besides the 'might get killed' thing that generally deterred people, but that impulse was superceded by the drive to make sure someone else didn't end up dead.
"Hey!" He yelled, when he saw the nega. He thought immediately that he was going for the woman's starseed, as the last time he had a lesson in them, that was what they were doing. "Let her go!" He let go of Dogby's leash, leaving her to cower in a corner, brandishing his cane like a bat.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:07 am
Seconds too late, it seemed: Ilmenite let her go and the poor girl slumped out of his arms, tumbling gracelessly to the floor at his feet. She was certainly still alive, her chest rising and falling very slowly, quite soundly unconscious. She'd be exhausted tomorrow, probably, but at the moment her biggest concern would likely have been the fact that her shirt had flipped up to show a wide sliver of not-terribly-attractive stomach.
Dark eyes turned on his attacker, Ilmenite easing into a ready stance, hands up -- and it was Tony. Seeing his other-life boss in this situation left the officer somewhat baffled, fumbling, his eyebrows knitting together and the tension going out of him.
He dug for a clever reply anyway, because as he understood it, that was part of the game. Just not a part he found himself terribly good at. "Hey yourself, man."
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:05 am
Tony looked at the girl as she fell, worried for her immediately. But he could see her breathing, and at least took relief in that. Still, someone surviving an attack didn't mean that they all would, and letting him get away with whatever it was he was doing wouldn't be a very good idea.
He's just go out and do it again.
Not that Tony was under the impression that he could stop the Nega. He knew from personal experience that they were strong. Deadly. His leg was proof of what they could do, and had no trouble doing, without prompting or clear reason to their victim. His leg gave a twinge when he thought of it, and he steeled himself, gripping his cane tighter but not putting it down to lean on.
"Get away from her," he said slowly, moving closer. "What have you done to her?"
He was worried that she might be in a coma, or die later. What did they care for the lives they were ruining? They would, and could, do anything to get what they wanted. Tony looked ready to swing at him, face drawn in a serious line.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 12:31 pm
"Wicked things, I'm sure." His tone was dry, though, Ilmenite's eyes flashing to the bared stomach -- and one corner of his mouth twitched down unhappily. The poor girl did look pretty graceless, sprawled out with her bag half under her and books scattering out of it. He tried to make her position more comfortable by catching the strap with his toe and dragging it out from under her.
It wasn't the smartest move ever, and mostly succeeded in spilling out more things across the pavement. Ilmenite heaved a sigh but didn't stoop to pick anything up, instead keeping a careful watch on Tony. "Don't do anything stupid, there."
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Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:04 pm
Tony saw the Nega move the bag, the contents spilling out, and immediately thought the worst. Why would a Nega want to rob a victim they had already hurt? Or whatever it was he had done to her. The answer didn't matter: she was unconscious on the ground, he was messing with her stuff, and she needed to be defended.
Enter Tony. Eye of the tiger.
He decidedly ignored Ilmenite's order for him to not do anything stupid, charging forward and swinging the cane at Ilmenite before he could do anything else to the poor girl. Her unmentionables were spilled all over the alley, including make up and girly things that Tony pretended not to notice, her phone vibrating on the floor uselessly. She was going to miss that call, clearly.
"Stay back!" he ordered again, with what courage he could muster. He sounded rather determined, his voice echoing in the alley, his eyes set and furious as he glared at Ilmenite like he was a monster.
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Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:49 pm
The cane hit, but -- well, Tony was human. It was rather like being slapped. It strung, and it grated because [out of uniform at least] Tony was someone he considered a friend, but really it wasn't enough to change just about anything.
He was a negaverse officer, not a human, and with strength to back that up. Ilmenite cursed and reached out to grab the cane before he could get in another swing. A quick jerk to tug Tony in a step, toss him off balance, and Ilmenite scooped him up easily into his arms.
"Seriously, To- " ...names. Bad idea. Names gave people away. He bit down on it. " -try that again and we're going to have trouble. Alright?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:36 pm
Tony was doing his best. He could not bear the idea of leaving someone in danger. Nor could he tell himself he was too late already, and justify his leaving without doing something, anything, in his power to help. The city was so full of fear and danger these days, the death count ridiculously high and the hospital always at bursting.
They had to look out for each other. They had to help. Someone had to make sure there was a life to be lived. That there were people to live it.
Unfortunately, Tony was not that person.
He let out a frustrated yelp as Ever grabbed the cane, growling and pulling at it uselessly before he was pulled forward by the impressive strength of the Negaverse officer. He soon found himself caught, though he struggled as valiantly as he knew how, not wanting to make it easy for the Nega to keep him hostage. Of course, in Tony's mind he was the next victim, and he had to defend himself to keep his energy or starseed or whatever it was the Nega wanted safe.
"Let me go! You're a coward! I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else, if I can stop you! Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting these people?!"
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 8:08 pm
"I'm not -- " The words were cut short, cursing, frustrated, his arms tighter around Tony to keep him from kicking too hard or smacking his head back into Ilmenite's face. Been there, done that, not something he was interested in experiencing a second time. Or maybe a third...
He'd been about to protest that he wasn't a coward, but on second thought, that one might be fair. It was just the rest that left him fumbling and frustrated. After a moment, he found his voice again, working on a proper reply.
"Mister, I think you've got me mistaken for the other team." It was sharp and annoyed, lifting Tony just a little so he couldn't get a good grip against the ground and blowing out a breath. He wanted to get out of here but -- but he couldn't leave Tony thinking --
"Goddamnit. She'll be fine." Eventually. A day or so. Ever'd been there, and he'd certainly survived it.
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:26 pm
Tony found he couldn't do much against the Nega's hold. They were impossibly strong, and it was unfair, to say the least. He decided he hated their power boost, if only because it rendered him even more useless in a fight than he might be against someone his own strength. And even in that he had been gaining confidence, even killing some youma or other monster-like things on his own or with help.
But against a Nega agent, as he had been the first time he met one, and the time in that dream with all the lava, he was defenseless.
"Don't you bad mouth them!" he growled obstinately. He had been hearing less than savory things about senshi recently, including barely missing a fight between a senshi and a civilian (though he still wasn't sure Ever had really been attacked by a senshi and not some evil person pretending to be one, or something). Still, he held true to his faith in them: so many had saved his life, and he had seen so many fighting for good in the crazy adventures he had been caught up in this passed year, he could not believe anything bad about them without solid proof.
Especially not from a Nega.
He wasn't sure he could believe that the girl would be fine, either, but he certainly hoped so. She was still breathing, after all. Always a good sign. Mustering what strength he could in his good leg, using Ilmenite's hold on him to support him despite his bad leg, he slammed his foot on top of the Nega's in a futile effort to escape.
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:43 pm
Ilmenite's arms loosened with that, and he tipped his head down to stifle a curse against Tony's shoulder, the word fading out toward a frustrated growl. This just wasn't fair; he'd only been borrowing a little energy, he hadn't harmed the girl. Not long term.
He caught after Tony as he tried to fight his way clear, fingers shifting, grasping around one wrist, probably rough enough to leave bruises. He was impossibly strong, and it was still new enough that he didn't know how to filter it.
"She's fine, you idiot." Still growly, it didn't make Ilmenite seem harmless: instead it made him sound angry, rough, and a little bit mean. The insult likely didn't help either. He wasn't thinking clearly enough to worry about that. "Look at her. She's breathing normally. One of her friends will come out in a minute and..."
And that drew him up short. He didn't want to be here when that happened. He let go.
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:23 am
Tony didn't understand why Negaverse soldiers did what they did, and it was doubtful that he would be sympathetic or understanding now that he was all worked up. He just knew that people were often sent to the hospital, and they had even died in the past, all because of Negas and Youma, who he lumped together.
For all he knew, those monsters were people the Negaverse had hurt worse than pain or death.
"Damn it," Tony growled when he was caught again, his wrist sparking with pain sharply and warning him not to go anywhere. The last thing he wanted was to get his wrist broken, particularly if his struggling was what did it.
When Ilmenite released him, Tony whirled around and swung his fist on instinct. A stupid, gut instinct that he immediately regretted but had no chance to stop. The girl was fine, yes, but he wouldn't have had to worry about her at all if the Nega hadn't swooped in to do whatever he had done to her in the first place. His fist, regular human strength that came with adrenaline and anger, connected with Ilmenite's jaw even as Tony pulled himself backwards to get away from the Nega.
He crouched a bit, keeping his weight off his bad leg, standing protectively over the girl.
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:16 pm
Ilmenite needed more training: the blow came as enough of a surprise that it struck him squarely in the still-bruised jaw, and got a growl as his hand came up to the spot. For a moment, it left him speechless, torn between fury and betrayal, not quite sure how to respond.
"...son of a b***h!" When he finally kicked into motion, it wasn't in a mature way. He still had Tony's cane. In a fit of frustration, he tossed it down the street, sent it skittering easily, far out of Tony's reach. Stranded him with the girl. Ilmenite scowled back at the pair of them, still rubbing at his jaw. It had hurt, but it'd heal.
"Fine, then. You want to 'rescue' -- " the sarcasm was heavy, mean, " -- her so much, then just pick her up and carry her away, why don't you."
It was a challenge. He folded his arms over his chest and waited.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:30 pm
Tony could only stare at the Nega as he hurled the librarian's cane down the alley. He frowned at the sound it made as it clattered on the alley.
He had thrown his cane. That was just mean.
But Tony huffed, still flying high on his adrenaline and his pride, his faith in senshi and his dire need to protect the innocent. He clenched his fist and despite himself, yelled back at the challenge.
"Fine then!"
He turned and carefully tried to pick the girl up, succeeding in getting her into his arms and wishing she was lighter immediately. His leg protested civilly by simply refusing to work or bear any weight as he tried to take a step. He stumbled, bumped into the wall, but held on to her stalwartly. He did not look back at Ilmenite.
He was going to carry the unconscious woman out of there, damn it. Because that was important and it would show that Nega what for, clearly. He didn't care about the justification or the usefulness: he was too far in to give up now. Even if his legs and arms were shaking.
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:31 pm
His jaw was still smarting. Ilmenite forced himself not to grind his teeth, no matter how much he really wanted to. Instead he folded arms across his chest, watching Tony stumble and not-quite-fall and almost stepping forward to help him...except that kind of defeated the purpose, didn't it.
Instead he leaned down to shove the girl's things back into the bag and toss it over one shoulder, careless of how the orange-brown of it clashed against green and green and gold. He trailed Tony by a few paces, just watching him struggle and fumble, fingers wrapped around the strap of the dozing girl's bag. As Tony huffed and struggled, Ilmenite found a reply.
"...do you even know where she lives?" The sarcasm dripped.
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