|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:45 am
Captain Painite loved it when a plan came together.
It hadn't been too difficult to slip into the massage parlor, a small building wedged between a hair salon and a pharmacy on one of the sub shopping streets that littered the town. She pulled on a coat and an apron, removed her glasses and put on a silly looking hat she had found behind the counter. The real owner of the very small location, run by two people on the best of days, was behind the desk with his wife, sleeping soundly.
Sans most of their energy, but Painite imagined they could use a break. She was now letting customers, few and far between and it made her wonder how they stayed afloat, come in for massages. They paid upfront and Painite, for her part, actually put the money in the register.
She wasn't a thief. At least, not of money.
Then she would launch into a completely bullshitted explanation of the massage they were going to receive, making sure to emphasize that it would make them very sleepy and they would forget all their cares and troubles for a while. It was true, wasn't it? She would start by rubbing their shoulders, but eventually they just nodded off as she took the energy out of them. So far, there were three people snoring on the four massage beds, and she imagined she would have to put them somewhere else, or just settle for one more target.
It might be for the best. It was the middle of the day, and she had to be powered up for the whole thing. She wasn't too worried, as senshi usually patrolled at night, but she imagined pushing her luck and staying too long wouldn't be to her advantage.
Okay, one more patron, then she would head home.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:03 pm
Bebe winced as she bent over to retie her shoelace. Even with her daily health regime, it seemed that nights spent climbing over rooftops had finally caught up with her. Muscles that hadn't been used since she was a child were protesting after hours of pushing them past what was humanly possible. There was no way of avoiding it, she was going to have to get a massage. Of course, this was no easy task. There were massage parlors, and "massage parlors". Then there was the job of finding one where they kept their hands purely to the parts of a young lady that were proper. And of course, no place with the word 'natural' anywhere in it's description. Those were the kind of places where they expected you to remove your clothing and smear all sorts of awful things all over you. The search had been long and arduous, but, as she straightened up and rubbed her back, Bebe consoled herself that at least it would be worth it.
The sentiment stayed until she reached the door of the small shop, and was replaced by a feeling of aggravated confusion. The energy signal she felt from inside, if that wasn't the negaverse, she didn't know what was. But why? Surely no agent would stroll in and demand a quick rub down in their powered up form. The idea was ludicrous. Curious feet guided her around the back of the building, to the service entrance and dingy backstreet. As long as she remained in her civilian identity, she couldn't be detected, but as she drew out a hairpin to insert it in the keyhole, she paused. There was no reason to creep in like a common thief, or some kind of undercover enemy. Whoever was in there was a fellow soldier of the negaverse, and she'd make a fine first impression indeed, sulking around the back entrance.
Standing up and inserting her hairpin firmly back into spot, she brushed the front of her dress off, shifted into Sugilite, and hesitated again. Clearly something undercover was going on inside the shop, and if she were to burst in the front door and disrupt it all, heaven knows how much trouble she would be in. Better to let herself in quietly at the back, and see the situation before charging in. Reluctantly, she withdrew the pin again and in a few seconds slipped into the shop, drawing the door closed behind her.
Inside, she listened intently. The back of the shop was silent and for the most part, filled with dim lighting. Pushing past a broom and pail, she found her way to a door and cracked it open, fighting not to breathe. At first glance the room seemed empty, but she soon picked up the people lying limp on various massage beds. Of course! Genius! Sugilite almost beamed in pride for her colleges. The idea was so much more practical than hunting down people to drain, and they wouldn't even attempt to resist. Pushing open the door, Sugilite slipped through into the main room, and looked around. If the people were here, where was the agent that the energy signal was coming from? Eager to meet the brains behind the plan, and aware that she should probably announce herself before any misunderstandings happened, she cleared her voice and called out.
"ahem ... hello?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 8:58 am
Captain Painite felt the spark of an aura nearby, and looked at the door as Sugilite slipped into the room. She was only worried because she didn't want someone who might be a spoil sport slipping in to tell her to leave. The energy signature was that of a Nega, at least, which was good.
Still, some were less inclined to play and take risks than others.
Not that Painite considered this a risk. Yes, she was working in the middle of the day, but none of the people current in the building would remember what happened, and she was even making money for them. If the folks really enjoyed their nap, they might even be back again.
Unlikely, considering how awful being drained was said to make people feel, but hey.
"Why hello there," Painite grinned, "care for a massage?"
She winked, motioning around the room. It seemed the Lieutenant was new, or at least new to Painite. She loved meeting new people of the Negaverse, and took this opportunity to make a cool first impression.
"What do you think of the set up? A legitimate business for once. True enough, I think the customers might start complaining after a while, but for now it certainly works. I'm Painite." She was all smiles and she offered her hand, coming over to the Lieutenant directly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:58 am
Sugilite took in the slight, short haired woman and blinked. She looked more like a librarian than a warrior, but a quick glance down reminded Sugilite that appearances in this battle meant nothing.
Automatically she bobbed a curtsy as the woman stepped forward, then hesitating at the hand offered. Instead she mirrored the friendly smile and turning, made a sweeping gesture of approval over the room. Turning back to the woman, she eagerly clasped her hands together and spoke rapidly, the words tumbling out with enthusiasm.
"Why, I think it's perfectly fantastic, I nearly walked right into it myself - though I do apologise for the back door intrusion. You must understand, I wasn't certain if there were any civilians active in the entrance. My name is Sugilite, it's quite an unexpected pleasure to meet you. If there's anything I could do to assist, it would be my pleasure."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:42 pm
Painite smiled, not fussed that the younger girl was nervous and not quite sure what to do with herself. If that, indeed, what was going on. In either case, she didn't mind.
Especially when she was getting compliments.
"Did you really? That would have been amazing," she laughed. It wouldn't be the first time she managed to catch one of her own in her traps. And not likely the last, but that was part of the fun.
"You want to help me out, do you? I'm always glad to have some help! Alright, how about you take a stab at the next patron to come in? I'll pretend to be busy with one of the others. All you need to do is sweet talk them, get the money for the massage for however long they want, and bam! There's a chart on the desk next to the register for prices. I pretend to be showing them, but I use it, too. Oh! And it doesn't matter if you give them a massage or just drain them. They're not going to remember any of this in the morning. So have fun with it!"
She loved dragging people into her games, and lost no time in giving Sugilite her role. It was a dangerous thing, offering Painite help. She was fully capable of taking that offer and running it thin.
"You're my apprentice massager... masseuse, alright?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 1:08 pm
Sugilite paused for a moment. She had never actually interacted with civilians in her negaverse form, mostly limiting her interactions to sneaking up behind them and gently knocking their head in with a plank of wood before draining them. Even in most of her other dubious escapades, she had been sure to dress up in a costume to hide behind. Of course, it wasn't as if the first civilian who came in would take one look at her and run out screaming, or transform into a senshi. Looking at this, it was a perfect opportunity to get over her inexplicable 'stage fright' in her nega form. Stepping forward, she nodded and clenched her fists energetically.
"It sounds like a perfectly lovely scheme to me, I'd be delighted to give it a go. Shall I head around to the front desk?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 1:37 pm
Painite couldn't help the surge of excitement that always came before executing a plan. It didn't matter that she was, in fact, already in the middle of a ploy and this new level of it, with Sugilite helping her, was a plot within a plot. Inceplot.
It was still invigorating. Those poor civilians would never know what hit them, and that was the best part. Pulling off stuff like this, gathering a good handful of energy for the cause and enjoying herself in the process, was the eptiome of a good day.
And now she had company, which was even better.
"Yes, please," she said with a grin, nodding her head. She moved to one of the unconscious civilians, flopping them over onto their stomach so she could pretend to be giving him a massage. Soon enough a person walked in. They looked frazzled and tired, and went to the front desk to see if a massage might help their insomnia and stress.
"H-hi," the stumpy young man said, his thinning hair combed over to the side in an effort to keep up some appearances. It was too short to reach across his early bald spot, however. "I would like a m-message please, miss." He wasn't sure how these things worked, but he looked at the woman at the counter, Sugilite, with only slight confusion.
Was this place themed? She seemed to be wearing some strange clothes...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 7:34 pm
Steering herself to the front counter, Sugilite spent several moments staring seriously at the massage price list, intent on memorizing all it contained. She was so intent on this that when the young man stepped in, she didn't register his existence until he spoke. Starting up, her face switched from intent concentration to a rather overpowering smile as though a switch was flicked.
"Ooooh, hello! Welcome to -"
For a moment her mind wildly spun, the name of the store having dropped clean out of it at the realization of another Negaverse soldier on the premises. A flash had it back again, and she rushed on, the pause having been barely noticeable. As she spoke her eyes sharply scrutinized the man behind the safety of her glasses, taking in the deep bags between his eyes and tense posture.
"- the Sweet Suns Body Health and Relaxation Parlour! Would you like one of our special deep energy relaxation and restorative massages? We have prices depending on the length of time desired, but even the shortest massage will leave you quite well rested and invigorated!"
Picking up the page she had been staring at it, she flourished it at the man with an energetic bounce.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:55 am
Painite watched out of the corner of her eyes as the unsuspecting civilian was about to be taken for the ride of his life. She wanted to see how Sugilite would handle herself, with the few direction she had received so far. It was key to see if the girl could sink or swim, and Painite would step in if it became clear that her new companion was not buoyant.
There was a long pause and she tensed, readying to play life guard.
Then Sugilite provided a name and Painite had to bite back a laugh, nodding her head in approval. She seemed to fill the roll effortlessly enough, and that was a good thing. Already Painite felt a swell of pride, just because the girl knew how to improvise, and hadn't needed any help. That was a good skill to have, and it would make this so much more fun.
She grinned.
The man looked at the paper and nodded his head. "I'll... I'll t-take the best one you have. I just... I need some h-help. I can't sleep-p you see. I would like to... to sleep."
Painite grinned as she listened, pretending to be giving an already unconscious civilian a hell of a massage. They could certainly help this guy with his goal, at least: he'd get the best sleep of his life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:39 am
Being able to sleep, Sugilite sympathized with the man. Although of course, her lack of sleep was through a busy night of work, the condition was still the same. If only she could find some caring young soul to drain her energy, then she too could take the cure! It was a good thing she was already smiling, otherwise the quiet chuckle she allowed herself would have seemed strange.
"Oh sir, you don't know how many of our customers come complaining of the very same thing! Rest assured, we can help you with that."
Taking the money, and through some wildly lucky guesswork, getting the register to open and depositing it inside was a small adventure in its own rights, but Sugilite felt that, as she shut it with a small ding, it hadn't been too conspicuous. Besides, the man was a walking zombie, she doubted he'd notice if she suddenly decided to do a handstand.
As she lead the man to the backroom, she glanced over at Painite, rubbing down one of her previous victims. This was the hard part. Sugilite had never received or given a massage in her life. She had seen girls at school give each other a rub on the shoulders but apart from that, she had been blissfully unaware of how things were done.
Part of her drew back in disgust at the idea of something so coarse as giving a (possibly unmarried) man a couple of kneads in the back, but she shushed it fiercely. This wasn't a place where she needed to worry about things like that, this was where she needed to get her head in the game. Her eyes flickered back to Painite as she helped the man up onto a bed, her eyes taking in the motions the woman was performing with her hands. Just ... do that for a short while, and get to the draining as fast as possible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:49 am
Painite watched and was surprised Sugilite got the register opened with what seemed to be almost practiced ease. Or that she was still a new employee getting used to the way things worked. Still, far more capable than someone who had never seen the register before and was just poking buttons randomly.
As Painite had done earlier.
The man, for his part, didn't notice. He was looking at what Painite was doing and thought it looked very nice. The person she was working on looked ridiculously comfortable, and dead asleep. Luckily, he wasn't either of those things. He was just unconscious, well drained of as much energy as she could take without actually killing him.
Better to let them live, so they can recover and be drained again later.
Painite nodded her head encouragingly, even giving her silent tips that she imagined the girl was looking for, as the other Negaverse agent got her victim, or rather customer, onto the table. She watched as the guy climbed up and laid down, already looking like he was ready to go to sleep. He needed a nap. It was in his head that he was going to be relaxed, and he already seemed to be falling to sleep. He would be a piece of cake.
Once she started draining him, the massage wouldn't matter any more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:49 pm
A small shiver of dislike was the only sign that Sugilite showed of her reluctance to touch this man, then her hands rested on the back of his shirt and she willed herself to be all business. It was an amateurish massage, to say the least, but Sugilite didn't plan to give the man time to notice. As soon as her fingers touched his back she was already pulling the energy out, as subtle as she could will herself to be, under the circumstances.
It was really the same as always, with a small voice inside yelling at her to rip it all out, and the starseed, as fast as possible and be done with it. Why take time messing around? But the louder, calm voice that presided over her every action would firmly reply that it was not ladylike to rush, nor to stick your hand in someone's chest and pull out their soul. So as usual, she neither rushed nor tore out their starseed in impatience. Maybe she was rougher than Painite, but that could easily be attributed to a lack of training and the habit of cornering people in alleys before draining them. Hopefully, it was gentle enough for the task.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:13 pm
The man was out like a light soon enough. At first he was snoring, but that soon grew quiet as he fell into a deeper unconsciousness and his energy curled into a ball in her palm.
Painite laughed and clapped her hands together once, hopping over to the Lieutenant and grinning at her broadly.
"Good show! You were a natural at that. I am very impressed with your willingness to play!" She laughed and clapped Sugilite on the shoulder heartily in encouragement. Painite loved it when a plan came together, and this one had gone almost flawlessly. Maybe some little blips, but Painite had always been good with improv, and rolling with the punches.
And Sugilite showing up unexpectedly had been a good thing, not a bad, so she didn't count that. She grinned broadly.
"it's rare, finding people who can and will join in on little games like this. Would you be interested in doing it again some time? Or perhaps training a bit, and exchanging ideas? Who is your captain?" Excitement made a lot of words, mostly in the form of questions, spill from her mouth eagerly and almost on top of one another.
But she figured Sugilite would catch the important parts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 7:47 am
As she released the man, Sugilite unconsciously raised one hand to her brow and wiped it. Not bad, it had been quite fun even! Leading your prey on like that, completely oblivious to the last moment. And certainly more of what she considered a proper method of acquiring energy, compared to thumping some smelly person in an alley. She could certainly get used to it.
"Why thank you! I do love the chance to practice improv, wherever possible. It is quite stimulating to the nerves."
Rocking forward slightly when Painite clapped her on the back, she gave a thoughtful smile back at the grinning woman. It seemed like she had acquired some sort of ally through this. And if this woman was fond of setting up tricks and traps like this, Sugilite didn't half mind. In fact, it pleased her. Catching the questions as they were flung at her, she did her best to send returning answers back.
"Ah, well I'd certainly love to give you my assistance in the future, yes that would be quite pleasing! And I suppose one should never say no to training, though I do admit I'm not the most eager to engage in combat. As for my captain, I'm afraid I'm not quite certain. I generally just report in to whoever happens to be around at the time, the system seems to be a bit of a mess."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:44 am
Painite felt even more tickled when Sugilite confirmed that she liked Improv, maybe as much as the steampunk attired Captain did. That just made things even better, and she laughed eagerly at that.
"Well then!"
She knew that some negaverse agents inevitably would not like to fight. She had to practice day and night, as diligently as she could, to get her skills up to something she deemed passable. Even so, fist fighting wasn't her go to method of dealing with any one or any thing. If she could catch something in a trap, then so much the better.
A well thought out plan was always a better way to go.
"Then, if you'd like, you can report to me. Captain Painite, in case I forgot to mention it, or all the excitement drove it out of your head. I can't remember, either, so there it is." She laughed, "I would love to have your help in my plans, as I think you have a mind that is well suited for this kind of stuff, and you'll help me come up with even better plans then something so simple as taking over a massage parlor."
She offered her hand for a handshake.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
