[Fiction] Target: Saori [Complete]

[z-Gu Saori]

This was making her situation real. Saori tightened her jaw, clutching the newspaper tighter in her hand. The circled ads stood out starkly against the paper, red-inked mouths ready to swallow the unwary. She located the address for the next ad in her handheld device and made her way there. She had three more places to view, and with a tight swallow, Saori decided that she hated apartment hunting.

,,

She kept to the safe parts of the city, avoiding dangerous areas, just as good, little Gu Saori would. Sometimes, this persona grated on her, but in some ways, she loved it – it was everything she dreamed she could be: refined, well-breed and someone who could rise above their trials in life. She hadn’t risen above her trials; she had been forged by them, reshaped into who she was today. Good little Chinese girls didn’t learn to fight from their grandfathers, or fight back against schoolyard bullies.

,,

Someone grabbed her hair, their fingers tightening mercilessly. She yelped as she was yanked backwards by that grip onto the darkness of an alley. Hands fumbled for and tightened around her arms, even as Saori tried to jerk away from them. It took all of her training to not strike back, to go still and passive like a good girl. “Please don’t hurt me,” she begged, turning huge brown eyes on her captors. Well, only on one of them: the other was holding her arms, pulling them back to the point of pain.

,,

The one in front of her leered through his ski mask; the black fabric turned silver where the sunlight refracted off the knife in his hand. Saori’s breath caught in her throat; seeing the knife changed the game quite a bit. But she was still playing; she still left her mask on. She would only drop it if her life were in danger. But she wasn’t there yet, not when all he was doing was unzipping her coat.

,,

The blade moved to the front of her shirt sliding between the two layers of cloth held in place by the small, white buttons. With a slow, deliberate movement, her first assailant slid the knife upward, and buttons clattered to the ground around his feet. Saori shivered as the cold air hit her bare skin; her attacker whistled softly. “Look at ‘em tits,” he said softly.

,,

His companion tilted his head to see, pulling her harder against his body. Saori winced as she felt a belt buckle dig into her back; then she felt other things and her heart doubled in rate. “Bit small,” the man holding her observed, his red mask bobbing over his face. “Also, they’re a bit concealed under that bra.”

,,

“All Orientals are built bitty; it means other things are smaller and tighter,” the first answered. Saori masked her growing anger with fear, which was easy to do. “And bras come off.”

,,

“Nice,” the second man said, pulling on her arms again. Saori knew what he wanted, and she gave it to him: a low whimper of pain crossed her lips. “I bet she’d make all kinds of noises.”

,,

“First, business,” the man in the black mask ordered. The knife flicked three more times and her bra fell open. He can look at my breasts. He can touch them. I can live with that. As her skin tightened against the cold, her attacker pulled something out of a fanny pack. Saori frowned as he opened up a small Tupperware with a brown sponge in it and a stamp. He pressed the stamp into the sponge then pressed the stamp to her chest, just over her left breast.

,,

He stamped me? She looked down to see a smiling joker’s face, the tongue stretching an obscene distance from the mouth. What--? The flash of light brought her eyes back up, just in time to look full on at the camera as a second picture was taken. “You are sick men,” she hissed, the anger finally becoming too strong to hide.

,,

“No, we’re businessman, and we’re getting paid quite a bit to be professional photographers,” he said, messing with the camera/ phone/ everything. “And away you go.” He pressed some more buttons and grinned broadly. “And there’s our money. I love working with this guy, whoever he is.”

,,

“Now that business is done,” the man in the red mask said, “what about some fun?” He released her arm, but it was pinned against her side as he reached around to fondle her. “Here, you take her arms, I’m going to just bend her over and lift her skirt.”

,,

“Sure what the hell,” the first man sighed, tucking away his gear and moving forward.

,,

And Saori found out that there was another circumstance in which she’d drop her guise.

,,

She reached up and grabbed Red-Mask’s arm, stabilizing herself and using his mass to kick outward. Black-Mask caught her heel in his groin. Shouting pained curses, he doubled over.

,,

“Bitch!” Red-Mask snarled as he spun, tossing her into a wall. Saori brought up her arms to protect her head. It worked, but her stomach and breasts scraped against brick, tearing scratches into her skin. He grabbed her from behind by her hair again, but when she felt his hand on her ass, she’d finally had enough. The Loong writhed under her skin, and she released him with a snarl.

,,

Red-Mask had thrown a thin Asian girl into the wall, but what he got back was a twenty-foot long golden snake with legs and a whiskered head. For a second, Saori clung to the wall in her new, elongated form; then she folded backwards and snapped her teeth shut around his head. She tasted the polyester and wool of the mask, and his aftershave, and under all that, the meat, blood and chemicals that made up this man. The rest of her body coiled and spiraled gracefully until all four feet were on the ground. The man was screaming, and she wrapped her thin, flat tongue over his face. His struggles stopped being about getting loose and started being about his air supply; she hadn’t concerned herself with the placement of her tongue in relation to his nose.

,,

“My god!” Black-Mask screamed, his eyes round. He fumbled at his waist, and Saori saw the glint of a small gun. With a grumble of anger, she snapped her head around, using Red-Mask like a whip. His screams changed in tenor and quality, but she didn’t care as Red-Mask’s flailing thighs knocked his buddy to the ground. Like a massive cat, she pounced on the downed man, her claws digging into flesh and cloth alike.

,,

With an audible “Pah-too!” she spit out Red-Mask, sending him tumbling limply down the alleyway. Turning back to Black-Mask, she growled so hard that her sinuous sides rippled with sonic force. "Who sent you? Who received that picture?" she grumbled, her voice throbbing with the low bass of a dragon's larynx.

,,

"I don't know!" he screamed, and Saori dug her claws into his flesh. "God, please I don't know! It was all anonymous!"

“You lie! You know something!” she shrieked, and the sound was a cry that had not been heard on this earth for thousands of years – a king of lizards screaming in feral rage.

Hands caught her by the tail, burning and painful. Her body turned back on itself, a feat impossible for a creature with a normal spine. Red-Mask had her tail, but now he burned with an eerie flame. Silver dust shimmered in the air and fell to the ground around him. “Now, why did you have to go and do that?” he snarled, yanking her off of Black-Mask. He swung her in a wide arc, slamming her into the ground on the other side of him. “See this dust? It’s traceable. You forced me to undorm, to expose myself.” He leapt into the air and landed on her back, slamming into her with unbearable weight.

Saori screamed, not trying to hide the pain arcing up her body. But it didn’t stop her; her head snapped back and closed on his thigh. This time, she didn’t even break skin, but she still tried. Snarling viciously, she rapidly snapped her head back and forth, trying to hurt him. She knew it was useless when his flailing hand caught a sensitive whisker; using that to brace, he hit her with a blow that rattled her teeth. Saori tasted blood, and this time, it was her own.

“Time to end this,” he grinned, and slapped an open hand against her face. Her quantum energies were tugged at, and he became heavier. Within seconds, a silver dragon faced the gold, but he was larger, stronger and a better fighter. A wicked, toothy grin crossed that face, feral monster in a silvery cloud of dust. “I can get what I want from you in this form too.”

With those words, Saori knew she couldn’t back down. She’d die before she’d let that happen. With another ear-piercing shriek, she charged into useless battle. She couldn’t run; she was sure that he would have copied her flight and her speed, and she didn’t want to give him a shot at her back.

But she didn’t stage a mindless attack; she had to be smart about it. Instead, she rushed in, trying to get a lock on him, to use his larger body against him. She tried to coil around him, but he didn’t hold still for her, and soon they were wrapped in a large gold and silver ball, scales straining and slipping around on another.

A feminine scream rang down the alleyway, and both dragons flinched from the noise. The silver dragon lifted his head and grumbled at the woman staring at them, “You’re killing the mood, lady.”

Saori didn’t look; she lunged for the bared neck. Her teeth closed around it as she whipped her lower body around his upper legs, trapping them. He snarled and folded himself in half, his hind feet clawing at her head and back. Saori whined as he tore gouges in her flesh, but she only bit harder, channeling her pain into anger. Hopefully, whomever had screamed would call the Knights. But until they got here, she had to defend herself, and she clamped her teeth harder on the silver dragon’s neck.

He reared up and slammed into the alley wall; she took most of the blow because he’d led with his shoulder. She almost cried out again, but she choked it back and kept her vice-grip on his throat. She wasn’t sure it was working when he negated the issue; hooking a foot around her throat, he shoved with his superior strength. Her teeth slid over his scales, almost catching twice before her head lost the grip. His strength slammed her into the pavement and her vision exploded with white-hot stars.

Saori groaned as her skull rang from the impact; she was vaguely aware of him unwinding her limp form from his shoulders. She started to struggle as he flipped her onto her stomach and his tail around hers. Something poked at her and clarity returned in a rush of adrenaline. With a shrieked, “No!” she twisted her lower body around and grabbed at the offending object.

Now it was the silver dragon’s turn to scream as she mercilessly squeezed. This was her last shot. This was her only shot. Could she hold on long enough? Long enough for help? Long enough for him to pass out? His paws began to batter at her, his claws slashing into her scales. The answer was, no. She wouldn’t last much longer at all, not with him tearing her to golden ribbons.

[Warren Verona]

"Hey, Revenant, where are you?" The voice of Sean McCline crackled over Warren's communicator as he soared through the chilly Chicago air.

"Sector 4, eastside. Why?" He answered back.

"We have a report of... well... get this: Dragons going at it about 2 miles from your location. Jager wants you on it."

Warren cocked his eyebrow in disbelief. "Dragons? Bullshit. Some kid prolly takin his iguana for a walk." Sean could be heard snickering on the other end. "If this is another prank call, I swear on all that is unholy someone getting hurt."

"I hear ya. Good luck, if you need back up, call for it this time."

Quickly he shifted course while looking at his issued GPS for a signal that homed in on where The Tower had triangulated the distress call. He shot off in the direction like an arrow, his black feathery wings pressed close to his back like a diving hawk would in mid dive.

Well, fuck me with the Round Table... dragons. were his first thoughts as he hovered for a brief moment, assessing the situation. He saw the gold dragon getting it's ass handed to it and decided it was time to jump in to see what the hell was going on. He flew low and hovered just out of reach of the fray. "Excuse me," He started, trying to be a smart ass. "I've been sent to arrest the two of you, so could you possibly let the other one go or I'll shoot you several times in very hard to reach places."

The Silver Dragon bellowed and Revenant cocked an eyebrow. "Fuck you too." Was all Warren said as he shot forward with blinding speed grappling the head and neck of the giant silver beast as best he could. The netherworld answered his summons as his hands began to crackle and spark with a nimbus purple energy accented by black necrotic energy. Blow by blow he flailed against the huge dragon's neck a few feet below its head, with every impact concussive energy shot through the great beast's neck like entropic javelins.

With the tide slightly turned in the favor of Saori she loosened her constriction upon the other dragon and slithered back as best she could. She needed a moment to gather her thoughts while her head was still ringing from the onslaught a few moments past.

"Get off of me Zombie Cop! I'll tear you apart!" The reptile slammed it's body against the walls of the alleyway crushing Revenant between them. Blood oozed from the neck it's neck and Revenant made note of that. He slid half aware down the wall, barely managing to land semi gracefully on his feet. He staggered as the impact still hung with him and the large dragon shuffled slightly, almost out of steam itself.

"You have the right to get your ass kicked." Revenant heaved under an unneeded staggered breath. The dragon lunged and he sidestepped the mighty creatures jaws, springing against the wall and vaulting himself across the muzzle of the silver dragon to the opposite end of the alleyway. As he vaulted he spun through the air with cinematic grace his hand launching bolts of entropic energy directly into the legendary reptile's eyes. They exploded outward spraying Saori and Warren both with ocular juices.

It reeled back, blinded and in more pain than most could fathom. "Anything you say, at this point will be ignored." Revenant hissed as he summoned his node to tap the ether of death once more. The Dragon thrashed around flailing from side to side backing out of the alleyway and hoping to withdraw from combat. In a merciful world he may have had a chance but he faced Revenant this day, and the Devil wanted his due.

From the wellspring of the abyss that Revenant called his node he called out to the power of death. As always his call was heard, The Lord of the Undead struck out with four mighty purplish/black tentacles that breached the mythical beast's hide like a ghost would pass through solid matter. "You have the right to an attorney. You'll need one to sue my ass for what I'm about to do to you." The quantum energy of the beast that he faced slowly faded and passed it's way from the dragon to it's new owner.

Revenant stood his ground, maintaining his incorporeal grip on his blinded foe. "If you can't afford an attorney, it's prolly all the better, you'll need the money for your hospital stay." Try as it might the gleaming behemoth felt it's power drain and fade away. The form of the dragon faded and as it did so a bloody, broken, and blinded nova was left in it's place. He fell to the concrete shaking and holding his exposed sockets.

He had almost forgotten the golden dragon. In a sudden flicker of hazy ghost-like movement Revenant positioned himself within range of Saori in her dragon form. The tentacles lashed out and dug deep into her scaly flesh and the process of energy transference begun almost immediately. He unholstered his two not quite standard issue pistols and took aim at the weakening Saori.

"Now, I don't like repeating myself. You heard all that... so make a choice." His ghostly shrill of a voice wrapped around her senses. He was in a state of pure euphoria and it shown from every word. The conflict, the suffering, and the spreading of pain and anguish... he was nothing short of ecstatic.

[z-Gu Saori]

The gold dragon's reprieve was Death. It was ironic, Saori thought as she laid flat on the ground and gasped for air. Massive golden eyes rolled upwards, fastening on the grappling opponants. "Revenant," she whispered when the stars in her eyes moved enough for her to see her rescuer. I had thought that Death would be how I escaped this. But I never expected to survive his interference.

Then her attacker's eyes exploded, and all she felt was horror. This man is a monster, she thought, recoiling from the fight, using a shaking, scaly paw to wipe slimy innards from her face. A terrible, wretched beast. Look at his pleasure... in this... thing he does... The horror began to numb, fading into the darkness in her head, that drew everything into it.

The otherworldly voice dragged her away from the darkness beckoning her, and the pain of being picked up and drained cut through her maliase. Despite her urge to fight back, Saori pulled the Loong back into her soul. Within a beat of her heart, Revenant held a half-naked, half-dead Saori in his putrid tentacles. "Revenant," she whispered, too sore and drained to tug her shirt and coat closed. Speaking was painful; moving sounded impossible as her adrenaline fled her body, leaving her empty. "I will not resist."

He looked disappointed, and the true Saori rose to the surface, fighting through the pain and disorientation to spit, "And if you kill me anyway, I swear on my Grandfather's life I'll come back and haunt you. I'll break all your things and whither your penis." It was a good threat; too bad she'd unwittingly slipped into Cantonese, leaving Revenant clueless.

[Warren Verona]

Slowly her body moliated back into the amber skined beauty she truly was. Revenant's face took on an expression of sudden suprise and confusion. "Gooey?" he asked her, knowing she wouldn't answer. He could hardly believe it was her, but she wasted no time in uttering her curse about haunting him.

Warren knew very little of other languages, but was smart enough to decipher 'come back and haunt you'. She wasn't the first person to throw that old line on him, and certainly would not be the last (he still had several languages left to hear it in). "I ain't gonna kill ya Gooey, quit talkin' like that." The semi-solid tentacles pulled her closer to him and as he holstered his side arms she was lifed and set gently in his arms, craddling her.

"Sean," he spoke into the air, hsi commlink tranferring imediatley to his partner. "I need medical out here, Saori is hurt and I have one thug down and a mass of civilians and media looking at me like it's my fault."

"Is it?" The Irish Eye asked him statically across the comlink.

"Suprisingly, no. Not this time." He replied, his lips twisted in a half grin.

He walked from the alleyway and into the street where crowds of people had begun to gather or had already been watching the battle from the onset. Gently he set her down and wraped his heavy duster over her exposed body and waited for back up to arrive.

"What the hell were you doin girl?" He whispered to himself as he tried to piece together the puzzle she had left for him.

[z-Gu Saori]

Saori was folded against his cold body before she really knew what was happening. No... this isn't... I want... It didn't matter what she wanted; she was too weak to push herself away, to lie stiffly in his arms. Instead, she sank against him, molding herself against his body with the full abandon of the trusting or the greviously injured.

The young woman drifted in and out of awareness; being set on the ground made her blink at Revenant in surprise. She was shivering as the heavy duster settled around her body; she felt warm and suddenly tired.

"What the hell were you doin girl?" His voice sounded puzzled, and even his eerie voices seemed less terrifying when done in a intrigued whisper.

I was trying to defend myself, Saori said, then realized she hadn't spoken aloud. Another attempt to speak left her with sagging eyelids, and through a muddled haze, she realized she was in shock. And she was cold and tired; she should have been sore, but the pain was rather distant.

Saori tried to pull the duster a little tighter, but it was wet and slippery. She frowned at her hand, surprised to see it was red with blood. It took her a moment to remember that it was her blood. Her hair was thick with it, and she reached back to feel it. Her fingers touched something thick and strange, and she gave it a tug, trying to dislodge it.

The distant pain roared back, and Saori cried out before she could stop herself. Her skull was pounding, and her stomach twisted, trying to empty itself. It was a flap of her scalp, and it was hanging loose. "I'm badly hurt," she said, managing to say it clearly. And then she tried to fall asleep, even as she was aware she might not wake up. Her eyes fell shut on their own, and she felt herself drifting away.

[Warren Verona]

Warren held her tightly, but there was little else he could do. He couldn’t count the number of times he had sat in her place, injured and bleeding wishing that someone was there to tell him things were not as bad as he thought they were.

She was barely coherent, but he knew she was stronger than her frail appearance would lead others to believe. He remained worried however. His 'soul sight' allowed him to watch the ebbs and flows of her life force. The blood slowed it's motion in her veins as he watched, and he knew she was getting weaker with every moment. "I'm badly hurt." She informed him. Comfort her, let her know things will be fine. Say something to take her mind off this mess. he thought to himself, but didn't know where to begin. The Knights would be there soon, she would just need to hold on a few moments more.

"Don't pick at it," He said, gently pulling her hand away. "It won't heal properly if you pick at it." His expression was pure confusion with one eyebrow raised and his lip curled slightly giving the impression that he had no idea how to console someone. It was hardly comforting, but making others feel better was hardly what Revenant was good at.

"Christ, Revenant, what the hell happened here?" Exclaimed Sean as he coasted to the ground slowly. He hadn't been very far away but Revenant was closer to the disturbance call, so he figured he'd let Revenant take care of it while he finished his sweep of the harbor.

"Sean," Warren stood quickly, cradling young Saori in his arms. "Help her, she's fading!"

"Bloody hell Revenant." Sean's eyes grew wide as he assessed Saori's injuries. "Set her down. What did you do to her?"

"It wasn't me!" Revenant shot back, as he set her gently on the hood of a car. He knew better than to move her. Lately however he was prone to more foolish choices than usual. Most of the ideals and beliefs he had been weaned on his whole life had been crumbling around him and he frankly, he just wasn't sure of anything anymore. Hindsight was becoming an everyday activity for him.

Sean examined her, and quickly began using his innate powers of rejuvenation weave her wounds closed, at least enough to prevent permanent injury or major blood loss. The whole time his icy stare was locked on Warren. His expression was on of doubt.

"It wasn't!" Warren defended the silent accusation. "It was the other dragon guy."

"That guy? With his eyes blown out?" Sean tilted his head in the thug's direction. Making an obvious shift in his tone to note Revenant's use of excessive force. As always, Revenant didn't 'get it'. To him there was no such thing as excessive force, and with a defeated sigh he focused his attentions on young Saori.

"They started it." Warren said, his tone rather lower than usual.

[z-Gu Saori]

A hand caught hers, and Saori struggled back to consciousness. Her eyes fought to focus on the warm flesh gripping hers, but it was an indistinct blur of blue. Jonas? Jonas-kun, is that you? She tried to tell him she was sorry; this would be her last chance to do so.

He scooped her up, and Saori was confused. Why was he so large? Today, she could rest her head on Jonas' shoulder without an effort, and she was sure she could recall having to crunch her body a little to fit her head against his shoulder like this.

His jawline, rough with stubble, ground against her forehead, but Saori didn't mind. It was Jonas, and it was ok. Her breath sighed out of her lips; she noticed how easily it slipped out, and how hard it seemed to draw it back in. Voices floated around her, but her love's sweet voice wasn't among them. Instead, the closest voice was a viper's whisper. Unable to summon the strength to talk, she just pressed her noise into the curve of his neck, and regretted that she couldn't smell him. Something else filled her nostrils, an unfamiliar scent of man and soap and a hint of death.

He laid her on cold metal, and leaned over her. Saori could see that another person was here, but she only had eyes for her nán péng you*. The other man was touching her, tending to her wounds, but he was nothing to her. Amped was her focus and he was little more than a blue blur; she forced her eyes to focus on him. But she had a shock waiting for her; his lovely blue eyes no longer shone with an azure aura; instead, a ghastly, yellow light lit them from within. Saori found she did have the strength to speak. She even managed to lift her hand toward his face as she asked, "What happened to your eyes, xīn ài**?"

And then Sean's power overtook her. The distant wailing of a baby was heard and some of the pain faded, enough pain that Saori's eyes began to work properly again. She was gazing lovingly at Revenant, and she almost ruined it by jerking away and making a face. Instead, she merely said, "I am sorry. I thought... That is not important. Thank you, Revenant. You saved my life." She bowed her head as best she could from her supine position, still offering her hand, though she turned her wrist so that it was more of an offered handshake then a future caress. "I will not forget it."

"Wait," Sean said, "you mean he was telling the truth?!" Seeing the glare that Revenant tossed at him, the green-eyed nova shrugged and replied, "You can only mace so many Santas before people start believing your capable of anything, dude. Sorry I totally misjudged you, though."

"Yes, he did," Saori said softly. Taking a deep breath, she told her story. Her voice shook in parts, even as she tried to keep it even and smooth. She finished with, "They targetted me, marked me and took a picture of the shame they heaped on me. They did this for money, and for someone who wishes to embarrass me." And I wasn't able to stop them.

She wondered if the two Knights saw her as pathetic. She felt that way right now, but she kept her face empty of emotions.

[OOC Note: Revenant is normally much colder than Saori. She was that much colder than him when she noted the warmth of his skin. This will be explained in a later post, but to avoid confusion now, I wished to leave this note.]

*boyfriend

**beloved

[Warren Verona]

Arms folded and looking as gruff as ever, Revenant anxiously paced around while Sean worked his ‘magic’. The way she stared at him unnerved him. It was gentle and loving, a warm stare than stirred within him his feelings and emotions. Velvet brought all those sensations to the surface quite easily, and around her he had grown accustomed to it and felt more comfortable around Vivi than he did around Saori.

This just would not do at all. His mind tumbled about while he had a moment to think, as Saori lay there incapacitated. He had shown a weakness: compassion. Often times he would disguise his ‘kind’ acts beneath a shroud of vile insults and a gruff demeanor. But this time Sean saw it, and Saori as well, somehow, could see into his eyes to that glimmering (albeit dim) sparkle of compassion, which day by day Velvet somehow managed to make brighter.

Needless to say… this did not please Revenant. He could not have this upstart twiterpated nova girl, pretty as she was, looking upon him like he was a ‘friend’ or a confidant. No. Not again. Last thing I need is another Chloe eyed nova bint trying to ‘save’ me. His twisted mind conjured, as he leaped ahead to thoughts of Saori smiling at him in the halls, and talking to him like he was her ‘buddy’, and basically being a complete nuisance, when in the end she would just hate him because he wasn’t ‘nice like all the other boys.’

"What happened to your eyes, xīn à?" Each word clung to fatigue like an old friend. Lazily she raised he hand, as if to touch his face, and her helpless expression overtook his heartstrings once more. He cupped her hand before she touched him, and held placed across her abdomen.

“I sold my soul for power.” He replied kindly, not realizing she was hallucinating. “Save your strength, let Sean help you.”

As Sean's power overtook her he caught he expression as all of her senses sprang back into functionality assaulting her and overloading her weakened mind. She gazed at Revenant and her beauty captivated him, until he caught the expression of surprise on her face when her eyes focused and realized it was him that she was ogling over. "I am sorry.” She said, as he did hid best to hide the irritation from her sudden change of mood. “I thought... That is not important. Thank you, Revenant. You saved my life." The nod of her head and offered hand were little consolation. He faked a grin as she held her hand out to him. "I will not forget it."

"Wait," Sean said, "you mean he was telling the truth?!" Seeing the glare that Revenant tossed at him, the green-eyed nova shrugged and replied, "You can only mace so many Santa’s before people start believing you’re capable of anything, dude. Sorry I totally misjudged you, though."

“Sokay, ya get used to it.” He said snidely to Sean as reached behind him and began removing something from his ‘utility belt’ as the Knights jokingly called the belts they wore that kept the usual items typical law enforcement personnel would need. Flashlight, handcuffs, pepper spray, and in Revenant’s case, spare ammunition clips. He was the only Windy City Knight, despite his ability to toss bolts made from what he called ‘necrotic force’, to carry side arms.

"Yes, he did," Saori said softly. Taking a deep breath, she told her story, finally finishing with, "They targetted me, marked me and took a picture of the shame they heaped on me. They did this for money, and for someone who wishes to embarrass me."

Sean’s eyes were filed with touching compassion. He was always like that… some girl would bat her pretty eyes, or show off some firm cleavage, and he suddenly was really interested in how he could improve their life. But there he was, taking notes, and looking more concerned than usually, hell, almost like a real officer or something.

“Well,” Warren spoke up, breaking the silence at the end of her story while Sean completed jotting a few foot notes down. “That’s quite an experience, but far from the icing on the cake your bad day Ms. Gu.” His lips were twisted in a malevolent grin as he took her hand and in one deft motion slapped a tungsten cuff over wrist and the air echoed with a series of ‘clicks’ that locked it tight. You will learn to understand why people keep away from me young Saori. Enjoy this little slice.

Sean’s head shot up as if it were spring loaded. “Reven,” He used Warren’s nick name, the given to him by people who were not offered the privilege of calling him by his true first name. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Saori Gu, you have the right to remain silent,” he began her Miranda rights and ignored Sean completely. “Anything you say, can, and will, be used against you in a court of law.”

“Revenant, she is a victim of an attempted rape, what the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Forcefully Sean gripped Revenant’s arm and pulled him around until he was facing Sean, an act most people never lived to do a second time. Sean’s eyes burned with contempt for his burly partner’s actions.

“Unsanctioned discharges of quantum energies.” He said matter of factly with tone of repentance for bullying the poor lady. As Sean had spun, to prevent the ‘suspect’ from attempting escape, he had face planted her into the hood of the car and was now treating her like a common nova thug.

“Bull-shit.” Sean said to him, not backing down. He had never been quite sure if he possessed the skills and powers to handle an assault from Revenant, but in the back of his mind he was quickly thinking that he was moments away from finding out. “She defended herself. She was in a life or death situation, the laws protect her and her powers in circumstances like that. Now, let her up Revenant.”

“A nova may defend themselves with quantum born powers in a capacity up to and including the death of their assailant if the nova’s life is in immediate danger.” Revenant paraphrased the law, and Sean grinned a grin of victory as he did so. “However, the nova must also take all precautions to preserve the life of innocent base lines caught in the cross fire. Failure to do so is criminal negligence on the part of the nova. No exceptions.” He shot Sean a winning grin right back as he quoted the Judge who assigned him probation for the same charges after his battle The Wakinyan. “I was here Sean, she and those guys were steps away from tearing that alley down, and the people who lived in those buildings along with them. She’s just as guilty as they are.”

“You bastard.” Was all Sean could say.

“If you don’t know by now…” Revenant smiled at him and let the phrase go there. “If the city wants her free, fine. But I have a ‘duty’ to the people,” Sean’s fists clenched as Warren mocked him and perverted the law into an excuse to bully anyone and everyone he came across. “After all, my public approval rating is low enough as it is…”

He gripped Saori by the back collar of the duster she was wearing to preserve her modesty and yanked her up in a manner that could only be described by on lookers as 'not gentle'. "Let's go, and if you want to really make me happy Ms. Gu, do me a favor and resist." With her neck clamped tight in his grip he led her to an awaiting 'meat wagon'.

[OOC Note: Hehe. I ommited the scene where he kicks a puppy. But she will be taken to a holding cell. He is right as far as the law goes, but given the circumstances, she would obviously be released. Oh... and no one is colder than Revenant! Muahahahahaaa...]

[z-Gu Saori]

The handcuffs snapping shut around her wrist was the loudest noise Saori had ever heard. Her head was down, staring at her wrists and the offending bracelet, so Revenant missed the look of rage that passed over her features. It would have warmed his heart to see the effect that his little trick had on her.

She had plenty of time to compose herself when he spun and shoved her face-first into the car that he had just gently laid her upon. The young Asian girl spent several seconds bitterly wishing that she had the strength to get up off the hood and beat him into a blue goo. But she didn't, and so she brought her other weapon to bear.

She passively accepted her situation, relaxing against the hood of the car until Revenant was done. She would have walked placidly beside him, but he choose to drag her, forcing her to stumble after him. She was still hurt, but she hid it from Revenant - she didn't want his pity, not if he was going to turn around and treat her like pì huà*.

Two could play this game. If he treated her in a way that he thought she would hate, she could return the favor. When they reached the 'wagon,' really a modified van, Revenant shoved her against the back of the van so that he could restrain her while he opened the doors.

Another officer stepped bravely - or perhaps stupidly - forward, a dark scowl on his face. "I can take it from here," he said, reaching to take Saori from Revenant. Revenant's wordless glare set him back on his heels and sent him shying away from the bigger nova. As Revenant turned back to loading her, Saori murmured, "You are an honorable man. You do your duty, even when others would be moved by pity or mercy. I admire you for that." She shook her head, feigning amazed acceptance.

When Revenant looked at her, Saori's face was set in an expression of admiring acceptance. Deep inside, she impatiently waited for him to load her on the van; she wasn't sure how long she could keep his up without vomitting.

*shit

[Warren Verona]

The elevator doors slid open with a mechanical grace and Warren stepped out onto the detention level. It was a cold place filled with nothing but cells. He walked past and several of the prisoners recoiled as he gave them casual glances. Revenant’s reputation for interrogation within the Windy City Knights had become almost legendary in his short time with the organization. Each hoped, and some prayed that he was not here for them.

Shirtless he walked through the chilly steel colored walkways; his heavy foot falls announcing him long before he had the opportunity to catch an unwary prisoner with an intimidating grin. He stopped in D-block, the second cell farthest from the entrance. Coincidentally Saori was sitting in the same cell Warren was detained in earlier this year.

She looked up at him as he stood motionless the doorway of her cell, a huge clear, Plexiglas cell reinforced with inertial inhibitors and quantum dampeners. Quite a nice set up, but hardly necessary for frail little Saori.

“Your charges were dropped,” the spectre nova said, his topaz pupils shimmering from the reflection of light off the cells’ translucent door. “Jager through a fit. If that’s any consulation.”

The asian nova sat up, and although she had been given clean clothing to wear she was still wrapped tightly in Revenant’s thick and warm leather duster. She looked at him lazily before shifting her expression into a scowl. She was mad at him, and he knew it.

…aaaand he didn’t give a shit.

He places his powerful calloused hand on the scan pad to the cell. An electronic lock that accessed the WCKs database for biometrics and, if the subject was approved, would open the cell. These locks, unlike others were (or so the WCK thought until Revenant arrived) unfaultable

“Scanning….

Subject: Hill, Sam aka The Crusader”

A loud ‘buzz’ resounded through the hallway, like Revenant had just guessed some question wrong on a game show.

“Quantum signature unstable. Please try again Defender Hill.”

“Damn thing.” He mumbled to the pad as he placed his hand on it again.

“Scanning….

Subject: McCline, Sean”

Again the loud ‘buzz’ resounded through the hallway.

“Quantum signature unstable. Please try again Defender McCline.”

“Come on you piece of shit!” he cursed at the wall, slamming his hand on the pad a third time.

“Scanning….

Subject: Carver, Willa Jael aka Carver.”

Again the loud ‘buzz’ resounded through the hallway.

“Quantum signature stable. You are not authorized to make use of this terminal; your attempt has been logged. Have a nice day.”

Saori watched and listened, Wakinyan, Mythic, Hugin, Long, the names were just rattled off by the computer and the terminal denied each one. At this point he was just leaning against the terminal, letting it scan casually.

“Sorry, every single time it’s the same.” He shrugged and rolled his eyes.

“Scanning….

Subject: Verona, Warren Jillian aka Revenant, aka Ira.”

“Quantum signature accepted. Thank you for using this terminal Defender Verona. Have a nice day. You're lucky color is blue.”

"Piss off Access." Warren said aloud, looking around as if a ghost was in the hall.

The comuter's voice chuckled slightly as Revenant stepped into the cell after the door finished sliding away. Approaching the young lady who was stifling the laugh caught in her throat at the hearing of this ogre of a man’s feminine middle name. “Look,” he sat beside her, hunching himself and resting his elbows on his knees. “Don’t be too pissed. I have a job to do, and if I don’t do it, or I make mistakes, like assuming you’re innocent and letting go, then it’s my ass. These pricks are looking for a reason to lock me, so, don’t take it too personal.”

His torso was riddled with scars, and to Saori’s discerning eye, most of them were surgical. “Hey? You with me?” She was snapped from her reverie by Warren waving his hand in front of her eyes.

[z-Gu Saori]

He carries pieces of souls around like bits of jewelry... they hang from his soul like charms from a bracelet. She watched him closely, partially because it was more interesting than staring at the wall, and partially because he was interesting. She was trying to deny it, but he was interesting, even if it was a morbid curiousity.

He sat on the bunk next to her, and she looked flatly at him, drawing his coat a little tighter around her shoulders. “Look,” he said, his voice rough and gruff. “Don’t be too pissed. I have a job to do, and if I don’t do it, or I make mistakes, like assuming you’re innocent and letting go, then it’s my ass. These pricks are looking for a reason to lock me, so, don’t take it too personal. Hey? You with me?”

"I meant it when I said that you were honorable," she said softly, meeting his eerie eyes. But not likeable. "You do you duty - I admire that." Her dark eyes were sincere as she said, "I strive to be a dutiful granddaughter; I tried to be a good daughter. I failed to be a good sister. In China, good people do distasteful duties without complaint.

"My f- stepfather was a bureaucrat, in China's government," she said. "He was not a kind man, not to me, or my mother. But he was a good man, because he did his duty. He didn't put my mother aside; he honored their vows, even when she did not. He did not put me out. I was not his, but he still raised me."

Why are you telling him this? He doesn't care about you. Saori stopped, her eyes dropping from his. "I am sorry. I'm overwrought. Normally, I wouldn't talk like this. Where did you get the surgical scars from?"

He gave her another expression other than disdain: surprise. "They're just scars," he muttered.

"No," Saori said firmly. "I know skin. Some of these scars are from battle. But not all." She reached out, unsure if he would let her touch him. Those amber eyes watched her as a charmer watches a snake; perhaps he feared her touch. Perhaps he feared being touched by others. She could believe that he would cut himself off from other people as much as possible.

Her fingers brushed over that cool, blue skin. At the moment of contact, something reached out of him and pulled in a piece of her soul, like a greedy child licking the spoon. He took a piece of me. He took my soul!

She forced herself to calm down. It was only a taste; his skin was now quiet under her hand. "Will the system think you are me now?" she asked softly. He nodded, and she smiled sadly, her fingers brushing over the thin line on his chest. "That will raise some questions." Not that Amped will ask. "But as I was saying, this is not a scar from a knife or bladed weapon. This is a surgical scar."

"So?" he grunted. "Ladi fuckin' da, whoopty-do. I've had surgury."

"No, you've had a lot of surgury," she said, her voice gentle. "Where you sick?" Her stomach curled with he shook his head with a sneer. "I see."

"Yeah, right," he snorted. "You don't know anything." He leaned toward her, trying to impose his bulk on her.

"People are operated for two reasons," Saori said, not giving ground, though she wanted to lean far away from him. "One is when you are ill, or hurt or sick. The other is torture."

"It's called experimentation." The words were harsh, and he'd said more than he meant. Scowling, he looked away.

Her fingers touched the circular scars on the back half-turned to her. "These are too clean for gun-shot wounds, and so precise... right over vertebae," she mused. He twitched as her fingers ran teasingly around the lip of the scar. "But not every one. Every other one. Precisely."

"Do you ever shut up?"

"When you tell me what I want to know, yes," Saori answered, feeling strangely bold.

He turned and caught her hand, holding her by the wrist. It didn't hurt; it was just a firm grip. His eyes bored viciously into hers as he spat, "They're where plugs were inserted into my back to keep me alive in a tank so that I didn't use my power on everyone around me. There, is that want you wanted to know?"

"Almost," she said, relaxing despite her desire to pull against the hand that wrapped around her wrist. "Why did they experiment on you?"

[Warren Verona]

It was an honest question he thought to himself. None thus far, save for Violet had dared to come right out and ask him. “My friend, Vie,” he smiled slightly; as he always did at the thought of the lavender goddess he called a friend. “She is always telling me to quit carrying around the past with me. Perhaps she’s right, I dunno.” He stood up from the bunk. “C’mon, we’ll talk while we walk.”

The two strolled down the corridor of cells. Once again each prisoner shirked away from the translucent doors as if Revenant truly was Death’s avatar coming to claim each one. It was a chilling trip that left Saori saturated in the grim aura of how much people (whether they’d admit it or not) truly feared the specter nova and the sphere of influence he had been blessed(?) with. He broke the silence of the walk, finally drowning the echo of their steps with the introduction of his hellish voice laced with the countless souls trapped in the purgatory of his node. “I was one of the first. N-day was the day I was reborn into an avatar of nature’s most unstoppable force.” Saori knew what was coming, but she flinched from the way he said it nonetheless. “Death.”

He keyed in the numeric code for the elevator, still speaking. “Before the Zurrich Accord, I was taken, as a child of eight to a facility. I was perfect they thought. Intstead of monitoring several novas all using their abilities at once they would have me steal their whisper and test the effects of their powers through me.” He looked into her eyes, the dark topaz burned with the memory. “They would operate, cut me apart to find out how I did it. When they were finished, I would imprint a young girl, Claire was her name, who possessed the ability to heal almost instantly. And on it went.”

“Why not just refuse?” Saori asked innocently. “Why did you not refuse to use your abilities?”

“Torture,” he said calmly. “When I refused, I was lowered into a dark well head first, linked to a contraption that would dunk me in random intervals. Sometimes I held my breath for a few moments, other times up to three minutes or more.” The elevator door slid open and they quietly stepped inside. “While I was in the well, none of the other captured novas were fed, or given water. My refusal caused them suffering.”

Warren folded his arms and leaned against the back of the elevator. It was obvious the memories were difficult to recite. It was then, as he stared off into the void of reminiscence that Saori saw something. A glimmer, metaphorically, of what could only be described as… compassion? Yes, compassion, the conjured thought of the novas who suffered because of him appeared to leave it mark far deeper than any surgery or battle his body had ever gone through.

“Eventualyl, I lost control.” Warren stared blankly talking more to the air around him it seemed than to Saori. “I was imprinting anything and everyone I touched, I couldn’t turn it off. To keep me in check, they plugged me into a vat and I breathed liquid oxygen for a few months. The cords in my spine allowed them to mess with me I guess, nothing like a three month daily spinal tap…” He grinned and shook his head. “And people wonder why I’m bitter, and pissed at the world.”

The elevator ‘dinged’ and the door opened into the chaos that Warren and Sean worked through every day. “Well, long story short, the Zurich Accord was signed and then I was sold to the military… then the real torture began.” The last sentence was rather fast as he shook off the morose shroud he had donned while recalling his twisted childhood. “I’m uh… gonna need my coat back.” He said to her, holding his hand out. His expression seemed plain, as if he had shared nothing special with young Saori, like his torment was no different than a discussion about what chick Sean had ‘banged’ the night before, or who won the Super Bowl.

[z-Gu Saori]

No pity. Saori's face should have held pity or horror at the life visited on the child that Revenant had been. Instead, there was understanding in her eyes, a set to her mouth that suggested that she had an inkling what 'real torture' was as well. "I am glad you were strong enough to survive that experience," she said instead, giving him a ghost of a smile. She pulled his jacket off and handed it to him, shivering slightly at the change in her environment. "Someone needed to save me, and I'm glad it was someone who understands-"

A widening of her eyes and the sudden break in her sentence were the only indicators that she had said something she didn't wish to say. Within a second, she had regathered herself, and she finished, "childhood pain."

"Like you were tortured," Revenant snorted cynically.

Saori glanced at him. "Some scars are inside," she said, her voice a touch cold. She missed his jacket, she realized; it was a comfort, a reminder of when a man would let her wear his jacket. Amped had done it for her a few times and her grandfather all the time; once, her stepfather had even given her his nice wool jacket and given her a smile at her soft thank you.

Delun had never given her his coat, Saori realized. He never gave her anything; she paid him for everything he did and had done for her. And yet, I trust few people more than him.

"Do I need to sign any paperwork?" she asked, eager to change the subject. Her dark eyes met his evenly. "Anything I need to do before I'm free?"

Why did it sound like she was asking him for so much more than she was? Probably because she was tired and a bit off balance. His conversation was bringing back her own training as a teenager, and they were memories she'd rather not have. She had her own dark wells and moments of regret and pain.

[Warren Verona]

"Just a few pieces of paperwork his layered voice droned out, half in the now and half in the memories of the pain he endured when he was younger. "It's all the typical things, what we took from ya, and what we gave back."

He lead her to his office where it would be more quiet. Slowly the two moved through the maze of cubicles and did their best to ignore the sounds of the people at work all around them.

Nearly an hour and a half later Saori was permitted to leave with the remains of her shredded clothing tucked carelessly into a white plastic box. Once again a free woman.

Moments after she had left his office he stood at the window overlooking the brightly lit spangled darkness of Chicago at night.

"Just another day." He mumbled while grinning at his reflection in the glass.

[z-Gu Saori]

Saori went back to her room, straight to her shower. She needed to get this blood and gore and everything off her body. And it all washed away; dried blood, the eye gore and dirt, all but the stamp on her breast. She scrubbed and scrubbed, but it wasn't coming out.

Stepping out in front of the mirror, she examined the brown stain closely, studying the way it had stained her skin. Her heart sank as she realized it was refined liquid henna; a henna that would set in minutes and not blister the skin like "black henna." This would take weeks to fade; literally, her stained skin cells would have to exfoliate off.

Saori leaned against the sink, her arms shaking. Why? Why would someone do this to her?

* 2 days later *

Cordelia walked down the corridor of the club, her stride long and graceful. She'd been practicing it for years, and she had perfected the mix of predator and seductress. That a nova could have learned it in a day had not been lost on her.

Yet for all the so-called 'tin gods' power, they were not omniscient. She had already proven that.

"Cor-del-lia!" Allen's voice trilled behind her, his American accent softened by the effiminate way he spoke. "I heard you have had some success." She turned to see the short blonde man coming out of the Games Room, a smudge of blue chalk still on his thumb.

"Some?" Cordelia asked icily, giving him a cold grin. "You need better intelligence, Allen-my-dear." Her British accent was more masculine than his, and she took a great deal of pleasure in that realization.

"I've been misinformed?" he asked, placing a delicate hand to his chest. "I may faint from the shock that my source has been less than clear, especially regarding you?"

Callie, Cordelia sighed. That bitch was a pain in Cordelia's ass, and it was just like the under-handed slut to be spreading lies. It wasn't like the woman knew any shame. "Completely misinformed," Cordelia purred, hiding her irritation. She handed him her prize, a holographic projection in three-dimensional, UHR glory.

"Ultra-High Resolution," Allen mused. "Very nice."

Cordelia fought not to grind her teeth. Displaying her tendency to buy inordinately expensive tech was not her point, here. "Yes, I got quite a deal on it," she answered, refusing to give him the satisfaction.

Allen's eyes flicked over the image. "Yes, my source's report was most inadequate. Does this mean the first round is yours?"

"I received full points for this. The Council verified it this morning," Cordelia smiled, "and the bonus points for being first to complete my task."

"Congratulations," Allen said without a stitch of sincerity. "I was sure that my target would be easier, but it's amazing how hard it is to kick a man when he's down."

"You got Red Fist, yes?" Cordelia asked, slipping her arm through his. At his nod, she asked, "Do you need some help? I have some free time, before Phase Two. I'd be happy to help... for the assistance fee, of course."

"Fifteen of my points?" Allen chuckled. "I don't care what others say - you're a shark, my dear."

In answer, Cordelia merely gave him a smile reminiscent of the animal he'd just compared her to and said, "No comment. Come on, Allen, I'll buy you a drink."

"Lovely!" Allen said, his good mood returning. Head high, he lead the way to the The Club's bar, already chatting about something else. But Cordelia knew that it was only a front; deep inside, he was calculating an angle to get the most points, either from his target or others.

But that was how The Club worked, and Cordelia wouldn't have it any other way.