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 Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 9:58 am
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Lieutenant Retzian hadn’t planned on finding one of the two she had taken energy from a few weeks ago, she hadn't been stalking them, in spite of what she had told herself, but the fact that the one with the ponytail who she had decided needed to be taught a lesson was on a bike and peddled right past her…
Well, she couldn't deny it if fate was bringing them together again, could she?
No, that would just be foolish, and Retzian did enjoy proving that she wasn’t a fool.
The moment that he passed by, she was on her feet, pleased that the speed boost she got from being powered let her keep up with the male’s lazy bike stride, even with the drawback of her own heels.
“Well, fancy seeing you again. I think we should have a quick little chit chat, don’t you?”
Her hand reached out and she grabbed his handlebars, tugging back with her strength, and making sure to put a hand on his back so that he didn’t fall. Hurting him wasn’t part of the whole, using him to get energy deal, after all.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 11:39 am
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Ordinarily, Oliver would have just asked Asher to pick up the ingredients he needed for dinner on his way home, but that sort of defeated the purpose of making dinner now to surprise him when he got home. And, Asher probably wasn’t even going to be home for another hour anyway, so it was easier for Oliver to just get on his bike and ride down to the corner store to pick up an extra carton of milk.
Because, nobody was home right now, and nobody needed to know that he’d spilled the last one everywhere. And cleaned it up! He really hoped it was all cleaned up.
And, he’d really hoped that spilled milk was going to be the worst of his problems tonight, but. No.
He wasn’t paying attention beyond keeping his eyes in front of him, he hadn’t even thought about the woman he was passing. He was thinking about dinner, thinking about how he could make up for the time he’d lost, thinking about the homework he had to grade, thinking about–
What? Who was–What?
He almost flew forward when she stopped the bike, but he dug his feet into the metal to hold himself in place. His heart practically flew out of his throat anyway and he looked at her with wide-eyed alarm.
His glasses were crooked on his face and he quickly reached to straighten them out.
“No, thank you,” he said quickly, and tried to wiggle his bike away from her just a bit.
They were closer to home now, and while there were people around, they weren’t close enough to be of any use–and he didn’t want to just start yelling for help, not when he knew what the Negaverse could do. He didn’t want her to follow him home, and his mood had already immediately sunk just by seeing her.
“Can you please let go of my bike?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 1:43 pm
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“Gladly, when I’ve got enough energy to satisfy myself. You do owe me from last time, you were quite rude, you know.”
Retzian didn’t release her grip on his bike, nor the hand on his back, which began to slowly draw the male’s energy from him. “Here I am, and here you are, and I think that fate put you here so that you could give me what you owed. Again, I won’t take enough to cause you harm, and I’ll make sure you can still ride your little bike on home.” Reaching her pinky out, she rang the dumb little bell that sat on the handle bars and laughed softly.
“Your bike is cute. I didn’t realize they made bikes with baskets for adults.”
Honestly, not that she would admit…but she kind of wanted a bike like this, and perhaps…
“Where did you find it? Or did you add the basket yourself?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 2:17 pm
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Oliver stared at her in obvious horror and alarm, like she might as well have pulled out a gun and started waving it around.
“You’re not entitled to anything I don’t want to give you, do you even understand what you–no! There’s at least half a dozen bike shops! Just go shopping! You have the internet!”
He wasn’t going to be ashamed of his bike, it was everything he needed and he liked it. It got him to wherever he needed to be, and it was good for the environment and good for him. Except when it was raining, and when he was being mugged.
His back felt cold and he squirmed, just a bit, as he tried to break away from her.
“I don’t owe you anything, stop! You can’t seriously steal from people. That’s not–fate didn’t do this, you can’t use that to justify this. Please let go. Really. Please. Tonight is not a good night.”
He wasn’t supposed to fight, he knew that, but he could already hear the thoughts buzzing loudly in his head, and it was really hard not to just throw the bike at her and run off.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 2:33 pm
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“None of the nights are good for you, are they? Is that just going to be your excuse all the time?”
Retzian’s voice held a clear note of annoyance and she continued to pull energy from him. “I’m not threatening you. I’m just asking for some energy. It will return. Hell, we can talk and be friendly while I’m taking it, as I’m trying to do. I enjoy your bike and it might be good to get into the habit of biking again. I used to do it when I was a teenager. See? Friendly conversation.”
Perhaps. She could have gone about it a little better, but he hadn’t been so great the last time they met either. Still.
It wouldn't do any harm for Retzian to be the bigger person in the situation. Returning the energy she had already taken, she released his back, though kept one hand on the handlebars just in case he fell. “Fine, then let’s start over if that would be better. Hi. I’m Lieutenant Retzian, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would be able to donate some energy. It would make my night. We can talk about your fine bike here and where I might find one, and I promise it won’t harm you at all, and the energy will return after sleeping tonight. No harm done.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 3:00 pm
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Was she just playing with him? The steady flow of energy leaving him wasn’t as pronounced as the sudden jolt of it back in him, and for a split second he really did almost bolt away. His muscles seized and it took all his willpower not to just go.
He stared at her, frozen.
A second passed. Two, three. Ten.
A honking car in the distance seemed to jostle him out of whatever stupor he’d settled into.
Her name was Lieutenant Retzian. Okay. Log that for later. He didn’t know if it was useful information, but he knew it.
He didn’t know why he felt guilty that he’d said it wasn’t a good night. Was any night a good night to have something taken from you against your will? Was it an excuse to want to keep your own energy? How was this not a threat? She was still holding onto his bike, she wasn’t letting him leave. She posed it like it was an actual question, an actual request, but he couldn’t imagine any situation where she let him say no and let him leave.
It was like paying taxes, except instead of fixing roads and taking care of people, they sent monsters to destroy your house and kill your son.
“I think it was from Allison’s Bike Shop. I don’t know. It was a birthday present.” His mind felt a little fuzzy. His voice didn’t quite sound like his own. At least she wasn’t trying to steal his bike.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 3:22 pm
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For a long moment, Retzian thought that he had gone into shock, and she was beginning to feel rather guilty, but…when he began to talk again, even if it was just the name of one of the bike shops, she gently lifted her hand from the handlebars on the bike, though kept both of her hands outstretched in case he fell over or seemed to be trying to fall over.
Not trying but. In case it happened.
“Allison’s Bike shop, hm? I’ll have to look it up. Why don’t we just part ways here, and the next time fate decides that we should meet, we can…well. I can do things a bit better, hm?” Her voice had grown far more gentle, as though he were one of her students who was having a bad time learning part of the material. “I’ll ask and respect your decisions, but I do hope that you’ll say yes. But if you say no, I’ll listen.”
…At least the next time she would. If he kept playing cat and mouse…
She couldn't just be kind forever.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 3:56 pm
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Oliver swallowed the lump in his throat, and when she released the handlebar, he planted his feet more firmly on the ground to make sure he didn’t just topple over. He held himself steady and upright. Except, he couldn’t remember when his hands started shaking, so he had to grip the handlebars again to try and stabilize himself.
He couldn’t imagine a situation where he’d want to give the energy. He couldn’t imagine a situation where she’d let him go. And yet, she said she was now. He wasn’t sure if he believed her words.
He knew the Negaverse wasn’t supposed to be trusted.
The thickness in the air was stifling, and he remembered faintly that he’d wanted to get home before it started to rain. It felt like the skies were going to split open any minute now. He should have just ordered pizza.
Oliver didn’t really look at her; he couldn’t quite figure out where he was supposed to look. Hre eyes, probably. Except he was afraid of what he might find if he looked too deep.
He nodded, and faced ahead of him. He smoothed out the handlebars on his bike and kept his head down a bit. He didn’t know what else to say, he didn’t want to upset her. Didn’t want her to decide to change her mind.
He wanted to make it home, he didn’t want to be just another casualty of Destiny City.
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