Description: Metallica (1991). Reed is tested by Elle to check up on his progress. While Tran's training seems to have paid off for the young thief, he still has a major attitude problem. When Reed finally pushes his luck too far, Elle calls on Blackjack's disciplinary enforcer: Marise.
Elle makes her rounds in slow rotations. Each person that she deals with is given a task and sent on their way, and it's expected that by the time Elle's attention falls back onto them again, they've managed to acheive some goal in the mission set they've been given. Even though Reed isn't formally part of the team yet, the same applied to him. Tran's reports say that Reed has improves slightly, and Elle is here to do her inspection.
Having called the young thief back to the old warehouse where Blackjack used to be settled, Elle sits and awaits his arrival. The first test will be to see if the boy managed to come on time. Timing is important for Elle and extremely important when you do a job.
So she sits in the largely empty place, surrounded by boxes, pulleys, and old furniture that's been dumped here. Since moving out, some vagrants seem to have moved in. Elle's arrival has cleared hem out though.
Downtown. Just what the hell is he doing here? Tasteless, mediocre shit like this just doesn't appeal to Reed at all. But, considering the fact that a lot of crime seems to flourish here, it really makes sense when you think about it.
It's just that criminals like him have a certain amount of pride and reputation to uphold --- a reputation that has nothing to do with busting heads and more to do with acquiring valuable goods. Make that rare AND valuable goods.
So, when Elle calls him over to her old warehouse, he complies easily enough, hoping that the Blackjack leader will have a better idea of what he's really useful for. Reed isn't a figher who steals after all. Rather, he's a thief who fights. Two seconds before the appointed time, he makes it there, casually ambling in through the front entrance. It takes a while for him to make out the woman's presence in the dark, but his young eyes adjust soon enough. "Hey." A thoughtful pause is given before he resumes with, "So...you have work for me?"
Work? The boy may be a good burgler, but around here, there's a one in five chance that you're going to run into someone that can fight. Being able to battle your way through a situation is almost a prerequisite. Having washed out Aranha for a miserable showing, Ree'd going to have to demonstrate a somewhat better talent for combat in order for Elle to even think about giving the boy any work.
"No," she says. "But I might after we're done."
"Let me make this as simple as possible," she explains. "That first test? You failed. Tran told you that. But what you did show was that you have some aggression and initiative, and I can work with that. But being hotheaded can only get you so far. I sent Tran after you to see if you learned any discipline, and you came on time. That's a point in your favor."
She settles herself into a combat stance. "Let's see how you've shaped up after some training. After that? I may have a job for you, concerning a book, a kid, and some very valuable information." Her voice is flat, emotionless, and she doesn't look like she wants to negotiate a whole lot about the matter.
Cold. Business-like. Efficient. If there are three things Reed learned about Elle just from fighting with her that one time, those were it. Miraculously, he's managed to shove his little grudge aside to see just how apt and capable he is in dealing with mercenaries. "Heh." He shifts his long-baton in favor of pointing it at Blackjack's very own Hell's Belle, "Alright. I dunno about impressing you, but if I do end up beating you? Well. You're gonna tell me what you did with my necklace. Deal?"
With that, he waits. Instead of getting into one of those dramatic showman's stances like all of those retarded fighters he saw on T.V., Reed simply waits to see what Elle's going to do next. As far as he's concerned, he's going to make sure that this will be a fight she'll never forget.
COMBATSYS: Reed has started a fight here.
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Reed 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Elle has joined the fight here.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Reed
The boy is negotiatiing? She listens, and nods. Fair enough. "Deal," she replies succinctly. As she does so, a crack of lightning crosses her frame, and she's on the move. The mercenary's head and eyes are always moving, taking in the terrain and available cover. She always tries to be aware of her sourroundings as her heavy booted feet take her to Reed's left, along the corridor made by a stack of boxes.
With a leap, she hurls herself up with brute force to grab ahold of a loading pully overhead. The woman's considerable upper body strength pays off as she heaves herself like a projectile towards Reed, hands outstretched.
As she sails over the boy, she hurls off twin blasts of sonic chi, the debilitating bursts of sound travelling in wide arcs, causing the air around the boy to shimmer with the waves of pure force as she tries to wall him in and keep him from maneuvering around them.
COMBATSYS: Reed blocks Elle's Metal Health.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Reed
Shit. Not this again. Fortunately for the kid, he knows how to deal with an attack like this. How? Well this was one of the same attacks that Elle pulled on Reed when they were fighting for the famed emerald necklace. But!! Elle's sudden burst of speed catches him slightly off guard, and in that last split-second when her chi tears straight for him, Reed brings his flaming green baton out and bats at it as though it were two arcing projectiles that could be redirected in some way. In the end, some of Elle's chi gets absorbed with his own, and even goes so far as to strike past him and irritate his eardrums.
"Can't you think of something more creative?" Reed asks, mulling this over for just a moment, before his body streaks forward, one arm poised behind him to strike her right in the air.
COMBATSYS: Elle endures Reed's Medium Strike.
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Elle 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Reed
The surest way Elle's found to put a foot in one's mouth is by talking during a fight. Taunting, cajoling, complaining, and insulting the other fighter might work in some fights, but if you perform poorly, you end up looking like an idiot. What's more, it doesn't work on Elle at all, especially since she's gotten used to a lot of the strangeness that can occur in battle.
Case in point. As Reed's attack strikes her across the ribs, she's battered backward. Instead of falling down painfully, however, she sucks up the hit, and skids across the ground, her boots screeching across the floor. Slowing her slide, she uses the momentum reversal to heave herself forward.
Uncoiling the length of wire from her arm, she whips it in a wide arc, the glittering weighted wire sweeping through the air as it tries to wrap around Reed's neck, limb, or torso. If it manages, she'll give a powerful yank, sending the boy to the floor and unleashing a powerful jolt of electricity through it.
COMBATSYS: Reed dodges Elle's Powerslave.
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Elle 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Reed
Taunting, yes. Insulting, absolutely!!! But cajoling and complaining is not on Reed's uber-skill list. Nor could it be said that the two former are as well, but he tends to lean heavily in that respect; especially when it comes to pissing other people off. Elle's stamina is rather impressive, and it doesn't take a certain crack at her ribs to decipher that. No, what really tells him what she is capable of is in that attack right there, the heave and the wide arc as the long wire just barely misses him. Snapping back, the young thief manages just fine as he simply watches it lash for him, but then he arches back like a gymnast, whistling low as it narrowly misses him.
"Hmn." He frowns at Elle plainly here, and doesn't say anything else. But he does rush at her again, bringing his baton down hard against the floor, his body airborne to knock her back, foot against throat. It's a quick attack, and one that will hopefully catch her off balance.
COMBATSYS: Reed successfully hits Elle with Battere il suolo.
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Elle 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Reed
Well, it would seem that Reed's been taking to his training fairly well. Despite readying herself for an offensive strike, Elle's unable to compensate in time, and the boy's kick comes in high. The best she's able to do is steel herself for impact. While the strike doesn't do that much in the way of pain, it's enough to cause concern. Right now, the boy's a significantly ahead, and Elle's still flagging.
Remaining on the defensive, she's forced to back up, and take a low tackle as her way back in. Scooting low and fast along the ground, she hopes to circumvent Reed's speed and agility to swoop in with one hand, grab him by the collar, and toss him to the floor.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Reed with Quick Throw.
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Elle 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Reed
And toss him to the floor she does! Earning Elle a small grunt from the boy thief as he's slammed, but skids back just in time to pick himself up and have at her. Reed just seems to glide (maybe he's been spending too much time in an ice-skating rink?) along the floor as green chi justs bursts from his heel, snaking out to strike Elle in the face. Something that people refer to as flashy, but certainly not without its own merits.
COMBATSYS: Reed successfully hits Elle with Splitz Overkill.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Reed
And Elle is hit by the violent burst of energy. The green power washes over her, but doesn't seem to concern her any more than getting kicked in the shin would, however. A brief grimace on her face is all Reed is rewarded with as Elle tries to regain her focus. Maybe something about her previous fight with Himeko has her distracted, but she straightens up and starts to get moving.
Elle chugs across the ground, her legs pounding against the floor at full speed as she chases after the boy in the distance. As she closes in, she rears her arm back for a move by.
Should she strike, her hand will snatch the boy up by the shoulder and whirl him across the room as she pivots on her heel, continuing to follow after him no matter the outcome of the attempt.
COMBATSYS: Reed endures Elle's Quick Throw!
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Elle 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Reed
Being tossed around like a rag doll certainly wasn't Reed's idea of a good time tonight. Or was it? A faint trace of a smirk can be seen creeping up in his features at this point. Whether or not that's good is anyone's guess, but let's not go there. No...let's get back to the fight, where the snarky thief now crouches, /behaving/ himself for the first time in a long while. No more posturing, no stupid remarks, but you just can't expect this kid to keep his mouth shut. "ALRIGHT! Now that's what I'M talking about!!!" With a sudden pick-up in energy, he slowly rises to level his gaze with the mercenary's, wiping the blood that has now made its way down his temple.
What's gotten him up in a tizzy?? Well, this. Again, the baton is brought forth as he swings it right at her, and it will bat her up in the air and then beat her across the friggin' warehouse if she doesn't get out of the way. Waaay back when Liu-Bo was a matter of honor to be disputed among shepherds and their intruders, these farmers would use their staffs as weapons against such trespassers, and the result wasn't pretty. Taking an unconventional approach to this bit of historical inspiration: Reed.
COMBATSYS: Reed successfully hits Elle with Shepherd's Tail.
- Power hit! -
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Elle 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Reed
Elle's hit with an unexpected surprise. The fact is that Reed seems to be navigating past all of her defenses this evening is cause for concern, and it's not one that Elle wants to dwell on any more than she has to. The normally durable rocker is bashed clean across the warehouse, shattering through crates and furniture. She hasn't performed this badly in a while, and Reed is probably feeling very sure about himself right about now.
With a grunt, she's forced to stand and take stock of the situation. As she does so, she pulls her guitar from it's holster. Her feet clank down to the ground as she straightens, her impassive face looking over the boy once...
And then she's shooting towards him, her hand outstretched to ctach him by the throat. Should she manage to catch him, she'll hurl him to the far side of the wall, and come in after he hits, smashing away at the young lad's body in an attempt to utterly destroy him with her metal plated guitar.
COMBATSYS: Reed endures Elle's Iron Maiden.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|=======\======-\1 Reed
Feeling sure of himself at this point? Nah. He just happens to grab at an opportunity when he sees it coming. And right now...there's no opportunity for him; at least, not yet. So when Elle attacks him the way she does, enclosing her hand around his throat, Reed relaxes up to a point, bracing himself for the monster of a beating that's about to come. He's pinned to the wall by that thrashing guitar, and a set of muffled coughs rack his thin frame as he's whacked and struck mercilessly, garnering broken ribs and bruises in the aftermath.
But...what's this? He's still conscious after it's over, and he isn't the least bit ticked by the amount of debilitating pain that Elle has managed to inflict on him. The kid just chuckles...then coughs again, spitting blood against the floor as that particularly nasty bout of phlegm crops up.
"You're tough," he mutters, arching his brow high, "But I'm still standing."
*WHAM!* The end of his baton slams against the floor to jolt himself out of this slackened state, but he brings it up again and starts whirling it like some crazy marching-band leader. Wind flogs as he inexorably attempts to draw Elle in again, so that she's caught in the onslaught of fast and heavy staff-strikes.
COMBATSYS: Reed successfully hits Elle with Don Quixote.
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Elle 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Reed
And battered around she is. Elle's doing quite poorly today, and she knows it. The fact that Reed is thrashing her a lot more handily than he should nags at the back of her head. Having failed several easy responses to his attacks has left her at a disadvantage. The heavy strikes crack against her body, causing her distress and she only manages to just barely pull herself free from the massive attack by sheer strength.
She rolls to the side, and is forced to take a second to recover. She's doing remarkably poorly. Maybe her head just isn't into the fight anymore, but she's going to give it one last try to pull out a win from thin air as she takes a second to recover her strength.
COMBATSYS: Elle gains composure.
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Elle 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Reed
"...now I know you're not much for talkin'," Reed continues bantering, pulling himself up to full height, "But I /really/ wanna know what you did with my Munsteiner." There's a pause. His look isn't crazed, but the sheer grit this kid seems to have just about borders on it. He points his baton at Elle again, his position defensive. "And I'm not stopping until one of us drops dead."
COMBATSYS: Reed gains composure.
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Elle 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Reed
Perfect.
Elle doesn't answer. She leaps into the air, twirling her body for a cohesive high jump as she lands right behind Reed, her sturdy form causing the ground to shake with her heavy landing. The impact throws up a small circle of dust as her legs brace to give her balance.
Her hands reach out, the fingers grabbing for the boy's head. Ice cold fingers attempt to clamp down.
If she succeeds, she'll attempt a short, fast, and brutal neck snap, viciously applying high speed torque to the lad's head.
COMBATSYS: Reed interrupts 17 Crash from Elle with Battere il suolo.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Reed
Simply put, his question goes unanswered, and that pisses the kid off to no small degree. In fact, Elle's sudden maneuver causes the kid to glower, right when her icy hand clamps down hard over his shoulder. It causes some pain in the end --- the grip, after all, is hardly friendly, and earns Elle a brief shout of pain. Time to switch gears.
Hefting his body forward as the baton smacks down against the cement again, Reed grits his teeth and swings his right leg up to kick her away from him. He succeeds...to a degree, but when he hands, it's not pretty. Having most of his fortitude wiped away in this fight has caused some serious repercussions, even with the bit of training he's had lately. So the kid rolls back, his body /slammed/ against the wall. He vaguely gets up, his body hunched over, breathing heavy.
Despite the damage, Elle's face remains unchanged. So far, Reed's managed, through luck, negligence on her part, and the skills Tran has taught him, to put Elle in a bad defensive position. After wading through so many others, it was bound to happen eventually. She just hadn't figured it would be this kid.
But Elle's got more power left, and she's not about to let him go without taking him down a peg or two.
She raises up her hand, fingers already snarling with energy. Without a moment's hesitation, she fires off a powerful burst of the stuff, the energy flying forth, a concentrated bolt of power to fry the kid utterly.
COMBATSYS: Reed dodges Elle's High Voltage.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Reed
It's overwhelming. The burst of high energy, the speed in which it is directed at him, and he's tired as hell. But dammit, he wants his question answered, and if Elle isn't going to respect him enough to respond, then he'll just have to beat her to get it all out. There's a moment where Reed just manages to use that dumb luck to his advantage, and he gets the hell out of the way before it slams him and leaves him fried. Smoked. Not today.
His baton, lurid with green chi, bursts out of nowhere and heads straight for Elle's jaw. Yep. He intends to hit her with that high-flyin' uppercut.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Reed's Flaming Lips.
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Elle 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Reed
A little too late, really. Although Elle is able to batter aside the attack, she's not in a very good position to defend herself. Still, grinding to a halt is always an option, and it's one she's willing to take. She begins to backpedal, eyes narrowed as she considers how to pull herself out of this one. Her best bet right now would be to continue trying to recover her strength.
And that's what she'll do.
As much as she hates to be put on the defensive, Elle hates losing even more. What she does next is something she rarely if ever does at all.
Marshalling he strength, she attempts to pull herself together for one last-ditch try.
COMBATSYS: Elle drops her guard to recover.
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Elle 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Reed
Green eyes narrow slightly as Elle recovers, but Reed doesn't opt for the defensive like Elle. Again, he's not in the best of shape, and he's fatigued as hell, but that's not going to stop him for keeping at it.
Instead, he rushes forward again, a bit unsteadily before his weapon comes down on Elle in a fast jab at her gut. He ducks low at the last minute, baton at the ready before it hurtles right for her....
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Reed's Weapon Jab.
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Elle 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Reed
Elle rudely shoves the baton to the side and takes a step forward. It would seem that her gambit has allowed her a little more time in the fight. Chalk one up for experience. As she moves in, she reaches for the boy's collar, fingers curling like hooks. Nothing too fancy this time. If she manages to get a hold of the boy, she'll lift him high into the air, and then slam him face first into the ground like a tent peg.
Still, there's something to be said for perserverance. Hopefully she'll actually manage to get a hold of the kid. He's managed some slippery moves so far...
COMBATSYS: Reed interrupts Quick Throw from Elle with Spazzare.
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Elle 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Reed
Slippery, indeed. Like this one. Instead of letting himself get hurled about like last time, Reed ducks and pulls his foot out to kick her in the shins. It's meant to trip up whomever, but that little maneuver there cost him some major energy points. So instead of getting back up again, he's practically taken down as well, falling on his ass with an 'oomph' before rolling back up to get on her offensive side again.
Glaring at the Blackjack mercenary, he lifts his baton out on the defensive, bracing himself for whatever Elle may have in store for him.
Elle staggers to her feet this time. There's no quick recovery or shrugging off the attack. not this time. She's tired, and it shows. Reed's doing a lot more than most people do, and that concerns her. Clearly, she needs to train even more. That probably means another trip to Todoh's place.
Still, her face is impassive, and shows no signs of frustration or anger. Just a grim resolve and an expression of concentration as she brings up her left hand. Power swells along the length of her arm, rippling down her forearm and glowing brightly at her palm. The sheen of blue quickly shifts to white, and she lets fly with a truly massive bolt of power, the electrical stream writhing like a serpent at Reed to do what her normal blasts failed at.
COMBATSYS: Reed endures Elle's Whitesnake.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1 Reed
This just so happens to be the second time that Reed is getting fried. First by Alan, and now by Elle. Disgruntled by his failure today? Not really. There's always room for improvement. But he is absolutely /peeved/ that he won't know the whereabouts of his necklace, which was one of the reasons why he came here in the first place. Oh yeah, and the possibility of a job, too. So that electric snake does its thing, shocking him near unconscious were it not the fact that he was standing upright, the wall pressed close behind. He just slumps against it afterwards, and decides to give the lady her due. Perserverence pays off, after all.
Which is why he does this. The kid staggers towards Elle and grabs something from his jacket. Is it a gun? A knife? Super deadly ninja sais? Noooo......
Whipping out his measuring tape, the kid sneers, lighting it aflame with concussive green chi. /A fuggin measuring tape./ Then he throws it at Elle.
COMBATSYS: Reed can no longer fight.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Reed's Fuoco Greco.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|
Elle looks more perplexed than anything else, and she goes into full defensive mode, bracing her entire body into a posture akin to that of a turtle, hunkered down and arms up. Instead of being the final desperate attempt that she assumed it would be, it's mrely a fmaling tape measure that bounces off her defensive stance, which causes her some confusion.
She straightens up, and her normally impassive features are set in a frown. Reed could have beaten her, if he had pushed for it... but he didn't, which confuses her slightly. Nevertheless, the woman has managed to scrape by a close victory. Too close for her tastes.
She stares at him for a moment, waiting for him to pull himself together before she speaks. No sense wasting air on someone that's too busy trying to regain cognative ability, after all.
Reed's cognitive ability is just fine, thanks! He may have taken a LOT of blows tonight, but they weren't all aimed at his head. Fortunately.
"He slumps down on the floor, steadying himself with that black baton, once dubbed "the dratted truncheon" by thugs encountered sometime in his past life. He then eyes Elle warily, expelling a loooooong and tired sigh. After all, if he gave her his all, they could /both/ be unconscious by now, and nothing good would come out of it. Or not...but he's not taking any chances tonight. Maybe he's learning to be a bit more cautious, thanks to that crack-head Dr. Tran. Wait, why did he just think that? He gives his head a good shake, then he retorts. "I'm not taking any chances with that whacked-out 'doctor' of yours, so I'm not going to exhaust myself," is his answer to all of that, as if sensing her frown. "Any final words before I lickity split?"
"You're hired," is the reply. A folder hits the boy in the face. "Her name is Himeko. She made off with a book I want. Can't miss it. It's a big, old dusty thing that has information on ancient Japanese ninja clans. All the information is in there. Get me that book, and I want it as soon as possible, before she gets around to finishing that book."
Elle folds her arms in front of her chest, hiding the fact that she's about ready to collapse herself fairly well. "The job pays five grand. The girl's a fighter, and she can take hits all day long."
"That's my offer. Take it or leave it."
Reed frowns. Not because he hit her with that book, but because she's offering very little for something like this. Yet, he heaves, throwing his weight against the baton as he collects himself...standing. "I'll take it." There's another long pause from him, bordering on dramatic, and would have been considered as such up until now, had he not opened his mouth. Which he does right now. "But if you ever decide to call me up for another job that pays five grand, don't even bother. I won't get out of bed for at least fifteen 'k.'" Again, with the negotiating. If supermodels are a pain in the neck, then Reed's a major pain in the ass. And with that, he begins to walk out of the warehouse.
Elle pauses. This is why she doesn't work well with children. Reed is in the absolute wrong town to be mouthing off to the one source of steady, sane employment. If the boy thinks he can find a job someplace else? He can join the ranks of her old 'sidekick'.
Or whatever tattered remains are left staining Yamazaki's shoes.
Or better yet, Reed can try and make demands of Kurow. The boy that would be king treats his loyal subjects with liberal doses of brainwashing.
"My suggestion to you is that you drop the prima donna act. You cut it close with me today. You get the credit for making me work for a win," she says flatly. "But rest assured, if I want you to clean toilets for free, I'll have it. Your usefulness to me is as thin as the paper your paycheck comes on. I don't tolerate attitudes. I don't and won't stroke your ego. The second I think you're a problem? Why don't you ask around town about a boy named 'Safiullah' and see what you find out."
"Lady," Reed responds as he turns around, rolling the folder in his fist tightly, "I'll drop the prima donna act when hell freezes over." He laughs, cracking one green eye open to stare at Elle, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "And I won't have your fuckin' authoritarian bullshit, not with this paycheck. You give me the job, I do it, and I get paid, no questions asked." Who said anything about sane? No one's sane in this town. "You want me to clean toilets for FREE? HELL. I'm not even on fuckin' salary!!!"
He then proceeds to point his baton straight at Elle, "I don't expect you to stroke my ego, make no mistake. But I don't come cheap. And if you think I'm some kinda problem, well then. You're more than welcome to take advantage and do me in RIGHT NOW."
It's interesting. Elle can walk into Vega's throne room, demand an audience, and get it. She has Duke on speed dial. She's a conference call away from Igniz's office. Rugal sends letters requesting polite audeince with her. From the juggernauts of the fighting worlse, Elle normally gets treated with respect, and her draconian attitudes are held in high regard.
And to her teammates? Tough, but fair. She'd never admit it, but almost all of them get some kind of respect and accommodation for their skills. Even Naerose is grudgingly accepted by Elle.
What it all comes down to is that she's simply not used to being screamed at. At all. And the fact that Reed is doing so makes her frown visibly.
Elle rarely, if ever, shows emotion. Her eyes narrow, and she claps her hands.
"Alright," she says, her voice growing even colder. "You think you're hot shit? Here's the alternative to my 'authoritarian bullshit'"
The warehouse suddenly drops a single degree cooler. The air itself grows suspiciously still, as if willed to silence by Elle's clapping hands. Commanded in a manner that the rebellious child continues to resist.
Colder still is the fresh gaze upon him. Revealed as a pair of golden eyes. Peering open in the wake of that summons.. Dimly glowing within the confines of ebon shadows, clinging amidst the rows of empty crates and cobweb encrusted shelves. The presense is felt as an errie forboding. Sucking the vitality from the atmosphere and filling it with a new form of tension rather than heated words and growing emotions.
Those predatory eyes look upon the youth with wicked focus. Black-slitted pupils narrow as a feminine murmur escapes sultry lips obscured in the umbral veil.
"...Welcome.. are we... boy?.." The disemboded figure drawing out the words with slow deliberation.
## A grue clutches its throat and falls over. ##
## Marise bursts out of its chest. Annoyed. ##
Let's face it. Reed is in no condition to fight, but he's borderline suicidal right now, if not delirious from physical exhaustion, his defenses on the low-down. And his offensive demeanor? Very high; in fact, the needle is pointing in the red, and it ain't moving. When the temperature drops, the kid welcomes it....welcomes it as much as he would when facing some obscure monster --- without the strength to fend for himself. Reed has plenty of will, there's no doubt about that. But right now? He's in no position to snarl and make demands, especially now, when is life is at stake. Which is why little tantrums like these amount to nothing when you put your pride before anything else. Nevertheless, to have done otherwise would not have gotten him thus far. In fact, if he had heeled many years before, when he was just a scrappy pup looking for food and shelter, he would have been dead a loooooong time ago. Which brings us to this present situation --- the unfamiliar presence has made its way here, no doubt to either scare the living shit out of the young scamp or to do some serious damage. And what does Reed have to say for all of this?
"Welcome my ass. Fuck. You."
There's no doubt in Reed's mind that there's something very OFF and very WRONG about Marise right here. But we're dealing with a rambunctious kid here who rushes into things without thinking.
"Remember those nightmares you had when you were a kid?" Elle asks, her voice no warmer than Marise's, although not dripping with the same promise of malicious intent. "About the monster under your bed, or the one in your closet? The things in the dark out there, waiting to get you and hurt you just because it can?"
"Well I hired her," the mercenary says, the phrase practically punctuating her point.
"Tran's my right hand man. He's the nice one. That's why I gave him to you. I thought maybe Tran could pound some sense into you. I know he did his best with what he had," Elle says, pausing to consider things for a moment. "But even Tran can't make gold out of lead. Just be glad you're not a little girl, or Tran would be using your face as a wallet."
"I hate kids," Elle continues. "I hate them. All the self righteous posturing, pretending they know what life's all about. But I thought that with some hard work, we could make something happen." She gestures to Marise. "But you chose door number two."
The rocker's head turns to Marise, her cold, lifeless expression not even flinching, despite looking straight at what basically amounts to death. "Give it your best shot. If you can't get anything working? Well, then Happy Birthday."
During the Musical Tyrant's introduction, the shadows step forth into what passes for illumination in this run-down, quasi-abandoned warehouse. The kimono-clad Devil makes no sound as she approaches. Movements so subtle and deft the maiden nearly seems to float an inch above the floor in the manner of a ghost. Inhuman, predator eyes continue staring down the youth as he barks his rebellious tyrade in her face.
The Devil's smile broadening to reveal teeth entirely too sharp to be human as the orders are handed down.
Marise loves children. So impressionable. So adorable.
So delicious.
In the wake of those words the tall woman says nothing. Speaking no words, no threats, no promises or orders. Offering the boy only silence to fuel his angst and rage.. As she continues to approach him in a steady, unhurried pace. Arms dangling loosely at her sides. Moving with all the patient certainty of death itself.
Perhaps he's giving a moment to plea his case? Perhaps Marise simply enjoys seeing what meaningless rebellion he can voice in the ghost's face in some act of childish disrespect.
So far.. The boy has only seen Blackjack's 'good' side.
Yes.. Tran and Elle are certainly hardcases. Elle's dispassion is as much virtue as it is vice. Truly the most reasonable of the group, for all her harsh truths. Tran? Well.. Compared to Elle the man has a heart of gold. Its just.. rough around the edges.
Blackjack, however, has a bad side. A side that reared its ugly head in Thailand. A side where bad things happen to good people for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A side where pain is currency and disrespect is rewarded with horrors so dark death would merely be honorable release.
That dark horror is looking in Reed's eyes this moment. Tilting her head as she leans down just enough.. Just close enough to hear what else this young man has to say.
This is truly a misfortunate moment for Reed. Beings like Marise weren't simply made to keep bad little boys like Reed in their place...and it goes without saying that the horror that stood before him now knew no remorse, made no distinction between right and wrong. Such is evil.
So when a loud-mouthed upstart like this kid here is faced with something as terrible as Marise, there's only one thing to do! Attempt to smack that scary thing in the face. He could scream and attempt to run, but that would be sooooo out of character for a foolish, stubborn and highstrung young man like him. That chill --- deathly, merciless, is felt along the very base of his spine, making him hesitant for once, stopping him for a FULL second. But then again, who is he kidding. And so, when he attempts to drive his baton straight along the surface of Marise's dark temple, he misses COMPLETELY, and ends up falling FLAT on his face. And that's the end of it. He's got nary a sliver of strength to pull himself back up. He's a goner.
Elle's got nothing more to say to the little bugger. Elle doesn't get cheesed off very often. Usually when she does? The person she's feeling a dislike for ends up getting the notion very keely. Elle's not known for letting people guess about her intentions. Instead, she makes her desires known very clearly. This way, there's no misunderstandings. Nevertheless, there are people in life that can't see the clear lines.
That's why she has people. To help others to see that Elle's not joking around by any means.
The rocker mercenary turns around, and starts to walk away from the scene, leaving Marise to brutalize the child as she sees fit as she picks up her cell phone. For her? This is just another day. Tran is dialed up. It's time to keep things moving. "By the way, Vamp, I was at a book store yesterday, and I saw something that might interest you. Some stuff on ninjas. Really old stuff. A little girl ended up buying it. Before gimpy here decided to play Audrey Hepburn on me, I was going to have him go get it."
As the baton whiffs a mere inch from the Devil's face, the tall woman doesn't so much as flinch. Only ebon bangs stir in the breeze as eyes follow the boy's descent to the ground.
A gentle clicking of her tongue as the Devil chooses to speak once more, "..So much anger.." Leaning down to calmly clasp a hand about the boy's ankle. "..with respect.. it can yet become strength.. Boy."
To which the Ninja simply begins dragging him along like a hundred pounds of meat.
Brutalize him? Here? Why no.. No no. Clearly the boy was beaten within an inch of his life already. Physical pain and suffering are small things to sacrifice for his pride. The Devil knows this quite well. Infact, most in Blackjack would make that very same decision.
However the boy must learn to give respect when it is due. Or prideful bluster will simply implode into an ineffectual mess. Much.. like what the youth has become here and now.
He can't be blamed too much really.. it can't be helped. Children these days. No discipline.. no training. Disrespect is encouraged even! The boy should be thankful then that Elle has just given him over to the one person who may well save his life from himself.
..It'll probably only cost his soul. But hey.. He could have chose door number one.
The dark maiden pauses only as Elle addresses her. Slowly glancing over her shoulder with curiousity.. "...Is this so.."
Mmn. A look of .. disquiet seems to pass over the woman's features before adding, "..Her name?"
No, the boy is going to require a bit of reconditioning first before he can be useful. And.. if this is what the Devil thinks it is.. She isn't about to trust anyone else to make sure such a thing is properly destroyed.
"Himeko," Elle replies as she steps towards the exit. So much to do, so little time, and now thing have been slowed due to Reed's unexpected little hissy fit. Oh well. Some slowdowns were to be expected eventually. Nevertheless, it's time to make sur eeverything gets settled down and moving along once again.
She listens to the phone dial as she heads out the door, leaving Marise to her new play toy and leaving herself with more problems than solutions.
With Tran and Leilani and Naerose all needing face time, Elle doesn't have time to rest, despite the fact that she's alking off the damage reed caused. No rest for the wicked.
Log created on 20:25:48 07/13/2007 by Elle, and last modified on 18:42:24 07/15/2007.