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 Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 6:26 pm
To be fair, the store had closed a few hours ago. To be fair, she'd been hanging around working on homework and going over inventory. Multiple times. Not once had she actually intended on going out-out that night. She had another shift the next day, and her night class after that. A few more work in progress assignments sat waiting for her in her workroom.
Walking out the back door, locking everything up, a beeline for the alley and the sidewalk that followed... All signs pointed to her going home. A few blips of energy signatures had been going on and off on her mental radar all day. Especially since the sun sunk below the rooftops. She'd ignored them, rather proud of herself in that light. Her priorities were day-to-day life that day. That was it.
...Then the warning bells got louder. They were ringing in triplicate. Three youma for the price of one. Crimson eyes flickered to her cell, a small guilty sense as she stared at the text glaring back at her. Reminding her she had other obligations. Telling her to just let someone else handle it.
Danika flung a quick Running extra errands before heading home. Call you when I get settled and her phone, her messenger bag, her warm jacket, her guilt... all vanished into whatever subspace everything neatly got sucked into when Themiscyra stepped into the field. It at least made carrying her homework and books more convenient... provided she just waited to power down closer to her apartment.
Her brain lost track of common thoughts, focusing instead on hitting the rooftops and making a brand new beeline for the epicenter of her warning bells. The Page was up for the challenge. Three, at once? That'd be a first. How well she'd be walking after such an encounter would be totally up in the air... but worth it! She still had scrap paper and a pen jammed between the leather of her sandal and the back of her calf, if she really hit a snag. Get distance, send out a few 'Help me damnit' notes. Reasons to grin and ignore the bite of the January night air. Blood pumping, adrenaline spiking at the prospects. She kept trying to spend a few days focusing on her normal life. But the high and the thrills of Themisycra's were so much more---
---"The <********> Sandals clacked and slammed, skidding to a halt. Another signature had flared to life ahead of her. Near--if not right on top of--the three youma's. It was... strong. Least. Stronger than her. By a far shot. Intrigue moved her body forward. Curiosity that dragged the cat across open alleys and rooftops. Down to the streets when her footing became a little too unsure across the tiles above. It wasn't a Negabrat. Wasn't a senshi. Left a nice other option. Someone like her.
Of course, when she felt those three youma vanish, it put her in a right foul mood. Whole reason she'd ditched her 'stay civi stupid' plan was to come after them. "Ok, who the ******** just ruined my plans for the night?" She could only lift her voice so loud as she approached. This wasn't a residential area, but it still didn't have the best types wandering around. She'd yet to test how her knight abilities went up against a gun. But that didn't mean she was about to shut her trap period. Street lamps buzzed, the ones that managed to not get shattered by kid or powered antics anyways. Cracks in the pavement were skillfully avoided by the towering young woman. She wanted her answers. She maybe wanted a fight to replace what was lost. She wanted an excuse to be Themiscyra. She'd take anything right now. Really. Girl wasn't picky.
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Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 6:45 pm
"Sorry, I didn't think I was going to be trodding on any toes." Kairatos called back, waving a hand to dismiss the lingering swirl of ash that hung in the cold air, his net swinging in his other hand. "I just wanted to pop out and get some air, and they were right here..." He was a little surprised to see the tall, unfamiliar woman. He had sort of come to the incorrect idea that he had a fair grasp on the who's who of knights in the city, but here was someone new, proving him wrong, and she was a knight of Mars as well. Well that was cool. "My apologies. I'm Kairatos." He seemed oblivious to her bad mood, the stride in heels that suggested that maybe she was imagining the points digging into vulnerable flesh with every click on concrete, flashing her a grin for a shield and holding out a hand to shake as a sword.
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Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 11:57 pm
There were only so many names Danika could place, powered and non. Sure her network was getting bigger step by step, and she was doing all she could to only speed up the process to put as many names to powered faces as possible. At the very least. If she could put powered names to normal faces that'd also be pretty kickass. And vice versa, if more magically happened to be some of classmates like Terry.
...though it struck her attributing 'magically' to anything was... well. Redundant? Asking for it? All of the above?
Regardless, as the--thanks to heels--six-foot Page stormed her way towards the unfamilar figure, her eyes began to pick up more than what the aura was telling her. Knight, strong. Ok. But that didn't mean much as she shot back, "Unfortunately I was looking for the same." He was closer. The guy in re---
...."Oh. Oh..... oh ********> His offered hand and smile were ignored as she raced towards him, stopping a few feet away. Themiscyra needed a little room. She was a bit busy staring. Seeing red. His arm guards, shin guards. His cape. Her eyes swam over the metal and leather, the fashion theme rather familiar to her at this point. Red. Red. Her lips broke into a wide grin, eyes wide as, just for that last piece of confirmation, she spotted the symbols she herself sported. "You're a Martian!"
Her voice could not have come out as more of a girly squeal than it did right then. Laughter and cheers quickly followed it, her previous anger cast to oblivion. She was willing to excuse kill ganking if the other person was seriously someone like her. Grin still silly and threatening to break her face in two, she tried to smother some of her excitement as she offered her own hand at last, the other fisted and pressed to her lips before pulling it back a little to snicker out, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot right now I'm sorry. Themiscyra. Just... s**t. Do you know how long I've been waiting to meet another knight of Mars?"
She'd heard another existed... but hell if she'd ever seen them. She was starting to believe Valhalla had told her a myth. The man before her didn't share the same name at least.
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Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 9:27 am
Well, he had to give her points for enthusiasm, especially since he was pretty sure until she'd noticed they were knights of the same court... (was that the right term even?) he was pretty sure she'd been about to take him on instead of the youma. "No idea how long, sorry!" He admitted. "You're a first for me as well. Nice to meet you. Sorry again, I really didn't figure it was going to be a problem. Trust me though, there are plenty more where those three came from." And they were almost undoubtedly all hungry. "I take it Mars knights aren't all that common then?" He knew it was going to sound like a strange question from someone of his rank, but he'd rather admit to his ignorance than demonstrate it by pretending to know more than he did, especially on this subject.
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Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 10:08 pm
If he'd questioned her, it wasn't like she could deny it. A fight for a stolen fight had been her aim. She'd just been in that sort of a mood.
But he was Martain. All was forgiven. Tenfold. She was laughing, releasing his hand and standing with fists on her hips. It was at least a bit of a relief to hear he'd also not met another Mars-aligned knight till then. A shrug was offered, flippant. "Plenty, like you said. Most probably wouldn't take it as an issue. I just don't like my intended fights ganked." Without any issue being honest, she let the words fall as they may. Would he take offense? "I can just find more," she tried, hoping to sound a bit more civil.
His question was... well. Enough to make her raise a brow. Furrow that brow, too. Give another shrug. "Well duh. You're the first I've met, and I'm the first you've met. I've heard there's one more, but I've never met him. And clearly you haven't, and you're a Kn--" Her throat closed over that word. Eyes narrowed. Wait. She stared at his cape. Like Valhalla. And his power signature...
"Well. A Knight. Y'know, I've been asking around about other Martians for months. Ever since I woke up last summer. What rock have you been under?" It was perhaps a bit delayed for her brain to catch up to this. He was a Knight. Way stronger than her. Her ego disliked this situation.
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:41 am
"Ha... well..." Kairatos rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, toustling the pony tail that had grown out from lack of trimming. "Funny you should use that expression." Well maybe not that funny. He had no idea how he'd be received once this cat was out of the bag, but he'd rather not bullshit about it. "I was until recently going by Lieutenant Realgar. Decided I liked my options better on this side of things. Princess Iris was kind enough to lend a hand." She didn't know about the rift, if Iris was anything to go by, but knowing what he did of the place, it was definitely 'under a rock'.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2014 6:52 pm
When she'd suggested he'd been hiding under a rock, she figured maybe he'd say he was from out of the city. Maybe another part of the states, or maybe another country for all she knew. Or maybe he'd just been keeping a very, very low profile in the city, or she hadn't met the right people yet to point her in right direction.
All of that was logical in her brain. Those were all excuses or reasons she got.
What she wasn't expecting was... that sort of name. Themiscyra's eyes narrowed, arms flexing as her fists clenched, taking a step back as she eyed the guy in front of her. "Lieutenant..?" Her stomach felt like it was turning solid, and the Page wasn't too sure how to process this information. "You... s**t. Are you telling me you were a Nega?" Red eyes narrowed further, staring at him, taking in the sight of him up and down. He didn't... look... or feel like one. Who was this Princess? "How? Since when are there Princesses?"
How much was she missing here? This felt like a bit of a cruel joke. She finally met another Martian and he was... an enemy? But he didn't feel like one...
Had Valhalla had a point in saying they weren't always their enemies..? "I've faced some Negas and they weren't Knights. So... talk. Explain." She pushed a smile, far too sweet, onto her face. Far too sunny. Stressed. Strained. It was her mask. She laughed, the sound not at all reassuring. "Because I'm pretty damn lost right now, and I don't do well with cosmic jokes." She was also sorely tempted to land a fist to his face.
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:09 am
"Well, Captain until I bailed if I'm going to be technical about it. And there's been princess and princess for at least a couple years. Castor? Iris? Polaris? Well... haven't heard much out of Castor since I was new to the game, but I know Iris doesn't go full on royal much because damn son, that's a hell of a signature to blast across the city." He raised his eyebrow and folded his arms, apparently untroubled by her threatening posture, though he uncrossed an arm long enough to hold up a hand, palm first in her direction, as though he were erecting a barrier between himself and her frustration. "Cool your jets. I get the feeling not a lot of this common knowledge, and the Negaverse probably likes it that way. Negaverse agents are knights with Chaos in their starseed. They get awakened but the chaos keeps them from knowing their 'real' title so they get a mineral name I guess. Or so I've been told. ******** if I know how it works. I kinda thought they were just grabbing any old Joe Malcontent off the street and powering 'em up... but maybe not? I'm not even gonna pretend I know how this s**t works, just that it does. Far as I'm concerned it sounds like turning a Radio Flier into a Ferarri and pretending it makes sense."
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 4:00 pm
Captain. So stronger than her. She tried to smother the bristling sensation she felt creep up. Easy enough to cover it with a vague shrug. "Never met any of those guys. But this Iris helped you out?" Her brow furrowed. Big energy signatures? So they were... what, top dogs? She broke from her thoughts long enough to give a slightly offended look to the palm held out towards her. Calm down her a**... she wasn't screaming at him or swinging a fist, so that was pretty calm for finding out he was... had been, a Nega.
He kept talking though, and Themiscyra was listening. Couldn't keep the confusion then bewilderment off her face either way, but her stance slowly relaxed. Bewilderment won out. "So those guys I fought..." Her eyes shut briefly before she glanced at the Mars emblem at her shoulder. They were... theirs? "So they just get lucky each time they grab someone..?" Her arms crossed, and she tried to tell herself it wasn't from the suddenly sick feeling she felt creeping around her gut. "That's some pretty ******** up luck."
She paused, eyeing the Knight before her. "So you've... completely broken ties?" What were the chances he was going to go double-agent on them?
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 4:24 pm
"She did, and yeah, as far as it sounds... they do... which makes me think there's more to it that they don't know. And that we don't." He sounded thoughtful for a moment, but dismissed the thought with a hand wave as though he were brushing away a cob web. "...No I thought I'd just erase half my memories and risk having my starseed ripped out because I don't know which civilians I can trust for kicks." He added, with more than a touch of sarcasm. "Yes. Yes I have broken ties. That was generally the whole point. I don't know what the current brochure material is that they hand out these days but the one I got must have just cut and pasted photos from other more successful chaos organizations because they totally didn't live up. Or.... I guess technically they did. I mean I guess every family has that family member they hurl under the bus so they can go back to patting their golden children on the a**. Sorry, was that a little bitter?" He didn't even remember why he'd been angry when Zinkenite had promised him power, but he definitely remembered why he'd left angry.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 10:13 pm
"....ah ********> was all she could say for a while, wincing and actually having the dignity to look to the pavement when he'd mentioned losing half his memories. Yeah, not what she'd been expecting. So turning one from the other... made them lose part of themselves? The sick feeling in her stomach didn't want to go away, it was quite happy tormenting her right were it was. Glancing back up to him, she let out a sigh through her nose. "Sorry. I hear 'Negaverse' and go on the offensive. Didn't realize what'd probably be involved in a... swap."
Bitter? "Just a tad." His description of the people he'd left behind got her to snort, nose scrunching up a tad as a smile flickered back onto her features. "Not too sure about the 'golden children' in my family... but we're kinda an odd build to most people, so guess that's how we got away from that." Helped when most of your half-siblings lived with their respective mothers, and your father did what he could to jump between the various households to keep in contact. Usually made the kids he was visiting the golden children for the time. She never asked questions what he thought of them after parting ways. "Why not just call it what it sounds like? Biased a** kissing and handing out the gifts from there." Themiscyra paused, holding her hands up in a half-hearted attempt at a sign of no offense. "Ones I ran into picked fights. Not sure what the huge norm is among the group, but I didn't find any appeal. I'd say you got the better deal, ditching them." But as she stood there, Martian and proud, she was fully aware she was a tad bit biased.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:17 am
"I don't blame you for getting touchy, and I won't pretend I came out of there with a Halo on." He admitted. "Fights are normal, so's trying to gather information... sometimes converts. A couple of Zink's pets are corrupt Senshi, which is kinda ********' weird, since i don't know what he plans to do with them the Negaverse gets it's way and wins this war." Whatever or whoever was gently tugging Zinkenite's strings as he strutted and preached... he doubted it had plans to let him keep that kind of... pet in the long run. He wondered if it had any plans for any of them... or if the negaverse won would every last soldier become a twisted monster in a world that had been converted to a front doorstep for the Rift? "Definitely got the better end of the deal. No question."
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Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 11:09 pm
Curiosity would kill the cat at some point. "What do you remember of it? I mean... I've got no experience over there obviously. But was it... different, from being a knight?" Her lips pursed, brow furrowing. She wasn't wording her questions right and she knew it. Her hands lifted, grasping at air literally as she struggled to form the right words. "I mean... what's... the difference between the two? If Negabrats are really knights, why... don't they know that? What's the point?" To the war. To the fighting. To the sides. It was all questions that were likely far beyond either of them--or anyone. Sounded like it was all going on longer than maybe even Destiny City'd been standing.
Themiscyra didn't bother hiding her grimace as he mentioned... that.... bit of information. "Senshi can be corrupted? The ********> Made sense in an "equal playing field" way. If knights could, why not the senshi? But the idea still churned her stomach. She thought of the kids she'd met and gagged, eyes scrunching up tight against the very concept. "Why?" Weren't senshi and Negas... enemies? That gave her the creepiest vibe. "Ugh. No. Never mind." She shook her head, grimace still firmly in place. "I don't think I want to know what they're doing."
Giving a snort, she eyed Kairatos anew. "So what're your plans now, on the right side of the fence?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 3:07 pm
"I remember all of it actually. I guess... Chaos doesn't want them to know? I don't know. They're... awakened twisted. Some of the corrupted senshi don't even know their star names so..." He thought about it, trying to find a way to compare. "It's more cut throat to be a Nega. Apparently there used to be small, tight knit teams but I'm guessing they decided that took too much work or something and it became just one vague 'army' where you clawed around to try and get more attention, do better on missions, beg for a head pat and a promotion. And... I dunno. I guess I'm still figuring that out. Aside from everyone yelling in my ear to keep a low profile." He was doing a fantastic job of that.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:53 pm
At least it wasn't just the knights getting denied their names when they were caught by the Negaverse--though she didn't feel any better with the idea that both knights and senshi could be taken over.
For the time being, she pushed the thoughts from her mind. She had no intention of letting Kairatos off her radar--never mind the fact he was the only other Martian she'd met, just his experiences alone could prove useful information. Or maybe they'd just be interesting stories for over beers. Who knew. Certainly sounded like he still had a thing to chew over the Negaverse.
"Low profile tends to be a bit overrated," she tried in a tease, suddenly regretting powering as she had earlier without taking the time to pack away a pen and scrap paper like she tried to travel with. Of all the people to give her name and number to, this would certainly be one of the better ones. "I'm not exactly hard to find around here, so'd be happy to blow a hole in that low profile plan if you're ever interested." Themiscyra shrugged, flashing a bright smile that was, this time, genuine. "Or whatever other trouble there is around here. Sure as ******** sounds like you could use some better days after that s**t you've dealt with." Didn't even sound like what he did get to remember was any good to him personally. Or at least he never mentioned brighter spots in the memory bank.
Was it cliche to think it was just time for him to make new ones then?
Ryuthulhu Your call when fin! But Kairatos here have a free invitation for random shenanigans whenever, and more potential brawls than you can shake a youma at.
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