|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:12 am
"This looks like a good place to start," Zia said, standing on the flat roof of an abandoned office building, extending her arms to stretch and inhaling the night air. Normally she'd be on four legs for night prowling, but since it was Chris she had suckered into 'training' she didn't think that would be the best face to wear while dealing with him. As long as there was no breaking b***h fit, she could seamlessly shift between wise old Zirc and patient Zia anyway, and it would be better to just encompass that all with her familiar civilian presence.
But she at least wanted Chris totally on the up and up. If he was going to be transforming into a Page of Jupiter, she at least wanted him competent enough to stay alive. She didn't want him training with the BMC but she did want him training. Non-negotiable.
So here she was, at least dressing for the occasion. Instead of the usual skirt and heels she was wearing jeans, comfortable shoes, and a dark hoodie. She learned early on that waging battle, or at least running away from battle, in heels was just stupid.
"It's safe now. You wanna shift into your fancy furs?" She asked, making a light jab. This time, she intended on getting a better look. Azzo had Cronus' symbol, or at least her counterpart's, and she had seen a page of Hermes' counterpart as well. Whichever one Chris belonged to was definitely a point of curiosity.
"Just so we're clear, we're not going to be looking for any fights," She warned, "If you catch a blip, turn and run the other way." It was always uncertain, if fights with youma would turn out favorably. The last one they ran into had ended with a sprain and some bumps and bruises for Zia, and even though they already healed in record speed, she wasn't in the mood for that kind of action. And that was just youma. She had no doubt a captain would easily dispatch them both if they were cornered.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:13 am
"Is this normal...? Or legal...?" Chris asked warily as he made his way up the last two rungs of the escape ladder Zia had decided to lead him up. "I don't suppose it'll be quite the same on the ground, huh...?" It wasn't that he was afraid of heights or anything like that... He just... preferred both of his feet on the ground. He had more control that way. It wasn't up to chance or skill or whatever that way.
He looked around a little nervously as his friend spoke to him, wearing similar attire to hers. The jeans he rarely wore and some old sneakers and a dark hoodie — which had been difficult to find since he apparently only owned one that didn't have anything DCU on it. Did he want to be there? Not really, but he'd always been unable to tell Zee 'no', regardless of what it was. He'd ended up in the mall, shopping for hours upon hours of his life over the past eight years, so creeping around in the middle of the night wasn't all that much different, now was it? Okay, maybe a little.
"Oh man, I was so looking forward to fighting," he grumbled sarcastically, glancing around to make sure there really wasn't anyone around, before focusing on himself as a knight. The sensation of warmth and power that came with being Valhalla quickly and easily washed over him, and while he had only changed into his other self a handful of times, he was finding it easier to shift from one form to the other. It was almost as if it was in his genetic makeup or something...
Valhalla frowned at the old looking compass in his hand, for a few moments. Was this really his weapon? Camelot at least got a shield. Him? He got some crummy old compass.
"North is that way, if you were wondering," he grumbled, nodding towards the horizon as he made his way over to where Zia was standing, holding his arms out and sighing. "Go ahead," he said, not bothering to hide the half-mock exasperation in his voice. He knew she'd wanted to get a good look at him the next time he powered up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 12:46 pm
"It's as legal as it needs to be," Zia shrugged. "It's a better vantage point from up here. The alleyways and the park are easier places to be ambushed. At least here if we sense a youma, we can just look over to see what's going on." Admittedly, that was more for her benefit. Zirconia had a habit of putting 'Oh god, let's go watch what the monster's doing!' above 'Hey, I think that thing can kill us...'
At the 'go ahead' she was suddenly in her usual violation of personal space, looking at the Jupiter sign on his costume. "Zeus..." She mumbled under her breath and reached out to roll a strand of the fur on his collar between two of her fingers, half wanting to see if it was really real. "You kind of look like a little viking.." Calling Chris 'little' wasn't something she had planned on doing in this lifetime, at least not after he hit that massive growth spurt, but it looked like something a big guy with comic book anatomy should be in.
"Don't worry," She said, giving him a pat on the back. "Maybe it'll be like for senshi. You start off with something useless and after you get some experience you'll upgrade to something else," She was also half hoping, if that was the case, it'd be like his awakening, because she really didn't want to mess with his starseed for upgrading. For now, until she had more info on the knights, she would just consider him a male senshi with no miniskirt.
"Come on, let's go this way, I'll show you all the hotspots," She announced, pointed to the next building on the street, getting a running start and jumping over the alleyway to walk along the edge and wait for him to follow. It felt so weird doing this as a free standing human, but considering she had spent most nights of the last several months running around the city like it was a playground, she was moving with all the bravery and balance of her cat form.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 9:30 am
Valhalla frowned and rolled his eyes at being called little, although he didn't make any comment about it. He wasn't all that thrilled about looking like he was some kind of viking... although he was even less thrilled about wearing a dead animal... or two...
He was also tempted to ask about why she mentioned Zeus, but thought he would just get in trouble with her other side for bringing up more mythology into something that... apparently didn't match up with the mythology he knew. Hey, it matched up pretty well to him! Zeus was the Greek name for Jupiter... but whatever.
"What is a Senshi, anyway...?" he wondered, feeling rather out of the loop for being a super hero thing or whatever he was. "And what do you mean upgrade? Are you saying I won't always have this dinky compass? ...Why is it saying that way is north now...? Is this thing broken??" he sputtered, shaking the tarnished golden object in his hand, although he was pretty sure that wouldn't help it.
He looked up just in time to see her jumping over an alley, he fur on his vest... thing... all but raising on end as he stiffened in horror. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! You're going to break your neck! And I am not carrying you to a hospital in this outfit!" he said, doing his best to keep his voice low, but it was a little difficult when watching your best friend doing something dangerous. Hot spots or not, he didn't think this was a good idea.
Stopping at the edge of the building, he glanced over the side, frowning at how far down it was. "You're expecting me to just... jump across buildings...?" he frowned across at her, still not convinced, even though she obviously didn't break her neck.
This time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:50 pm
Zee just put her hands on her hips, staring from across the small gape between the two close buildings. "I like to think I know what I'm doing considering I've been running around like this for almost a year," She snorted, completely ignoring the hypocrisy of her lingering at the closest edge to catch him because she didn't trust him not to break his neck. Even more hypocritical, if he was a BMC senshi she wouldn't have been worried, and if they managed to not make the sad, little jump, she probably would've said something harsh like how they aren't BMC material because they fail so hard.
"Senshi! They're the main heroes. The ones in the skirts. They're tied to a planet, and they have magic based powers. They also have minor strength and speed boosts, which if you also have, you should be able to hopscotch right over this thing." Jeez, even a human could probably make it with a running start.
"They have ranks... moving up increases their power. The negaverse officers have ranks too, so maybe you have something to move up to? I mean, you have a 'weapon'," Finger quotes, "So you're loser to negas than senshi as far as combat. But you're not evil like a nega..." UGH, mutants were so confusing.
"Anyway, you're definitely not a senshi, because there's already a Jupiter senshi! I think she's dead, though. Which also makes it weird."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:09 am
If he'd known he was the special exception to her worrying, he probably wouldn't know whether to be offended or flattered, but as he listened to her talk about senshi and negaverse people, he took a few steps back, before making a running start to jump over the gap, easily clearing it. Ah, so he could jump farther than before.
"Woah... that's convenient..." he said, more to himself than Zia as he turned around to face her again. Okay, so he could jump farther than he was expecting, but... still, he didn't like watching her and expecting her to fall.
"Wait, I'm a knight for a senshi who is already dead??" he sputtered not really understanding why he would be awakened and 'called to duty' for a person who was already dead. "And I'm not a senshi because I don't have magic, but I'm not a negaverse officer because I'm not evil... How can you tell I'm not evil?" he suddenly wondered, not really knowing how he'd feel if he was suddenly evil. He still had control over what he thought and did, unlike Zee, but what made the difference between him and the negaverse officers if he had a 'weapon' like they did?
"And do they at least get better weapons? Because this is pathetic," he grumbled, brandishing the compass at her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 1:23 pm
Zia had a minor freak out as he made it over the alleyway, hands snapping up to grab him and half expecting him to fall, but instead they ended up just brushing his back as he moved past her and dropping behind her back the second he turned around to face her. Her wide eyed expression was the only evidence she'd even spazzed, and she was going to try and pretend that totally didn't happen.
"I guess I don't know for sure that she's... you know, dead dead..." Zia admitted, and this time it was her turn to rake through the foreign memories of her other soul. "Back in the 90s, Zirconia was here. She fought with her and her team in Japan. But it's my understanding now that her and her Moon Queen are missing in action and presumed dead."
She gave him a stupefied look at the question as far as his alignment on the good/evil scale. "Well, Negaverse officers are corrupted by chaos. It's like a disease. And I can feel it. Besides, I think you would've noticed someone reaching into your chest to mess with your starseed in order to turn you into one. Or, you know, that you were evil," She rambled, complete with a funny 'monster' pose at that last sentence.
"They get better weapons. At least I'm pretty sure they do. The Lieutenants all have some pretty laughable training weapons, but the captains I've met all have something more.. uh... murdery," She said with a cringe. Generals were a mystery, as the only one she'd seen in person was Tanzanite and she was a little more complicated to pin down as part of the patterns.
In the end she just flopped her arms agaisnt her sides and gave a bewildered shrug. "I honestly can't say anything for sure. We don't have knights or negaversers in my uni-- in Zirconia's universe."
She suddenly felt awkward and start wracking her brain for a subject change, and was given one by a loud yell. Her knee-jerk reaction was "Oh s**t," Assuming she had missed an approaching enemy, but after concentrating, she realized she wasn't picking up a youma... or any energy signature for that matter. Sometimes she forgot humans were capable of causing their own problems.
"Stay here, I'll go check it out," She said, that 'Chris is precious and made of porcelain' hypocrisy showing without her realizing it. she made a slightly further jump, catching herself on a window ledge and jumping onto the fire escape from there to climb over, and then peek over and see if she could see where the commotion was coming from.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 5:27 am
She wasn't going to freak out every time he jumped over an alleyway, was she? Or did anything potentially dangerous? Why did she even bring him out there? She could have just as easily found a way to lock him in his apartment to prevent him from ever getting out and bring him takeout through her mirrors or windows, even. Not that he could say anything, since he tended to freak out over her, as well, but still.
"Oh, not dead dead. Great," he grumbled, mumbling something under his breath about zombies and undead superheros. He sometimes wondered if she ever got tired of his bitterness at things sometimes. Around others, he tried to at least be somewhat optimistic about things, but around her... He was probably just too comfortable around her.
He did shiver from a sudden chill, though, reaching up to place his own hand over his chest, not liking the idea of someone reaching into his chest. That's how they did it...? They messed with their starseed...? "Okay, so I'm not evil, but... jeez..." No wonder why these people apparently had problems with the rest of the world. They were turned into what they were because someone reached into their chest to... do all that. Willingly or not, it must be a pretty disgusting feeling.
Valhalla blinked and sputtered when Zia told him to stay where he was and then ran off. What the hell?
"Yeah right," he frowned, following after her, watching as she jumped onto the ledge and then onto the fire escape, before taking a step back and jumping as well. He managed to get on the ledge okay, but stumbled a bit once he got on the second landing, grabbing onto one of Zee's shoulders to steady himself. "Sorry..." he whispered, not wanting to ruin whatever it was she was doing. "What is it??" He asked, not really sure where the yell had come from.
At least not for a few moments. "There!" he said, pointing down in the alley a little ways away from them. It was dark, but it looked like someone was getting mugged. Moving over to the railing, Valhalla grabbed onto the edge, hopping over and making the final drop to the ground, letting out a little 'oof' as he landed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:35 pm
Zia glossed over pretty much all of Chris's bitter responses, at the least, rolling her eyes and at the most, turning her optimism up to eleven to cancel it out, but she definitely wasn't irked. Maybe slightly thanks to Zirconia's influence, but for the most part And temperamental behavior from Chris got little more than an 'oh, you~' out of her.
Some things you just get numb to and stop even noticing.
She didn't notice him follow until he grabbed her shoulders, and her instinctive reaction was to whirl around and grab onto him like he would lose his balance at any minute. She flushed a little and let him go, writing it off as another reaction she would pretend didn't happen, especially with the awkward way she'd nearly groped at him.
"Jesus, Chris," She hissed, unable to say anything else since he spotted what was going on. Great. A mugging.
"Chris!" She called out in a hoarse attempt to whisper and yell at the same time before following suit, feeling the surprising shock shoot through her legs as they hit the asphalt. She tried not to react, but the weight of falling in her full form wasn't expected. Usually she was 22 pounds, fluffy, and landed with eased lightness.
"Damn it, Chris, you don't know if they have a knife or a gun or what! You're stronger than before, but you're not immortal!" She chided, hands in the air and dropping suddenly when she very distinctly heard the sounds of the beating stop and someone say, "Hey! Who's there?!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 7:21 am
His initial reaction to Zia dropping down beside him was to panic, not thinking she was actually able to do that. Maybe as a cat, sure, but not as his longtime friend! Of course, once she started nagging him, he rolled his eyes. He should have known she would have been fine.
"What? I'm not immortal? Didn't get the memo, I guess," he snarked back, flexing his feet since he hadn't expected it to be as rough as he'd thought. For a superhero, they didn't get a lot of cushioning in their shoes, did they?? "And should you be calling me that?" he dropped his voice to a hiss when the man's voice called out to them. "It's Valhalla! Valhalla!" he grumbled, shifting awkwardly on his feet now that they'd been noticed, sort of, and he wasn't really sure what to do.
"Drop your weapon and put your hands in the air," he spoke up, dropping his voice like he heard his father do when he was in 'business mode', grabbing Zia by her arm and pushing her more into the shadows. If they did have a weapon, he didn't want Zee getting put in the crossfire or whatever. She was just a cat, right? She couldn't do anything as just Zee, could she?
And he'd never done this before! He didn't know what he was doing! But he was hoping that he could maybe scare the guy enough to back away, and then they can chase him down and turn him into the police. That's why they were there, right?? To protect the city from criminals?? Or was he confusing what they were for, like, Superman or Batman? He happened to think he would make an awesome Batman. Except his parents weren't dead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:53 am
"Sorry!" Zia hissed back, realizing her mistake. She didn't mean to, it was just so hard to think of him as 'Valhalla'. Especially when she was lashing out without thinking.
When she saw movement off across the say she squinted. A large figure was approaching, another one limping away as fast as possible. Oh, well, maybe they'd call 911? Still, the big guy was strutting over at an uncomfortable speed for her tastes.
When Valhalla went into business mode and pulled her back, she went back without struggling, taking a few steps back of her own volition while one of her hands was grasping at the air behind her, hoping someone threw something useful away back here.
Was a full length mirror too much to hope for? Probably.
Her eyes never the enemy, though, especially when her noticed the glint of a knife in his hand. Zirconia was already trying to ease her into thinking 'oh, at least it's not a gun or magical powers.'
Valhalla's demand was met with a laugh and some brandishing. Yeah, asking nicely wasn't going to work. "Fancy outfit. You and your little lady just get back from convention?"
Zirconia was urging on a brawl, as usual. Mental cheers about bashing his brains in pulsed through her skull before they could even get their hands on something to actually use. Zee would have to think later on how often Zirconia just plain got her a** kicked when she was younger.
And suddenly salvation! Someone had tried to open an old metal chest back here with a crowbar, and they were apparently unsuccessful because the tool was still wedged in it. grabbing it with both hands and slamming her boot against the chest, she made a frantic effort to get it out before Chris could talk the mugger into stabbing them both.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:49 am
Erk, okay, so that could have gone a bit better than what he was expecting. He was hoping for the guy to just... you know... drop his weapon and put his hands up. Maybe not.
Instead, he was greeted with a rather large mand and a knife. Oh lovely. That was definitely what he wanted to deal with tonight. But he would have to agree with Zirconia. At least it wasn't a gun or magical powers. Not that he had seen magical powers other than the cat shooting some kind of energy from her forehead, but still.
Either way, Valhalla clasped onto the compass in his hand, as though hoping it would do something badass about now. Or anything. That would be good, too. He couldn't really see them getting out of this situation unless they ran for it. But then the criminal would get away and then there would be no justice done for the person who could very well be seriously injured. No, he couldn't allow that to happen. He had to do something.
"I am not a police officer," he said slowly and loud enough for the man to hear what he was saying and that he was serious, holding up his hands to show that he was unarmed. A compass was hardly enough to arm him... Unless he used it as a projectile, of course... but then he'd be without a compass.
"But I am effecting a citizen's arrest. Remain where you are until the authorities arrive," he told the man, really wishing that he'd called the police ahead of time. Zia had her phone on her, right...? Calling them would be nice about now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 12:13 am
"Are you serious?"
Zia was ready to say that, but the unknown threat managed to beat her too it, probably in a more scary voice and definitely more irritated voice. At least to her. God he was making her nervous, but, on some level, it occurred to her he was just a human. A big human, but still, she eventually had an epiphany and it was that without some Nagaforce army or Chaos or any kind of magical boost whatsoever... He was only human.
A human who had gotten over his stupification and made his move. "God, Ch-- Valhalla, don't stand there like an idiot!" Zee yelled, making one last desperate kick at the trunk and stumbling backwards before she realized she was finally holding a very swingable hunk of metal in her hand.
But she was already backed up and out of the action, so in the hopes of getting his attention off of Chris, she picked up a fist sized chunk of asphalt and concrete and hurled it at his head.
Bullseye! Too bad this wasn't a cartoon because then he would totally be unconscious instead of snarling a whole bunch of insults about the stupid c**t who just gave him a goose egg the size of Canada. Zee gripped the battered crowbar with both hands and assumed a 'bring it on' stance and a look of unafraid arrogance before mentally slapping herself and thinking about Zirconia and her apparent mission to get them both killed.
Suddenly, Big Guy was coming at her. She swung and hit his shoulder, and swiped at her with that frightening buck knife, and she fell over against the alleyway wall. He'd nicked mostly cloth and hoodie, but managed to get a little bit of of her side too. Thankfully it was mostly a miss and she didn't even feel it with all that adrenaline. His fist following the blade hit her, though, even if on accident, and the force of hitting the wall was enough to stun her for half a second, just long enough to be kicked before she knew what hit her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 9:13 am
Well, he thought he'd been serious, but apparently the big guy didn't agree with him. Huh... guess he should have called the police first, after all.
Valhalla took a nervous step back when the man came at him, his six feet doing nothing against the larger man. His fists were up to defend himself, but that was before Zia decided to try and get his attention. Was she crazy?! Why was she trying to fight him? Valhalla didn't even realize the man had completely bypassed him until he saw him swipe at Zee.
"Hey!", he shouted, running towards the man as he kicked his friend, lunging at him to grab the man around his neck, attempting to pull him back. It worked for the most part — he at least got him to stagger away from Zia and keep her from getting kicked or hit again. In any normal situation, Valhalla would realize what a dumb idea it was to attack a man with a weapon, but when his best friend was being hurt, and adrenaline pumping through his veins, he couldn't just stand there and watch.
"Help! Someone! Call the police!" he tried, keeping his arm around the man's neck as he pulled him away from Zia.
"You little b***h," the man growled, a hand finding its way over his shoulder to grip onto Valhalla's hair, and he let out a small yelp of pain as he found himself being thrown off of the man's back and onto the floor of the alley.
Everything seemed to fade to black for a moment, his ears ringing and his head spinning as he tried to push himself up on his elbows. His head had hit the wall, but he didn't think it was enough for a concussion... Just painful. Of course, his reaction time needed some work, because the man was already over top of him, his leg up in the air as he prepared to stomp down on him. Well, s**t.
The man's other leg was close to his own, and Valhalla aimed a quick kick to the man's knee, causing him to fall with a yelp on top of him. He might have managed to keep himself from having any broken ribs from being stomped on, but the sudden shot of pain that raced through his body let him know he didn't get away from it unscathed.
His arms had been up and crossed to keep the weight of the man off of him, but as he fell, his knife found its way to the outside of his left shoulder, just below the fur lining. The man didn't stop long enough to care, though, since he was now even more pissed that he'd been knocked down, and as he pushed himself to his knees, he drew his knife up to bring it down at the little punk who thought it was a good idea to take him on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:09 pm
"Uggh," Zia curled forward to pick her upper torso off the wall behind her and rubbed the back of her head, taking a moment to get a hold of her surroundings, which, apparently a lot happens in a moment.
Stumbling to her feet and rolling her shoulders, she felt a wave of rage wash over her, rage that was oddly familiar. Rage that had spawned plenty of physical brawls back in her younger da-- those are not her days. She'd remind herself if there wasn't so much happening. While the hulking figure was over Chris, she reached for that battered crowbar again, gripped it with both hands, and swung like a child in t-ball. Only, if, here, the 'ball' was this guy's head. She hit her target and felt the weird sensation of making contact all up through the iron in her fists, and with that, the figure fell to the side of the knight.
The pulsing pain in the side of her thigh where he'd kicked her reminded her of how pissed off she was and her tennis shoe collided with his jaw. Payback's a b***h, she rationalized in that triumphant moment.
She suddenly released a lung full of air she didn't ever realize she was holding in and various aches and pains she'd sustained from that little tussle crept up to the forefront of her mind upon the realization that their attacker was indeed unconscious.
"s**t," She muttered, spitting blood that had been pooling in her mouth to the asphalt. She was worried that she might've actually caused some kind of permanent damage to the guy's head, but, admittedly, a little more worried he had knocked one of her teeth loose in all that action.
"Are you okay?" She asked, sinking next to Valhalla. She tried to lean on her arm and get closer to his shoulder, but it collapsed under her and she barely caught herself. Ugh, maybe he nicked that side of her harder than she thought.
"Come on, I think I have an idea," She said, remembering the glow of a gas station sign nearby. She hauled herself to her feet and reached out a hand to help him. "We can call 911 and get out of here."
---------------------------
"Hey!" She said, using her best 'authoritative' voice and making she her hood was pulled down enough to shade the top half of her face. She had urged Chris not to power down, or at least try his best, so he had the glamour effect on his side, but Zee was having a hell of a time keeping her face off any security cameras and keeping most people from seeing her completely.
It just made the guy behind the counter jump and assume he was being robbed or about to be stuck in a weird, costumed gang shoot out. Zee didn't really care, though.
"There's a guy back in the alleyway, I think he needs help," She said, clinging to Valhalla with one arm and holding the other up to her nose when she saw the camera swivel in their direction. When the gas station worker picked up the phone and dialed 911, though probably for his own benefit, she rushed Chris to the ladies room and locked the door behind them to keep the guy from busting in and following those two suspicious, bleeding people.
There was a large plate mirror taking up the wall behind the counters and she sighed like it was the first good news she'd had all night. "Hold on," She said, hoisting herself up on the counter and grabbing Chris around his ribs, flinging them both through it to collapse into the plush, welcoming carpet of her bedroom.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
