The nightlife of the city wasn’t something she experienced a lot of as Solaris. As Kyrie? Totally different story. She adored the energy that filled clubs and bars, the press of people and cacophony of voices, music, and movement. Wasn’t as fond of beer, but mixed drinks… hey, she got on board with that real quick. Went especially good with greasy bar food. And cute college students.
Solaris hummed, one leg swinging free where she sat on the rim of a rooftop above the glimmering lights of late-night establishments. The glow penetrated high enough for some of the reflective freckles on her shin to shimmer. Though this street was practically on the doorstep of DCU, it didn’t shy away from hosting a bevy of themed or generic bars and restaurants… with heavily stocked bars. Clubs, too, largely masked the blaring music within their insulated walls, though strobing lights and hard pulsing vibrations streamed out some doors in spots.
Resting her chin on her raised knee, her gaze flickered from cluster to cluster of people. Lots of drunk and otherwise inebriated people. Lots of poor choices. It looked like a hellishly fun time to her, but Solaris could just hear Realta’s lectures about how the Negaverse hunted. Easy targets, clustered by the dozens down below. Much as she’d rather be having fun partying, be part of all that buzzing life…
Nearly on sickening cue, a tendril of disgust dragged itself down her back. Her lips pursed and twisted, feathers ruffling and shaking as if she could dislodge the sensation. But it was brought on by that… sense. Sickly sweet, the Chaotic energy signature sang out to her. Metal rings clicked on the cement wall of the roof as she leveraged herself up to her feet, head swiveling this way and that to try and pin-point what direction it was emanating from.
It wasn’t… weak. It also didn’t feel right. Not like the agent she’d faced. This felt more… off. More twisted to her. But Chaos was Chaos. Proverbial trigger finger itching to fire, she kept to the rooftops as she began to scour neighboring buildings and streets for the source.
Strickenized
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 5:34 pm
"Yep, yeah, you got it, Boss." Adonis flashed a cheshire grin at the grizzled old man. He cut an imposing figure, standing at a respectable six-and-a-half feet, with hulking, heavyset shoulders, a handlebar mustache, and a few peeking tattoos that suggested gang affiliation in another life. Were this just anyone, Adonis would have plied his trade elsewhere, picked an easier-looking draining target rather than risk his face getting smashed in and rearranged.
But this hulking b*****d was, in all honesty, his very-recently-former foreman. He knew they'd al been afraid of him when they first started working for the construction crew, but when they'd had their first night out, they all witnessed the other half of their boss — a man who could scream his lungs out and curse each of them as much as the day is long, but after a pitcher of beer? The man cried about anything. Poured his heart out about how much he loved his crew, how all of the guys made his work all meaningful and other heart-rending nonsense. Moved some of the other crewmen to tears, too, and then the entire night out was spoiled into some soppy mess and no amount of drinking would convince Adrian to stop being bothered by it.
So a night like this? It was routine to Adonis. The crew frequented the same dive sports bar every Tuesday night as part of their nonsense pub crawl. They started a few doors down, with Mickey's being their third stop. And this was, he'd learned, the ideal place to drain the band of 'em; they were too drunk to know right from wrong, but not drunk enough to be totally empty on energy.
And! They were all pretty amenable to being bodily hauled around by a dude who was essentially in a skin suit. Helped that he could pass off the chest and head holes as some scary tattoos, the nail polish as metal, and the getup as some Halloween costume in the making. Assuming they even asked.
"I get it, my guy. You're sad n' all 'cuz Adrain got some other job. You feel betrayed, and why wouldn't you! You put all that effort into the dude, into getting him all trained up and good on the jackhammer, and then he up and leaves you! What kinda loyalty is that?" Though the man started to speak, Adonis was quick to talk over him: "Here, lemme get you over to the curb, here, and we'll call you an Uber. No, no, right over here — look, it's nice n' quiet, and no one's gonna disturb you, 'kay?" He kept his smile bright, and the hand behind his back fat with energy.
The closer she got to the source of the Chaotic energy, the more her skin crawled. She hated trying to go near these guys, but letting them prowl around just because they gave her the heebie-jeebies wasn't any less stomach churning.
There was no attempt to mask her footsteps--they'd be able to sense her as well as she could sense them, after all--as she approached the edge of a rooftop. Voices--or rather, one voice louder than others--drifted up from the sidewalk. The crowds had faded as she'd ran atop the buildings, thinning and dissipating all together. They filtered into bars and clubs, not wanting to stick around outside. A frequent hunting spot, or just convenience? Or both?
Below, she... had to take a double-take at what she was looking at. The burly man was going along rather easily with... someone in a weird uniform. Little bells chimed in her mind. She was pretty damn sure which one was giving off the Chaos aura. Those strips on their outfit looked... weird. Leather, surely..? Just maybe a different type than what she was used to seeing on Earth?
Her fingers twitched. She wanted to use her magic, just blast the Chaos agent... but her lips pursed. Too close to the civilian. And if she just called out, there was a chance the agent would just... try to grab the guy's starseed...
Though a risky move nonetheless, Solaris braced herself before racing forward the last few steps to launch herself off the rooftop a story up, wings folded tight against her back to reduce drag as she aimed out a leg in a straight-forward attempt to kick the leather-bound agent away from the civilian.
Which. Risks included the other magically-powered individual just using the civilian as a shield, or blasting her with magic if they paid enough attention to their surroundings, or still the civilian getting their starseed pulled...
The tactic of hit hard and fast wasn't always an ideal, but it seemed a lesser of two evils in this moment to her.
Strickenized
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:25 pm
His ex-boss was compliant enough. Mumbly b*****d wanted to go on about the same nonsense sob story, though, and Adonis was getting tired of hearing about it. Lucky for him, he caught movement in his periphery and looked up to see some White Mooner hurtling at him from the opposite side of the street.
"Whoa, there," he called as he stepped away from his ex-boss. Dismissing his collected energy to subspace, he let go of the idea of trying to go for more. There'd be other times, he was sure. Draining energy wasn't any kind of a race.
Now Mis Newbie Basic was fromed between his ex-boss and himself, and he had no problem hailing her as if she stood between himself and his last meal. "You always go springin' out of nowhere like that? It's awfully rude, y'know, interrupting someone's good time like that. What if you'd have startled him and given him a heart attack? Would it have been worth it?" Hands open, arms up, Adonis shrugged.
"What if it was someone who'd've Skinned you for getting in the way, eh?" He finished, and the arms of his outfit evaporated.
kaefaux
Skinned ;; Range: 20' / 1 target Duration: 20 seconds Use Count: 3 Miss Chance: Breaking eye contact, going out of range Effect: Adonis holds his arms out, palms up, and the gloves on his uniform burn away. The change is mimicked in his targeted opponent, who he must make eye contact with, and they feel the effects of a mild chemical burn. They see a few layers of skin peeling off, some irritation, and some decent pain. Only occurs on the arms, and can be interrupted by attacking Adonis before his uniform manifests any changes, preventing him from making eye contact, or by shutting him up somehow before he can utter the name of the attack. Once the duration ends, their body goes back to normal (as does his uniform).
Her brain wasn’t catching up with everything that was going on. It just… wasn’t. She didn’t understand what she was looking at.
That the agent stepped aside wasn’t a huge surprise—she hadn’t at all been quiet, and the lighter colors of her uniform were practically neon in the gloom. She landed on the sidewalk, crouching low to absorb as much of the impact as she could before springing back up to her feet. “Please leave, sir. This isn’t safe company for you to be keeping.” She tossed the words gently over her shoulder to the taller man, the victim, but kept her gaze focused on the…
…agent? Her stomach did an uncomfortable twist. Something was so wrong about this energy signature, but it made no sense to her.
His uniform wasn’t as… well, uniform and structured as the agent’s she’d seen before. And he had… cracks, no, holes in his face and chest..? Her eyes darted around his form, comprehension refusing to click into place.
She didn’t respond to his verbal jabs—yes, she knew she’d taken a risk in attacking him in the way she had, but it was her best option—and merely met his gaze with a frosty one of her own.
…least, till the searing pain raced up her arms. Choking on her own breath that warred with a scream, she stared down, the limbs shaking as nerves lit and went haywire. Shimmering skin turned a vicious red, then layers began to peel, showing tender flesh beneath. Still, they shimmered, almost a mockery. “Magic? H-how—“ The horror was worse than the pain. She thought agents couldn’t use magic..?
It hurt, but she supported one hand with the other, pointing her fingers like a gun towards him. He wasn’t next to his victim now. She had plenty of room to fire. “Catalytic Spark,” she hissed, and it was harder than it had any right to be to snap her fingers. A tiny spark flickered in front of her red-raw pointer, a flare of golden energy rapidly building into a small ball. The orb… wavered though, as if it were trembling as much as her aching arms. But it still shot out towards her target, like it should have, and she dropped her arms, both her hand that held the limb and the place she’d touched throbbing.
The wavering, wobbling through the air, though, wasn’t exactly something she figured she’d see when she cast that.
Strickenized
Catalytic Spark
She points her fingers with one hand like a 'gun' to direct her magic at a target. Snapping those fingers, Solaris creates a spark that stays in front of her hand. This spark is the catalyst for a rapidly growing flood of energy to pool into an expanding, fuzzy ball in front of her hand. It maxes out in size of about 3 inches diameter (the size of a baseball). This ball of golden, condensed light and energy then shoots out towards the target Solaris' pointer finger is directed at. The ball can travel up to ten feet before exploding and dispersing, even if it hasn't hit a target by that point. Anyone hit by the ball itself, or the resulting explosion, are subject to blunt force damage and rapid, high heat when the ball explodes that last for only five seconds. The extent of the damage is up to the player, at minimum should cause small bruises, and redness on exposed skin from the heat. Solaris can use this magic up to three times a day.
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 6:54 pm
The man laughed at her words of caution, insisting that he would be fine. Nobody ever messed with him. She should've seen the last guy that tried! Then he started to launch into a disjointed story about his last jaunt in the night when he finally registered that she had wings on her back, and all thoughts of spinning a colorful tale to impress the lady were cast aside. He simply had to know — were they real? Surely the only way to find out was to reach out and touch them.
All the while, Adonis rolled his eyes at her appraisal. "Caught red-handed," he admitted with an exaggerated shrug. Who cared about danger in this day and age? Danger was simply stepping out of the house anymore.
She had some magico f her own, even if she was incredulous at his — Adonis's eyes narrowed as he followed the small spark, and stayed his ground as it grew. He wasn't sure, by the sound of its name, what the hell this attack was going to do. The only catalytic anything in his life was the catalytic converter in his car, and he'd already had to replace the bugger once, and he still wasn't sure what it was supposedly doing for him, other than costing him money.
He backed up, expecting he would have some time to determine what to do about this attack. However, once it shot out, the orb flew at a remarkable pace, and exploded before he had time to look for cover. The wave of energy struck him in the shoulder, searing like he'd been hit with a preheated pan. The corrupt hissed, a hand shot up to guard the wound, and he expected he'd see a bruise in the coming days.
Well, wasn't that something?
"Senshi of Skin, at your service," and he gave her a wink and a charming smile. "What's on you's mine.
"Think I'd better include what's in you, too." His smile soured into something menacing in light of the attack she'd landed. He barreled toward her, ready to sock her straight in the face while his magic still had effect.
When the man behind her began to blabber about his... odd misadventures, Solaris pointedly ignored him. She wasn't a fan of being so rude to people, especially civilians that didn't know better. But she told him to leave...
The choked, small <********> that tried to force itself out from between pressed lips, startled even her. Her arms were already raw and burning from the just the air against them. Now this freaking idiot just touched her wing?! The moment his fingers brushed the peach feathers, her wings began to rustle and try to unfold swiftly to flick away the contact. They were very much real. The touch hadn't been rough, but sensitive as they still were it was a jarring sensation that made her skin crawl. Sure, the feathers themselves didn't have nerves in them, but they were able stimulate plenty of nerves. Someone brushes them cuz of close quarters? Not comfy, but meh. They get pressed between her and the back of a chair? Ew, no, she'll move. Someone just touches them when they really have no reason to?
It's just creepy!
"Would you just go?" Between the civilian and the... Chaos... agent. She knew who the actual enemy was, yes. But now the idea of keeping her back to him was just... ugh.
At least the man with the skinning magic regained her full attention. Senshi of Skin? Her shimmering skin went pale, pale. "Y-you... you're working with Chaos..?" Solaris felt sick. The twisted sensation of his guy's aura should have been obvious, in its own way. But to hear it...
Lost in her head, not understanding why a senshi would align with Chaos of all ******** things--had he never seen a world dead and life erased by it? Had he never seen the horrors it can bring to entire planets?--the sudden speed he charged at her with collided together to land Solaris in a hell of a situation.
Sucking in a breath, she only had time to raise her raw, aching arms to save the impact from hitting her in the face. The combination of pain made her begin to retch, stumbling backwards from both the power of the blow, and the additional sharp, blooming pain in her forearm.
Solarians were, unfortunately for her, very light. And this guy's strength was enough to make her damn near fall back into the freaking touchy-guy, if he hadn't done what she asked and left--
Strickenized
Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 1:59 pm
The dubiously good news was the man had finally dredged himself away from their growing altercation, even if it wasn't the altercation itself that sent him away. A strange, bemused look crossed his face, and he began looking for something. He found it a block away, though he failed to reach it in time. The man retched all over his shoes, then kept on toward the public trash can in the distance, where he clung to it as if it would anchor him on a stormy ship. His body lurched to and fro despite still air.
"Damn, that's cold." The Senshi of Skin smiled at her as she began her rebound. "Ain't every day you find a girl with real wings on her back, y'know?"
Catching his breath as he approached her, he added, "Tell you what. You turn around, and I'll get rid of those pesky wings for you. Then no one'll be reaching out to mess with 'em ever again. Or, if you wanna keep 'em? You can come with me and we'll give you plenty of power to make sure that guys like that can't even look at 'em. Choice is yours.
"For five seconds, at least." He curled a fist into his palm as he waited.
It was at least a relief the man had moved. She hit nothing but the ground when she stumbled backwards. Hissing, she knew she’d have a bit of a collection of bruises after this. Carefully, she tried to flex her hand—the skinned part still hurt, but she didn’t notice any pain to suggest the bone was broken…
The traitor’s commentary had her sneering. "Does seeing someone with different features give you the right to touch them? I wasn’t aware you Earthlings had such horrific manners." Solaris wasn’t going to attempt to hide the fact she was, as Metis had said, an alien.
Her stomach was churning. Her arms hurt, one definitely more than the other. Blood ran cold as he continued to approach her again, and from where she was on the ground, Solaris could only seethe.
This man was a piece of trash, so far as she was concerned.
Remove her wings? Get power from an agent of Chaos?
A smile formed on her lips. Bright. Wicked. Solaris laughed as if he’d said the funniest ******** thing she’d ever heard.
"You’re a thousand years too late to even try to convince me of anything with a pathetic line like that. Oh child… I’m more powerful than you can ******** dream of."
Practically, she knew that was a lie. Grandiose boasting. But after everything she’d survived? After all the deaths, the wars, the carnage, the starving and island-states falling from the skies? She certainly felt she’d a leg to stand on by calling herself that.
She lifted her hand and shouted—"Catalytic Spark!"—the spark that ignited a ball of energy and light directed towards his ******** face.
Powerful didn’t mean ******** stupid, though.
Soon as the orb of energy was launched, Solaris turned and scrambled to her feet, racing away as quick as her feet could carry her. Power meant also carrying the wisdom to get the hell out of a bad situation and not risk her damn life. She’d survived this long, some traitor wasn’t about to be the one to end that streak.
Strickenized
Catalytic Spark
She points her fingers with one hand like a 'gun' to direct her magic at a target. Snapping those fingers, Solaris creates a spark that stays in front of her hand. This spark is the catalyst for a rapidly growing flood of energy to pool into an expanding, fuzzy ball in front of her hand. It maxes out in size of about 3 inches diameter (the size of a baseball). This ball of golden, condensed light and energy then shoots out towards the target Solaris' pointer finger is directed at. The ball can travel up to ten feet before exploding and dispersing, even if it hasn't hit a target by that point. Anyone hit by the ball itself, or the resulting explosion, are subject to blunt force damage and rapid, high heat when the ball explodes that last for only five seconds. The extent of the damage is up to the player, at minimum should cause small bruises, and redness on exposed skin from the heat. Solaris can use this magic up to three times a day.
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2022 2:36 pm
"Oh!' Adonis exclaimed, unfazed. "Welcome to Earth. We like hookers, blackjack, and objectifying the s**t out of aliens!" He gave her a wink for the hell of it.
Damn was she up on the hyperbole, though. What was so bad about Chaos? Calling him a child was a touch overboard, too, at his ripe old twenty-something age. Hell, the girl at the grocery store stopped carding him and he hadn't turned thirty yet. He probably looked like some haggard, washed-up thing from all that construction work. Certainly not looking young enough, anymore, to be called child.
But, whatever tickled her fancy, he guessed. "Alright, alright, I'm not about to get Skin —"
The words died on his tongue when she'd called her magic first, and struck him squarely in the chest with it. Something hot and unwarranted exploded against him, blowing him backward with a burning pressure across his exposed chest. The heat of it alone warmed the ring of his fuku to unbearable temperatures, and Adonis hissed as he pulled at the straps to keep it off his skin. "Ouch, damn, ow," he muttered to himself as he leaned over, hoping to keep the ring off of himself. <********, buy me dinner first…" Adonis wasn't that interested in letting her off scot-free, but a burn would continue to burn if he didn't get himself some cold water first. He'd find her again, he was sure.
Until then? It was time to get back to the apartment and take a cold shower.
