New York Overture

Subject: Re: New York Overture Sun 27 Dec 2015 - 18:27

"Much obliged." With a pull of the trigger the rifle charged for what felt like three seconds as he tracked Jeanne as best he could. At the end of the three seconds a solid spherical slug launched from the barrel, penetrating deep into one of the lockers Jeanne had hid behind. For a moment it seemed like a wasted attack before an incredibly loud screech could be heard. A light implosion occurred within the locker as in the blink of an eye the lockers crunched into half their original size.

"Think your Flashlight will save you here? Don't bother." The Guard pulled the trigger again as the hum started.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Sun 27 Dec 2015 - 18:36

How do you stop a juggernaut? she asked herself. The answer seemed pretty simple. With another juggernaut. She breathed deeply as she mentally assessed the damage caused by the new weapon, fear in her eyes, and pressed the little red button on the side of her gauntlet, after first raising a switch that made sure it would not be pressed on accident. A panic button was a necessary piece de resistance for all matters pertaining to alpha-to-honor guard conflict.

It was a ballsy move, but she hoped that a more honorable individual in armor could come diffuse the situation for her. Regardless of her own survival, she hoped that this aberration were stripped of his power.

"How do you do that?" she shouted back at him again, while still running through the rows. "What's the, uh, the mechanism?" She wanted to get into position for something else, as she felt her energy allowance stack back up into availability. It was like a tingle on her skin, a charge on her organs. She huffed and hawed as she started running even faster, trying to flank him.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Sun 27 Dec 2015 - 19:57

As the Honor Guard’s leg smashed through her body, Leena experienced something she did not expect: ecstasy. She didn’t know where it came from, or why, but she felt physically better than she had in ages- light, clear-headed, and full of energy. She felt so good in that moment that she didn’t even notice the simultaneous occurrence…

Leena’s fluid body splattered across the walls and lockers, and Emily was sent flying backwards.

Thing was, while dramatic, neither of them were actually as injured as they appeared to be. It appeared that Leena’s alluvium body couldn’t be harmed by simple physical force, and that same body had somehow absorbed the force of the Guard’s blow, shielding Emily from its brunt.
Leena sat in a daze, eventually looking back up at the Honor Guard- he was completely ignoring her, back turned and everything. It was like she wasn’t even worth his time to kill her.
She thought about how effective she had been so far- well, he’s not wrong… But that was only natural, for the strong to ignore the weak.

…Wait

That was it, if he was going to treat her like she was weak, fine- she would fight like she was weak
While his back was turned, Leena just sat and stared at him, watching his every movement, looking for some weakness, some thin spot on his armor, an easily corruptible panel, anything that could give her an edge
As she sat, and as her slime drew back to itself, by itself (that is very useful, actually), she came to a realization:

“funny, I almost wish that little robot were here now.”

Subject: Re: New York Overture Mon 28 Dec 2015 - 16:50

"Dunno, don't care. I just do as I'm told." The shot fired again and impacted the back wall, tearing large amounts of concrete from it,"All I know is you can't dodge forever."

Almost by cue, the little robot could be heard shoving its way though the small gap in the door, walking right past Emily.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Mon 28 Dec 2015 - 18:44

Leena made no actual movements, but she shifted all her attention to the little robot, making sure she was lined up juuust right...

Subject: Re: New York Overture Mon 28 Dec 2015 - 22:44

Jeanne grunted as a sufficiently accelerated rock hit her in the hip and stopped her from running. The pain was a burning and immediate sensation that made her stagger to a slow halt. She took cover behind a set of as-of-yet untouched lockers and once again had to plot her options.

Jeanne concluded that her abilities just didn't have the power necessary to create a strong enough lift to crash any of the... scenery onto the man. But her individual inability for usefulness was easily solved by Emily's, even if the woman was currently hurt and exhausted. She lay next to the wide-open fire exit right behind her, and yet something kept her from leaving. A sense of honor perhaps.

She had to think for longer, as the more this combat drew out, the less she felt confident in her ability to do anything she wanted to do. Any attempts as hurting the man were fails, and any attempts at saving herself ended in pain. She grit her teeth, hand supporting her bruised hips, and simply laid her head down on the bench like a very distraught athlete, her knees on the ground and her eyes opened vacantly. She needed rest.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Mon 28 Dec 2015 - 22:58

The Honour Guard stopped firing and retracted the gun as he looked upon the monsters before him. With a raised left hand the little robot accelerated into his hand before snugly snapping back into its socket. He looked relaxed but strangely defeated.

"You know, I have to say that I'm legitimately surprised. I didn't think it'd be as hard to fire that weapon without the computer. Looks like you just won a friend of mine 20 bucks." The Honour Guard walked over to Emily, watching her gasp for breath,"Aww, hard to breathe? Good. You can suffer for all I care. You little cretin..."

The Guard turned itself towards Jeanne,"You should have just run. I didn't want this, this is too easy. Come on, show me some fear. For old times sake." He slowly lifted a leg and hovered above Emily,"I'm waiting."

Subject: Re: New York Overture Tue 29 Dec 2015 - 0:36

Leena waited for the robot to brace and open fire on her like it had before, so that she could dodge aside and let the lasers punch the hole in the armor that she could not…but in the end it didn’t even matter. It simply sidled past her and reconnected to the suit.

Well, that’s another path down the drain

The Honor Guard took position over the injured Emily, taunting Jeanne to get her to keep fighting, and in that moment, Leena made a decision to move

But not to fight

Jeanne, for whatever reason, had gone far off the deep end, and it was obvious that she wasn’t going to leave until the fight was over. There was a problem with that drive, however: neither Jeanne, nor Leena herself, in fact, had the ability to hurt the Honor Guard. The only way a fight between them would end is in Jeanne’s death, and probably Leena’s as well. The only person who could even come close to fighting evenly with the bastard was Emily, and if her slack body was any indication she wouldn’t be fighting for some time still.

Decision made, Leena reached out with two tentacles, grabbed Jeanne by the gym bag strap and her gauntlet and bodily threw her along the floor, directly out the fire door.
That done, she flowed as fast as she could and then flowed across the floor. If she were human, this would be a lot like a baseball slide, but her liquid form allowed her to slide more like water, much, much faster than she could have performed with muscle and bone.
As she slid, her liquid form covered Emily’s body, and she became a little more resistant as she ‘grabbed’ the girl (more like the tide carried her off) and out the door they went, and then she grabbed Jeanne as well and pulled them both to a standing position on the move, released them, and started sliding out the alley

As she passed, she spoke to them, “If you don’t want to die, start running”.

Out the alley and into the street she went. She slid a tendril under a manhole cover, thickened it to a tentacle, and shoved it off, flowing with it so that the girls had an open space to run to

Subject: Re: New York Overture Tue 29 Dec 2015 - 2:02

The Guard stomped literally as they slipped from his grasp and right out the door,"Well I'll be damned." The Guard proceeded to pound on the lockers and wall to break a hole large enough for him to squeeze through, but it was clear his suit wasn't actually built for incredible strength. Even so it would probably only take him a few minutes to break a hole large enough.

Emily winced in pain as the acid lightly ate at her skin, but using the last of her strength formed a semi real figment of herself next to her that pushed her into the manhole and down into the water below. While certainly not pleasant it sure beats melting or dying.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Tue 29 Dec 2015 - 22:11

Jeanne still had an airy demeanor of madness to her as Leena carried her off; she offered no real resistance, and after she had been thrown off the bench, she actually acquired the ability to walk without Leena pushing her. She seemed, however, upset that her moment of reflection had been broken. She had just begun to understand and, her concentration broken, had immediately lost it.

She walked while helping Emily down the stairs, but when presented with an open manhole, winced in displeasure. She begrudgingly, however, first deactivated her gauntlet and then slid it off her right arm like it was a poisonous snake. A quick, disgusted motion. She chucked it towards Leena.

"There is no protective lining on the inside. Destroy it."

She still refused to jump in, and stood still in a powerful pose. Both legs straightened, angled away from each other. "I do not want to filthy myself with raw sewage," she spoke to Leena. "So please understand that I will never forgive you for this."

She eventually sucked her breath in and descended into the utility hole by using the ladder at her disposition. Her fingers slid tightly across the grime, the feeling of her palms accumulating grease giving her visible agony.

When her foot hit watery ground, she cringed again, wiping her hands off of her dirtying uniform. She cleared herself out of the way by moving forwards towards Emily's dropped form, who she saw tired and hurting in direct way of the current. A few splashes of water reminded her to thank the Honor Guard for creating good shoes, and she sighed as she came up on the body. She squatted down and helped her up so that her face was angled in a more proper direction, with nothing but charged silence. A certain distance showed itself in her body language.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Tue 29 Dec 2015 - 23:56

Leena caught the gauntlet with a tendril, and responded to Jeanne’s statement with, “I can live with that.”

What she didn’t say out loud was, you know, unless we don’t

She waited for Jeanne to clamber down before grabbing the manhole again. She was about to slam it in sideways and prevent the Guard from following them when she noticed something: She couldn’t see him. Oh she could hear him, no problem, but there was no line of sight between them. So, Leena instead dropped the gauntlet down the whole and set the steel plate back where it belonged, sliding in through the notch where the tool would normally be used to take it out.
When she reached the bottom, she picked up the metal glove from where it lay, and was about to do as Jeanne had suggested when she stopped.

I know how he tracked me, but Jeanne had no visible signs of being an Alpha. Hell, until she used that light attack, they probably just thought she defected. Clothes aside, this is the only possible way he could follow her.

Leena turned the device over, made sure it was still activated, and then chucked it as hard as she could down the flow of the water. Best case scenario, the gauntlet was light enough to be dragged further along and lead the Honor Guard away. Worst case scenario… well, they still had a few moments’ head start.
That done, Leena formed a tentacle to pull Emily up to her feet (touching cloth rather than skin, as much as she could) and started to move down the tunnel, opposite the direction she had thrown the gauntlet.

“This way.”

Subject: Re: New York Overture Wed 30 Dec 2015 - 10:29

With one last impact the Honour Guard broke through the wall and saw... Nothing. As he'd hoped and expected. With a quick command he looked down at his forearm as the holographic display appeared in his mind. The gauntlet was moving rapidly down the sewer system, meaning the group had ditched it. That's good, least he can retrieve the equipment mostly undamaged. As for the Alphas he knew full well where they went, but couldn't care less.

With weapons retracted and the HUD display turned off he made his way back to the front desk. As he told them, he loves killing people. What he saw today were not people. They were monsterous, deformed, and so much different from the prey he's used to. Even as he stopped at the front desk and gazed upon the unconcious woman he knew that she was an Alpha as well. Disappointing, really, since she is certainly a beautiful peace of work. The Honour Guard reached down to touch her cheek, and was met with nothing. In this metal prison he didn't get to feel that old satisfaction. In his suit he sighed. Least he was able to grab who he came for. With ease he lifted the woman up and threw her over his shoulder, adjusting her to make sure she wouldn't wake up too sore. Maybe if his contacts pull through they'll find a solution. Make these monsters human again. After all, it's no fun hunting your own kind.

The Honour Guard punched in the coordinates, and was gone.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Thu 31 Dec 2015 - 18:54

Leena led the way as the trio walk through the maze of maintenance tunnels, trying to keep her mental map oriented without the use of any landmarks. She turned her attention this way and that, trying to make sure she wasn’t making a mistake.
Finally, she came to a crossroads, and she stopped, shifting towards going straight and going to the right, seemingly indecisive as to which way to go.
Internally, Leena was trying to decide between keeping Jeanne safe from harm to her life and protecting her own pride. Sure, she had personally accepted what she had done to support her sisters a long time ago, but the only person whom she was closely acquainted with who knew what she did was Father Falcone. Not only would it be unsettling for Jeanne herself, but she was personally uncomfortable with the prospect of letting someone in on her distasteful secret.

Leena became still, and let out a long, tired sigh, before finally down the passageway to the right, mentally preparing herself for a very possible bad scenario to come

Subject: Re: New York Overture Fri 8 Jan 2016 - 3:27

Jeanne seemed to be calming down as they walked in the dark tunnel. Her clairvoyant capacity was limited inside; she couldn't see in front of behind herself, and as a matter of fact her vision was like a spliced layer cake of information from the streets above the walking girls.

"He's not following us," she whispered softly, her voice vibrating against the round walls. The steady flow of sewage filled her ears and her nostrils, and she crinkled both, her eyes squinting as she internally dealt with her disgust. She was panicked for a completely different reason. Her death still felt imminent and well-deserved.

Jeanne let Leena lead the way, but a certain unfamiliar altruism caused her to help support a tired Emily as they walked. Every time the girl would stumble, Jeanne's hand would hover protectively around her back to make sure she did not fall. Her other hand would be placed and gently dragged on the wall, which, while revolting her, gave her a sense of stability and orientation.

"I need to change," she said a bit louder. "And I think it's best I do it now. Please don't mind me," she requested, although knowing that in the pitch darkness of the sewers, pretty much nobody would see her. She slipped the gym bag from over her shoulder and rid herself of the filthy alpha uniform almost immediately, and it was as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulder.

Now completely naked, she quickly slipped into the gym clothes that Leena's humanoid self had previously left. She shivered, the clothes slightly too big, but it would do, for now. She tossed the old clothes in the water, zipped the bag back up, and continued onwards.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Fri 8 Jan 2016 - 21:43

Leena remembered only after some time had passed that Jeanne had an obsession with cleanliness- it was funny what you would and would not remember under pressure. Still, while she felt a twinge of regret for dragging her down here, she repressed it for now, because heading into the sewer system had probably saved their lives. There would be time for apologies later.
When she heard that the Honor Guard was no longer following them, she trusted Jeanne’s ability, but she did not feel the same degree of relief that she had expected from hearing that they were no longer in danger; the tension in her mind refused to unwind.

Leena kept undulating along for about ten seconds and around a corner before she realized that Jeanne was no longer behind her. She slid back around the corner to find…
Jeanne, stripping her shirt off
huh
personally, Leena would have waited until she had gotten a shower, then changed clothes, otherwise she would just end up dirtying the new ones. But, each to their ow-
no, the vehemence with which Jeanne tore off the uniform spoke of some deeper disgust than mere germs. Jeanne was feeling something on a personal level.

“Take your time,” Leena said, all that she could say for now, and shifted her attention away to give her some privacy. She had seen plenty of naked flesh in her life, but this seemed like a time for personal space.

When Jeanne was ready, off they went again. This time, Leena tried to spread out a little to clean off the walkway in front of them. It wasn’t much, but if it helped Jeanne feel any better, it was a small price to pay- hell, it didn’t cost her anything, since she was doing it pretty much constantly.

On they went- Leena was concerned about the time- it still early by pretty much anyone’s standards, but soon people would be getting up and heading out for the day; Emily and Jeanne might have been able to pass along just fine, but Leena wanted to keep an eye on them, since Jeanne seemed a bit unsettled and Emily was still worse for the wear. Thankfully, where they were headed there wouldn’t be too much traffic during the typical morning hours; and if anyone saw them well, this was New York. Stranger things had happened than a couple of young people climbing out of a manhole.

Finally, they reached what Leena was guessing was the right spot. She reached a tendril up and through the pick hole, just enough to see (and feeling like the star of a really bad spy flick while she was at it). They were still a block away, but luckily there were no cars, or even pedestrians. Leena thickened the tendril and shoved the steel plate up and off to one side. Up the ladder she went, taking a little time to clean the rungs as she went, and then extended a tentacle to help Emily up…before thinking better of it and hesitantly retracting it.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Wed 13 Jan 2016 - 0:36

Jeanne saw Leena's failed attempt at helping Emily and frowned. It seemed to Jeanne as if Leena still hadn't fully accepted her new form and its limitations, and to her, this was additional evidence that alphas simply were not meant to exist. As she allowed Emily to escalate the ladder before her, the memories of Jeanne's recent running, hiding, charging slowly trotted into her thoughts. And then she chanced upon the memories of the terrific bright bolt she fired at the Honor Guard.

She swallowed as her eyes clouded over. In her hands she had a power that she did not understand neither how to evoke nor how to control. She did not know what it was, let alone what it could do. She sighed. Her turn to climb the ladder had now arrived, and she gratefully climbed the comparatively clean one on her way out.

"So," she said to Leena. "Where to?"

Subject: Re: New York Overture Wed 13 Jan 2016 - 10:17

"A little place I know just down the block", Leena replied. "we shouldn't be disturbed there, for a little while, at least."

Leena kept her voice even as she led the way down the alley. She also kept herself low, so that even if somebody did happen upon them she wouldn't be immediately visible. Thankfully, this was the time of day when this part of town slept, and they weren't waylaid. About three minutes later, they were at the back door of Monarch Metro, one of the swankier clubs this side of town.

One problem with upscale establishments? Competent security staff. The back door was shut tight. No one would be here for hours, and considering her current form-
Leena could have slapped herself...well, if it would have done anything. Leena slid under the door, and after a minute of fiddling with the security systems and the deadbolts (why did her tendrils have such. poor. tactile skill!?) Leena pulled the door open and ushered Jeanne and Emily inside.

Truthfully, there wasn't much to see- it wasn't like there was a direct line of sight to the club area, and it was still dark. The cameras would probably see them, but they were in plenty enough trouble as is, so as long as they didn't make a mess or kill anyone on property it probably wouldn't result in anything unpleasant.

Leena shut the door behind them and ushered the two girls through the back foyer, across the hall, and into the locker room. This room was carpeted and comfortably furnished in monochrome. the only real hint as to what it might actually be were the tall mirrors ringed with lights, but...

"Well, here we are; we should be safe here for a little while at least. There should be some first aid supplies in that cabinet. There's a shower around the corner if you need it."

With that, Leena pulled up into a roughly humanoid shape, plopped down on a stool, folded her tentacles in her 'lap' and watched the door.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Fri 15 Jan 2016 - 13:10

When Jeanne entered the room, she craned her head around to look at every nook and cranny of the room as if she was trying to expose some sort of devious enterprise going on in the dark establishment. Finding nothing particular, she then relaxed, and looked at her newly-clothed self in the tall fancy mirrors.

"What is this place, Leena?" she asked.

She ran her hand through her short, dark brown hair, taking note of the dirt and sweat on her body. A shower wouldn't be a bad idea, she wagered, but she figured that first she'd have to satiate her curiosity by getting to know her... gelatinous... friend. Or the person she used to be, at least. This place intrigued her.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Fri 15 Jan 2016 - 13:30

Emily had spent the bulk of the trip taking deep breaths. Her idea of helping a pair of broken ribs wouldn't have been walking, but that didn't matter now. Her life as it was is effectively ruined. Once at the club she found her way to the closest bit of floor out of the way. Least the other two are okay... She'd considered asking why they stopped here of all places, but now isn't the time or place for that.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Fri 15 Jan 2016 - 19:35

"It's a nightclub, or rather it will be come evening. Right now it's just an empty building on a sleepy street. Hopefully, we won't be around when the boys and girls arrive for the show."

Leena was trembling a little bit, though not solely because of her emotions. Her liquid form kept trying to spill out over and off the edge of the stool. She maintained for now, and was honestly thankful for the effort- it kept her distracted from what she was thinking.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Fri 15 Jan 2016 - 19:43

Jeanne stopped motionless, hand still on her hair, and then pivoted on one leg to look at Leena with a vacant expression, one eyebrow rolled upwards.

"I thought you were a pilot."

Subject: Re: New York Overture Fri 15 Jan 2016 - 20:07

"That is how the story goes..."
Leena lost control of her 'left side' for a second and ooze slid down onto the floor. She caught herself, and slowly pulled the offshoot into a new tentacle before folding it back into her body.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Fri 15 Jan 2016 - 20:16

Jeanne cringed a little as she saw Leena struggle with her gooey form, and put her hands down to her sides. She turned and walked and sat down right next to her, awaiting an answer intently. Her eyes glistened with what seemed like a dangerous mix of elation and disappointment.

Leena had never been predictable to Jeanne, and so, from her early teen years, Jeanne had taken notes on how to be more like Leena. Failing to do so because she lacked both sympathy and eventfulness in her life required, she had settled for an asian friend with a weird name, and a weird obsession with math and church architecture to spend her time.

Her statement seemed to have opened a new window for discussion, and to give her a glimpse, potentially, in what was once a human life, and now... a gooey memory. She blew air through her nose at the thought, but refrained from speaking it out loud.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Fri 15 Jan 2016 - 23:43

Leena sat in silence for a pregnant moment, hoping that Jeanne would just let the topic drop, buuut she knew the girl better than that, and when she sat down next to her all Leena could do was ‘look’ at the ceiling and think to herself, ‘I don’t know what I expected’.
Well, best to start at the beginning then…

“Tch… what they don’t say is that the pilot-to-be got the wrong date, didn’t take her final exam, and never got certified.”

There was so much more Leena could say, wanted to say- hell, she could have gone ahead and given the blame to someone else, but she really didn’t like where this was going as was. Besides, Jeanne was the inquisitive type- she’d probably get there eventually.

Subject: Re: New York Overture Sun 24 Jan 2016 - 14:51

Jeanne's eyebrows went upwards on her dainty face and then fell back into their neutral, almost sad-looking position. Jeanne's resting face had always been an enigmatic mix of self-assurance and judgement. She did not pull off the I-am-not-judging-you face very well, and so, without really intending to, she looked mildly disappointed.

"Interesting," she said, and she meant it. She followed Leena's "gaze" into the ceiling, and then looked back at her. She motioned with a finger towards her jelly-like form, her eyes alight with revelation, as she began connecting the dots. "So you did not get certified, but you couldn't say you didn't, so you had to improvise, and some of those things just happened to be a club in which you exposed yourself indecently from time to time."

She got up from her seat.

"I'll take a shower. I need to take the smell of Honor Guard off my skin."