Despite the approaching signature being of a lowly chaos individual, fighting someone who could talk back and had a soul, or at least she assumed they did, was not on her to-do list for this evening. Unlike the agents who had kidnapped order individuals from the Masquerade at the Umbrae Hotel, Sidouer was not like them. She did not revel in bringing pain to others or fighting, all she wanted to do was keep the streets cleared of the monsters threatening the civilians.
As it was, her youma hunting landed her in an unsavory situation with a lieutenant chasing after her as she weaved through the streets and narrow alley ways. “COWARD!” she heard the agent yell behind her to which her lips pursed in annoyance.
Skidding to an abrupt halt Sidouer picked up a trashcan lid that had been laying upside down on the ground and was filled with rainwater, then waited the seconds it took for her pursuer to round the corner. “I’ll show you what cowardice looks like.” she muttered to herself as her heart beat quickened in anticipation and from the energy she spent running away.
The range had been near empty today as it normally was on a week day evening. Imara had gotten the pick of the targets and, after a bet with the man next to her, managed to prove she could nail each one of them while walking. There was no way she would have ever agreed to go on a date with someone that not only could her brothers beat up, but she could as well. The bet was more to prove a point. At least now she did not have to worry about Mr.” I’m so studly” trying to outshine her again.
Just as she was rounding the corner, Imara came to a stop. From behind her came the sound of a gong going off followed by a large crash. “What the hell?” She called out, adjusting the shoulder strap of her carrying case and making a beeline back the way she had came. “Who is shooting off fireworks without me?”
Covered in two cans of trash with another holding him up, the Negaverse agent in gold was seeing stars. He had been chasing what he thought was easy prey when he made a sudden right and ran head first into a truck. At least it felt like a truck after he had fallen on his a** into garbage cans. Of course it had to be trash day.
Stumbling awkwardly, he tried to come to his feet before tripping and another cane fell. “Witch. I’ll have your head for this!” At least he would try before he slipped on an orange rind.
“Not with that stupid toy weapon of yours you won’t.” With the aid of her senshi abilities, Sidouer lept from the street level to the top of the two story building using the fire escape as an aid. “You’ll be in for quite a shock if you keep this up. Go home!” she yelled from her new found perch.
So he had a bottle cap for a weapon up against her magic. That didn’t stop the man from finally getting to his feet and looking around for the woman. She was fast, he would give her that. But it did not might he would give up. No, he had to prove to his superiors that he was worth something! And by joe, he would do it.
“And why don’t you just come down here and fight like the villain you are!” He snapped back at her, eyeing those pink lines of her uniform. Senshi. They were not worth s**t and needed to be dealt with.
“Me a villain.” she pressed her palm against her chest half offended by the accusation but not at all surprised he said it. “You’re the one who came after me remember?” Sure she was the one to have thrown the last hit but he was being relentless. Plus she was kind of hoping it would knock some sense into him.
“Plus, it’s not my style to shoot fish in a barrel.” she taunted since he was the one stuck in a narrow alley. “If you’re that determined to fight me…” Sidouer crossed her arms over her chest in a casual manner as a silent invitation to join her but in truth she was preparing the beginnings her own attack. Just to add to the obvious hint she took a step back from the edge as if she were waiting for him to follow her lead and jump up to where she currently stood; or if he were wise he’d pick the building adjacent to her.
“I wouldn’t have to go after you if you all would not have come to earth in the first place!” He screamed back, using his young powers to try and jump up to the top of the first floor. He had to basically climb the rest of the stairs to end up level with her. He was not the smartest one of the bunch.
Stepping back from the edge, trying to hide that he was out of breath, the agent took a weak fight stance. He inhaled then charged towards the woman head first.
Unseen to both of them, Imara knelt in the shadows of the alley. Her hands worked quickly as she ready her bow and drew an arrow back. Both red eyes locked onto the pair and she took aim.
“Come to Earth? You’re such a moron… I was born here just like you.”
No sooner did his head clear the edge of the roof was Sidouer in motion. Gloves running from elbow to fingertips she took one step forward and extended her arm out towards him then called out her attack “Static Shock!” With no amount of sadistic satisfaction the senshi watched as the arch of electricity jumped out towards the young man and illuminated the rooftop like an exploding light bulb. One moment it was there the next… darkness.
And down he fell. With a limp thud, the man landed on the ground and red eyes watched him bounce. That was the answer she needed. ‘Born on Earth’ or whatever nonsense was being shot off by both sides did not change the fact that this woman just sent a living, breathing human falling two stories to the ground.
Imara drew back, gazed upward and locked on. When she released the string, the huntress knew it was no where near a killing blow. She had no intention of it being at this time. What she wanted was to make sure this attempted murder did not get away.
Imara’s aim had her arrow heading directly for the woman’s left thigh.
One moment Sidouer was standing on the rooftop walking towards the edge to make sure the boy was okay, the next she fell to the side in a crippling heap; a cry of pain pulled from her dry lips.
“Nnng” Tears spilled from her eyes as the sharp pain shot up her left side. What… what in the… her shaky hand reached down to apply pressure to where the pain originated only to bite her lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
An arrow…
Try as she might to calm her racing hard and rein in her emotions there was no other aura nearby. “Unnh… I… I need to...” Sidouer struggled so scoot away from the direction the arrow had hit her from before the agent down below was able to gathering his bearings enough to seize the opportunity of her injured state.
It had to have been a civilian, that’s the only way someone could have been within firing range without me knowing. She wasn’t so naive to allow her guard to be down in a chase, not when he could have been herding her into another trap. Not willing to take the risk and look to see if she could spot the one that had shot her she crawled to the other side of the building.
With the aid of a roof vent the Senshi of Static pulled herself up into a standing position and half limped half hobbled to the edge of the building. Removing the arrow out would have been the most unwise thing she could do in a situation like this especially since she didn’t know what kind of tip was used. It would be very unfortunate and quite possibly life threatening if it had barbs facing the opposite direction and so she broke the wooden shaft to avoid catching it on anything when she jumped; or more than likely… fall.
Imara remained motionless in her hiding place for another heart beat after the woman took notice of the addition to her leg. The huntress was waiting for the initial reaction. She had already seen this female fight off a male with some sort of ability that was far from human. Now Imara needed to know what else to expected. However, the cream and pink female didn’t move. Instead, even from the distance and shadows, Imara’s well trained eye could see fight or flight kicking in. Humans were such animals.
While still holding the bow in her left hand, the young woman finally made her move towards the fallen man. The woman above was bleeding and though not life threatening, a trail of blood could be tracked. A life could not. Not to mention, Imara did not see a desire to fight above her. More like shock. Honestly it was more dangerous but she had to risk it.
Quick on her feet and nearly silent, she moved around the trash cans and came upon the motionless body of the male bent over what looked like a now well dented silver can. Scanning him, she took know of bruises and what looked like burns on his body but no other huge physical damage was visible. She could see slow signs of breathing and a touch to his neck confirmed his life.
Finally, she came out of her crouched position and straightened her back. “Murder, even attempted, is a high offence.” Her voice carried in an echo as she spoke loud enough to be heard. “And he isn’t carrying a weapon.”
“Go back to your blissful ignorance, you know nothing of what transpired.” Having used the fire escape ladder and a tremendous amount of effort, Sidouer now stood on the street level with her back pressed firmly against the cold cinder blocks that formed the outer structure of the building behind her. “You see through clouded eyes what the media wants you to know.”
The stupid woman likely only caught the tail end of what just happened so of course she looked like the bad guy. “He was the one pursuing ME” she yelled in defence of her actions. “I gave him fair warning to back off, or were you too far away to hear?”[/color[ Despite the adrenaline coursing through her system, the senshi bit back the pain and attempted to stand on her wounded leg only to become overwhelmed with nausea. Blood spilled from the wound at a steady pace staining her white boots a crimson red. s**t… I need to get out of here before I pass out.
“He is not as harmless as you perceive him to be.” Had their quarrel turned into a fist fight he would have surely won which is why she tanked whatever gods were listening that she was quicker on her feet than he was.
“And I am supposed to believe you are the good guy in this situation? From the sound of it, you yourself could have stopped this and instead, tried to kill him.” Imara literally spat back and she jerked herself around, drawing up her bow and grabbing another arrow. Off course she would have to replace the one already lost to her but that mattered not. This woman had a mouth on her, one Imara did not like. Gently pulling back the string the first part of the way, she turned on her heel and made her way towards the source of the voice. “So how dare you go on about blissful ignorance. You threw a damn human off a roof by using powers that are not human. The media may call you a terrorist but from what I have seen, you are less human than any of us here. But one thing is good to know.”
Imara pulled the string back tightly as she spun around the corner to come face to face with her prey. “You bleed.” The look on Imara’s face was not friendly. Heck it was downright dark and twisted. Her arrow was aimed straight at the woman’s chest as both eyes pierced straight into those other eyes. For a moment she stood in silence, a hunter locked in a war with its prey before whispering “Run b***h.”
Save for the fact that there currently was another arrow pointed in her direction, Sidouer would have thrown her head back and laughed at the irony. Naturally he seemed more human than she did, he lacked the ability to teleport and who knew if he could drain civilians yet or plunge his hand in a targets chest. It was as clear as day, or in this case bright as a full moon on a cloudless night, that the woman had no desire to listen to reason; there was no point in continuing this conversation.
“Why don’t you just go back to your soon to be butt buddy.” The Senshi of Static spat with more venom than a viper. “You’ll be the one in for one hell of an awakening when they,” she threw her arm out to the side to point in the general direction of the semi-conscious boy that still laid in a heap on the trash covered ground. “Decide to plunge their hand in your chest and claim you as one of them or decide for you that your life isn’t worth living.” She had seen it time and time again as memories from a possible future came to her while she slept.
Imara’s body jerked to the side and the arrow flew, whizzing just over the woman’s right shoulder. Still, the huntress held the gaze as it made contact with a metal can behind them. The alleyway resounded with a clank. “You won’t get a second warning.” Imara nearly hissed out. Her feet were already on edge. One more word out of this she-devil and she would forgo the bow and answer with another language she knew: fists.
Civilians were to be protected from the agents and monsters that served chaos; that was a universal belief and goal of most if not all who claimed to be on the side of order. However, for the first time in nearly two years, Sidouer made an exception. “If you think I’ll show you my back you have another thing coming.” Like before she went through the same motions that preceded her attack then sent an arch of static towards the young woman, knowing full well she wasn’t close enough to hit.
The bright light illuminated the area like a spot light being turned on in a tiny closet; blinding to anyone not expecting the attack.
It was then she seized the opportunity to flee and with tears welling up in her eyes from the shooting pain she ran. With each jarring step she could feel the pointed tip and the arrowhead ears tear at her leg making the wound far worse than it had been. Help she wanted to cry out. Someone help me…please
With the stance she was in, all Imara could do to react was quickly shut her eyes and turn her head. By the time she was able to blink away the rings and floaters in her eyes, her prey was already gone. “Damn b***h.” Imara scowled as she lowered her arms and growled into the silence. In anger, she stomped towards the direction her arrow had flown to retrieve it. Only having to replace one arrow was better than two.
Though when she found it had speared a baby diaper, Imara realized that replacing two arrows might not have been such a bad thing.
Ignoring the fallen solider, she made her way back to two other items of interest: her bow case and the fallen man. The bow case she found right where she left it. The man was long gone.
“At least he is alive.” She sighed, turning to be back on her way, locking into her mind once and for all who that woman was. Heaven help her if they ever met again.
Sirene Naiads
Backdated April 6th
