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Since she joined the Negaverse, Lt. Kyanite had a packed schedule. She was grateful for it most days. These were people who wanted to help her not die. And she needed a lot of help in that regard. Still, it bruised her ego that her reputation in the Negaverse so far was sort of as a screw-up. What would Marthozite think if he was still alive to see her flounder?

In addition to the extra training sessions, the new lieutenant had received a particularly interesting offer. One of the generals said she would be willing to take Kyanite out into the field for some hands-on experience. Despite her misgivings, Kyanite felt safe hitting the streets with a general. It was like getting to practice bikeriding with training wheels.

Just before midnight, she made her way to the movie theater that Painite had suggested. She hadn't been there yet, but it was actually relatively close to where Quinn lived -- and where she was crashing currently. A bit on the punctual side that night, she hung in the crowd for a bit before slipping into the alley, transforming into Kyanite, and waiting patiently for the short-haired general to come by and show her the ropes. Painite had seemed nice enough when they first met. Kyanite could only hope that kept up.

Kyanite could feel the Chaos presence in her vicinity, but it was like trying to see in muddy water. Painite could have been a block away or right beside her -- it would have all felt the same. That didn't do anything to take the surprise out of her when the general suddenly piped up behind her. Lt. Kyanite whirled, hands poised for a fight, but relaxed immediately when she saw the semi-familiar face of Painite.

"Oh, yes," she said, though it was mostly a lie. Kyanite was nervous. She didn't like failing at things, but the Negaverse didn't seem particularly suited to her. She hoped that this outing with Painite might be a breakthrough for her... maybe.

Trying to put on her most confident airs, Kyanite slung her electrical cord over her shoulder and asked, "Where do we start?"

"A target, right!" Kyanite echoed, sounding a little less confident. Truth be told, she hadn't been in a proper battle. The closest she had come was an accidental run-in with Super Sailor Albali, but even then, the girl had only wanted to talk, not fight. It had been a lucky break -- and Kyanite wanted them to keep coming, especially after her failed performance in the battle at the senshi meeting.

Still, with Painite, she promised herself that she would do her best. "Learning through doing makes sense." More hollow words. In honesty, Kyanite liked to learn by reading, watching others try, or talking to her friends about their own experiences. It was hard for her to actually put herself out there willingly. Like it or not, that appeared to be something the Negaverse was going to ask her to do on a regular basis.

At least General Painite was promising her a safety net. Kyanite liked the idea of that -- something to catch her when she fell. Plus, she was being friendly! The arm-linking was definitely friendly. A smile crossed Kyanite's lips as the two women stalked toward the bar. A drunk patron? Kyanite could totally handle that! Confidence blossomed in her chest like a burgeoning rose.

And then Painite pointed to the bouncer.

Kyanite looked at the bouncer, then back to Painite, then to the bouncer. "Um, him?" she said, taking in the massive swell of muscles and sour expression. He was at least 6'3" and had to outweigh Kyanite by at least 100 pounds. "Maybe I should start smaller? With someone like... her!" Kyanite pointed to a very drunk blond girl teetering down the street in a minidress and platform heels. The wind could have knocked her over if it had been blowing strong enough.

No mistakes? Kyanite could not believe that to be true. Life was full of messy mistakes. Well, other people's lives. Hers mostly stayed the same... before the Negaverse. "But--" she interjected, but Painite was already gone. The lieutenant had a precious few seconds to gain her bearing before the general was back and asking her if she prepared for this.

Uh, no. She wasn't. But what choice did she have?

Kyanite nodded sharply. She hoped it looked confident. She would need to lie to herself pretty convincingly to psyche herself up for this. "So how are we going to--" Oh, did she just throw trash at... oh. Ohhhhh.

The bouncer rubbed his head gruffly and then swore. "HEY, YOU DUMB b***h!" he shouted. Kyanite watched him mutter something to the bouncer next to him. The guy nodded and assumed his position, freeing the offended bouncer to come after Kyanite. She turned to look to Painite for reassurance, but the general was gone.

Being called a "b***h" had rankled Kyanite, but not nearly enough to prepare for the full grown man marching toward her. His name tag said "RICK" but his face said "a*****e." Lt. Kyanite swayed uncertainly, her electrical cord sweaty in her hands. She tried to remember the inspirational words from Zinkenite, the sparring from Bismuthite, the youma knowledge from Howlite, and the courage from Painite.

Mostly she looked scared.

"Little girl, did you throw some ******** trash at me? You wanted my attention? Well, you ******** have it," Rick said, coming to a stop mere inches from her. He towered over her, and with his aggressive stance, it took all of Kyanite's nerve not to take a step backward. "I'm sorry, are you ******** mute? You thought it was funny to throw a can at a bouncer."

"I was just--"

"Just ******** what? Stupid? Drunk? A whore who plays a little rough?"

"Now, that is uncalled for, Rick," she said, put off by his tone. "I am not a whore, and you shouldn't talk to a girl like that."

Rick stared at her for a long second and then exploded with laughter. "You're a drunk b***h who ******** with a bouncer a bar for some unknown reason. I am pretty sure I can say whatever I want to you." He leaned closer, their noses nearly touching. "Or did you just want my attention?" One hand reached out touched her cheek and then flicked it. "I do like them a little desperate."

The stink of him, the aggression -- it triggered a flash of anger in Kyanite. She shoved both hands forward, knocking him backward at least a foot. Judging by the look on Rick's face, her strength was a surprise, but her nerve was the true insult. Without missing a beat, Rick backhanded her across the face hard enough to force her sideways. "I'll hit a girl," he said. "I'll hit her twice." He slapped her the other way.

With a grunt, Kyanite punched him in the face. A spurt of blood sprayed the pavement. "I said don't talk to me like that," she said, voice still shakey.

Rick straightened, dabbing at the blood streaming from his nose. "You stupid b***h," he swore. "You will regret that." Before he could hit her again, Kyanite took off running -- with Rick fast on her heels.

Where was Painite?

Rick was nowhere near as fast as the lieutenant. Even without her powers, Kyanite figured she could outrun him. So when Painite appeared in front of her, the Negaverse agent was the only one who saw her. "Stand my ground?" she said, but it was a question. "Stand my ground." Well, that was better.

The heavy thud of the muscled bouncer slapped against the pavement. Spinning on her heel, Kyanite charged back in that direction. She caught Rick just as he rounded the corner, clotheslining him to the ground. The strain smarted in her elbow, but Kyanite was in a frenzy. She leaped on his stomach with both feet, lost her balance, and toppled over.

In a flash, she scrambled back to her feet, just as Rick was groaning and sitting up. "I am not a b***h!" she shouted. It was her war cry, apparently. Flipping over the bouncer with unknown agility, she landed on the other side and whipped free her electrical cord. Kyanite looped it around Rick's neck, pulled it as taut as her arms could manage, and twisted it around his throat.

It seemed like Rick was trying to talk, but his airway was blocked. Sweat prickled on Kyanite's forehead. "I'm not a b***h!" she said again. Rick jabbed her in the stomach with his elbow, but the lieutenant took the blow, flinching. His face was turning red, purpling even. In a final attempt at freedom, Rick slammed his head backward, colliding hard with Kyanite's nose. Her cord fell loose, vision blurring.

"You crazy b***h!" Rick stuttered, wheezing.

While Kyanite tried to figure out which way was up, Rick took the opportunity to get the hell out of there. He stumbled over and over, but sprinted as fast as he could away from the lieutenant -- right toward Painite around the corner. Kyanite had sense enough to get to her feet and start to chase after him, albeit sluggishly.

Lt. Kyanite rounded the corner so quickly that she nearly collided with Rick. The bouncer shouted in pain, a sound pained and stretched. It echoed down the alleyway. Even over the thump of music inside the bar, Kyanite craned around the corner and saw two of the bouncers looking with concern in the direction that Rick had disappeared. Two of them had already begun to cross the street. Jesus, how many bouncers did this place have?

"Company's coming," Kyanite said quickly to Painite.

Rick crumpled to one knee, feebly clutching the end of Painite's staff where it had punctured his foot. He screamed again, "These crazy bitches are trying to KILL ME!" In a reflex, Kyanite flashed his fist forward, cracking him in the back of the skull. Rick grunted and slumped forward. Hands shaking, the lieutenant tried to imitate what Painite had done. She drew out a tiny bit of glowing energy, just as the next two bouncers rounded the corner.

"Rick? RICK!" the bigger of the two shouted. He had bright red hair and a scar on the side of his face.

Flashing a hand forward, he snatched Kyanite by the ponytail and threw her backward. "What are you doing to Rick?" he shouted, whirling on her. On her back, Kyanite kicked out both feet, nailing the bouncer in the kneecap so that he bent under the pain of it. In no time, he threw himself forward, pinning Kyanite to the ground and wrapping his hands around her throat.

The other bouncer began to make his way toward Painite.

Even as Kyanite flailed under the heavy redheaded bouncer, she could hear Painite's voice as clear as if she were whispering it into her ear. She was a weapon. She had a hidden strength. Something had been awakened in her. No one had power over her. It was easy to repeat these words as a mantra in her, harder still to actualize them. In truth, the added strength of Negaverse power would have allowed her to easily overcome this thug, but Kyanite still didn't believe that in her brain. She had to beat the mental block if she wanted to beat this guy.

"I'm better than you!" Kyanite said to herself through strained breath.

With a grunt, she gripped the man's wrists in both hands and twisted, wrenching them clean off her neck. She tried to remember one of the defensive moves she had learned from sparring with Bismuthite. Keeping the bouncer's left hand in her wrist, she flipped over his arm and kept it grip. She felt the snap of bones, and the bouncer let out a wail of pain. In shock, Kyanite released his wrist. She had never hurt someone before, and now this massive man was crying out, cupping his shattered wrist -- all because of her.

"Stop shouting!" she said, dropkicking him in the face.

The bouncer sprawled backwards, head colliding with the pavement. He was out cold.

...now what?

Lt. Kyanite was breathing heavily, fists still clenched as if one of the men might rise up and attack her again. Adrenaline surged in her veins. There were red marks around her neck, and a bleeding cut on her bare forearm. The throbbing in her head seemed to pound. In spite of all of that, Kyanite felt... proud. "I did feel strong," she said quickly. "I mean, I just... I wasn't even sure what I was doing, and then I just -- oh my god, I broke his wrist." She covered her mouth with her hands. "I've never hurt anyone before, not like this." Her hands slipped to her chin, but she was still looking at the collapsed bodies with shock.

When Painite began to drain energy, Kyanite knelt beside her and began following suit. She was more successful this time, earning a fat ball of energy. She had been instructed on how to use it, but for now, she just really wanted to get out of there. "Are they dead?" she asked, a hint of fear in her voice.