Myrrha stood flexing her hands as she stared down at the city from the rooftop that she had stopped momentarily on. She wasn't sure that she liked all the changes that had occurred since the year previous. First of all - members of that strange alien race still lurked around. No, she hadn't seen any of them since the large battle that went down on the hilltop, and the resulting chaos that ensured on the Moon, but they were out there, somewhere. She just didn't know where. Somewhere, down in the multitude of shadows and uncertainties lay Caedus as well. But she wasn't going to dwell on that subject either. No, it had taken her a long time to even want to power up again and perhaps it was just as well that she had taken a break.
But it was a totally different reason that drove the young woman out of her domicile that evening. No matter how hard she tried to keep the city safe, other things crept in to strike at the heart of her home. Things more insidious in nature. Things that could not be fought.
It was with that frame of mind that the super senshi took to the night to try and find something that she could pummel. The anger and, if she was being honest with herself, fear that settled inside her needed to be expressed by finding something touched with chaos that she could find and maybe neutralize, if not deter for a couple of days. Auras flickered around her and Myrrha was hoping with some luck she could find someone to take her frustration out on.
xSeiana_ZI
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2023 2:30 am
So much had changed.
Borax could remember the life before, vividly, but it felt like something distant that he could never really capture again. He didn't want to, really; the victories of prior felt distant and removed. Why did he care about advancing in his directorship again beyond the fact that he clearly would, naturally? There was something else more urgent, more present, more freeing, and it was freeing in a way that he could only describe to a few people aptly. Faustite clearly had understood it with how quickly he saw the delight cross Borax's face. Jadarite clearly understood it for she had recruited him in the first place, knowing that with him they could both find more fortune. Miyamoto understood it; he felt the thrill of the hunt and let Borax drive it.
To others, he couldn't say a word, and perhaps that was the beauty of it. He could hold souls in his hand, let them twist between his fingers, pull the energy that kept people awake and alive without much of a thought beyond that. It still took concentrating on the thread, but finding that thread felt like an afterthought when before it wasn't even a comprehensible concept.
Now?
Now it was something he could just do, and that was how he found himself winding a starseed between his fingers on this particular patrol. Jadarite had told him to keep to people that wouldn't've been noticed, beyond senshi and knights, and he understood that concept loud and clear. Perhaps this civilian would be noticed.
As he kicked them into an alleyway, he doubted it.
A blip on her internal radar at first went mostly ignored as Myrrha tried to wrest control over her wayward thoughts. It did no good to be distracted on a patrol and that's what was happening. Instead of focusing on her surroundings Myrrha's attention was inwards and that would only lead to mistakes being made. Refocusing her mental attitude to what needed to be done and what needed to be ignored had the super senshi of scents finally picking up on what had soured in the immediate area: an aura of chaos. Her breathing picked up for only a moment before it calmed. The owner of the chaos signature was definitely of a lower stage than she was and thus it would be alright if she chose to engage the individual.
Knowing that her own aura was possibly being felt had the senshi's gaze on a swivel as she closed in on the location that she was feeling the aura come from and as she checked her bearings did Myrrha hear the impact of something striking the ground, hard. It seemed as if she had found her opponent.
Knowing that the direct approach was often the one that would result in the most amount of surprise did Myrrha carefully, but quickly, move into a seated position from the rooftop's edge before dropping down silently. The impact with the ground jarred her senses for but a moment before she straightened. The tableau before her spoke volumes and she clenched her fists tightly before tsking. "In all my time as a senshi, it never ceases to amaze me just how stupid you can get."
Her gaze narrowed dangerously on the unknown civilian's starseed held so casually as she continued, "you are out here thinking you are invincible as you act but you always fail to realise that maybe you should have had some sort of backup plan."
Seiana_ZI
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:20 pm
The aura lit up his senses like a over applied cologne and he would have coughed for it if he didn't realize the source. He had very specifically been targeting civilians that evening, and some how, a ******** super senshi found him anyway. Better than an eternal, but for all her anger, he didn't know how much better.
Still, as he turned around to face her, this remained an opportunity. He had been excelling on his assignment--naturally--so all the better that he could add to it with yet another face and name. And if this one was angry with them, certainly a good place to start.
"And what backup plan do you think I should have, Miss...?" He left that hanging, hoping she would supply the filler word of her name at the end there. These entries were ideal with a name to refer to them by, of course, something beyond "woman with white uniform fading to magenta," and if the leading question could simply land him what he wanted...
He pondered the starseed in his fingers for a moment.
If his backup plan was supposed to being less blatant about what he held, no problem. He could do that. As he waited for her answer, the starseed in his fingers simply disappeared, waiting in subspace for when he could safely submit it for his quota. And if he needed it like some sort of bribe to get her to go away a la Cybele, well...
"And what backup plan do you think I should have, Miss...?"
Myrrha scoffed. As if she was going to be handing out her name freely like some sort of party favor. Instead she kept her gaze narrowed on this stranger. He, and certainly it must have been a he, had so casually handled the civilian's starseed before making it disappear and Myrrha knew that although they were a lieutenant, they definitely weren't new to the scene at all. If the small display of handling something between one's fingers and then just making it disappear it meant that the lieutenant was comfortable in such motions already. This was possibly going to be trickier than she'd anticipated. Was there a way to get the starseed back to it's owner and send this individual a message at the same time?
"Maybe the lesson in which you aren't alone. I think it's pretty ballsy, and stupid, being out here by yourself without another to watch your back. All it takes is for someone stronger to come along to make sure that you have a really bad night, don't you agree?"
While she wasn't exactly pro-leap into the fray with fists a-flying, Myrrha was debating what would be more effective with this individual. The end goal was to maybe see the starseed returned and this agent sent packing with his sense of smell reeling but did that include the need for violence? That she was going to use her magic was a given, but was she going to persuade him via other methods as well?
The answer to that came unbidden as she darted forward to aim her left fist towards the man's gut. If he dodged, he dodged ... but she'd hopefully anticipate and counter with a move that could knock him off his feet - if he wasn't expecting it.
Seiana_ZI
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2023 1:19 pm
He hoped it would be that easy, but he knew it was rarely going to be. She had started out with a hostile foot forward, but unless she was a braggart as well, she was unlikely to just tell him who she was.
She was likely to give him a whole spheal, but that bought him time to brace himself for whatever was probably coming next. He presumed magic, but considering what Cybele had done, he couldn't make the assumption that it wouldn't come with some sort of physicality. He just hadn't necessarily expected it to come first, and as she charged him, he shifted toward the right in an attempt to cause the hit to graze versus bruise.
It still hurt, though, and he cursed his lack of further strength in his mind.
The starseed that was in his hand was quickly replaced with the dip pen he was learning how to operate with. Better for ink, but perhaps it could be hungry for something a bit redder. He jabbed it downward toward her shoulder in an attempt to stun her enough that she'd stop punching at him. "Interesting that you'd say that, out here alone yourself."
So far as he could tell, he didn't feel any other auras. Perhaps she'd correct him, which would also be valuable information. If those of the other side stopped operating alone--
He grabbed at his dip pen and attempted to open some distance between them again.
"But you aren't a general. All you are is the lowest ranked tier of agent the Negaverse has."
If he'd been a general then there would have either been backup sought before or the encounter would have never taken place. Myrrha knew her own limits and maybe if she was angry enough she would have taken on another of equal ranking but only a fool would take on a stronger opponent. The strike she'd aimed at the lieutenant's gut had connected but the shift in direction that he'd made meant that he'd escaped most of the force behind her strike. As his own means of defense appeared via whatever skill that agents had to summon or banish their own weapons Myrrha had to halt with her attempted follow through to take the agent's feet from out under him. That pen, although it looked deceptively harmless, was anything but. The nib was actually quite sharp as it managed to nick the bared skin of her left shoulder. It wasn't no sharp slice of glass or mutant spider leg tearing through flesh, but she still felt it just the same.
Wincing but not taking her eyes off her opponent did Myrrha back up a step before narrowing her gaze once more. Her shoulder stung but she ignored the pain for the most part. All she wanted was for that starseed to go back to it's rightful owner. But if it was still out of sight, then how could she go about forcing that to happen?
"Maybe I am alone or maybe I'm not. Either way, that's not the important thing to concentrate on. What I believe would be a very nice way to end the evening would be to return what your holding onto back to it's rightful owner, wouldn't you agree?"
She waited, hoping that maybe common sense and decency would prevail. It didn't mean that she wouldn't teach him a lesson afterwards.
Seiana_ZI
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2023 2:18 pm
His eye twitched.
No, she wasn't wrong. He was fairly sure the only thing lower than a lieutenant were the youma the higher agents could command. The reminder was galling, though, and his grip on his own was slightly too tight. She was speaking to why he was out there in the first place, collecting his doubled quota, collecting his information, patrolling and not simply delighting in what his powers brought him. If he was a lesser man, he was fairly sure he would have seen red at that moment.
But he was better than that, and he took in a deep breath to stop that anger from bubbling up irresponsibly.
She backed up as he backed up, and that showed him, at least, that what he had done had been effective. Had that been her dominant arm like he suspected? Seemed important to note if she was a lefty; they weren't as rare as generally thought but they were rare enough to be noteworthy.
Her dodgy response and the lack of auras hinted to him that she was alone, but he'd leave that be. She was attempting to bargain with him. To be honest, the offer was tempting. She could take the starseed; there were more useless cattle where that one came from. He could go find another one and escape without any more injuries.
Was this a thorough report, though?
"I have a quota to keep, you know." Perhaps he could bait her into giving him more. "If I give you this one back, I'll have to go find another. Doesn't sound like a nice evening really."
At the reminder that even if he honoured her request here and now that some other poor unsuspecting soul could be targeted later on left a sour taste in her mouth. Myrrha wasn't optimistic that she could prevent anything like that from happening, it just wasn't tenable that she follow this one lieutenant to make sure that no one else was injured but perhaps if she could save this individual then maybe it would make it okay for the time being? No, she couldn't think like that. Her fists, relaxed at the moment in a faux display of placation, tightened once more but she didn't rise to the bait ... yet.
She was only one individual. Was there perhaps a sense in trying to join up with a group that she knew existed? Would it benefit her? There was ... nothing against being out by herself but in a group everyone would know where the members of the group were and could probably harass lowly lieutenants more effectively.
"I'm sure I could think of something to deter you. Pretty sure you can't teleport yet so it'd be pretty easy just to keep following you around all night to make sure that anyone you target would get away. That seems like an extreme waste of both of our time though. I can be quite stubborn. And quota-schmota. Do you think I care if you don't make your precious quota?"
She stood with her feet planted firmly on the ground as she stared up at the lieutenant as if saying, I dare you from stopping me.
Seiana_ZI
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2023 3:28 pm
Considering how she had approached him, he expected her to attack him at the goading, not simply try to reason with him some more. He had heard the White Moon was perhaps too trusting at times, at least from what he had read. People like this one made him inclined to believe that.
It was an interesting dynamic that she was not doing terribly much to him. Perhaps she was the bigger person there. Alas, he was not.
"You could," he yawned, "but I do have superiors that could simply teleport me out with a call. Just because I can't doesn't mean I don't have options." Faustite had pulled on him frequently enough now that he was sure getting him to do it wouldn't be hard, though he had better have a good reason. Perhaps Jadarite, his boss, would have a moment if she was not streaming. Albite seemed down to do anything as much as his dog personality was a bit much. Perhaps he could goad Fulgurite into it, because watching that guy squirm was amusing.
All he needed was just a bit more information... though if she was going to make this impossible and not attack him, perhaps the only important thing to note was that she was barely a threat at all.
"If you want to pursue me, you can, but as you can't get this starseed from me, I'll be going now."
Borax eyed her defensive position dismissively, turned his back partially toward her, and started away from both her and the downed civilian.
Myrrha had a choice to make. Was she going to just let this agent walk away with a civilian's starseed tucked away nice and neat in his "back" pocket, so to say, or was she going to do something about it. Even as the agent turned his back partially away from her. Was that not the worst possible move a potential enemy could make? Presenting their retreating back, giving their opponent the chance to attack unfettered.
Making a quick survey of the items that lay discarded along the ground Myrrha noted that nothing would be of use to her to at least slow the agent down. Fine then. Knowing that her magic was more of a nature that worked better in close quarters did Myrrha start trailing after her target. Although knowing what she was the senshi of and what her attacks affected did the purple-haired woman grimace before stepping up to a dumpster and reach in to grab whatever bag she could snag. It was going to be a two part attack - loose her magic and then throw the garbage as well.
With the plan as hastily constructed as it was Myrrha was sure something would go wrong and she decided that she'd throw the garbage bag first, and then loose her attack. Surely being already covered in garbage would only amplify her magic. Without much warning did the super senshi sling the bag towards the retreating figure of her opponent. Even if the projectile barely grazed him at least the impact should slow him down. Getting closer to someone at this time was not advisable but she needed to be in closer quarters.
"Hey, I wasn't done with you yet," even as the bag clipped the man did Myrrha dart in closer and launch her strongest magic available to her, "Myrrha's Overwhelming Scent," even as the words left her lips did they curl into a smile, it felt good to be able to use her power for a good cause.
Super Sailor Scout Attack: Myrrha's Overwhelming Scent
Myrrha concentrates her energy and calls out her attack. She can select up to two enemies close together and sends the energy in their direction. If the energy hits the targets they will find that their sense of smell has been dramatically increased. They could be overwhelmed by scents found around them, be it good or bad. This attack duration would last 45 seconds. Generally the targets have to be within a ten-foot radius to Myrrha when she calls her attack. The targets must also be standing within two feet of each other. Any targets outside this radius will either escape the attack entirely or only be partially affected.
This attack can be used twice per battle.
Seiana_ZI
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2023 3:05 am
Borax saw that she was following him, still keeping his path forward but his walk and attention tilted to the side. He heard her, too, creeping and seeing if she see anything from the way she was looking around. It was probably for the best to just keep going; perhaps this was enough to bait her into doing something else more--
A trash bag?
Of all things, he didn't expect her to literally throw a bag of trash at him, but it was effective at pausing his motions so he could attempt to whack the bag away from him. Unfortunately, with it being filled with an assortment of things and not just one mass, convincing the bag to let itself be swatted to the side wasn't exactly the easiest task.
He did manage to stop it from entirely tearing open, but that did not give him much time to factor for her attack as she approached. Good, in some ways, that this Myrrha finally had used it. Bad that it made everything smell horrifically rank.
Borax knew, conceptually, that a lot of things thrown in the trash were perfectly good and perfectly usable. It was sticking them together as a mass and letting them be exposed to the elements that made the smell worse, and Myrrha's Overwhelming Scent apparently made it ten times worse. He attempted to plug his nose, but only partially. He needed to figure out how long this nasal assault lasted to complete his duties.
"Really?" He felt himself attempting to eat air. This was giving him a headache. Twenty. "What are you, the senshi of smell?"
He edged a bit further away, not necessarily entirely to get away from her, but see if there was a distance in which he could get away from this attack and the trash that, indeed, smelled like s**t.
There was a few seconds where the biggest s**t-eating grin appeared on her face as she took in the downed agent. Blasted by garbage and then by her magic was quite an effective one-two punch if she did say so herself. But the magic would wear off and the starseed still was not in her possession. Even as the seconds passed did Myrrha note that her opponent was trying to move just the smallest distance away from her. Now even if her magic was about to end she couldn't just let him leave. Reaching down, and doing something that wasn't like her at all, Myrrha snagged one of the lieutenant's ankles. Left or right she wasn't one hundred percent sure.
"Hey, I don't really want to resort to this," and here she applied the tiniest bit of pressure against the natural bend of the joint, "but I will break your ankle if you don't give up the starseed you have on you."
She paused before adding a little bit more pressure, "c'mon, don't make me do this."
Somewhere deep inside a voice was rising up and just demanding that the ankle be broken anyways but she tamped it down. She wasn't that sort of person. At least she hoped she wasn't.
Seiana_ZI
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2023 4:34 am
Thirty.
He had thought, for a moment, that maybe he would successfully escape from the radius, but she dived down and clamped hard on his ankles. The major disadvantage of his outfit was that it was not exactly outfitted to deal with these kinds of attacks, and the pressure on his ankles actually hurt. What seemed to be the most interesting aspect was that she was pleading with him to not make her do this, as if she was hesitant to even attack him in the first place.
Forty.
Everything smelled like s**t. How long did this go on for?
He coughed as he yanked his leg and therefore his ankle in an attempt to get her to let go. It throbbed, and honestly moving his leg made the pressure even worse. His head was throbbing, too, and it felt like all he could taste was trash--
Well. That was fading, a bit.
Fifty.
He reached into his subspace pocket, taking out the starseed and letting it wind around his fingers before pushing it toward her. "If it's that important to you, take it. Just let go," his lip quirked upward, "Myrrha."
There. The starseed was back out into the open. Myrrha's gaze ticked upwards to the lieutenant's face as her name spilled from his lips. Well it had been bound to happen that he would get her name if he had been paying attention and it seemed like he had been. Keeping the smallest amount of pressure on the man's ankle did Myrrha reach over to pluck the starseed that was offered up for the taking. While there was still the chance that someone else would become inadvertent prey to this agent, at least this starseed would find it's way home.
Realizing that she had yet to turn the man's captured ankle loose did the senshi give the joint the tiniest additional pressure, hopefully enough to cause an evening of discomfort, before turning it loose. She was a senshi of her word but it didn't mean that she couldn't make it a little harder for someone like this agent to fill whatever "quotas" needed filling.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now scat."
Myrrha hoped that the lieutenant would indeed 'scat' but she had doubts. Hoping that the improvisation of injuring something would keep him down for at least the night was the only hope that she had. Staring down at the starseed and then Borax did Myrrha wait patiently for him to leave.
