Description: Because the first time clearly wasn't enough, Vega returns to further destroy room 113 in one of the more intense job interviews to ever take place in Ohio.
A soft crunching sound fills the air as a young woman casually steps through the ruins of what used to be the upper floor of a small but well-equipped inn, her thick combat boots grinding the tiny fragments of broken glass and cheap plaster that litter the area into the floorboards. Franziska surveys the scene calmly, her narrow eyes sweeping from one corner of the disaster zone to the other but whatever it is she thinks she might find here amid the rubble eludes her. She half-heartedly pokes at a small chunk of crushed wall, flipping it over with her toe but there is nothing to be found there either.
A gentle breeze flutters in through the gaping hole that used to be a wall and she instinctively clasps her hands behind her back in a military posture as she turns to peer out into the fading daylight, noting the pair of squad cars from the local police department still parked askew in front of the lines of yellow tape barring entrance to the general public. Ofcourse, with connections such as hers the token display of law enforcement wasn't difficult to deal with; a smile and an official looking badge and she was in. Sneaking the pair of MIMIR soldiers through the back was no less trivial a task.
She pauses for a moment, hearing the sound of their rustling attempts to uncover clues in the other rooms, which prompts her to begin her own search in earnest. Though the reports of the incident in question were vague, whatever caused the destruction here was quite unusual. There are no signs of scoring or scorching that might indicate an explosion and yet it looks like a bomb went off directly where she is standing. Spiritual energy is the most likely explanation but the real question is whether or not the person responsible is who she thinks it could be.
Suddenly, there's a flash of violet-hued light from behind the MIMIR grunts. One turns, but a wet, squelching sound accompanies his muted, muffled grunt of pain as blood splatters behind him and across the already ruined wreck of a hotel room. The second is cut off as a massive hand closese around his masked face and squeezes, the metal of his gas mask crunching beneath the pressure and silencing him.
"So this is the worm who has been digging through the dirt, racing after my footsteps..."
Slowly, still supporting the slumped form of the first MIMIR soldier on the arm he thrust through his chest, Vega comes walking out of the shadows of the decimated room. Clad in his trademark red uniform, grey cape settled on his pauldron-bearing shoulders, he looks the part of the tyrannical dictator as he carelessly tosses the dead man aside and stares with his dead, white eyes across the room to Franziska, an unnaturally broad grin plastered across his face.
"I will give you sixty seconds to tell me why you have been poking your nose into business you would do best to avoid, woman, before I kill you."
The sudden surge of power hits Franziska like a hammer, her mind practically reeling from the unfamiliar sensation of such an incredible concentration of psycho energy coupled with the pain and emotions that flood out from her soldiers as their lives are suddenly and violently snuffed out. Normally, she can brace herself for these sorts of empathic backlashes but the attack is so sudden she physically staggers, leaning against the wall as a wave of nausea passes over her momentarily.
The sickening crunches from behind her do little to allay her concerns at this sudden turn of events, but despite the chaos that is quickly rising up to consume her simple fact-finding mission, she gathers her composure quickly and turns to face the looming nightmare that stalks into the room before her.
Her mask of calm fractures for an instant as she sees the ruined corpse slide off Vega's arm as if punching through an inch of tempered steel on both sides of the soldier's armor hadn't even slowed the man down. Taking a deep breath, Franziska closes her eyes and steels her nerves, wondering what exactly about this man sends such terrible feelings through her. When she opens them again, however, her fear and trepidation evaporate in an instant, her surprised grimace replaced with a thin-lipped mimickry of the warlord's own cocky smile.
"Herr Vega, I presume?" Franziska leans forward at the waist, offering her the unexpected intruder a short bow. Though she poses it as a question, there is little doubt in her mind that anyone else could accomplish such a fearsome attack so easily. "Zee honor is all mine, no doubt."
Her voice is gentle and feminine but slurred with a heavy German accent that gives away her heritage quite plainly. "You vish to understant my reasons for seeking you out? I meant no harm in doink so. To be quite honest, I did not expekt to gain your personal attention so quickly." Her smile widens a little and she holds her arms out to either side in an encompassing gesture towards the building all around them. "I am somethink of an admirer of your verk. I sought that I might offer my services, such as they are."
As Franziska speaks, Vega tilts his head back slightly, his chin lifting a fraction as his grin grows and he regards her with crossed arms. "And what, exactly, could you possibly offer me?" he asks, his absurdly low bass rumbling out towards her, "If you are truly an admirer of Vega, then you know I have little use for lackwits and cannon fodder such as these." He nudges one of the dead men with the toe of his boot to indicate her deceased soldiers, but his eyes are still on her.
Of course he can feel her power -- any true, trained user of Psycho Power can feel it on others -- and there is arguably no one more trained then Vega. Casually, as if it was the most naturaly thing in the world, he rises off of his feet, boots just barely passing over the rubble as he defies gravity and hovers closer to Franzisca, landing just a step or two away in a relatively clear spot.
And then he hits her. Not physically. It's not even an attack really. He simply lets his own raw power -- unfocused and no more harmful then hot air -- surge towards her in a violet wave, attempting to draw out her own Psycho Power and get a better glimpse at who, exactly, is standing before him.
"Please, Herr Vega, do not mistake me for somevan of such veak standink. Zees men are grunts, verker bees, nothink more. I vould not presume to vaste zee time of such an important und powerful man such as yourself viz such creatures."
Despite her instinctive urge to take a step back as the towering figure draws even closer, his body defying even her 'enlightened' understanding of how the world works, Franziska stands her ground. Her head tilts back at Vega's approach, keeping her soft blue eyes upon the empty white voids that serve as his. They widen slightly at the display, clearly revealing her surprise at this feat but again she manages to maintain her placid expression.
That changes when the wave of psychic energy washes over her. Her voice catches in her throat as she opens her mouth to speak again, transforming from the intended words to a muted gasp of surprise. Her mask of calm breaks again, eyes going wide as the dark energy engulfs her, sinking into the cracks and crevasses of her mind that no one has ever touched before.
It isn't a pleasant sensation. The woman grits her teeth to keep from letting any further outburst of weakness escape her lips but beads of sweat begin to form on her brow almost immediately as the probe reveals the truth of what she is. Psycho power seethes through every nook of her body, enhancing the flesh, strengthening the bone, empowering the very weave of sinew and fiber that binds her together; but the bond is weak, unfocused. She clearly has no idea what she is doing, if she even knows she is doing it at all.
"V-Vhat are... you doink to me?!"
Whether Vega is unaware that his search through Franziska's mind was an unpleasant experience, or if he simply doesn't care isn't entirely clear. Surely, someone as skilled as him would know what it entails for the one being probed, and his smile does seem to grow even more at her clear distress -- or perhaps it's what he finds that amuses him. Finally, he draws back the engulfing, purple 'flames' and the dissapate into nothingness, leaving the room signficiantly darker as they depart.
"Pathetic," he eventually decides, rolling one shoulder to push back the cape that had fluttered towards his front back around him. Her question goes unanswered -- not that there should be much surprise there. Instead, he lets out a weary sigh, perhaps a touch over dramatic, but at least it's not anger or more probing energy. "You waste your potential, yet you presume to set yourself above these useless worms?" he asks, gesturing with a sweep of his arm towards the fallen soldiers again, "If you truly wish to work for Vega, prove your might, and your resolve, because all I see is a worthless shell."
Franziska finally takes a single step back as the psychic flames withdraw, the relief evident in her heavy exhale. She sucks in an equally deep breath, her breathing strained from the unexpected mental probe. Most of the stress is entirely her own fault having never experienced the touch of another wielder of psycho power before, much less been so blatantly violated. Her eyes go distant for a moment as her subconscious grasps at some explanation for what just happened but her chance to think is dashed upon Vega's condescending disapproval.
Something about his tone seems to snap the woman out of the funk she's fallen into. Her eyes narrow and she stands up a straight, actually regaining the ground she lost with a step towards the warlord. "Vhat is zat supposed to mean?", she says with a hint of irritation. " I can crush a dozen of zees soldiers viz my bare hands! Zey are nothink! Vhat vould you have me prove?"
"Fight me, of course," Vega answers, his tone somewhat taunting as he remains in his cross armed position, not so much as tensing despite his demand for Franziska to attack. "Show me what you are capable of, if anything, and I will consider allowing you to serve me," he states, the arrogance practically palpable, nearly as thick as the power he had only recently hit her with, "Or you can try and run, but I warn you -- I /will/ take that to mean you had ulterior motives in searching me out and I do not appreciate being lied to." The meaning is clear. Fight or die.
Again, Franziska is caught off-guard, her mental focus still struggling to reorient itself amid everything that is going on. She should have expected that answer, even without knowing the man personally, Vega's aggressive tendencies are well known through rumors and whispers. Such a man would obviously view combat as a proving ground of sorts, an anvil upon which to break the unworthy.
"You vant... me to fight you?"
She certainly hadn't expected her day to turn out like this. She isn't the sort of person who likes surprises, especially potentially fatal ones. She needs to be in control, to conduct the flow of events, but she's done nothing but react here and that grates on her nerves. Her expression hardens for a moment but there's no real choice to be made here and she knows it.
The realization of inevitability is somehow freeing, as if removing the uncertainty of her course makes it easier to deal with. Franziska's smile slowly returns, an expression of casual arrogance once more dominating her pretty features. She closes her eyes and lets out a single chuckle, rolling her shoulders a bit to loosen them up.
"Fery vell, if you vish to see vat I am capable of..." Her eyes slide open, tilting upwards slowly to peer into the psycho master's empty gaze. She holds out a single hand before her, couching the other at her side as she moves into what is obviously a fighting stance. "Zen I vill show you!"
COMBATSYS: Vega has started a fight here.
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Vega 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Franziska has joined the fight here.
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Vega 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Franziska
As is usual for Vega, his supreme confidence in his own abilities demands that he not even react to Franziska's stance. He simply holds his cross armed position as he regards her, still smiling that too-wide smile, still staring at her with his dead, pale eyes.
Then, suddenly, he's gone.
With a burst of psycho power, his form fades, leaving behind a faint, violet outline of himself. The movement is instantaneous, and it closes the distance between the two fighters without warning. One second he's in front of her, the next he's within arm's reach of her side, his right fist coated in the purple 'fire' of his psycho power as he snaps it out in a probing strike towards the side of her face.
COMBATSYS: Franziska blocks Vega's Jab Punch.
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Vega 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Franziska
Franziska hesistates after a moment, not quite sure if she should just go on the offensive or if her opponent intends to prepare himself first. The very idea of tangling with someone like Vega is still intimidating, regardless of the bravado she puts on, but she's not about to sit by and look like some frightened child.
The woman moves, the fabric of her neatly pressed military uniform going taut against her skin as she prepares to strike. Once again, however, Vega reveals that she still has much to learn about the things that are possible in the world. Her eyes snap wide as he vanishes, her fist pausing halfway through the motion and it is only the sheer speed of her own reflexes and no small amount of luck that causes her to turn to face the flash of purple light at her side in time to throw her arms in the way of the surprise attack.
There is a dull thud as Vega's powerful fist impacts with her forearm and even the hidden vambrace folded into the cloth of her greatcoat does little to soften the stinging pain that comes with it. Franziska hisses in pain, sucking in air through her teeth, but she recovers more quickly this time, her instincts keyed up to the max by virtue of the intense amounts of adrenaline flowing through her.
With such a large person facing her, her options are limited. She can't outrange him but that is something she has grown used to as a short woman. His speed clearly defies all logic, if that is speed at all. If he can perform such manuevers with ease then this fight is going to turn into a guessing game and one that is not in her favor by any stretch of the imagination. The safe choice then will be to rely on the unusual stamina that she's always had and hope she can simply weather his blows long enough to make an impression - and hope he decides not to kill her.
Franziska takes a bold step forward, planting her foot between Vega's legs in an aggressive move. Her body drops low and she pivots on her hips, thrusting her entire upper torso into the large man's chest in an attempt to manuever into a better position.
COMBATSYS: Franziska successfully hits Vega with Eingreifen.
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Vega 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Franziska
If he's concerned that Franziska was able to block his strike, Vega doesn't show it. In fact, he simply grins wider as he maintains his pressure on her forearm, though it's lost all threat after the initial force of the hit was weathered. For a few seconds longer, he holds his fist in place, but finally, as if accepting the first strike was a failure, he draws it back and his other fist drops to his side, preparing another, violet-hued punch.
It never comes, however, as she suddenly steps /towards/ him, her torso meeting his with enough force to actually push him back a step. It doesn't seem to be pain that draws the grunt from him, rather surprise touches at the corners of his eyes, though it fades into amusement and something that could, potentially -- especially if you squint a bit -- look like approval. However, he's far from finished with his probing strikes, and instead turns on his heel and twists, using his power to keep him aloft as he leans backwards at an impossible angle so his foot can come up like a shot towards Franziska's side.
COMBATSYS: Vega successfully hits Franziska with Light Kick.
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Vega 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Franziska
A thrill runs through Franziska's body as she feels her shoulder connect with the solid mass of muscle that is Vega's torso. She didn't really expect that to work so easily and the subtle tinge of surprise on his face is something that she picks up on as well, their thoughts apparently one on that front.
Attempting to press her advantage, the soldier girl brings her arm up as if to drive her elbow into his side but instead it is her own ribs that she hears cracking in the moments that follow. Vega's massive foot slams into her chest like a hammer sending the small woman staggering backwards as she crumples, arms folding protectively over her wound. She gapes at the floor in wide-eyed shock for several moments, mouth hanging ajar as she attempts to will her burning lungs to suck in air.
But, perhaps surprisingly, she doesn't fall down. Her body sluggish from the shock, Franziska slowly uncurls and stands up straight once more, willing her muscles to bend to her desires. She isn't going to be taken down so easily. She refuses to allow such an insulting end to befall one such as herself, no matter what kind of monster might be facing her.
Wary but not shaken, Franziska goes on the offensive again, attempting to catch the powerful man off-guard by being aggressive despite their obvious differences in capability. She spins at the last moment, driving her heavy boot towards Vega's leg with enough force to shatter bone though she isn't expecting it to do much more than slow him down.
COMBATSYS: Vega blocks Franziska's Knochenbrecher.
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Vega 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Franziska
The crack of ribs draws a low, rumbling chuckle from Vega, and as Franziska curls up defensively, he slowly straightens back out, letting his boot touch the ground with a soft thud. "Come now. Surely you have more then that in you," he asks, though it's a chiding, mocking question, and he tosses it out like the insult it is. In fact, he doesn't even bother taking it back as she stands again and actually manages to throw a kick at his leg.
Instantly, he drops down into a crouch, one hand snapping out to catch her ankle in his hand and halt the powerful strike in its tracks, though even still, the sheer force actually stings his palm and brings another grin to his face. With a start he pushes forward from the crouch, reaching out with his free hand, fingers looking to twist into the front of her shirt, pull her towards him and just off to the side, then back around and forward again.
"You've yet to impress me, worm."
COMBATSYS: Vega successfully hits Franziska with Deadly Throw.
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Vega 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Franziska
Franziska doesn't even have time to react to the counter attack, feeling the pressure of the steel grip around her ankle mere moments before she's flying through the air like a sack of potatoes. The young fighter hits the ground hard, the speed of the attack and the weight of her inner armor dragging her down. More breaking bones play a grim tune amidst the noise of the scuffle, the subtle sound of a haunting dirge for the woman if this continues much longer.
Coughing harshly, Franziska puts a hand to her mouth, the white fabric stained a bright crimson when she pulls it away. The sight of her own blood does little to soften her mood but rather than grow angry or desperate, she simply pushes herself back to her feet with some effort and falls into her fighting stance once more.
"Your power is as impressive as zee rumors would haf people believe. I have never vitnessed such strength. It would seem zere is much I haf left to learn." Her smile returns suddenly, an almost serene smirk that is completely at odds with her current situation. "A pity I only learn of zis now, no? But you haf not seen everything I can do yet!"
Franziska clenches the fingers of her extended hand into a fist, rotating her arm as the other comes up to brace it in place as if it were some sort of cannon. Her smile widens slightly, her teeth flashing momentarily in the dim light. A great surge of Psycho Power wells up around the girl's arms, energy flowing forward as it concentrates into a small but dense orb around her fist.
"Bang."
Franziska physically recoils as the wad of raw power explosively launches itself from the end of her arm. A spinning bolt of pure kinetic energy tears across the room at incredible speed, streams of super-heated air creating a double-helix of white steam in its wake.
COMBATSYS: Vega overcomes Panzerfaust from Franziska with Psycho Shot.
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Vega 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Franziska
"You have already exceeded my expectations by being able to stand," Vega finally concedes to Franziska as she pulls herself back to her feet after being thrown bodily across the room. Not once as his smile faultered throughout the whole fight, and it's clearly not about to start now as the psycho power surges about her arms. In fact, it grows into a chuckle, then a laugh, and he actually brings his hands together in a few, slow claps, "I was sure you didn't even know of your power," he admits with a bow of his head, violet energy blossoming in his own palm, swirling into a denser and denser sphere as she builds her own attack.
"You have earned some small praise of Vega's, today. Remember it, for it does not come often."
Then, suddenly, his fingers spread just a touch wider and the ball of pure energy rushes out to meet her's, the glow from their respective attacks bathing the destroyed room in a burst of bright light as they rush to a collision.
COMBATSYS: Franziska Toughs Out Vega's Psycho Shot!
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Vega 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Franziska
There is something that almost looks like pride that swells through the woman at those words. Her gaze softens a little, her grin grows almost imperceptibly wider, and she stands a little straighter for the brief moment before unleashing her power in the only way she's learned how. Few people have ever withstood this assault; she's maimed more than one person for the rest of their life with the uncontrollable power that lurks within her. Against someone like Vega, however? Well, she's already impressed him so maybe this will just be a little bit more of a nudge in that direction.
She maintains her placid stare, an almost zen-like calm having settled in. Even as Vega unleashes his own terrifying power she merely watches, only the subtle gleam in her eyes betraying the intensity of her concentration.
The twin bolts of psychic energy collide in the center of the room filling the air with a blinding flash. If the people below hadn't heard the conflict before, that's sure to get their attention. When the light fades, however, it is Vega's crackling ball of purple doom that is sailing towards the soldier. Her eyes go wide and then narrow in the span of a heartbeat, her natural prodigious talent for the ebb of combat telling her the only possibility for success lies in relying on the strength she knows she possesses.
Leaning forward, Franziska rushes directly at the oncoming projectile, letting loose a cry of defiance as it collides with her shoulder. The impact spins her around like a top and the woman stumbles, almost falling to her knees but she scrambles back into motion at the last second and continues to charge at her target - Vega himself.
Steeling herself against the inevitable counter attack, Franziska gathers every ounce of speed and power she can muster and lunges, throwing a single punch towards the warlord's abdomen. Psycho power crackles around her fist, dancing over her knuckles with explosive energy, just waiting for the impact that will set off a chain reaction of deadly force.
COMBATSYS: Franziska successfully hits Vega with Eisenkorper.
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Vega 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Franziska
It's supreme confidence in his own abilities that leads Vega to calmly, casually watch as his Psycho Shot plows through Franziska's attack and barrels on towards her. It's arrogance that entices him not to move when she tanks the hit and keeps on running, her empowered fist hurtling at a break-neck pace for his torso as it explodes on his upper body, covering him in the damaging, foreign power. In fact, he actually grunts again -- this time in pain, not surprise -- as he slides backwards against his will, the force of her blowing driving him straight into rubble, his red uniform shredded from the blow to reveal bruises quickly spreading across his abdomen.
It's not anger, or even a counter attack that comes next, however...
It's laughter.
Slow at first, but quickly rising into a booming, amused bark. He lifts a hand to gently rub at the affected area, but with a roll of his shoulders, Vega drops it again and settles that white-eyed gaze on Franziska. "Well done. Well done indeed. There are not many who can claim to have wounded Vega, even so lightly. You have earned your chance to work for me."
COMBATSYS: Vega takes no action.
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Vega 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Franziska
For what seems like an age, Franziska stands with her arm outstretched, her fist smoking with residual psycho-kinetic energy. Sweat coats her face, tiny beads of condensated effort and focus dripping down her cheeks to stain the top of her collar in a ring of expanding moisture. She breathes in short controlled bursts, her battle trance still in full swing despite the words of acceptance spoken to her. Slowly the soldier's arm lowers back to her side and she takes a step back.
Pain lances through her ribs but she ignores it knowing well that the sensation will dull and then fade within the hour. Injuries that would cripple or maim others never seem to keep her down for long, another facet of herself that she has never fully understood. Her uncle claims it is due to his science but she has her doubts, now more than ever.
Doing her best to look pleased, which isn't hard considering how likely she thought this ruined hotel would be her gravesite, Franziska smiles back at him though her enthusiasm is a great deal more tempered than before. "You honor me, Herr Vega. I hope zat in time I schall be able to impress you furzer."
COMBATSYS: Vega has left the fight here.
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Franziska 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Franziska has ended the fight here.
"I do," Vega agrees as his body once again defies gravity, lifting off the cluttered floor of the ruined hotel room, his arms crossing over his exposed, bruised abdomen. "This is where your investigation changes focus," he states imperiously, looking down to the already shorter woman from his raised heights, "Here I fought a girl named Munin. For far too long she has been a thorn in my side, and this time I had nearly ended that annoyance. However, she was saved at the last second by an interloper." He scowls here, clearly angered by the memory, as he turns for the destroyed wall that leads out to the parking lot, "She was near death. He was badly injured. Find out where they went." He doesn't leave a way to contact him, he doesn't ask for one, but somehow his tone suggests one isn't needed.
He'll find her.
Franziska looks a little surprised to be receiving orders directly from the man in charge the very moment that their fight, if it can even be called that, has concluded but years working under the thumb of an organization like MIMIR has tempered her patience and ability to quietly do as she is told. She inclines her head towards her new master, peering up at him from beneath the brim of her peaked military cap with a coy smile.
"It vill be done."
Log created on 20:00:05 07/23/2014 by Vega, and last modified on 17:33:39 07/27/2014.