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 Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 12:57 pm
Kess' address wasn't common knowledge.
This was for good reason. Unlike many, she had enemies and friends that had nothing to do with her Powered persona. All in all, she had a code she followed, and it served her well. Most of the community liked her, and she wasn't on any particular 'wanted' list by larger drug rings or by law enforcement. She operated small time, and she liked it that way.
Unfortunately, that meant that, on occasion, she had to deal with thugs. Kess had been dealin' since she was in middle-school, and she'd had her stash stolen before. She'd gotten in fights before.
No biggie.
Or, at least, that's what she told herself, wiping blood from her nose and swollen mouth on the back of her freckled hand. She was getting too accustomed to that extra speed, that extra strength that came with her uniform, and of course, Kess gave people the benefit of the doubt, with her easy-going smile and sleepy dark eyes.
At least you knew the senshi were your enemies.
These three fellows were acquaintances, and Kess had to wonder if the girl who'd referred them had known they'd planned to jack her, rather then pay her.
Yes, Kess was a kickboxer. Yes, she was a soldier. However, she was never as stupid as people thought she was. Did she want to fight three guys for a bag of pot, when she could just give it up and blacklist them? No.
However, a boot to the stomach let her know that they weren't giving her the option.
Oh, well.
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:05 pm
Lina was not a stalker. That's what she was trying to tell herself as she slipped through what was clearly a seedier side of town. Anyone who knew this part of town would've called it by a large assortment of names ranging from projects to ghetto to just that part of town spoken in scandalized tones. The bluenette came from a part of town that was homey, comfortable, not privileged but certainly more advantageous than anyone who grew up on these rougher streets. The war that was waging between Order and Chaos wasn't really helping things either; it distracted the authorities from actual crime.
So maybe when she'd found out that Kess routinely made whatever kind of deliveries it was were needed down in this part of town, she'd decided to follow her a bit. The freckled blonde was one of the few things left in Daphne's life that gave her any sort of enjoyment whatsoever and somehow, the knight just didn't at all see Zac running around down here. Ever. But that didn't make her a stalker. It just made her concerned for the welfare of somebody who was fairly important to her. So much so that she felt the need to follow her around town and make sure nothing happened to ********, she was such a stalker.
Several nights now had been without incident but apparently, for once, her guilty conscience was going to be assuaged by the fact that Kess was indeed in trouble. Three punk-a** gangster thugs had her cornered down in an alley and though Lina had to admit that she was doing pretty well in holding her own, they were bigger, stronger. Meaner by a lot. Well it was good to know that if she couldn't find it in her to fight someone of her own strength class, she could at least pick on the little guy.
Dropping down into the alley Lina Knight rapped politely on a Dumpster to get the attention of the men currently pounding on one of her best friends. "Excuse me gentlemen, but I really think you should stop." They didn't seem to listen so she rapped again, harder this time, eyes going hard.
"No. Really. Stop."
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:13 pm
".... What the ********?" One of the boys was smart enough to notice, turning his head as he shoved his friend's shoulder, getting his attention, as well. "Hey, girl. Nothin' to see here, alright?"
"Yeah, just ******** off." The second guy [with a pretty impressive mustache, under other circumstances], sneered, shaking his head. "It's one of those costumed bitches."
The third guy had stopped pummeling the blonde, instead running his hand over her coat pockets to feel for a package, and failing to find it immediately, beginning to jerk open the zipper of the garment.
Kess stayed where she was, back against the wall, jean-clad butt firmly on the wet, gravel and glass covered cement. Her voice was surprisingly humorous, though perhaps, not to someone that knew her, and it sounded as if she was commenting on a TV show, rather than her own life.
"I'd bounce if I were y'all, she's some kind of hero." She didn't look like a senshi, and she definitely wasn't an officer. Of course, without the energy signature, it was hard to tell.
The guy who was ******** with her pockets, Eric, if she remembered right, promptly told her to shut up. Kess gave him a bloody grin. "It's on the left side, buddy."
Kess was as bad at being mugged as she was at being a girlfriend.
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:32 pm
Some kind of hero? Yeah that was probably the most accurate representation of who she was when it all boiled down. Not a villain but neither was she any kind of hero. Maybe she was some sort of Batman ******** when it was all said and done. Neither left nor right just wobbling her way down the middle. Really though now wasn't the greatest time in the world for inward, existential exploration of your psyche and where your morals lie. Now was pretty much time to kick some a** because her casual squeeze was getting roughed up in a dark alley by a trio of not-that-impressive thugs.
Perspective: Good To Have.
The first one didn't even really have a chance even if he had bothered to turn around and face her; Lina had him howling noisily as she used her Interference to fill his brain with noise. Seeing as she was less than ten feet away it was probably quite agonizing; she hoped it filled his ears for a month. Her fist to the back of his head sent him reeling nose-first into the brick with a sick crunching sound that was more than likely his nose. Even better.
Mustachio (as he has been assigned in her head) was a bit more difficult, swinging for all he was worth, and you could tell he wasn't just some backburner thug. He at least had spent some time somewhere learning exactly how to fight. Unfortunately for him this girl who wasn't even five and a half feet tall was supernaturally strong, decently trained, and had been in worse fights than this one. Her fist connected solidly with his stomach sending him down to choke on the ground with his very-obviously unconscious partner.
The one pawing Kess was her real target. He was the one who seemed to know what was going on, the ringleader, the one who had to be seriously discouraged if they were going to leave her alone in the future. Taking down middle and lower-rung thugs was nothing if you couldn't convince the brains to back the ******** off. "You can run and take your buddies now, or I can beat the s**t out of you. Your choice." Lina's voice was relatively mild, eyes suggesting that she hoped quite dearly he did not choose the former.
He obliged.
Lina toyed with him as she feinted, dodged, danced around him with a laugh that was almost entirely forced while tapping him lightly on the back of the head as she leapt over his head. "Chicken b***h, can't take on a real man?!" He growled at her and without warning, her foot snapped out in a rounding kick so that he flew down hard on top of his henchmen. Walking over, not even thinking about it, she aimed another cold-blooded kick straight to the ribs where she knew he'd break at least two in the shape of her glowing little foot.
"Get the ******** outta here and don't bother either of us again."
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:05 pm
Apparently, Kess thought that the Knight was speaking in the "royal tense," as she moved to include herself in the list of people that needed to get the ******** out of there. There was a slight grimace when she pushed her back against the wall, easing herself up. When her vision went dark around the edges, a hand planted against the wet brick for the time it took her sight to clear.
That done, she lifted the hem of her white v-neck, exposing a freckled abdomen as she wiped most of the blood from her face. It would be stained, but that wasn't new.
She was halfway down the alley before Lina had finished with Eric, not the type to stick around for a heart-to-heart. The lack of desire to crash her bike in an attempt to drive home, or power up with an enemy so nearby led her to tromping down the stairs to the subway.
Her house? 20 minute ride. Daph's? 5.
The choice was pretty clear. Luckily, the girl would probably be sleeping, and Kess could take a shower without incident.
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:58 pm
Turning to make sure that the damsel-in-distress was doing okay and no longer in considerable distress, Lina could only see a blonde head disappear down into the subway. Wait, the subway?! She was leaving without even saying hey, hi, or God forbid thank you?! The knight was two seconds from charging down into the subway herself to give Kess a piece of her mind when she remembered that not only was she not someone that the freckled young woman knew, she wasn't supposed to be stalking her.
What in the world would Kess think if some random-a** chick came storming down after her? That would probably have capped off the whole damn evening as the bluenette got blown off a second time by her not-girlfriend! Still the Daphne inside of her couldn't help but sulk at the thought that she'd saved that doofus' life and didn't even get a damned thank you for it.
Let Kess deal with her own damn problems from then on; she wasn't going to be the weird stalker anymore. Kess apparently didn't want her help, didn't need her help, and that was that! Climbing in through her bedroom window it was that she heard the downstairs shower running; Kess had let herself in to clean up? Probably thought that since the place was dark and quiet that Daphne was in bed. So instead of going downstairs to grill her friend about what had kicked her a** across town that night she stripped, changed, and crawled straight into bed.
What a shitty night.
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