Backhand
Superstar
Fixing yesterday and pushing tomorrow.
Posts: 10
|
Post by Backhand on Jun 14, 2018 19:59:22 GMT
Public transport certainly isn’t what most would call the ideal choice for riding in style.
Zhěn’s opinion was certainly no exception, but this time there just really wasn’t any option. He needed to be in Sha Tin and Migong before three o’ clock, noon was almost nigh, and he generally preferred to be quite early… though back-to-back meetings like the two of the day just about made him want to rethink things. The ideal solution would have been Meta transport, of course, but he was too much of a pinchpenny to foot the exuberant rates that came with the convenience, especially for such a mild, cross-town distance. He also, however, found the idea of a professional Superstar having to hitch a ride with random other people vaguely embarrassing, much more so than simply riding the railway.
He certainly found it better than driving, at any rate. He’d gotten used to riding on the righthand side of the road like in the mainland rather than Hong Kong’s left. After nearly causing a wreck over as much, he seemed a little bit spooked around cars in general.
Thus, he now stood in line at the station, a tram (and lengthy line) before him and Octopus card in hand. He’d neglected to bring the armor that made him Backhand; he’d reasoned it was hardly necessary for a day that was to be filled with ties and suits, and that there might yet be time for it to see use later in the evening once he’d gone home. Truth be told, he really had no idea how he’d bring something so bulky anywhere without wearing it regardless.
He shifted his feet a bit, mildly annoyed. The crowd didn’t seem to be moving forward at all, nor could he crane his neck far enough over the sea of heads around him to spot why. Zhěn simply hoped it was something along the lines of a jammed door, for he had little enough time to spare as things were, were you to ask him. With a sigh, he pocketed his card once more, having only already drawn it out on wishful thinking. There would still be a good bit more waiting to do, it seemed.
He abruptly stilled and began looking off to the side rather than towards the train before him, however, as did a good few others; there seemed to be a commotion somewhere, two sets of running feet clear above the din, with someone was shouting something far enough away to be unintelligible. As some of the more anxious around him began murmuring, Zhěn contemplated hopping out of line to investigate, but thought better of it.
It sounded quite a bit like whoever was causing the noise was already heading his way anyways…
|
|
Redstar
Superstar
'The undying star of Hong Kong!'
Posts: 34
|
Post by Redstar on Jun 15, 2018 0:09:36 GMT
What would’ve been a normal day had Redstar dashing across the sidewalk, her heels hurling themselves forward as she struggled to gain traction against the concrete, narrowly dodging pedestrians throughout the public walkway as she closed in on the offender responsible for the afternoon jog, a droopy looking man with eyes that looked to be made of a dead log surrounded with mud, and hair to match that of a crow which would land on such a disgusting thing… In basic terms, he looked hideous to Mimi and said hideous appearance came with a horrid personality, specifically when he punched her in the nose just because she had been the one escorting him out of an establishment after he caused a civil disturbance, for what reason, Redstar didn’t know exactly. All she knew was she had to track him down, and hopefully have him arrested for unprovoked assault and well, causing a disturbance.
She was nearly on him when he fell into a crowd near the tram station, the offender rudely pushing people out of the way as Mimi tried to follow the open trail, her spear raised into the air like a plane across the black sea, avoiding the possibility of causing harm to others, except ridiculously tall people, which, she hadn’t run into one yet. “Come back here dammit, someone stop him!” She called across the crowd, the gap the offender had created closing fast as she tried to keep up, until she had reached the stairs leading to the platform, losing sight of her target. Not only that, but she had lost him in a field of strangers of all things, and with a tram departure imminent, all she could do was frantically search before she lost him to boarding. As quickly as she reached the top of those stairs, the fog of bodies began to thin out, leaving rows of people waiting to board a train, and with a somewhat-solid idea of what he looked like, she began to scour the area, searching for faces similar if not exactly the same as the man she was looking for.
She was careful to keep the reign on her spear close, hoping that she wouldn’t cause injury to uninvolved pedestrians who were just trying to go along their day, although with so many people surrounding her she was tempted to switch to a sword for increased mobility in a restricted environment, but, that would put strangers at a greater risk of unneeded injury. There was nothing else she could do to promote her chances of success, and she wasn’t about to call off tram traffic since really, she probably didn’t even have the power of authority to do that.
…Or did she? Mimi needed to check that out later.
Regardless, she started scouring the lines, hoping to catch him without causing a too large of a scene, and that’s where she noted one character, in particular, a man that resembled the offender she was looking for, having the hair, similar clothing that he might’ve thrown on to throw her off, and more notably…
They were about the same height.
Nice try, jerk.
Mimi began her approach, her blade lowered in a threatening way that would make all who caught sight of it, back off slightly to avoid her possible fury, although she was careful not to hit anyone except her suspect, coming to move behind him in place of whoever was standing in line behind him before, suddenly grabbing the back of his shirt and putting the blade pointed at his back, not hesitating to get up close.
“Don’t move or else.” She directed her suspect, hoping he wouldn't try to run again.
|
|
Backhand
Superstar
Fixing yesterday and pushing tomorrow.
Posts: 10
|
Post by Backhand on Jun 15, 2018 20:01:27 GMT
Zhěn’s prediction, for better or for worse, did indeed come true. As he watched, the tight-knit crowd only allowing him to turn halfway back towards the clamor, its two causes came into sight: the first, the pursued, a scruffy looking fellow hightailing it away that rather strangely reminded him of himself, and the latter, the pursuer, a brightly-clad girl, somewhat inexplicably carrying a spear. Though the cause for the chase wasn’t inherently apparent, he saw enough evidence to be confident that it was standard fare; surely just a Superstar chasing down a perpetrator of some kind, nothing more.
As he turned again and watched the assumed criminal skillfully weave through the crowd, his pursuit foiled at the start, a realization struck him. There didn’t appear to be any police in tow, which was quite the oddity. More often than not, after all, they were quite quick to fall in line with this sort of thing… perhaps the chase had only just begun?
That thought fully in mind, he rather absently watched the escapee part the seas of people before him, contemplating if he ought to join in. He did indeed have places to be, and he also wasn’t dressed for the part, and most in a line of work like his didn’t appreciate having even a shred of spotlight being stolen… but it really did look like he was about to get away.
A mere moment later, however, that suspicion became certainty, for he hadn’t been watching what the man’s pursuer had been doing. The girl—for she really did both look and sound like a teenager—now stood right behind him, jabbing that enigmatic spear near his back and ordering for his compliance, a reckless or else tossed onto the query’s end. All around the pair, the crowd became alarmed and agitated, and an empty circle rapidly formed around the pair as people ducked and ran for cover.
At the very least, Zhěn certainly couldn’t claim to have seen that coming. However, though just as alarmed as anyone would be at suddenly having a weapon pushed their way, he could at least say that he was able to act quickly, for such a position was one he was specialized in escaping. He turned his head from where he’d been watching the running man further back still, giving his sudden capturer a deadpan stare, a hand in a pocket on the same side.
For a brief moment, he made sure there was eye contact, that she was watching his face rather than his hand. Then, like one performs a magician’s parlor trick, the unobserved hand moved, flung from its pocket around his back. He made no attempt to actually grab the spear’s pole, however, instead opting to simply slap it, in the span of a moment forcing it away from his back—
—and into his other hand past his side.
He immediately pulled down and forward, mashing the spear point into the ground before him where it would be useless. At this point, though, the moment of opportunity had run its course, and the girl looked to have taken in all of its contents. Ere she could do anything to reverse the situation, however, Zhěn reared back, bore down, and drove his shoulder into her, knocking her away and into a short backpedal on stumbling feet, the spear now in his possession.
Ere she either charged or rethought her strategy, however, Zhěn simply hopped back a few paces and let a hand drop from the weapon to a pocket with all the haste of a gunfighter on the draw. Rather than another weapon, however, what was forthcoming was his wallet, which he raised and let flip open to display his license as a Superstar, his picture a match and the silver emblem of his agency (and the logos of its sponsors) shining reassuringly. With his other hand, he released the spear, letting it drop to the ground with a clatter.
“You’re dealing with Backhand of the Kwun Tong Southeast Super Group… locally, anyways. I’ll ask you to identify yourself too, so I know how to report you for threatening use of deadly force,” he added grimly, “but first, I daresay that whoever you’re chasing is getting away.”
Zhěn gestured over his shoulder towards where the man was fleeing, tossing in a furtive look to boot—only to notice that he was no longer there, and that he now had no idea where he’d gone. He turned his head back a bit slowly, appearing pained.
“I, uh, I saw him a second ago but…”
He shook his head, flipping his wallet closed and speedily stowing it away. Time was of the essence, and for more than one reason.
“Look, let’s sweat the details later. Do you happen to have anything that belongs to that man on you? If you do, I might be able to lend a hand.”
|
|
Redstar
Superstar
'The undying star of Hong Kong!'
Posts: 34
|
Post by Redstar on Jun 15, 2018 23:06:21 GMT
She didn’t expect her suspect to assume she was bluffing, her eyes meeting his as disbelief crossed her face, his own expression just a simple deadpan stare that showed no fear of being caught or even the threat of her weapon causing injury, causing Mimi to reconsider her actions all but too late, the tip of her weapon thrown into the ground without warning and forcing her to hunch over to compensate, holding on despite the obvious. She must’ve overestimated him, after all, her offender might’ve had greater stamina, but they certainly lacked the training that something like this would require, Mimi making a mental note to assume from now on that perpetrators weren’t always smart, especially in this instance. The question now was who had she used lethal force against?
If almost to answer, she was met with the victim’s shoulder slamming into her, her feet stumbling back as she tried to regain balance, to no avail. At least it wasn’t lethal defensive moves, although she admittedly felt the intended brute force placed into the defensive move in question. How far was he going to go in his attacks? Mimi fell flat on her behind after stumbling backward a few feet, nearly sliding across the concrete floor if it hadn’t been for classic traction. Worse, she had lost her grip on her weapon, and furthermore, as she applied pressure at the sore point of where the shoulder had bombarded her torso, the wrongly accused stranger had gotten ahold of her weapon, which frankly spelled out disaster depending on what exactly he was going to use it for.
With that thought in mind, she quickly got back up, releasing the impact point as she prepared for more retaliation, which never came.
…In fact, she was pretty sure the stranger had backed up, possibly to avoid another attack if she had chosen to charge. Yet once again, his intentions seemed to nearly reverse themselves as he quickly drew something his pocket, Mimi preparing to duck to avoid a possible gunshot which as with the previous, possible retaliation, it never came. This was getting absolutely ridiculous, was he going to attack her or run, the man in question sending mix signals that left her ultimately confused.
Eventually, she decided to relax until the stranger gave her reason to be provoked, the wallet he pulled out instead of a possible weapon flipping open like you would see from secret agents in movies, valid ID for Backhand, someone famous by family alone with sponsors to go with it.
And this someone Mimi actually respected, like, this guy was pretty cool.
“Redstar, Independent,” Mimi replied at his request, respectfully dipping her head in an acknowledgment. However, time was of the essence, and while she was terribly sorry for basically attacking him, she had wasted precious time that could’ve been used for tracing down the offender, although, besides the possible punishment that may follow, the possible lead- Oh, never mind.
“Darn it.” She cursed under her breath, the assailant had disappeared.
How was she going to track him down now? There had to be several routes he could’ve taken, like another tram, turned a street corner, literally anywhere that would throw her off her trail…
Welp, she guessed that maybe instead of guessing and once again possibly putting someone else in jeopardy, she could allow Backhand to help with his possible idea after he had thankfully let the whole incident pass over for now. “Yeah, here, I accidentally ripped his bracelet off as he tried to run.” She replied simply, reaching under the petal of her uniform where her pocket was and pulled out a bracelet. Mimi didn’t hesitate to then toss it to him in the hope that the quickness he used to react to her offense was a permanent reaction time, meanwhile walking over to grab for her spear that he had rather rudely, although in fairness at the time, dropped on the ground. “Sorry by the way, but last time I got close to this guy he landed a hit n’ ran off, and I really didn’t feel like repeating that again,” Mimi explained, spear once again over the shoulder as she scanned the area Backhand had originally gestured to, all while waiting for either an instruction regarding the bracelet or a possible lead.
|
|
Backhand
Superstar
Fixing yesterday and pushing tomorrow.
Posts: 10
|
Post by Backhand on Jun 16, 2018 19:20:54 GMT
Redstar. It was a new name to Zhěn’s ears, and perhaps presumably still new in general, were he to judge by her status as an independent. In that business, if you proved yourself capable, the offers from would-be sponsors and agencies of Superstars all across town would be quick to start rolling in, opportunities you’d be mad to turn down, like them or not. He could see it no other way, at least, and as far as he’d seen, about as much could be said for the next guy.
Despite everything, he put half a thought towards making sure to observe however this Redstar conducted herself in whatever was about to ensue. He was no talent recruiter, nor did he imagine that he had enough time to do much more than toss her a business card, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye out to see if she was any good. A new hand on deck would hardly be a detriment…
Fortunately, at the least, she was willing to get down to business, even if there was every chance that was just in hopes of getting off the hook. When she tossed a bracelet his way, a simple, loose and unadorned band of brown, he promptly slid it over a finger with a satisfied smile.
“Not a worry. This right here is perfect.”
As Redstar retrieved her spear and turned to watch where the fleeing man had gone, he clenched his fist around the captured item and began imbuing it with his power of reversion, offering a brief explanation all the while.
“Now, see, part of my power is the ability to return things to the way they were before. Well, it’s a bit more complex than that,” he conceded, “but that’s the gist of it, anyways. And right now, I can use that on this bracelet, which’ll try to return to its owner’s wrist!”
He uncurled his hand about halfway, letting the bracelet once again see open air but without releasing it. Only knowing the general direction of where it was supposed to and not truly knowing if its owner was even still in range, however, a short moment’s trepidation filled his chest. But, it was promptly replaced with satisfaction, as the band was pulled against his hand as if struck by intense wind, pulling tight against the finger that held it. Most important, however, was that it was being pulled rather than pushed, for the point on the end furthest from his finger had been drawn taut like a bowstring, leaving the bracelet shaped into a very defined point… one that was tilted a touch westwards. He raised it to eye level and pointed at the tip.
“…But if I were to just let it go, it’d travel back to its owner more quickly than we could follow on foot. So instead, I’ll just let it try to return. Think of the tip here like a compass needle, except rather than pointing north, it’s pointing straight towards our quarry.”
Feeling that they’d been at a standstill for far too long now, however, Zhěn raised the thing to a touch overhead and once again lend his eye towards the crowd. Fortunately, calling it a crowd would now have been a bit of a stretch, for the tightly packed mass of people that had been surrounding him moments before had now all but dissolved, only a few particularly hardy souls standing anywhere within twenty feet of the pair. He certainly wasn’t about to complain; jostling through such a mess would have been beyond tiresome, though he imagined it more than likely that they would still have to navigate another before they had caught their man.
“Now, c’mon, let’s get moving, double time. Oh, and if there’s anything you know about who we’re going after here, I’m all ears.”
|
|
Redstar
Superstar
'The undying star of Hong Kong!'
Posts: 34
|
Post by Redstar on Jun 19, 2018 21:50:49 GMT
Mimi’s tracking ability was non-existent, heavily reliant on both sight and memory alone, specifically If she couldn’t see the perpetrator where he was lost for good if not found in the perimeter near his last known location. Her impatience ate at her; however, she didn’t push Backhand to work faster, knowing if it was him who was delaying her chase, he obviously had a good reason, which he did. His hand had clutched the bracelet, Mimi turning around to listening to his explanation of powers upon what she assumed to be a request for her to watch, noting the somewhat similar features to her own ability when it came to ‘returning things back to normal.’ Except hers was obviously cooler, like, you can’t defeat someone who regenerates within seconds of taking a blow.
Although, that being said, her ability doesn’t seem to regenerate everything at once, or at least, the nerves connected to the tissues once afflicted by damage send signals of injury even when the time has passed, leaving her either somewhat uncomfortable or in what has mostly been maxing out as a moderate amount of pain so far. Plus, there was no guarantee she would survive critical injuries, someone could blow off her arm and it wouldn’t be a question of when it would fully regenerate, but if it would, someday. But, now that she’s actually giving it some thought she’d probably didn’t have to worry about it, like it probably had a 0% chance of happening especially with her skill level, and most people were melee-based combat, something she knew how to fight against compared to guns, which even then all guns in general just leave small holes which heal instantly for her, although, those had only been pistols… Ehh, probably applies to all guns.
And frankly she didn’t have to test that theory either so, no harm to worry about.
Returning back to Backhand’s explanation, Mimi moved closer and hunched over slightly to see what was going on better, careful not to get in the way. However, with a closer look at it… She noticed it was almost like a magic trick made by illusionists, watching the bracelet seemingly come alive as it was pulled by an invisible force, like a magnetic compass. She was absolutely starstruck in astonishment. She had never seen something like this, and while she had a fair idea as to what Backhand’s power was, seeing it in person was just awesome, like how was it even doing that? What kind of ridiculous science gave him the ability to make things come alive and return to their owners.
She couldn’t help but be excited, complimenting him on the what seemed to be his accomplishment. “That’s amazing…” Was all she could manage to reply, compressing her excitement into two words. Hopefully that wasn’t a big interruption if he was going to explain it more, because he further on went to tell as to why he couldn’t simply let go and let her chase it to the offender, as it seemed he didn’t have a control of the speed of which objects returned to former status. That’s odd.
And what, Backhand was like, 30? Mimi would’ve thought he had a better control of sub-aspects on his ability, though maybe that was just one of the last ones he had to work on.
Or, maybe he couldn’t control it no matter how he practiced.
Scary.
“Well, that’s great! Aye lead the way captain, we’re off to catch this guy for punching me in the face!” She exclaimed with utter excitement, although before she had raised her spear up with both hands horizontally, she quickly added; “And for uh, causing the disturbance too, mostly that yes.” She raised the spear all the way. “LEZ GO!” With one glance at the newly formed criminal compass, whilst attempting to grab him by the hand as her other returned the spear to its former resting position over her shoulder, out of harm’s way, Mimi began to move quickly forward in the direction Backhand had provided through his innovation, which led to another thing – his question regarding what they were actually up against.
…Mimi herself wasn’t exactly sure.
She had just been passing by a modern establishment when she heard something slam against a window – a medium-sized plate shattering unlike the seemingly bullet-proof glass it had collided with, although… Mimi was pretty sure it was there to work the other way around, with rebels and whatnot vandalizing properties in whatnot recently... To basically summarize said incident, Mimi had gone into the building to inspect the disturbance, finding a man that looked a lot like Backhand throwing circular things around similar to telekinesis and overall being agitated over something, possibly because one of the waiters had spat into the man’s drink, from the way he was acting.
She tried to calm him down, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer, so she had to remove him from the property, although she tried to be polite about it, yet stern. However the moment they reached outside, Mimi’s hand gripping his arm with the bracelet in question, the man aggressively took action to get her to remove her grip and let him back in there, hitting her in the nose with a well-aimed punch, although Mimi was quick to react, nearly impaling her attacker when he dodged, clearly knowing he had hit the wrong girl before running off, Mimi having ripped the bracelet off with the force he had pulled away with.
Then there was the chase, and the rest was known.
But what exactly did that tell her, that this guy was a telekinesis user? His weapon of choice seemed oddly specific, everything thrown having a circular composition of various materials, even once being one of the cylinder tables a few people were trying to escort outside, which both splintered, and fell to the ground as if he had lost control of it the moment it had lost its shape.
Either the guy had OCD, or circles was the only thing he could control, and who knew what that expanded to.
“There’s no question as to if he’s a meta or not, however, before he ran off he was throwing things around like he had telekinesis, except most if not all of the objects were circular in shape. Does that help at all?” She summarized for him, careful to watch her step in the possible case she nearly collided with something.
|
|
Backhand
Superstar
Fixing yesterday and pushing tomorrow.
Posts: 10
|
Post by Backhand on Jun 20, 2018 3:02:45 GMT
As the pair set off at a reasonably brisk pace, quick enough to qualify as a run but not quite enough to distract Zhěn from his makeshift radar, the chief talk was over what they were in for. Keeping his eyes locked straight ahead but his ears attentive, Zhěn mulled over what description of their adversary was available, but was large and by at a loss.
“That’s… something, at least. Doesn’t match the description of anyone I’ve heard of, and there’s more than a few psychics out there, but…”
The platform now well behind them, the two approached the curb at the block’s end. A gaggle of people loitering about, already looking rather startled and scattered, promptly veered out of their way, though one thumbed over her shoulder towards around the bend. It was a fairly unnecessary gesture—that way was already where the point of the bracelet was aimed—but Zhěn nodded as politely as he could all the same. He was perhaps a bit too distracted to register that fact, anyways, for his mind was still racing.
“The thing with the circles is pretty peculiar sounding. Specific enough to narrow things down a bit, you know?”
He broke off for a moment to shy out of the way of an obnoxiously large banner outside of a dry cleaning joint, followed by dodging a few unlucky passersby, before falling back into line.
“There’s this one guy that was involved in a few heists, if I remember rightly. ‘Geomancer,’ I think he was called? Bit of a misleading name, see, because he didn’t throw rocks around. What he actually did was mold matter into three dimensional shapes, and I think he could make it more complicated the smaller it got… used it to make keys for breaking and entering, I think. He was active back around the 'teens, though, bit of a war vulture. No clue if there’s any relation, but, it’s psychic powers and shapes at least.”
The train of thought took another break at the station as Zhěn hopped towards the road and out of the way of an elderly couple, and then sidestepped back from the path of a cyclist. Simply glad not to be seeing any cameras, he regrouped with Redstar again and resumed.
“So, what exactly were the circumstances when you arrived, and where for that matter? Every little bit could be—”
Quite abruptly, however, he came to a screeching halt, full stop with stepping foot still raised, for their pseudo-compass that he had briefly forgotten to watch was pointing straight west… directly down the wide and densely packed alleyway next to them. A few dumpsters sat here and there, along with about a half dozen sets of back steps into buildings various, a fire escape or two, and all the works. As the bracelet still lacked any upward curve, it was at least evident that their quarry hadn’t climbed anywhere, but as no occupants were visible, he’d likely either found an unlocked door, already crossed the alley and moved onto the other street, or was simply crouched behind something, no prospect of which seemed terribly appealing.
“Well, looks like the gig’s up. ‘Those who go looking for trouble usually find it,’ as he ought to have known.”
Zhěn clenched a fist around the bracelet once again, for there really was no stopping the power of reversion while in range. He was still confident that the device might serve some purpose, however, and imagined it might be better served discretely. For a moment, he merely stood there, one hand on a hip, before giving Redstar a curiously neutral look.
“…So, who’s taking point?”
|
|
Redstar
Superstar
'The undying star of Hong Kong!'
Posts: 34
|
Post by Redstar on Jul 26, 2018 17:17:11 GMT
“…No one you know.” She tried to finish his sentence with a frustrated sigh, eyeing the bracelet occasionally as they made their way across and away from the platform they had once been standing on, weaving through disgruntled bystanders like a moth drawn to a flame. There was this one, small chance they’d find the sucker, but what would they do afterward, arrest him for assault? No, more like disrupting the peace, possibly injuring others and himself in what could be called a temper tantrum, right? I mean, he did break and damage property, that alone is worth hunting him down and bringing him back to 1. Pay for the damage, 2. To be arrested for battery and... No, not assault. Regardless, he had a lot of things to be sorry for, the jerk. Something made her nervous though, specifically since with other violent, disgraceful criminals, she knew exactly what their power was.
However, this one wasn’t fully understood, and frankly this could lead to massive amounts of trouble on her hands if she allowed the concern to consume her, which come on, she was Redstar, the undying star of Hong Kong, the secret book of stars, the one who was going to catch this criminal whether they make a wish for her to stray from the path of justice, or not. With both that and Redstar rising in confidence, their tracker still provided accuracy to where exactly the criminal was, the two of them closer to finally taking him down, but Redstar’s curiosity about the man’s power began to grow on her, and once Backhand’s voice cut into her thoughts, she turned her head to the superstar with more prior experience than her and allowed herself to trust what he spoke, for surely, he should have previous experience with people like this...
Maybe. Meanwhile, while dodging the obnoxious banner opposite to Backhand and nearly if not colliding with a disturbed bystander as she found herself quickly apologizing afterward, she drew interest in this reference to ‘Geomancer’, Someone she vaguely recognized, but maybe that was just her imagination trying to pinpoint who this criminal was. This man was not someone from the 20’s though, that was obvious. “I highly doubt it’s him, obviously this guy is new to criminal activity, he probably had a mental breakdown and took it out on the restaurant- and me.” She replied, her eyelids lowered as she narrowed her eyes toward the girl thumbing in a certain direction, they must be close.
Mimi brought out her sword in exchange for her spear, sheathing the blade of her former weapon and attaching it onto her hidden belt while she wielded her sword skillfully instead, careful not to hurt bystanders and keeping it low to the ground, pedestrians automatically moving to avoid her as they finally reached a few hundred feet from their target’s location, stopping abruptly in front of a large alleyway… What? There’s no way he lives in a dumpster or something, what. It was a nasty, densely packed alleyway, her eyes scanning the walls, the ground, the smell… Ugh. “Great.” She muttered as her eyes watered at the disgusting scent, not understanding what he meant.
Letting out a sigh before turning her head to Backhand, she sighed, rolled her shoulders, and began to cautiously walk forward, passing a dumpster.
“Obviously me, I’m the one with the healing factor here.” She replied naturally since if anything popped out at them, she could easily reverse the injuries if it came down to it, although, they’d hurt like the devil.
|
|
Backhand
Superstar
Fixing yesterday and pushing tomorrow.
Posts: 10
|
Post by Backhand on Jul 27, 2018 16:21:44 GMT
Zhěn nodded graciously, for the argument was sound. In truth, he hadn’t even thought to ask what her power was. Though he could reasonably say that it was a likely enough probability given the impromptu nature of the whole affair, he considered it an oversight all the same; after all, the abrupt talent scouting he’d decided to do was of a similar nature. For that much, a healing factor certainly could potentially be quite the show-stopper… even if it presently made a portion of Zhěn’s own stasis manipulation somewhat redundant.
Something else more immediately concerning, however, was a tool of choice entirely unrelated to metatanium.
“That’s perfectly fair, but, uh… I’d be careful with that sword. I’d have no trouble mending cuts and the like, but all the same, I doubt our guy is going to be enough of a threat to risk that much of a show of force. No guarantees, but, that’s how I see it.”
He left it at that, however. It hardly seemed timely to risk an argument, and he certainly was confident that a blade couldn’t inflict any harm he couldn’t revert… or, he told himself as much, for on a more fundamental level, he quite likely simply wanted to avoid butting heads.
Then, exercising healthy caution, the two made their way into the lion’s den with Zhěn falling to the rear, watching with vigilance both to spot their quarry and to analyze his potential recruit’s conduct.
The alley was a quiet place, the endless drones and typical tones of the street seeming muted and afar-off after just a few paces, with the only thing present to replace the white noise being the soft pitter-padding of their own footfalls and the occasional wispy breeze. Still expecting a struggle, Zhěn found himself eyeing around for potentially useful objects in such an event—there, by a distant side-door on his right, a propped-up broom, and here, right in front of him a dozen or so feet away, a grate to the Yun District’s complex and down-running sewer system, and beyond either at the alley’s far end, a pile of DIY supplies—just left out in the open! Anyone could simply walk up and nab a can of paint or two were they to feel like it—but, that was perhaps less relevant.
On a whim, he looked down at the band in his palm, and something much more interesting met his eye: a visible leftward bend in the previously straight point, aiming directly towards the opposite side of a dumpster sitting just a few measures beyond the sewer grate… and past that, their man.
He stopped.
“Hold on,” he breathed to Redstar.
Then, he let the bracelet slip from his grasp. Quite promptly, it zipped forth, struck and slid around the dumpster, and presumably encountered its owner, as a resounding smack followed by a startled grunt echoed forth.
A brief, stilted moment passed before the discovered’s head popped up from over his rather unimpressive hiding spot. It was indeed a man, probably a twenty-something, with a bit of an unreasonably pale complexion and an extremely dated pompadour. Presently more attention-grabbing, however, was the nearly comical look of confoundedness on his face. The man cleared his throat.
“I, err… sorry, can I help yo—“
Zhěn cut in. “That’s him, right?”
“—Really, you must—“
“We know it’s you.”
“—Lookin’ for someone else—“
“Destruction of private property or disturbance of the peace, pick your poison, but you’re gonna have to go back and answer for yourself either way.”
The man stood, expression gradually melting into one of cold neutrality.
“…Well, ‘was worth a shot. Yeah, I smashed up the joint a little, but I’m not goin’ anywhere.”
He slid out into the open. Hands in the pockets of an open black trenchcoat (accented with a popped collar and torn off sleeves), shirt, pants and boots all nondescript and of identical color…all accompanied by a bizarre amount of wristbands, bangles and necklaces, most gold and presumably fake. Zhěn almost rolled his eyes at the mere sight, and was glad a pair of shades hadn’t been added to the mix.
“Guess this’s lookin’ to be a pretty perfect situation for me anyways, cuttin’ to the chase... Good opportunity to make a little bit of a name for myself by knocking you two around. Speaking o’ which… ‘Boa.’ That’s what you can remember me by.”
“…As in, the constrictor?”
“Boa” leaned against the wall opposite of his former hiding spot, briefly crossing his arms before absently rubbing his wrist where his returned property had slapped him.
“Uh-huh.”
And then, Zhěn could restrain the eye roll no longer. Wannabe rebels were nothing new to him, but he now imagined that Boa had likely already been looking to start trouble whenever the whole restaurant debacle had occurred.
“So, what’s your gimmick, then?”
“Pardon?”
“Your gimmick. I’m sure that name wasn’t chosen at random, and every one of your type has one.”
Boa appeared to mimic his best basilisk’s glare. His wrist-rubbing arm slowly fell to its side.
“Yeah, okay. Think I’ll just let you experience it firsthand.”
At his word and to Zhěn’s alarm (and slight confusion), the many bracelets on his lowered arm began to rustle…
|
|
Redstar
Superstar
'The undying star of Hong Kong!'
Posts: 34
|
Post by Redstar on Dec 8, 2018 21:54:54 GMT
Accepting his gracious nod as a 'Okay, go for it.' Mimi had gone forward, however at the mention of her 'poor' weapon of choice, Mimi shrugged, replying. "I don't have to be careful though. I have healing powers that works both ways." She explained, her footsteps careful and silent as she proceeded forward, Backhand behind her a few steps away for a somewhat reasonable length of a protective fail-safe. Honestly, she probably didn't need- Well, hush, his powers are useful she reasoned, rolling her eyes as she continued. She might be a potential recruit, but she was also stubborn, sometimes unreasonable, and not that reliable in certain instances.
Regardless, she continued forward as she inspected every corner, anything that showed signs of movement, and eventually she found it, or well, Backhand found it, turning to him as he spoke, looking down at the make-shift villain compass. Heh. She was great at naming things. "What does it mean?" She muttered quietly, probably too quietly as he let the bracelet slip from his grasp, Mimi tempted to grab it out of curiosity of it's magnetic pull, but not that curious as she didn't, watching it fly away, striking a dumpster loudly, only to slide and then suddenly strike something else, probably in the head. Hehe..
There was a moment of silence.
Then, as the suspects head rose up, Mimi readied her sword in an attempt to be prepared, her stance somewhat messy, but never the less a stance worthy of being feared. She certainly wasn't going to let this guy make a fool of her again. "Yeah, that's him." She replied simply, readying a attack that would swing from her hip outward, eyes narrowed as she wait for her target to either surrender or attack. Of course, there was a bit of conversation to be had with the sucker, Backhand going back and forth with the moron as they confirmed it was him who had 'Smashed up the joint.' Knew it. Mimi sighed as she was somewhat relieved they hadn't hit a random bystander, her attack she had prepared loosing power.
But no, that wasn't the end of the chase, the man in question calling himself Boa, raising an eyebrow in curiosity at such a stupid name, like seriously, was this guy not creative or something? "I'm sorry, but can you just turn yourself in?" She asked quietly, clearly ignored as he answered Backhand instead, a glare of annoyance entering her face. Uh huh, yeah, fight me you sick excuse for a trash-heap. She nearly growled in offense as she frowned, still holding position. It was then however came his threat, a threat to experience what Mimi had already seen, forcing her hand as she let out a large yell. "Stop! Put your hands up!" She had said loudly, dashing forward as she prepared to strike him at his frontal neck, however her actions were precise, not even touching him as she would stop if he didn't move, the tip pointed at his neck if he didn't dodge in time.
If he did anything though, she would lash out toward his position in an attempt to stop him.
|
|
Backhand
Superstar
Fixing yesterday and pushing tomorrow.
Posts: 10
|
Post by Backhand on Dec 10, 2018 21:46:55 GMT
Zhěn started with alarm as Redstar lunged forth at Boa, blade shining grimly. Though he knew not if the intent behind the stroke was indeed to strike or merely to disarm, neither result occurred, as Boa hopped back with a cry of “Yow!” The sword’s arc cut naught but the open air. With a quick flourish, Redstar brought the blade back around ere the whiff could be punished, though her opponent appeared to have other ideas entirely. He flung an arm out in Redstar’s direction, a number of bracelets and other articles suddenly being shot forth quick as thought, which he guided onto the tip of her sword with seemingly nothing but his gaze alone. They then all pulled the sword by the flat off to one side, temporarily throwing her stance off and preventing her from striking.
The taste of their foe’s power sinking in, Zhěn tore forwards and aimed to blitz the rebel from the flank, bringing a shoulder out to strike ere he could display anything further. Without missing a beat, Boa’s other arm shot up—but was promptly dropped as Zhěn bore down and knocked him back against the wall, a grunt escaping him as breath was driven out of him. With a look of fury, he made a peculiar motion of sliding his head to one side, at which point a necklace slid right up the back of his head and off of him, flying to Zhěn as quick as an arrow and landing right about his throat. With a fell grin, Boa twitched a finger, and the bit of jewelry promptly constricted deadly tight, before flicking another, causing it to pull the hapless Zhěn back a few steps.
He, meanwhile, immediately crossed his hands over his neck, though he was unable to actually get his fingers under what was choking him. That didn’t, however, impede what he needed to do in the slightest. Filling the shining hazard with reversion, he haphazardly found himself beginning to count off the seconds for the grip to weaken as the two opposing forces vied for dominance, one automatic and ever-strengthening and the other a sheer force of will.
One…
Two…
Thr—
And the pressure was gone. As his grip slackened, the necklace began its path back towards its initial sender, who wore a look of bewilderment that was nearly comical. Unwilling to let one of Boa’s weapons of choice return to him, however, Zhěn caught it out of the air and now filled it with decay, causing his own reversion to then dissipate. He then simply let it fall to the ground and gave his attacker a venomous glare as he steadied his breath.
At any rate, it was at least now quite evident as to why their quarry had chosen the moniker of "Boa." Zhěn, however, was now certainly less than a fan of it.
The beleaguered rebel began to gesture once more, but was cut short as Zhěn stepped forwards, spun and hopped up on a heel, and struck him upside the head with a spinning back kick, leaving him to go sprawling—
—right in front of Redstar.
|
|
Redstar
Superstar
'The undying star of Hong Kong!'
Posts: 34
|
Post by Redstar on Dec 11, 2018 1:39:50 GMT
"Oh please I didn't even -Dammit!- Hit you!" She complained, words interrupted by her struggle to keep balance as Mimi went against the direction the bracelets forced her to go . Within seconds later as she fought with them, the leather bracelets felt the wrath of her sharpened blade, becoming nothing but debris falling to the ground, pathetic. Who did this person think they were, ruining her epic moment! "You better have a good reason for-" Mimi's voice sounded forced near the end of her sentence as she found herself choking like her comrade had, her collar tightening around her throat as if someone had thrown their hands around it, threatening to drain the life out of her as her eyes widened, grabbing at her heck as she tried to pull her collar off. Boa had previously gestured to her while she spoke! Mimi dropped her sword as she stumbled back.
How was he doing this!? Mimi's mind screeched in panic while she watched Zhen have the same issue. The one called Boa had both the superstars in his figurative grasp as he choked them either by necklace, or by her collar that she swore she was going to remove the next time she got her hands on her costume. Regardless of everything happening around her however, Mimi had no idea what to do- Wait, ZIPPER, UNDO THE ZIPPER! her mind screamed, gasping for air as she felt like her head was going to explode from the desperation for oxygen, a crucial element in human survival. Her hands shook as her body cringed, eventually reaching her neck as she pulled hastily at the zipper, begging for survival as it was hard to pull down completely, but the moment it broke it's circle, the material loosened, Mimi gasping in air as she coughed, eyes blazing with cold fury as she weakly grabbed her sword off the ground, looking over to the combat taking place.
It was amazing what she saw next, Backhand's move was absolutely amazing, knocking the attacker in the face as he sent them flying in her direction, Mimi using the back of her sword, the unsharpened edge, quickly to hit Boa in the back of his neck, forcing him to bend forward as he fell, allowing Mimi to grab him by one of his hands, disabling his left gestures as she warned Backhand to do the same to the other. "Quickly grab the other hand!" She yelled out forcefully, doing her best to restrain him, but the guy still had the option of punching her in the face, or strangling Backhand again if he really wanted to as he struggled with her.
Man, how embarrassing, this wasn't going as planned, and she was in front of someone she respected.. Damn it!
|
|
Backhand
Superstar
Fixing yesterday and pushing tomorrow.
Posts: 10
|
Post by Backhand on Dec 12, 2018 21:05:13 GMT
As Zhěn landed and recovered from his maneuver, he bore witness to how Redstar swiftly followed up with a grab and half of a capture. Though half was better than none, Boa’s opposite arm was free to move and counterattack at any moment. Counting it as a blessing that he was likely simply too dazed to, however, Zhěn bounded over to the grappling pair with two loping strides, locking the rebel’s free side with a hasty arm bar using his right hand. With his left, he simply clenched down on the back of Boa’s neck, promptly initiating his force of decay, and began pushing him down to the pavement. With the decay aspect rapidly draining him of energy, a full restraint already in place, and his still-bewildered condition all taken into account, it seemed that Boa was already out of options. Zhěn allowed himself a slight breath of relief as their opponent gave one last heave of effort to break free, then slipping to the ground. He cocked his head, trying to think of something witty to quip off, but seemed to come up short, perhaps partially because he wasn’t very good at such things…
…And also because he noticed that Boa was craning his tongue upwards and out of his mouth.
He furrowed his brow.
“…Err, what are you doing?”
He wasn’t met with a response, however. A sinking feeling in his gut, Zhěn traced his eyes up to where Boa appeared to be looking—just in time to see the sewer grate he’d spotted prior pop up from the manhole it covered with a sharp clang, coming to a stop to hover a few feet into the air. Glancing back down at its likely controller confirmed his suspicions, as Boa then craned his head back at an awkward angle, tongue still raised high, with a peculiar hwagh!
With deadly accuracy, the impromptu volley shot towards them like a homing missile.
“Move!” Zhěn roared to Redstar, diving aside. But, there wasn’t enough time to get clear. The missile had been upon them before he was even halfway towards finishing his sidestep. Having no other ideas and feeling quite certain that he’d rather do just about anything other than have the pair of them both struck by that projectile, he swung up and slapped the underside of the disk with his forearm. Sure as day, the disk went awry and sailed spinning over their heads. Had Zhěn been wearing his armor, he would have called the move a success. Alas, however, that wasn’t the case, and he could feel a dull throbbing already creeping into his arm below the elbow, which otherwise had been numbed entirely.
He brought his back up against the wall, wanting to clutch his arm but restraining himself. The now-freed Boa rolled forwards and away from them with surprising agility and came up on his feet, panting and wild-eyed but with the trace of a smile on his face.
“I ain’t some one-trick pony, see. You two’re out of your league.”
He raised a finger overhead, at which point his newfound weapon flew back past their heads and seemed to rest upon it. Zhěn adopted a rapidly deepening scowl as he watched the rebel add a bit of spin to the disk like how a chef might toss a pizza. Then stepping away from the wall, he kept his good arm forward and his injured one hidden.
“Do you say that to everyone?”
Boa’s eye twitched. If Zhěn were a betting man, he'd wager he'd had to stop himself from taking the bait with a second query of “pardon?” and had only narrowly succeeded.
Zhěn leaned over towards Redstar and kept his voice to a murmur.
“This time, let’s flank him.”
|
|
Redstar
Superstar
'The undying star of Hong Kong!'
Posts: 34
|
Post by Redstar on Dec 21, 2018 14:41:00 GMT
Boa's struggle was limited to small, restricted movements since he had been nothing but dazed, Backhand's power subtly removing his energy to retort back as she held on to his arm and hand. Curious, what was he doing with his mouth? "What are you, a toad?" She quipped, While Mimi found herself both disgusted and somewhat intrigued by his expression as he made himself an apparent fool trying to make his escape - Or, was he actually a fool? Mimi followed the line of sight his eyes seemed to follow, her eyes narrowed as she suspected that the Circular Telekinetic user was actually formulating a plot to narrowly escape her arrest. Hadn't the fool had enough to chew on? Did he not realize he couldn't defeat them since he was outnumbered?
How disappointing, she thought he was smarter then that.
However, he was not just a fool, for he was indeed cunning, a strategic user of his power as he made the strangest noise, Backhand's roar filling her with adrenaline along with the deadly silence that followed the sewer grate that flew at them, certainly with a velocity that even Mimi couldn't comprehend fast enough to avoid.
At that point, she was forced to let go of her quarry as she made the rapid, desperate attempt to avoid the metal ring, eyes wide with confusion. How dare he, first the tables then this of all things, trying to decapitate the both of them as if they were chickens in a slaughter-house. She refused to let him escape like this - Except for the fact she didn't get much breathing room in regards to getting out of the way!
Come on, come on!
With a sharp clang interrupting her thoughts, Mimi watched as Backhand, someone who had way more experience and was just inherently amazing, recklessly put himself in the way of the projectile, her eyes still wide, but now with a certain hint of.. something, surprise maybe? Disappointment? What was she supposed to feel when someone didn't live to her expectations? Meanwhile she found herself stumbling out of the way, her feet slamming against the ground, traction becoming prominent. "Backhand!.. You alright?" She felt compelled to ask, holding on to her sword tightly as she adjusted herself to the situation. But, there wasn't time for pleasantries, forced to turn her head toward the new voice that echoed down the alleyway. Scumbag.
"Please, save the monologue for prison!" She interrupted the both of them with a aggravated whine, letting out a heavy sigh. Come on backhand, you're better then this! Don't give that sucker the light of day! She impatiently thought, her bodily expression that of nearly an impatient child. She didn't care much for diplomacy, and frankly now was not the time, especially with the threat of cylinders coming there way. However there was a slight problem with her plan, considering the fact that Backhand was injured at the current moment, his throbbing arm hiding behind his back.
Crap.
"As much as I agree, you're injured, and completely useless until you get that arm fixed." She sighed quietly in response to his plan, motioning him closer. "So listen, stay back here and heal up while I keep him busy, or I'll just take him out myself." She continued quietly, hoping that his power of reversion included broken limbs.
|
|