Deja Vu (Closed RP)

@icefire_outlaw:

Judging by the lack of dying he heard followed by quickly pacing footsteps, it was pretty certain she was bolting. With how fast the footfalls came, she was undeniably faster on her feet than him. Luckily he didn't rely on feet.

Dakota was beside him in an instant, turning the corner at a sprint in a few more moments. The mare had arrived as in an auburn color, a female this time.

The technique he would do was something hardly seen elsewhere than Hollywood. Yet it was something he possessed the skill to do almost without flaw. His foot raised upwards from Dakota's side, wrapping the reign around his ankle to a somewhat tightness before standing up on her back.

Holstering his revolver and exchanging it for the Winchester on his back in a blink, aiming it in a second more. Despite Dakota's rough sprinting, the gunslinger's aim hadn't faulted after thousands of times firing from horseback. His rifle began unloading off towards her, mostly aiming at the legs but yet giving a few at her back for good measure.

@beyond:

*By the way he has a horse,* the Queen said dryly as I heard the incoming hoofbeats. Muttering another cues I adjusted my wings, aiming to protect my back and legs. One shot got me, though. Barely grazed my left leg and knocked me off my feet. I had a lot of momentum and used it to roll out of the way before I got trampled, then fix Denial to protect my now-exposed head and torso while firing up Zero and taking aim to simply knock him off the horse...and maybe cause a little heartburn from sheer cold.

@icefire_outlaw:

Zero's shot hit it's mark, just before he turned around and reaimed his rifle. A visible plate of frost appeared on his chest, as the impact threw him from the horse. Fortunately, the reign on his ankle kept him from completely falling to the ground to be trampled by his own steed.

Despite the feeling of his chest and arms going numb, it wasn't too difficult for him to recover. His leg bent, hosting himself back onto the saddle.

Just as he had swapped the revolver with his rifle, the frostbite on his body was becoming clear. Something he couldn't worry about now though. His hand went to the belt, drawing his bowie knife from it's sheathe.

The revolver took shots at the shield ahead of her not expecting it to do much if anything besides stall her until he was close. If he got close enough he would leap down onto her, using the momentum of the jump for a stab at the shoulder.

@beyond:

A continuous repetition of extraterrestrial and long-dead curses, courtesy of Jing and Yuki, escaped my lips in a low murmur. I tried to stand, making it halfway to my feet when he attacked. Thinking fast I flicked my wrist to deactivate Denial and tried to deflect the blade with one of my wings while attempting to knock him back with the other and drawing my lightsaber hilts to press the attack should my defense work.

@icefire_outlaw:

A grunt echoed from Moses as he narrowly managed to avoid the strike from her wing. Possibly preventing himself from getting knocked over and subsequently killed. His eyes glanced down go her side, seeing her grasp two objects from her side.

He'd seen them before elsewhere, or something just like it. They were either grenades or some kind of light sword, either way experience showed they could cut through just about anything. Definitely including him and his knife.

The gunslinger brought the bowie knife up to his face, biting the handle between his teeth to free a hand for reloading his gun. Which he did in about a second, his hands white hot and scalding afterwards. He brought his hand up and slammed it onto his chest, his icy torso making a loud hiss as it melted away.

There was no doubt she had an upper hand on gear for this fight simply judging by those wins, those guns, and those sabers. Meaning reaction would be the best tool from this moment on. He took a quick pace back, reaching to his side and flicking open a pouch. His hand sunk into it and remained inside for a moment until he yanked it free, clutching a flash grenade. With a sudden flick he threw it ahead towards her, immediatly covering his ears, lunging backwards and clenching his eyes shut like he was about to go face to face with the sun.

@beyond:

I saw what was happening through my sunglasses' scan and lifted my hands--just barely too late. I shouted "Spex!" as he darkened his lenses, shielding my eyes from the glare, but there was nothing we could do for the sound. Blank white noise filled my head; I couldn't even mentally hear BQ or Jing or Yuki. I could see alright but my brain was a mess. Blank slate. My sabers dropped to the ground and my hands went to my ears. I could die, I thought. I had been caught off guard by a guy I should have seen coming. Karma was funny like that.

Spex took over my wings, pulling them around me to shield me as I bent double. I'm going to die, I thought. I felt an eerie calm wash over me. I'd never tell Rey how much I loved him. I'd never take a flight between Chicago skyscrapers. I'd never get the thrill of breaking through points in space in my portal. As calm came in, so did the Force. Not like I was able to do anything with it but I felt it there as Spex tried to defend me with the only weapon he had.

@icefire_outlaw:

Ringing went through his head, though assuredly much more gentle than what she felt. Especially with her position. On her knees, head clutched in hands with agony. The Lead Eagle took a few steps over to her before pausing.

A sense of deja vu floated through him of about two centuries before. The last time he had approached her while she was on her knees, incapacitated. He had been robbed and embarassed by a thief. Today she was visibly more than just that, with the armory she had shown in the fight he understood that perfectly. And understood that with nothing to steal, the only thing she would be taking from him was his life.

His revolver aimed ahead, the metal of the gun a hot orange from his clutching hands. The six shooter's trigger tore backwards three times in under a second, each round bursting towards her chest while his hand grazed back again.

His hand went to his pouch while the revolver fired off another shot to her shoulder. The scalding, cracked skin of his fist gripped a flashbang in his pouch, activating it and removing it.

One of them against an average person was sometimes able to knock them flatly unconcious, meaning two should finish the job for just about everyone. A theory that he would be testing for the first time against accalmed goddesses.

The gun blasted off two more shots towards her knelt form before it flung from his grip. He went back to his defensive form of ears and eyes covered and head turned away just as the cannister landed between her knees.

@beyond:

*Stella, you have to get up. You have to leave. Come on.* All I could hear was Soex, good old Spex with his monotonal and slightly British voice. He'd saved my life more than once. He had helped me grow accustomed to street life, practically taught me how to steal and to fight. I wondered. If the hunter killed me, would he take my glasses. Would Spex have a new home.

*Stella, don't think like that. On your feet, come on. You're not going to die.* He was almost pleading as the greatest was thrown. A tear rolled down my cheek as a sad smile twitched my lip.

*Not this time, old friend.*

The time was running out. I didn't care. But Spex did.

*Stella Angeline Sterling, you are not going to die.* He was so certain. It saddened me. Until I felt him reaching though my mind, pulling up three people who weren't there by choice. Putting them into place for me. When the grenatde's flash went off, I was there. But when the light died down, I wasn't. The goddess of balance knelt in my place. Violet dress, lavender hair. Cloak of mixed green and red feathers. Glowing blue eyes. Spex saw and smelled and tasted and heard for me. My resident Jedi and Sith controlled my movements as I rose slowly to my feet. And the bandit Queen thought and spoke through my mind and tongue, in the goddess' five-layered voice.

"Hello again, Moses Elmer."

@icefire_outlaw:

He stood, watching a moment after the grenade went off, uncovering his ears and opening her eyes. How he wished he hadn't. Something weird had happened, no doubt abut it. Nevertheless he mentally pat himself on the back for not approaching. Though this transfusion had honestly thrown him entirely off guard, the main way of survival he had discovered was confidence.

His hand reached upwards, pulling the knife from his teeth and holding the tip between his fingertips. "Is that who I think it is? Bandit Queen? The Bandit Queen and friends?" The knife tossed into the air above him, his gun reloading during it's fall downwards and still managing to catch it. "What's with your dress getup? I was aiming to take you in alive again, there's no reason for none of this."

@beyond:

The Bandit Queen's elusive smirk tugged my lips. It wasn't just her talking, though hers was the main voice.

"Less of a new costume, more like a...metamorphosis." One hand went out in front of us, and our rich, light-filled eyes examined it, "I was promised godhood but, when I realized my soul was placed in an occupied body, I felt like something had gone wrong. As it happens, it turns out we are stronger together than any of us could imagine alone."

My hands folded in front of us as we continued speaking. "You are not taking Jesse alive or dead, hunter. This form can only be retained for a certain amount of time, but be warned. Jesse James is far more dangerous than even I was. Had you not surprised us by your logevity, she would have been much more efficient in combat."

@icefire_outlaw:

"Sounds like big talk for somebody who ditched the fight by having her imaginary friends jump in. You already robbed me of one fair paycheck, and here I am offering to give you the same deal as before and now you're acting fussy like this. A couple million dollars for me and you sounds fair right?"

With how she presented it, he doubted that his revolver no matter how loyal was enough to put her in the ground. A tactical retreat could very well be necessary to either gear up, or bring reinforcements that would no doubt want part of the bounty. But no matter how you put a million dollars was still a million dollars. Whether it was arrogance, overconfidence, or determination Moses had already mentally decided since he got off the bus he wouldn't be willingly leaving this city unpaid.

@beyond:

The smirk revealed itself. "You think she's not here? She is. We protect her, however. Myself, two warriors, and..."

The voice changed to my AI's monotone. "I, Spex, guardian artificial intelligence to: Jesse James. I drew the others out, not her. And we agree that her honor is not worth your offer. The bounty is large. Seven million five hundred thousand dollars in Anerican currency, for now, and from here it can only grow. The key is her survival, however. There is only a fifteen point six-seven chance of her surviving your venture. Excluding the tactic utilized by the Bandit Queen the rate drops to six point nine-one percent. The answer is no. Jesse will not participate in this. That is final."

@icefire_outlaw:

"...Fine." The Gunslinger knew this wasn't a fight he couldn't win. Not alone, not with the gear he had. Moses hadn't even attempted a move against...whatever she was now, yet still relied on reaction for this fight; and reaction said that this was a dangerous enemy. It was argued he fought worse in the past, but those were different times. When he had spent time researching his enemy while preparing and looking to exploit their weaknesses. There was more voices behind how the Bandit Queen spoke, with what he had seen so far it was a fair assumption that those were even more spirits or whomever that could possibly fight even harder than she did. He was already a bit tired, and had used a good bit of the tricks up his sleeve.

Yet. He had already decided he was getting paid before he left, and no level of hell was going to stop him from the very least trying and testing the waters of how far they could go. So try he would.

"If that's final, fine that's final. I gave you a second chance, a fair deal twice and you're throwing it in my face. Fine I respect your decision to have my lug a corpse halfway across Chicago."

Moses sheathed the knife at his side. Within the same moment Dakota appeared next to Moses as a night black horse, it's eyes a solid red like droplets of blood on it's head. The horse was already at a full sprint as it appeared, his hand shooting to the side and taking a hold of the upper reign. Huckleberry was yanked into the air by the reigns, his revolver emptying six shots towards the being's side as he raced past. Now came from his Plan B aside from simply staying aware. Reaction dripped down to simply surviving at this point. Hoping that the mare he rode could could prove as faithful as they did a million times before by saving him from whatever sort of offense they possessed while united as one.

@beyond:

A smile twitched our lip as our adversary tried to shoot me down. My left hand waved and the bullets became suspended in midair, then dropped to the ground. I could have attacked, of course, but I already felt my power receding. In a few more minutes I'd be back to human Jesse. I decided the best tactic for now was flight rather than fight, and turned to face the wall. Pure cold blasted from my left palm, absolute heat from the other, opening a portal. I looked back at the horse and rider, knowing this wasn't the end.

"I'll see you again soon, Moses," I said before disappearing to a small apartment a few miles away. The second the wormhole closed behind me, I lost my goddess form, dropped to my knees, and threw up on the floor.

@icefire_outlaw:

(Vomit ew

@beyond:

(You want that bounty or not :P)

@icefire_outlaw:

A plane had touched down that following morning, bright and early at 6:30AM. The offer of 3 million dollars was enough to convince nearly anyone to purchase last minute plane tickets, even all the way from Europe.

Solid black leather boots marched across the rooftops of the Chicago skyline. A signature marking of the Schutzstaffel engraved into the leather along the side. Their wearer, Krueger Hansvick, ex Nazi super weapon was not one to pass up the chance to obtain wealth on something as easy as wiping out an American. Even if the one offering it was American. His eyes pulsated with a sparking blue light, visibly intensifying as he leapt off the rooftop, springing to the next with little to no effort towards the single bound. Adorned in an SS uniform with his traditional armor stowed away in his carry-on bag he stowed over his shoulder.

From this sight, it was easy to discover where his "comrade" intended for them to meet, going by the instructions he was given. A simple motel, in the rough part of the city, identifiable by it's red and green neon sign along the roof. Luckily enough, the lights in the city hadn't completely shut off just yet. The Nazi's vision pierced across the city, settling just on a rooftop near the bay. His boot planted on the edge of the concrete, flinging him ahead while a blue energy appeared underneath him as a platform. Turncoat landed feet first onto the platform, launching downwards with it towards his destination at imposing speed.

_________________

He stepped into the motel room, finding it somewhat cozy despite it's roughness. Moses had recovered over the night, currently wearing the same garments as last night's encounter, or so it seemed despite the steel chestplate he wore over his torso. "Glad you showed up Krueger, seriously not sure I'd be able to handle her last night if not for a bit of help." Krueger's black gloves peeled away, placing onto the top of the television. The Red Son was born with a liking for the dramatic, being the sole reason of why he stayed silent for almost a full minute before looking towards him. 'What's she like? You seemed to want to spare details in our conversation so tell me now instead.'

Smoke bellowed upwards from a freshly lit cigar clenched between his teeth, that he slowly drew a breath from as he sat on the foot of the bed. "Depends. I got a theory so far but I'm not sure how legitimate it is. She's got like...multiple personalities or something like that, or different people in her head. I only counted three so far but I know about for sure there's more. The whole scrap, it was just her until the end. She got like a dress on and everything, started speaking with a bunch of voices."

Somebody living in her head. Sounded highly familiar to him as he listened. The nazi's hands clutched together, his mind curling through possibilities of how a fight with this woman could end with their combined strength. 'First off, tell me about each form you saw, what they're like.'With a puff of smoke from his lips, Moses gave a slow nod. "Jesse has wings I figure, almost got the hell bashed out of me with one last night. I haven't exactly seen her use them to fly, but it's safe to guess she can. She's got a shiel- forcefield I think. Protects her from oncoming danger obviously. Got two of those laser swords, I figure you seen them before. A gun that shoots ice...ice bullets maybe that freeze on contact. Almost screwed me over."

"Now as for that united thing I mentioned, I didn't really try to $#@& with that too much alone. All I know for sure is that she was able to stop my bullets mid air, then cracked open some wormhole to run out of."

'Then it's simple, Sergeant.'He turned over to face the gunslinger, extending his index finger over to him. 'We make sure she can't use those portals, fly off. If she's united, distract her with your armory while I either execute the frau or I break her limbs like twigs. If the latter, you can go in for a lead against her if you'd like while I shall simply do my hardest to ensure you don't die in the process.'

The cowboy's cigar rolled between his finger's as he stared at the carpet. It was a vague, yet sound plan. Which is usually the sort of plans he himself made. "...Sound's good to me, but how do you suggest we do that?"

_______________________

@turncoat:

I slept solidly until late afternoon the next day. Last night had drained me. Unexpectedly using the Silver Goddess always did. To my surprise I didn't have a migraine when I finally did roll out of bed and take a much-needed shower, before using the Force to telekinetically clean up my mess on the floor. I spent several hours meditating on my opponent from the night before and the memories the Bandit Queen had of him, while tinkering with my various pieces of weaponry and armor. There was one thing I had forgotten to wear last night, my drakeskin chestpiece. I certainly didn't forget it now.

He wasn't stupid. He probably figured he couldn't take me alone, and would call for backup. A good piece of my bounty would be offered and that was that. It meant a wild card in the game, and while I didn't like that I did want to see how it played out. I hadn't put all my chips on the table, not yet. There were always more things I could try.

Once my wounds healed and my mind was clear, I geared up. It was almost sunset, might as well get out of the apartment.

I headed to the roof, and stood there for some minutes admiring the scenery. I wasn't going to die tonight. I promised Spex, and the others but mostly him. His concern led him to recommend returning home to Grimm. What would I do there, that I couldn't do here? This city was as much my home now as that one. Might as well fight here again. This time though, it would be on my terms.

I stepped onto the ledge and looked down at the ground below. My black wings spread out behind me. It felt like it was going to be a lovely night for a flight, and I couldn't pass up. I leaned forward and dove to the ground, swooping upwards at the last moment of free fall like a falcon. I gained altitude slowly before starting my airborne patrol of the Windy City, looking mostly to be noticed by locals and bring my enemies to me.

@icefire_outlaw:

Neither of the two had stepped foot outside since. Throughout the day the window to the motel room had been closed, the door kept locked without a sound from the neither of them would be the one to worry about.

Soldat, the headmade inside Krueger's skull stood atop the John Hancock Center, her long blonde braid being torn to the side by the wind. Similar to the one who held her leash, she shared similar blue sparking eyes to him, devoid of human instinct. It only took moments for her sight to land on the figure moving across the Chicago skyline. With only a first glimpse, Soldat followed her sole order from the Walking War. "Kill her."

Soldat's loyalty was unquestioned and untested. Without a single stroke of hesitancy in her movement she leapt from the rooftop, the reinforced black leather of her specialized SS Uniform tore across the orange sky of the city as her fist gripped around a solid hardlight gladius that had formed itself in her fist. Krueger witnessed everything she saw from the corner of his eye, taking a glance over to the window of the room.

Adorned in armor of his own, the nazi simply gave a look over to his companion as he tore the door open, heading to the balcony outside. "She's found her for us, we set out now."A sunbeaten wide brimmed hat came onto Krueger's head, the only piece of gear he missed. Otherwise the gunslinger had taken on a bulk underneath his poncho. Branches of armor ran along his arms and legs, about all of it light enough to prevent a blunt blow and a fall from horseback from forfeiting the hunt.

Electric blue spheres had gathered around the woman as she blasted downwards from the rooftop towards her. Each of them visibly unstable from the surges of overwhelming power blasting through them. Just as her directive intended, her strike was intending to finish off Jesse James as fast as humanly possible. Almost as if an exact copy, a platform appeared under her feet, sending her rushing ahead at 200mph towards the outlaw. Every one of the half dozen spheres around her flung ahead like cannonballs, the only difference between them being cannonballs didn't track their target down with a noticeable fury. Nor were they followed by a jousting blade with intent to split the target directly in two.

@turncoat:

As soon as Spex picked up the bogey on my tail I dropped like a rock to the ground, streamlining my wings against my sides for higher speed. At the last second before impact I activated Denial in a 360 degree sphere and flipped my body over so I'd land on my feet. The entrance was dramatic enough. The sphere slammed to the ground, leaving a noticeable crater in the park I landed in, and the spheres would shatter against its sides in blue explosions. The lance would hit the top of my shield's dome and disperse around the sides, as Denial transferred its energy into power to strengthen itself. When the dust and smoke cleared I'd be on one knee at the bottom of the sphere, head lowered with Zero and Inferno powered up and pointed skyward. I figured what the heck. If I'm going down, might as well use my flair for the dramatic as much as I could.

@icefire_outlaw: (Sorry for how long these delays have been and how lackluster this one turns out)

Her stark blue eyes flared with a burning energy as her platform fell apart. Her weapon's attack had done nothing besides disintegrate into the air around her. Meaning there was significantly lesser options towards killing her target. Soldat streaked over to the side, her fist tearing a lamp post completely out of the ground without a hint of effort as she spun on her heels. With a sudden lunge forwards she buried the post towards her, massive sparks blasting from each corner of her eyes.

@turncoat: (it's fine, I'm not really going to be on for the next few weeks so take your time ^.^)

I felt the pole hit Denial's field as the energy shield flickered and resolidified. My opponent far out powered me, narrowing my list of fighting options. Spex took a scan of her while I rose to my feet and spread out my wings. I couldn't fight what I didn't understand, so I watched her and adjusted the Icefire weapons while waiting for my AI to finish.

@icefire_outlaw:

(Should be able to post faster now!)

Soldat spun backwards, taking the pole backwards and diving it ahead towards her shield with sudden quick blows. The light from her eyes only seemed to grow with intensity after every movement she made.

However while the soldier struck at her shield, Spex's scan had most likely shown a ludicrous amount of energy flowing off the woman. 6'4, and an estimated 260lbs of muscle on her. She was without a doubt physically a tank up close, generally meaning melee was certainly her worst approach into taking the woman out of commission.

Though, it wouldn't be a solid plan for much longer than a few moments. A second blue platform made a direct dive into the city's park. Throwing up a surge of dirt into every direction around. The second of the two nazis lunged off of the platform, Luger in grip and machete extended from his non-dominant hand's gauntlet. With the faceless mask Krueger sported providing no emotion, his Luger went ahead taking shots towards the outlaw as fast as his finger could pull the trigger.

Meanwhile, a little over two blocks away, Moses knelt just on top of a business complex clutching a Dragunov in his grip, not bothering to peer through it's scope, as he certainly wouldn't be needing it for a solid aim. Despite his severe displeasure towards using an un-American weapon, even more so a Soviet one, it was the only long range rifle he had in his immediate armory and one that he had found sturdy in the past. Beside him on the rooftop was. A handcrafted piece, a highly pressurized air rifle, loaded with a dart laced across it's tip with horse tranquilizer. While the gunslinger himself had covered himself with a grey, gravel-tone sheet to blend into the rooftop. Obviously their plan had absolutely zero intention to reveal his hand too soon, nor did it involve dropping him between the two superhuman's waging their strongest techniques against her.

@beyond: (probably the last post before I disappear :( )

*Tell me you have a plan,* Spex said as the second supersoldier arrived. His scan revealed that the female would be more than a match for me as it was. Now that the male had dropped in, things would get almost impossible for the mortal Jesse James to handle. Fortunately I was far more than that now, especially since all five of my minds agreed that we needed to defend ourselves.

As another blow slammed Denial's shield and made her flicker again, I concentrated on the voices and their purposes. Jing: peace through the Force, which I opened myself to. Terumi: anger and lunacy, both of which rose in my mind and chest. BQ: strategy and emotion, as I thought of Erik and the need to get back to him soon. And Spex: rational and cold calculation. Both necessities in this situation.

A wave of colors washed over me as my shield dropped and the dots started hitting me. My chest was no longer black-jacketed, however. A violet dress covered my modesty, a feathered cloak protected my back. My glowing, mechanical blue eyes looked curiously down at the puncture wounds, healing as fast as they were made, dropping bullets onto the ground from within my chest. No blood, no wounds, just bullets. A pair of swords matching my wings/cloak, green and red, materialized in my hands as I looked back up at him with that evasive smirk and assumed a defensive position, making sure to watch my back as well.

@icefire_outlaw:

Without emotion from his sleek black helmet, Krueger took a step backwards while giving a short stare to his compatriot. Soldat's eyes returned the gaze over to him. Between the two of them, was a mostly one-way telepathic discussion, devising angles and actions. No different than any other time, Soldat was mostly quiet as her usual lack of speech proved. Breaking the stare between them, both of the nazis turned their attention off to her.

Krueger was the first to move for a strike. While keeping one hand's gauntlet extended with it's blade and the other hand open freely, his legs sprung off the ground. The Rage of the Reich lunged forwards, the blade of his machete making a hard sweep downwards at him. Just as soon as it swung downwards the second of the two machete blades locked into the gauntlets sprung outwards, sending it at her shoulder with a strike easily able to become a defensive parry with no more movement than shifting his wrist.

As he made his lunge, she followed with her own. Raising the lightpole over her head and battering it downwards while keeping the bottom of the pole looking to her feet, simply maneuvered to block a jab. However rough her movement seemed, Soldat's nearly robotic senses stayed highly alert. A change in movement that would cause her strike to careen into Krueger was just about impossible for her to do. With almost instantaneous reaction when it came to following orders. Ones in particular when they became exact, discussed. This one, being insanely detailed in nature.

@beyond:

They were fast, and I barely had time to deflect either attacks. It didn't bother me, however, as I met the machete with my red blade and the lamp post with the green one. My cloak unfolded back into wings that spread as my body turned in the motion of my defensive move. My mouth moved in the Bandit Queen's smirk as my pure blue eyes, a different shade from the woman's and her new companion's. Theirs were pure, electric, and bright. Mine were bright too, but in a different way. Purplish, perhaps even periwinkle. In a harder moment they may have been nearer violet, but right now they sparkled with the excitement of the fight.

In the instant that my body moved to meet the dual attacks, my mind did a number of things at once. Five minds do a lot in even the smallest of moments. I knew these two had to ice a reason for attacking me, and to the three of my minds accustomed to fights they seemed to be distracting me. Surely they recognized that I was relatively prepared for such things. They could simply be experimenting but that seemed unlikely. So my mind split once into a fighting part and a thinking one, concentrating on the natural divide of the human brain. Jing and Yuki were put into my right, creative side. They would do my battling while Spex and the Queen settled into my left, rational side. My eyes became purpler, a color oddly lavender but equally blue. Leaving Spex and the BQ to scanning the area for the blonde pair's reinforcements, I split the right side of my mind again, separating Terumi and Quinon. I debated letting the lunatic have a the female, then at a rather lewd mental comment that nearly split him off from the rest of my voices decided to let his lighter, cleverer mind an hands fight the man instead. Otherwise I'd have been outmatched. Yuki's dark Force energy would give us a sharp but thin edge. Jing's naturally calm demeanor would be able to use my distracted mind and body as easily as the whole one. What of my fifth mind, my natural one? It bound the other four--or rather three, as Spex and the Bandit Queen worked as one, though my mind worked to hold them together as well.

All of these things took place in the same instant that my body moved into defense against their two weapons. Red mixed in with the violet and blue of one eye, to match with the sword and wing of that side. Green mixed with the other side, making the eye slightly brownish. Both eyes twinkled to match my ever-evasive smile around my lips, fading in and out of existence just out of sight of my two adversaries.

@icefire_outlaw: It didn't take very long for the duo to gather as soon as she parried their strikes. Krueger made a sudden bound backwards, off beside the walkway of the park. Soldat shoved her lamp post forwards, with an intent to block a possible oncoming strike as she leapt to him. No sooner than she had landed, had their movement begun to send her down. Soldat's fists were suddenly clutching two items with a grip like death. An eleven foot chain, and her lamp post still firmly kept.

The Rage of the Reich dove his fist downwards, seizing the chain from the ground and without a moment of hesitation swinging it to the side, in a lunging rotation. Soldat lurched her lamp post, rather used a pike now, towards their target. There was a clear somewhat struggle for him to move forwards while continuing the spin, yet he managed quite well considering the feat. His effort tied with his companion's skilled swipes with her post made their spin a dangerous item to approach recklessly

@beyond:(so sorry it took so long to get back to you)

I recognized the approach and changed tactics yet again, dropping my blades to the ground where they vaporized in green and red sparks of light, before lifting my body from the earth with one flap of my wings. This would make me more maneuverable, I reasoned, as I tried to keep clear of the spinning duo. I was still trying to figure out what they wanted with me--they seemed to highly powered to be simple bounty hunters. Maybe the mob had called in a few bigger guns. Maybe they had learned about me by chance, like the cowboy the night before. Whatever the case, I didn't have time to reason. I gave another flap and lifted myself higher, a rainbow bird, like Isis in Egyptian mythology was sometimes described. I made a subconscious mental note of the comparison before summoning power into my hands. Heat to my right. Cold to my left. I hovered for a moment before taking careful aim with my cold hand and firing a blast of absolute zero at the moving duo, hoping to at least slow them down.

@icefire_outlaw: Between the two of them, one held an ability the other had not, experience. Krueger, throughout his time in the first World War, the Second and several other conflicts on history had gained a sense. If their positions were reversed things could have ended entirely negative. But quick thinking managed to seize something positive from this.

Just as Cold fired, he released the chain, flinging her forwards at their target. The shot struck him in the chest, sending a literal bone chilling shock through his body. Soldat on the other hand, being not limited by an average man's sense of comprehension was prepared for her next movement the second he let her go. The chain shattered, fracturing away into the air, and her lamp post yanked backwards. Her grip just below it's light as she launched her arm forwards, spiking it downwards at her with a sinister throw like a javelin under the intention to pierce right through her chest.

Krueger on the other hand had completely raised a forcefield around himself. The icy blast of her weapon certainly keeping him somewhat incapacitated. Though his reach carried outside of the bubble. Platforms sprouted in the groud beneath trees in the park, cars in the street about any heavy object whether it was nailed down or not. Ready to act as landmines. A step too close and he was acting sharply to be ready for manually lifting the platforms suddenly, to shove or even launch the objects at their opponent.

@beyond:

The man was incapacitated by the blow, so I was able to focus my attention on the woman. My blue eyes followed her just as they finished the scan of the area, catching Moses' form for the first time just as she unleashed her attack. I stopped my scan, content with the information, and reunited my mind to meet her in combat. My right hand raised and aimed right for the lamp post, before unleashing a blast of pure heat, so sudden and sharp that it would shatter the post before the scraps melted to her. I also adjusted my blades to make an attack of my own once she was in range, an attack that would probably be my last. I felt the exhaustion starting to kick in. Keeping my mind separated like that wore it out, and forcing it back together allowed me to feel the extent of it. If my blow hit, I might be able to push a swordfight; however, if it didn't, I'd have to fall back and regroup. Of course, I already had a plan for that, but I was getting tired of the game of cat and mouse Moses and I were playing. I honestly hoped to end this fight here and now, but there were no guarantees.

@icefire_outlaw: A lot of ideas went through her head. Ways to deal with her. Soldat still carried the element of being the unknown, as far as she knew the woman was still blind to a number of her attributes between her painlessness and increased reaction. Though the same could fairly be said vice versa, the information Moses provided Krueger was nothing close to what would be that helpful. Yet, the element of unknown on her end was still present and alive. Such was the ability to adapt to situations where all seems desperate.

Soldat's eyes gave a sharp flare, casting sparks across each side of her as she formed an energized viking-craft shield on her left arm, sending down a cautious yet precise kick downwards at the center of her chest for the intent of knocking her down or to die trying.

@beyond:

My blades glanced off her shield and her kick hit my torso. I went flying back and landed on one knee. For an instant, my form flickered, revealing my ordinary human self. I felt nauseous and tired, but I had to keep going if I was to survive. It was fight or flight, and fighting was becoming less of an option. After a fraction of a second the goddess form was restored and I braced the swords in my hands, but I didn't stand. That was a waste of energy, energy that was being stored in my hands to form heat and cold again. I had to keep up for just another moment while she pressed onward, but I didn't know how much more I could take. I would only use necessary energies to evade or deflect blows, not to attack. The sooner the Icefire was ready to create my portal, the better.

@icefire_outlaw: She was weak, that was evident by her kneeling form. Leaving the killing blow as their next movement. Each of them forming a tactical option, a way to proceed that would make sure this was the end game. Each of them, their eyes narrowed and enveloped in though suddenly struck the goddess.

Krueger's trap launched upwards sending a minivan parked across the park catapulting across like a boulder. The Nazi's vision was set, and confident with his aim. If his attack struck as intended she'd be flatened like dough. Despite that possibly deforming her corpse enough to null a bounty, this had gone beyond cash. Her resistance had raised the skirmish to a personal issue.

Soldat on the opposited end of the coin wasn't too far off from his own intention. Unlike the two she fought beside she carried no fear of death after a thousand times of doing it before. She rushed ahead at her, just as unarmed as before and uncaring of his catapulting van. It was undoubtedly going to kill her if the timing was off a notch while she lunged, to then attempt beating that goddess to a pulp, however long she could.

Moses however simply pulled his trigger. His scope trained on her spine. Paralysis, possibly death if the bullet shot through and struck organs. Either way, his move had been made just as theirs had, as unclimatic as it had scaled against theirs, some could argue it was the most effective when paired with his positioning, and his intention.

@beyond:

All three attacks were launched as one. Five minutes ago I would have been the least concerned with Moses', focusing instead on the other, stronger assailants. I couldn't keep my mind in three places at once, however. Only one move could be entirely evaded; one defended against; one had to hit. The bullet was the safest choice, dangerous though it was. I focused a sliver of energy to a forcefield to keep Soldat off. I then channeled the rest of my remaining energy to my hands, fueling the Icefire. I couldn't create a wormhole; it carried too much of allowing something to follow me through. So, at the exact moment when the bullet touched my skin, the woman hit my shield, and the car came within a foot of my head, I forced the energies back through myself, turning my body into a portal. It carried more risk than waiting here to die, but the risk would be worth it if my little experiment worked.

Pain shot up my back just as my right side became unusually feverish and my left, hypothermic. Ice and fire were shoved through my body at that exact moment, and i felt a strange weightlessness. For a moment, I thought I was dead. Then I opened my eyes. I was in my little apartment again, exhausted and in pain but alive. The bullet finished tearing through my body and hit the wall, splattering it with blood. I managed to look down at myself, and saw that the wound had closed behind it. It hadn't fragmented inside me, so I didn't have to worry about an impromptu surgery. Satisfied and absolutely exhausted, I curled up right there on the ground and fell into a deep sleep, grateful for the one in a million chance that had kept me alive.

_____________

My body woke up two or three hours later. My mind wandered and then I felt the dull throb in my side where I'd cauterized the bullet wound. I sat up abruptly and winced, then looked around. Same room, same spot on the floor where I'd passed out for the second time in two days. This got me thinking. I couldn't beat any of them with brute strength. The power couple, especially, had more force and stamina than I could ever hope for in goddess form. Moses was a tracker; he was bound to keep finding me. I'd been going about this all wrong, I realized. I couldn't just keep powering up and passing out. That wasn't my style. No; I had to take a different route. Folding my legs underneath me with a grunt, I closed my eyes and thought about who I was. This might not seem like the best response to my situation, but in the excitement of the past few months I'd never really meditated the way I used to. Since my experience in the Sanctum of the Force, my meditations had always been on the Force, or current events. I needed to take a step back and see where I'd gone wrong.

My life can be separated into seven tiers. First was love. The love of my family. Second was loss, when they died. Third was thief, as a runaway foster child; then bandit, a suggestion made by Spex. Then was queen, and probably the most defining time of my life. Then Jedi, after I came into the open. Finally was goddess, the Goddess of Balance. When I opened my eyes, I knew what I had to do. Preparations would have to be made fast, but a seven-step plan, almost foolproof, had come to mind. I'd just have to work fast.

@icefire_outlaw:"Well shit."

HOUR ONE

The Lead Eagle made his shot. Though the kill seemed to disappear, intentionally. Meaning it wasn't really a kill unless she was luckily bleeding out. Doubtful considering her though. A bit irritably, he stood and slung the rifle over his shoulder, shedding the camouflage off his back. Even on that rooftop, the Rage of the Reich's angered screaming could be heard from the park coupled with plenty of words not fit for young ears. With the amount of information they had on the Bandit Queen, or whoever she was 'living with' now, it was a fair assumption she was gone. As in, out of Chicago gone. As in, his now furious superpowered mercenary wasn't getting paid.

Unless he put some of that frontier work to use.

_________________________________________________________________

Soldat stood idle in the park, as Krueger sat nearby on a bench, rubbing his head. As the tone of footsteps approached, he glanced up to the gunslinger. "What the hell was that? I thought you had her, but instead you shoot at her back!? I thought your aim was good enough to handle anything than those god awful revolvers your sling around but I guess not!"Smoke trailed from the end of a rolled cigarette held between his lips for a moment, before a cloud of it expanded off into the air. "First off this is a rifle from 1963, not exactly the modern technology that would pinpoint a head like that from as far as I was even if I wanted to. Secondly I asked for her alive and you launched a damned car at her. Your goon tried to impale her. I'm 100% sure neither of those are going to let her live."

His response only seemed to piss him off, considering he raised off the bench, fists clutched like they were ready to swing. "I want paid." "You're still getting paid, Hansvick. Give me a day longer with your help, and we'll get her alive. You can even put your feet up after that beating for a bit, just loan me one of those pads you use to get around with."

As much as he wanted to disembowel the cowboy for his tone, there was truly a silent memo in his mind that reminded him of his lacking ability in tracking. If she was even still in Chicago, she could be literally anywhere in the concrete jungle. When it came to knowing when a grudge was going to ruin a paycheck Krueger could recognize the signs luckily long before it happened. This was one of those cases that he had to accept, no matter how reluctant he was and no matter how annoying the patron could be.

"...She'll steer for you. Just tell her which way to go."Two platforms appeared on the ground, one he stepped onto without waiting for another word from him. His platform lifted upwards, shooting over the top of the park just as sirens arrived to the edges of it. Soldat's sparked blue eyes stared over to him, her gloved hand pointing to the platform. There was a clear uneasiness to him as he got on the pad, no sooner than he had boarded they were lifted off, taking off to the skyline.

HOUR 2

Chicago's map was pulled up on his smart phone, a number of locations marked across it's scope. Soldat's platform hovered idly between building, as his eyes glanced from the previously marked four locations, and the rest of the city. After two hours in the city, it was insane to even achieve as much progress as they did without the information they should have had for attempting to find someone. Luckily for them, Moses had been tracking people with about as much info as they had now for over a century. One thing was certain, she was staying in Chicago. If the college student's rumors were right, the Bandit Queen's "ghost" still hung around the city. First off marking her hideout as a location, it secured that she may have a living space in the area. Though the next clue was right from her own mouth.

"About a ten minute drive from here, I can run and get him if you want."

If anything, it provided a search radius from the bar. Leaving a five minute buffer zone on those ten minutes to search with, Soldat's platform lapped along the rooftops a couple times, overcasting buildings. Moses's eyes took in the details of the buildings below him, it was a simple fact almost that wherever she resided in the bustling city was an apartment. With a flyby of that area, over the course of almost an hour, along with a brush outside the perimeter, four locations were decided, along with her original warehouse. Meaning the three of them would need a plan to investigate those five.

HOUR 3

"How do you intend for us to raid those massive buildings without her disappearing?" "No worries about that, I called in merchandise on the way here from a local plug, I have it handled from here. Though we're going to need her for a huge chunk of this plan." He pointed a finger over to Soldat, who stayed in the corner watching them without a word. "I think she's cornered, but the warehouse is an issue if she's camped out there. So we're just going to send a quick raid through there, which I'll leave to you. Her and are going to cover this whole area by ourselves, with her up close, and me swooping around in the shadows to make preparations. The things we need should be here soon, so hang tight until then. As soon as that shows up, she may as well be a dead woman."

Hour 4

"Go."

Soldat took off from her starting point, simply leaping across rooftops as fast as she could manage herself to go in the area's ring. Occasionally lapping their marked apartment complexes. She was a diversion, eye candy even. The purpose of this super soldier's projection so far was just keeping their target perhaps paranoid enough to stay inside her apartment assuming she was even inside these buildings that they had marked. There was the case they were trying to raid buildings containing no more than Chicago's average bounty-less inhabitants and made fools of themselves to anyone who understood the situation.

Just in case the latter was their current situation, Krueger stood off on a warehouse roof directly near Moses's encounter. All the information on the warehouses given was that it was nearby the alleyway their fight broke out in. Even that was more exact information than they had on where she lived. The Nazi's luger hung in his grip, tightly while he scoped around the dock. An earpiece tucked behind his helmet spoke the same phrase that Moses had passed to Soldat. There wasn't an ounce of hesitation when he bounded forwards, slamming his fist against the wall of a warehouse, caving it's wall inwards a bit.

@beyond:

Tenth minutes ago I sat on the end of my bed, a cheap burner phone pressed to my ear, ringing. I was afraid he wasn't going to pick up, and was planning to leave a voicemail when a little voice came on the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Erik," I said with a smile he couldn't see. His voice brightened.

"Hi Jesse! How're things going?"

I touched my injured side. "Everything's great. How's my favorite padawan?"

A giggle. "I'm your only padawan, Jess. I'm good. Miss you."

I sighed. "Miss you too, bud. How's Hunter?"

A squawk/bark/roar could be heard on the other end. "He's good. He misses you too."

"I'll bet he does." There was silence for a moment.

"Are you gonna be back tomorrow?"

I bit my lip, fighting back my emotions. "I'm afraid not. I'll be here a few more days than I expected. Everything's okay, just...something important came up." Another silence, and I checked the clock on the wall. "I need to get going. Just wanted to check in."

"Oh...okay then Jesse. Love you."

"Love you too, kiddo. Miss you both. See you soon."

"See you soon, Jesse. Bye."

I hung up, forcing down tears. I wanted so badly just to go home and be done with this mess. But if I did, they'd just track me back down. I was certain that by now, Moses had figured out that his dark-haired acquaintance from last night and his godlike prey were one and the same, meaning that he'd know the general area of where to find me.

I crushed the burner in my thunder claws and dropped the smoking, informationless husk on the floor. Then I went to the desk, scribbled down two notes, and sealed them in envelopes. Next, to change. My Icefire outfit was quickly exchanged for tattered pants, a ratty t-shirt, and sneakers worn so thin that they couldn't quite be called "shoes" anymore: a filthy getup set aside just for occasions like this. The finishing touch was grime and dirt kept in a jar, which I rubbed on my arms, legs, face, neck, and shoulders, burying my complexion and skin tone, and altering my features beyond recognition. Last, I unbraided my hair and ran my grimy hands through it, tangling it and changing its color from beautiful honey blonde to a filthy brown so deep it was almost black. After sneezing once, I pulled out my wig and contacts from last night and placed them with one of the notes. The other I tore opened, handled a little roughly while in the process leaving dirt all over it, then stuffed it and it's envelope back in my pocket.

Now five minutes ago, I put all my gear in my bag, under a few threadbare blankets, a holey sleeping bag, wrappers from extremely cheap (and, of course, well-enjoyed) snacks, a dying flashlight, and a half-full bag of jerky. This bag I hauled downstairs, set aside in a safe place, and left just as Soldat started circling the building.

Now I might be found in the room that belonged to the Bandit Queen, but the Bandit Queen was nowhere to be found. The lock on the door had been picked, the bedsheets were in a ball on the floor, the mattress had been torn opened with a jackknife now clenched between the teeth of the urchin rummaging through dresser drawers, looking for anything valuable. If course she was attracted to the window, peering out with one wide blue eye and a filthy black face as the woman who had attacked me a few hours ago circled the building one last time.

@icefire_outlaw:

The woman's leaps and bounds halted at the edge of a rooftop, her eyes settling on the rooftop of one of their target buildings, where a rappelling rope slid most of the way down the side. Moses stood atop, beside the rope a wireless detonator in his grip. Though this detonator had no explosive nor bomb attached to it's frequency. Across the rooftop from where he stood a loud thud echoed from the building's ventilation shafts, as well as every other building they targeted. The sealant on heavy canisters of an almost lethal chloroform based gas broke, allowing it's fumes to flow through the building's air ducts.

No sooner than people on the upper floors started dropping did Soldat lunge from her position into the first building. Breaking entirely through the wall, it's elderly occupants were already quickly unconscious from the canister's supply. Though with the consistency of the gas in the container, it very well could have killed them. With only a glance to the couple that lay either unconscious or deceased in their chairs. Her goal was clearly stated to her mind, a simple smash and grab to grab their target and pull her out of there. So that's precisely how his aryan agent operated. Taking off through the wall of the apartment into the neighboring one next door. A quick glance around the apartment, no longer than four seconds before rushing through the wall. Then the next, and the next, and the next one. Moses on the other hand rappelled down to the top floor, running a slower search downwards. His Colt hanging from his dominant hand and his knife in the other. Along his belt hung his hat by a small hook, making way for the gas mask's thick straps that clasped around his head.

Meanwhile across the city of Chicago Krueger was quickly becoming a center of attention. The docks roared with a thick black smoke as massive spheres of energy struck whatever fuel sources hung around the warehouses. After striking a row of fuel tankers, flames enveloped entire buildings. While his own spouts of energy shredded through nearly everything around across the exterior of warehouses and their interior. Police had already arrived at the scene, drawing away or at the very least stalling attention to the gassed apartments. Every bullet that left an officer's gun ricocheted harmlessly off Krueger's forcefield, clattering at the ground just as their casings had.

@beyond:

I--or rather, the starving girl--had stepped away from the window to continue her search of the room when she smelled it. Chloroform-base gas. I paled, but didn't waste any time. Stuffing the phone husk and the small bit of cash I'd taken out of a drawer, I looked blearily around for a safe refuge. There was a banging some floors above me, walls breaking...the bed. Any street-wise person would take nearest cover. While the gas would sink the bed would hide the thief from anyone entering the room. I dove under it, rolling onto my back with the last of my strength before I passed out, knife in hand.

@icefire_outlaw: Drywall and insulation bursted across the room as Soldat broke through the wall at a sprint. Upon entering she slammed her foot into the bed, sending it toppling across the room and thudding against the wall completely cracking it where it impacted. Her stark blue eyes gave a quick glance around, settling on the figure that had laid underneath the bed, a knife clutched firmly in her hand. Her target didn't look like that. It wasn't her. Had to move on before time ran out, there was two more buildings to clear. She turned on her heels, sprinting through the wall and into the neighboring apartment next door.

"SOLDAT, HALT! HALT!" Krueger almost screamed into the earpiece. "GO BACK THAT WAS HER!" But she wasn't responding. Soldat continued off through the apartment building on her own course, not giving a second look back to the woman on the floor. Even as he extended his control outwards to take entire possession on her, he found that still she wouldn't respond.

"MOSES! I THINK I SAW HER OVER IN SOLDAT'S BUIDLING BUT SHE'S NOT GOING BACK TO GRAB HER. YOU HAVE TO GET OVER THERE NOW!" Moses paused his search, running over towards the window and peering out. Her building was in sight. Though, about three blocks across and a couple floors up. No doubt with the damage she was doing, the elevator was surely out. "Damn it, I'll get over there then. Keep trying to make her go back."

Lifting open the current window of the apartment he was in, he leaned out, and without a moment of hesitation, leapt out. He would die from this height, without a doubt. Though saving time and much needed energy that he'd lose taking the stairs.

Splat.

Moses lifted himself off the pavement, two minutes later. There was probably a little below ten minutes left before the chloroform wore off. Sold at had already moved onto another building, leaving him to her previous one by himself. He lunged ahead, sprinting forwards across the blacktop, nearly getting struck by a moving truck inthe process. No sooner than he started to run did Dakota appear a few feet ahead of him. He reached upwards, seizing the horse's reigns and hauling himself onto the saddle. The currently black stallion tore ahead down the sidewalk, those who didn't move away from the stampeding horse ended up knocked on their faces or trampled. Taking horseback saved much more time than he would have taken by running, in a solid four minutes, he was rushing up the steps of the apartment. This is where the hard part came. Each floor came slower as his legs slowly acnowledged the exhaustion. Three minutes rolled by until stopping just below the top floor. It was going to surely be close, restraining her.

Kicking down the closest door he saw, Moses took off, back tracking through the trail of destruction Soldat left in the apartments. "Krueger, describe the room!"

"SHE'S ON THE GROUND HOLDING A KNIFE, THE BED'S KNOCKED AGAINST THE WALL. HURRY, THERE'S LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT I BELIEVE!"

@beyond:

I was already waking up. My brain was sending signals to my neurons, and a small voice in my brain was trying to signal my consciousness.

Wake up. Wake up now.

My blue eyes slowly peeled opened, blinking in the apartment's light as I tried to process where I was. Street-smart instinct took over while the rest of my brain woke up.

You need cover. Get cover.

I fell asleep under a bed. My head turned lazily to the side. There was the bed, thrown recklessly against the wall. I woke up quickly after that and glanced around the room. Holes in both walls, broken in a straight line. I'd been hiding from someone..."who" didn't matter. They'd already been through but that didn't mean that they wouldn't sweep again. I scrambled to my feet and took in my surroundings one more time before deciding on a safe place. I made a dash to the bathroom and locked the door behind me before stepping into the bathtub and drawing the shower curtain. I waited with bated breath and listened to the approaching footsteps, keeping my knife ready and shoving all thoughts but escape from my mind.

@icefire_outlaw: The Gunslinger rushed into an apartment, pausing. There was a bed slammed against the wall, chunks of drywall spewed over the room. This was maybe it considering the other apartments couldn't really call their beds as slammed as this one was judging by the damage to the wall. The major difference besides that however was the bathroom. Every other apartment had been checked, and Soldat didn't quite spend time closing doors. His eyes narrowed a bit at the door. There was little doubt that somebody was hiding inside.

"I think I found her."

He approached, the weathered six shooter being clutched closely at his hip. With a fist raised his trail boots moved him ahead a step, tapping it onto the bathroom door. Risky move considering there could be a shotgun on the other side ready to blast through. Although losing the chance to take in an alive target would be a hell lot worse of a tragedy on the paycheck than a wound would be.

"Get out of the room Bandit. I'm not trying to kill you so if you could just work w-"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence.

Because Krueger dove through the apartment's wall, tackling his business partner out of the apartment and into the one across the hall. With the speed of a missile, he had completely knocked the wind, and certainly broke a couple bones inside the former ally. Without a second to recover himself the nazi stood, spitting on the fallen sharpshooter and turning his attention across the hall. "Considering the work I've contributed to this operation and how much you donated towards it, I think it's safe to say that this reward belongs to me."

With a sphere of energy forming in his open palm, the Ace of the Axis thundered out of his breach in the wall and back to where Moses had once stood. Even behind the tinted glass of his Vibranium helmet the light blasting from his eyes came like spotlight as the energy in his fist flared just as his arm veered backwards to launch it forwards. Only being halted by a quick spark off the door hinge, that ricocheted downwards and digging into his collarbone. While the .45 hadn't exactly caused pain to Krueger, it certainly had knocked the nazi off balance. Enough so that in a moment following a concussion grenade launched into the doorway across the hall, almost instantly thundering off with a flash and skull aching detonation that sent the SS Superhuman reeling backwards, with the mother of all migranes brewing in his skull.

@beyond:

I heard fighting on the other side of the door and debated whether I should just stay here and wait to see who won, or I should take the chance to run for the streets, where I knew I'd be safer. I risked stepping out from behind the safety of the shower curtain, and when the door didn't explode I decided to take a look out. Unlocking the door and opening it a crack, just in time to see the German supersoldier reel back from the pain in his head. Concussive, no doubt. I had no time to waste. Judging from shot I'd heard off the door hinge, Moses was right in the next room. This was my one chance at escape and I had no intention of wasting it. I made a dash across the room to the door, keeping my head low and moving as fast as my legs would allow. Once out the door the plan was to make for the stairs and go down to the first floor to retrieve my bag before trying to lose the two men in the twisting alleys that comprised Chicago's downtown.

@icefire_outlaw: A .45 raced past her heel, the edge of the bullet grazing at her leg. If Krueger's blow to his chest hadn't taken the stamina out of him. It surely would have hit it's mark. However it didn't, leaving absolutely no time to waste to get after her. It wasn't debatable that after that strike, she had much more energy for a chase than he did, especially with a headstart.

Before long, footfalls came down the hall and into the stairwell. Rushing down the steps in pusuit.

@beyond:

I neither slowed down nor stopped. Making it to the ground floor, I snatched up my bag before running to the door. It was a little too small in the shoulders, so I had to waste valuable energy in lengthening the straps. It would appear I grew since I was fourteen, but that didn't matter now. In a few minutes my feet pounded the asphalt and concrete, as I weaved my way through pedestrian and vehicular traffic towards the nearest alleyway, intending to lose them there.

@icefire_outlaw:At the speed she was going, it was inevitable she would escape on foot against him. However Moses would not be on foot for a second longer than he had been as he stepped outside the door. Dakota stood beside the door frame, ready as always to make a pursuit. Hoisting himself onto the horse's saddle. Dakota was suddenly rushing off, speeding down the sidewalk a few paces before pausing at the tug of reigns.

A few paces had become five minutes in no time as the horse darted around the streets, looking for a sign of their disguised target. Without one, Dakota had stopped it's run. As Moses stopped his search in the immediate area. Wherever she had ran to, she was ahead of him by now surely.

It was safe to say options were limited. Highly limited. Between giving up and continuing the search, only one of those provided a snowball's chance in hell of finding her.

With a sudden tap against his sides, Dakota sprinted ahead, darting down a wide alley and off to the Northern part of the city, whether it took diving through alleys or cutting right through the traffic, Moses's determination seemed to be contagious towards his horse as it relentlessly dodged past cars like some sort of showdog on it's nearly hopeless search across Chicago.

@beyond:

I didn't stop running until the hotel was far behind me. Then, I dropped my bag by a wall and slumped down next to it, my lungs burning and my practically bare beet sore. If I was dirty before my escape, I was filthy now. After a few moments of just breathing, I rummaged around in my bag and pulled out my jerky and a greenish bottle of water. The water was gross, but better than nothing. The jerky was dry, but again, better than an empty stomach.

It surprised me how easily I had slipped back into the streets. I could survive for days, weeks, even months or years out here with no trouble. I'd be willing to, if it was still just me. But I wasn't alone in the world. I had Hunter and Erik to take care of, which meant I could stay here no longer than three to seven days. Once I was rested, I climbed back to my feet, oblivious to the blistering pain. Then I hesitated. What if Moses went all the way to Grimm to look for me? Then all of this would be for nothing. I needed to keep him on my trail. Ten steps behind, but so agonizingly close he'd stay here on the one in a million chance of finding me. With this thought in mind, I rummaged through my bag and loosened a feather from my wings before dropping it to the ground with a clink. Then I set out again, on foot and unrecognized, hoping he took the bait.

@icefire_outlaw: A leather riding glove leaned down, lifting the feather off the ground.

"Bingo."

If anything, it was a step in right direction. Wherever she had gone could perhaps be noted in the alleyway.

Only a quick glance at the dirt and muck scattered across the ground. A faded print, though clearly recent from how it stood out in the dirt. A certain depth to it, despite how smooth the bottom of her shoe was. Abnormally smooth as a second glance provided, almost no traction to it. Shoes that had been worn to the brink no doubt, a certain factor to look for whole on the hunt.

A hunt that with this clue would not end soon.

@beyond:

I walked through the city for hours, and by the time the sun set again I was even different than before. My skin had browned, effected by the sun despite the layer of dirt that had thickened by the hour. My hair, unprotected by my hat and free from its braid, was a wild rat's nest but bleached by the now-fading daylight. I'd lost the sole to one shoe and, after an hour of trying to walk with one foot bare discarded the other in a dumpster. Now my feet were caked with grime and blood, but nicely calloused so there'd be no more cuts tomorrow. I was at the edge of an alley, looking at clean white concrete. I used one of my filthy blankets to wipe off my even filthier feet, then started down the road, crossed the street, and picked the lock on a unused-looking van, before settling in to the backseat for a cramped but warm night's sleep.

@icefire_outlaw: He had stuck to the filth, where a print could be clear. Though it was insanely hard to make out a clear trail in the remnants of dirt and grime in alleyways, some tracks could still be clear in about every alley. The only trouble being that they could be anyones. Dozens of different alleyways, in a broad trail were followed. Every alley with prints that looked even somewhat like what he had found before being mentally noted for future study. After what felt like well too long of digging around filthy alleyways, he had stopped. There was cameras all over these streets, street names he had memorized in the travel across the city.

Once returning to the motel, it'd be wise to get onto the traffic cameras and keep an eye out for suspicious figures. However just as he turned to leave, an unmistakable sight was at his boot.

Blood droplets. Upon a closer inspection, somewhat fresh. Maybe no more than ten minutes old. Furthermore it was dug into a print that remained somewhat relevant to the first print, judging by shoe size and the general track. It was a discovery enough to wipe away the previous ideas of which alley she may have taken. There was a somewhat solid route, removing any need to head back to the motel.

Moses stood, ducking beside a dumpster and removing a smartphone from his pocket and heading to a frequently used bookmark of local camera viewing. He crouched low to the ground. Switching views between about a dozen cameras viewing across streets for three blocks ahead, he aimed to stay as long as it took to find his culprit.

@beyond:

The night was short but quiet. Three hours’ sleep was actually more than I usually allowed myself when I wasn’t on the run. Meditation often replaced rest in my routine, but I needed my strength. I’d probably passed out around eight, it wasn’t even midnight now based on my internal clocks. I sat up in my makeshift bed of a back seat and stretched, popping my back and my neck. The air seemed stale. That was one advantage of living on the streets: a never-ending supply of fresh air. I was still tired but I needed to keep moving. In a few hours I could stop again. After making a small breakfast of my jerky and a long-expired granola bar I checked my sore feet, wrapped them in scraps torn from my blanket, and popped the door open. My feet touched the cool asphalt, temporarily soothing the pain. I looked up and down the street. No people, just a few traffic cameras. He could check those, if he had the right tech. I wasn’t sure how savvy he was. I didn’t know much at all about him at all. I allowed myself a little smile. That was half the fun of this adventure. I wasn’t Icefire here. I was just Stella, on the road again. He could be in three blocks of me and I wouldn’t care. The arctic-blue eyes that stood startlingly out against the mix of dirt and tan that browned my face swept the street again. There was no sign of life. I shifted my bag back onto my shoulders and stretched again before telling my stinging feet that we needed to get moving again. It was going to be a long night.