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 Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 12:19 pm
Words absolutely failed her. Nessaela was left staring awe-struck at the image that greeted her when she stepped forward onto the sandy beach that bordered the man-made lake at the Destiny City reservoir. Apparently it was far enough away from the light pollution that plagued Destiny City and made it near impossible for one to truly observe the stars in peace and quiet. The added bonus was the brilliance of the full moon bathing the lake's surface with streaks of pure white light that was just astounding to look at. But looking at the moon's reflection in the water was not what she was here to do. Nessaela, having dropped her glamour as soon as she determined it was safe to do so, turned her gaze towards the sky in order to note what was going on above in the celestial dance of stars and planets above. Bringing out her notebook the Vanguardian cadet began to make subtle notations about various positions of well known stars and constellations that was required for a project in her Astronomy course before sighing.
Her gaze lowered to stare longingly at the water. By human standards it would probably be too cold to even attempt swimming at this time of year but she was for certain not going to pass up the opportunity to at least enjoy a little bit of her time out here, besides looking towards the sky. Pulling off the boots that came with her Vanguardian outfit did Nessaela tentatively move closer to the edge of the water in order to test the water's temperature before wading further into the lake's expanse. The water was cool, but not cool enough to deter her from a peaceful stroll. Astronomy could wait - right now she was content to just walk along the man-made beach.
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Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:07 pm
He’d heard that many had a bit of a defined “territory” where they liked to patrol when powered up. Diesel supposed that he understood the concept, wherein if everyone kept their own area secured and under surveillance, there wouldn’t be much energy wasted from overlap or whatever, and maybe there’d be less surprises in keeping to a space you were comfortable with. But wandering around the same block every night was hella droll, and he wasn’t going to participate in that nonsense when there was a whole city at his fingertips.
Diesel had always been more inclined to go where he felt like going. Sometimes that meant a stroll through seedy downtown, or the densely-treed park, or loitering outside a twenty-four hour convenience store for easy victims. Whatever felt right in the moment was fine by him.
Tonight he decided that he fancied a view and a crisp breeze.
There probably wouldn’t be anyone at the reservoir: why would there be at this time of year? So Diesel definitely wasn’t expecting any action, but he’d always had a fondness for water, despite his fiery and explosive sphere, and he was sure he’d find himself something to do, even if that was just “kick up sand.”
He’d hardly set foot on the beach before he nearly tripped over himself trying to backpedal at the sight of something shadowy splashing through the water. He hadn’t been anticipating anyone or anything, so THREAT triggered immediately in his mind at the mostly dark and empty location. But it only took a second for his mind to catch up and recognize the shape of a person, and then another second for him to realize- not quite. It was dark under the moonlight, but even in the dim lighting he could tell that the aura-less girl was blue-skinned and donning a vaguely familiar uniform.
One of those Vanguardians. He’d been at the ambush. He’d fought alongside some. And opposed some others. No telling which way this one went, but it wasn’t like he’d find out by staring at her.
“s**t,” Diesel snorted as he neared the lapping edge of the water. “You kinda startled me. I didn’t really expect to see anyone else out here, let alone, like, one of you.” He’d kinda thought they’d all ******** off after that fight over a year ago. He hadn’t seen one since.
“Y’all are still here, huh? What’s your name? Whatcha doing at the reservoir?”
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Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 3:41 pm
At first Nessaela was unaware that she had company. That was the disadvantage of not having a powered aura ... and not being able to sense those that did. There was something startling then at being addressed so very much out of the blue. For how dark it was, even given the moonlight, Nessaela only knew that she was being addressed and not sure by whom. But there was enough clues in the stranger's words that Nessaela was able to piece together that this was obviously someone in the know of the battle between the White Moon and the Negaverse. The questions that quickly raced through her mind were along the lines of: friend or foe and should I engage or just leave?
The smartest thing would have been to quietly ignore the individual and pack everything up but perhaps there was a small part of her that craved interaction with someone that wasn't a fellow Vanguardian member this evening. Almost absently did she brush back a strand of hair that revealed pointed-ears before sighing. "I'm not sure how me being here would startle you unless you come here often enough that you know people aren't here," her forehead creased in thought, "truthfully this is probably one of the better places to study that which is above us," and here Nessaela absently pointed towards the sky above them. "Have a project I'm working on that requires a clear view of everything up there and I can't find a better view than out here."
Moving out of the water now Nessaela tried to get a better glimpse at the stranger before grabbing at her boots in case she needed them before laying a hand gently on her side, near her dagger, before pausing thoughtfully. "We're still all here, mostly, just ... scattered. Probably for the better. As for my name: it's Nessaela in this form. And what is your name?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:41 am
Diesel just quirked the girl a little grin and gave a slight roll of his shoulders at her assertion of how often he must come around. “I do live in this city,” he reminded her. “Grew up here. Spent my whole life in DC. There’s a certain amount of expectation for what’s ‘normal’ to find around, y’know?” But maybe the most normal thing for here would be to anticipate the abnormal. Aliens weren’t too much of a stretch when he remembered what senshi were supposed to be. And it seemed like all manner of bizarre just kept happening now that he was awakened to it.
Given that Diesel didn’t really know… almost anything about the Vanguard or what they were doing here or what any of their projects entailed, he had to ask, “Can't you just go and, like, see everything out there with your actual eyes? You came in on a spaceship or something, right? Couldn’t you just go and look around out there and not be bothered with looking at it from here?”
Even some of the Negaverse senshi, who couldn’t ever travel to their namesake world were stupid enamored by the sky and stars. Diesel wasn’t among them in pretty much any capacity, but it was an area of interest for many in DC. And this girl had to have just about the most exclusive and intimate experience with space out of everyone, having actually traveled through it. It definitely would be an experience, Diesel reasoned. And he did enjoy finding new experiences when he could.
His gaze flicked down to watch where her hand lay at her side, close to her weapon, but returned quickly to her face. He remained at ease, having no weapon to draw of his own. Magic didn’t really require any kind of combat stance, and he didn’t anticipate needingit, but was now aware that he might.
Would definitely be a ‘new experience’ to fight a centuries-old alien.
“I’m Diesel,” he replied with a little grin and a proud notch up of his chin and flick of his long, rainbow-hued hair. “You probably get the whole, ‘I’m blank of whatever, and I’d love to show you my world sometime!’ spiel from the Other Guys, but I gotta be up front and say it’s not really in my wheelhouse. Might have better luck with you showing me around space, huh?”
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 2:32 pm
If it had been daylight Diesel's comment of just going up and checking out the stars as they were, in situ, would have brought a flush of anger to her face. Even in daylight it might have been hard to see if she weren't using her glamour but she tried to force down the irritation that was bubbling under the surface. She scoffed silently at his explanation of having grown up in Destiny City as if it were a magical catch all for knowing all there was to know about the city and its surroundings. As for the other assertion that was made in regards to how the Vanguard operated Nessaela merely shook here head in response to Diesel. She attempted to relax her stance and took her hand away from the dagger as she really wanted to keep it near the weapon but she would rather have the element of surprise if it came to needing to use it.
"First of all, if it were feasible to leave the planet that might make sense. But it takes a lot of effort and time to send our people back up into space. And even then, it's generally just to go back to where it is we come from. It's not like we can just go hither-thither you know. Second of all, this project is actually nothing to do with our group. It's a curricular assignment I have to finish for my course I'm taking."
Nessaela sighed before staring back towards the sky for a moment. "It is nice to meet your acquaintance Diesel. I'm afraid I've actually never had anyone offer me to show me their homeworld, so you'd be wrong on that account. And unless you want to go on a one-way trip into space with probably no way of coming back, then sure: you can go into space if you want."
Grabbing up her notebook from the sand Nessaela opened it to a page before making one more notation before frowning and scratching it through. Her attention was still on Diesel's proximity. Subtly she shifted a little before accessing her subspace pocket for the container she'd place there earlier with some food that she could munch on. Opening the lid she plucked out a grape before popping it into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. "So why are you out here Diesel?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2023 10:05 am
Yaaa, maybe he just didn't get it that well? He canted his head, expression quizzical as vibrant rainbow locks spilled down over his chest. The whole lot of them- a dozen or so, at least- had come to Earth just for that one guy, right? And were loitering around this planet now, because...? Diesel wasn't super sure what all had been happening on that hilltop, being more concerned with him and his than anything else going on. But if it took so much energy, why would one dude really be worth everyone being stuck here? "Sounds like your travel kinda sucks, then," he lamented breezily. "The senshi can go back and forth to their world, like, all the time. And their planets are dead and all. Just figured it'd be easier for your lot to go wherever you wanted."
And she was taking a 'course.' Like, for school? She was enrolled in classes like someone who was planning on hanging around for a while. He supposed they had been around for more than a year, already, and they must've been doing something in that time.
"Hey, I go to DCU, myself." He couldn't imagine any these centuries-old aliens were taking high school courses, so she must've been taking college classes, at least! ...Maybe graduate stuff, though. Too advanced for Diesel to handle. And they were supposed to be 'allies,' yeah? Didn't seem like there was any harm in saying that much. "Maybe we've passed each other before!" And if they were allies- Well, it wasn't like the White Moon had ever offered him a trip into space, either. Probably went just as much for anyone affiliated with the Negaverse.
"Dunno if I'd have no way back," he said with a shrug and a mischievous smirk.
A little flicker of energy blipped off of him, a flutter of rainbow and fabric that dissolved on the spot and reappeared instantaneously just a scant inch from Nessaela's face. "Not that hard for me to get around, provided I know where I'm going." Not that he had any experience with going more than a few miles, unless you counted whatever plane Negaspace was in, but honestly, if it was life-or-death, how hard could a one-way out of space be?
"Got a bit of wanderlust tonight, I suppose," he said in answer to her question, twisting away from her to stride back across the sand, folding his arms at the back of his head as he went and scuffling at the edge of the water with his boots. "Figured I'd go somewhere I don't usually have a reason to go. Not typical to find anyone to drain or fight all the way out here, at night. Makes it quieter than I usually like, but I guess you never know who'll be around."
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Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2023 1:45 am
There was a thoughtful expression on Nessaela's face as she considered the possibility that existed in passing by countless individuals on the DCU campus and not knowing if they had secret lives like she did. Her voice was soft as she chose her words with care, "I give you credit. It is indeed possible we've crossed paths. I'm not taking many classes myself but I'm finding the experience a little frustrating I'll admit," she sighed before plucking another grape out of her container before turning it around in her fingers ... fidgeting with the small oval shape, "I have to always stifle the urge to correct the instructor leading the class and it is getting tiring." After admitting this Nessaela glanced towards the young man before listening to his explanation on things before she abruptly popped the grape into her mouth and had just bit the grape in half when Diesel suddenly disappeared.
Nessaela choked suddenly on the grape she'd just started chewing as Diesel literally popped into existence right in front of her face. Coughing violently had the desired effect of expelling the piece of fruit out of her mouth and she stared at the senshi with tearing eyes before looking away. The grape had landed somewhere in the sand but was immediately forgotten. How dare he? That, yes, was the basis of the element of surprise and Nessaela found she didn't much care for the reaction that had been a result of said surprise. Grabbing the nearest small pebble that was within grasping range did she test the weight before discarding it for a smaller object. The human slang expression of "payback is a b***h" flashed through her mind before she tossed the rock in Diesel's direction. If her aim was true than the rock would hopefully splash a little bit of water on Diesel. If the rock didn't do it, well then good old brute force would.
With that she stood up and started to move towards Diesel with her arms out in front ready to shove the senshi into the water. Hopefully she'd have the element of surprise this time.
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Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2023 12:56 pm
Well, he was quite pleased with himself, but then Diesel was always quite pleased with himself. In his mind, it felt like these Velencian aliens should be expectant of pretty much everything? She'd just been going on about how much smarter she was than her professors, and teleportation was quite literally the most standard and documented of the Negaverse's abilities. As one of their allies, she should know the bare minimum of what he was capable of. It pleased him that he'd startled her, made a rolling laugh tumble out of his throat as he moved across the beach.
A small stone plunked into the shallow water, sending a few heavy droplets to rain against the leather of his boots and dusting the end of the long drape hanging from his hips. He would've thought she'd kicked it- maybe out of anxious energy? It was there, and he understood that need for something to be moving.
But in the next instant, he didn't think it was so accidental. The sand shuffled as she moved. The edge of the lapping water splashed, and out the corner of his eye, Diesel saw just the flicker of shadow.
He twisted, snaring one of her wrists in his hand where her arms were outstretched to shove him, and dipping back behind her while keeping his hold, supporting her weight against his arm so that she wouldn't fall forward into the water, but keeping her precariously off balance by holding her forward. "Hey, I'm not deaf, y'know?" He prompted, head canted and expression almost curious. "Also, like, I thought you'd be faster? From space gravity or something?" But they didn't move much differently than the people here did!
"I was expecting Superman alien vibes, but I guess that probably is a little unrealistic." If everything from space came in hot with that level of superhuman, the Negaverse really would be hiding in Negaspace until everyone ******** off again.
"But you're giving more Gamora? I don't think she really had any powers. She's just pretty and feisty and green. Like your hair!"
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Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2023 12:33 am
If only the sound of her approach had been as silent as she had hoped it could be. But even as she neared Diesel did the other seem prepared to interrupt her momentum that she had gained in the effort to at least shove him into the water. All too soon did Nessaela find herself in a predicament. Now she was the one who was held fast to the corrupt senshi with one of her arms twisted behind her back. The feeling of her arm being in such a position was unnatural to say the least and she struggled for a moment before stilling her motions. There was one trick still up her sleeve and it didn't even require her to try to free her dagger that was attached to her side. Even if they were allies, Nessaela wasn't going to let this individual manhandle her around like this. Sure she had instigated the current situation but that didn't mean that she was going to take this like a timorous animal.
Even as she was moved into a sort of position that saw her being leaned over the water, yet not in danger of falling in did Nessaela check to see where exactly her body was in aligned with Diesel's. Even with knowing that in this position Diesel could not see her face did Nessaela make no effort to smile in realization that there was something that this agent of the Negaverse forgot to take into account. There were tricks of the trade that the Velencians had and even if it were to lead to possibly some sort of reprimand if the word got out ... Nessaela would take the chance to better the odds in this fight to reflect well in her favor.
Hearing the words that Diesel was speaking did Nessaela give a small struggle before scoffing. Her trapped arm was not the one that Diesel needed to worry about ... it was her free one. Calling forth her source stone without any flair or noise did Nessaela stare down at the polished surface of the gem. "I never said you were deaf. We also don't have Superman alien vibes, whatever those are. On average I'd say we're like you senshi and others, but I digress," Nessaela suddenly attempted to spin inwards in order to at least get into a good position to utilize her one hidden advantage. Yanking her captive arm at the same time of her spin she hoped that Diesel would be distracted enough that she could slap her source stone somewhere along his side and start draining the senshi's energy: just enough to allow her the chance to extricate herself from this scenario.
If she could weaken Diesel then it would allow her to use the Comtech on her wrist that could enable her to "warp" out of the area and either find herself out of the reach of being retaliated against; at least for the evening. Nessaela's mind was going, what was the earth expression, a million miles per hour with thoughts before she felt her stone make contact barely with Diesel's side. If she could only keep him distracted enough now.
"I have no idea who you are talking about. Who's Gamora?"
She struggled a little more if only to see if her stone was actually working. If she could keep him talking ... just keep his attention off his side ... she'd have him.
Source Stone/Cadet info Quote: You have the ability to drain energy from a person's body using the Source Stone you were given when you joined the Vanguard. You must be physically touching someone to drain their energy, but a standard human can be drained in under a minute.
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Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2023 3:38 pm
"Well, how would you know you don't have them, if you don't even know what they are?" Diesel asked incredulously. Besides that he'd just said she was a little lacking in that department. Maybe she was 'Superman' enough, though. It wasn't like the Velencians had any aura of power like every other threat in DC did. No extraterrestrial source of influence that gave them away, like Metallia or the Code. They just arrived faster and stronger than normal humans. Innately.
Maybe that kind of was Superman alien vibes.
She twisted toward him, and Diesel released her without struggle. Not like he was trying to restrain her, or anything. The girl had come at him, and he couldn't really be blamed for wanting to pass on ending up wet and sandy.
He felt her touch to his side, recognized that she was trying to accomplish... something, though he couldn't say with any certainty what that was. Just get his hand off her? Try and shove him again? Ness was hella defensive, and he just squinted in confusion back at her. "Uh, Gamora's like this green alien girl who travels around space with her friends. She's got this guardian mercenary sort-"
It wasn't an unfamiliar sensation, to have his energy drained. Of course he hadn't understood what the ******** was going on the first time it had happened, when he'd been a civilian. Then after that, Rakovanite had done it to him again, while powered up, so he was kind of getting the gist of the way it felt. Not inherently harmful or damaging. It didn't even hurt. He really had no idea why Order pitched such a horrific fit about it. Maybe he wouldn't have noticed it, except that she was actively touching him with something, and there was a peculiar sort of tug, almost magnetic, like he could fall over in that direction. A sort of buckling that hit that side first. His weight shifted, settling into a slightly wider stance that felt like it somehow took less effort to stay standing.
Diesel snatched her arm away from him, drawing her hand up to squint at the little crystal in her palm. And when he grabbed her now, little wisps of purply energy peeled off of her as he dragged back on her energy. He didn't need a crystal. Didn't even need to be touching her. If she was going to drain him, that was fair game, yeah? She'd been going on about the time and effort it took to travel, so it probably stood to reason that they'd need energy and some way to harvest it.
She still might have just asked if she wanted something from him.
"I didn't know you could do that."
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Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2023 1:21 pm
Nessaela hadn't been one for following much about the human culture but even as she pulled energy from Diesel's side and had thought that maybe she'd win this little tete-a-tete but even as she had found herself released did she continue to try and keep her source stone pressed against Diesel's side. Maybe that was the flaw in her logic. As soon as he had released her maybe she should have hidden it back from where she'd brought it forth from. It seemed as if the moment to have done so was lost when Diesel once more grabbed her hand in order to glimpse the stone that was nestled in her grasp. It wasn't hard to banish it back to where it was hidden from his sight but she felt a simple rush of pride knowing that she had done something unexpected right under his nose. The statement that he admitted to was attest to that simple thought. It was good that the Negaverse didn't know all their secrets ... although if Diesel told someone, then they'd know about this one.
What exactly would the Commodore say if he learned that someone had let that particular secret get out into the open? He wouldn't have to know if she could feasibly ... catch Diesel's interest some other way ... if that were possible?
Fear lanced through Nessaela and even as she once more yanked her arm free did she stumble away from Diesel. Her own energy levels were flagging and the enervation she was suddenly feeling made no sense - unless Diesel was stealing her own energy like she had tried to steal his. With an effort that was equal parts determination and stubbornness did Nessaela bite back the refrain she wanted to give and instead settled on a more diplomatic reply, "we don't know much about each other. It could change, if you wanted it to," Nessaela paused and struggled to find the next phrase palatable, "If you were to let me leave now, I would be willing to answer questions you might have later. The other caveat would be that you swear you won't tell anyone else what I share with you."
But how else would she get out of this current situation if they just kept on trying to attack each other? The way Nessaela saw it was that she was outmatched and it seemed safer to give in ... a little: even if it meant giving out information that wasn't meant to be shared.
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Posted: Mon May 22, 2023 8:34 am
'If you were to let me leave...'
Let her leave? What, did she think he was holding her hostage, or something? Diesel was literally just standing there having a relatively normal (as normal as one could expect from an alien, anyway) conversation with her when she started trying to... throw rocks at him and shove him and energy drain him like she definitely thought he was an enemy or something. And he probably shouldn't take it personally, but like, ******** much for this whole 'allies' thing, huh? She obviously didn't like him or trust him.
And he'd just been trying to show her all the cool s**t he could do. What was so wrong with that?
Expression thoughtful, he swirled a finger through the air, the purpley wisps of the energy he'd taken from her following the motion until they coalesced into a tiny orb on the tip of his digit. He drew it into himself, rather than storing it in subspace to turn in- because, like, she'd taken from him, and he needed his own personal energy reserves replenished, yeah? Seemed reasonable to him.
Diesel didn't know almost anything about the Vanguard, despite having had the opportunity to fight beside a couple of them a year and a half ago. He'd gotten... a really vague gist of their 'goals' and also that realization that most of them weren't especially happy about it. Some did what their boss guy ordered. Some didn't. He had no idea where this one fell on the spectrum. But given the whole 'not very friendly' thing, Diesel was kind of inclined to believe that maybe fell more into the disobedient category. He didn't like it, but it somehow felt like his duty to explore that and report on any potential threats if the opportunity was literally right in front of him.
But man, now it was more work and less 'curious exploration.'
"Dunno why you gotta make it seem like such an abhorrent chore to talk to me like a person, but whatever. I don't mind taking you up on your offer, if that's the way you wanna go about it, Ness. We can meet up here sometimes, so you can keep working on your project." Whatever that was.
Though because it was so obvious that she didn't trust him, he sincerely doubted she'd be quick to meet up with him again. Diesel figured he wasn't likely to so much as glimpse her again after he 'let her go' from here.
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Posted: Mon May 22, 2023 10:02 am
Nessaela grimaced as Diesel released her before she stood straighter. There was something that sounded like reproach in the words that he had spoken to her but she was just glad to be turned loose. Her gaze turned thoughtful as the words registered in her mind of what Diesel had been telling her but at the same time she just wanted to be not in the man's company anymore for the night.
For all that this misunderstanding had blown up into there was a small thread of remorse settling over her heart but she pushed it aside. There'd be time to feel sorry later. Right now she needed to vacate herself from the area and she scanned her Comtech before inhaling deeply. There would be time to analyze things later but for now she just wanted to leave. Her voice was quiet as words spilled out as she backed away with a bit of urgency.
"Maybe there was a massive misunderstanding on my part."
With those words out in the open Nessaela activated the never-used-before 'warp function' on her Comtech and vanished from the area altogether.
She'd need time to think this encounter over and more than likely she would keep her word. But had she messed up the most by overreacting? There was a fairly good chance.
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