More Meteor Showers Bring Even Stranger Powers. (O/A)

[Nova Blancke]

Like his half-sister he changed out of his normal outfit as well. No need to fight in a suit.
Theo took a few deep breaths. Closing his eyes, focusing, getting into the mindset. His power, ready with the pull of a trigger.

"Fire."

Legio had put away tray and made his way to Freya's mother. But before ringing the bell, he decided to sense her current state. Asleep. Waking her for this would be....beneficial but given her state, not wise.

He then remembered Rydia and hoped that she could answer his questions.

"Oh I am quite....open to experimentation" Liv responded as her girlfriend kissed her neck. It was a good thing they were alone for 30 minutes.  

[PixelMuse]

Rikki Tikki Travi

The voices were so loud, scattered, and numerous that trying to parse which butterflies they came from would be a near impossible task. There were, however, a few that stood out from the rest. There would be a few that Trinity could recognize.

"Why does father love you more?"

"Don't turn your back on us, Freya! We're your family." That one was Kaelonni. The queen Trinity had met only a few days before.

"Listen to your sister, and take care of your mother."

"Okami?! What happened?! What did you do?!"

"Penny for your thoughts, Freya." Adam Crescent. The captain of the guard and husband to Kaelonni.

"You knew my parents? What were they like?"

"Freya, please don't push her too hard." Trinity's mother.

"You know he hasn't been the same since Sara died. Why are you helping him? Don't you know how wrong this is?"

"I know you're angry, but Father wouldn't want this. All this bloodshed? For what? For Father, for Allines...for you?" Teshoumaru.

"I can give you what you've always wanted. To be free from the sins of your father."

"Please, Freya. Don't do this!" It was Okami.

"Shut up! Shut. Up! I never wanted you! You've made my life Hell! Get out! Die!" Freya.

"Do you love me, Freya? Truly? Even knowing that I would never leave her? The mother of my unborn child?" It was the same voice of the man that offered Freya freedom.

"Even she has defied me, now. I do this for her, for our child....for Sara. I...I need you. I need your rage, Freya. Prove your devotion to me, and you will have the love you desire so desperately." The same man.

"Do this for me. Kill. Kill them all. So that we can stand atop the ashes of humanity together." Him again.

"You see, daughter, butterflies represent the souls of living and dead according to my people's culture. We believe that the souls are carried to heaven in the form of butterflies once our journey on earth ends. But it is also often used to symbolize..."

The final audible words are drowned out by the sounds of screaming, pleading, moaning, wailing, and death. Among those are the cries of familiar voices calling Freya's name in desperation, rage, or despair.

Trinity surrounded by the butterflies felt overwhelmed by the multitude of voices. She was on the ground covering her face and ears. She closed her eyes and tried to focus hearing some of the familiar voices. One voice kept coming up. Allines … that was her first love. Most of this has to do with than incident he placed Freya and Okami in causing … she heard the screams all the deaths of those people. It's not just that … these voices, each and every one of them are dead, including her mom, including Teshoumaru.

Upon this realization, the butterflies backed off allowing her to get back up. Her eyes narrowed, "Had she had a moment to mourn? Her whole race died in those helicopters in a botched attempt to rescue them no thanks to Eclipse. There wasn't really a chance to mourn, was there? It was one battle after the next. Freya and Okami died in that battle against Eclipse and Legio. Yet for some reason Legio remade her. She's the combination of the two, or at least their memories. Aside from mourning where else is the conflict? Was it something to do with that day? Did she even mourn that day? She hasn't forgiven herself for this either, has she? That's part of why this still lingers. How does one move past such an event? How does one forgive oneself for such a past?"  

[BeaMichelle]

That word did indeed trigger something in Theresa, but it was not as drastic as it should have been. Before, it was the signal for her to unleash hell on anyone unfortunate enough to be in the playground with her. That also meant that she would be in danger. Yet, the trust she had placed in Theonis kept her grounded to the moment. There was no imminent threat. At least, not anymore than what her brother and Gidget had said would be involved in a sparing match. She was in control.

From the training she had been forced to undergo, she knew that going all out at the start of a one on one fight could lead to disaster. She decided it would be best to increase her fire output in increments.

She reconfigured her right arm, an action that happened twice as fast as she was able to do the day before, into her standard rifle arm. She leveled her arm to Theonis and broke out into a circling strafe as she fired bits of chalk at him.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Rydia was alone in her room while Deora had taken Karak for a walk. The two of them had talked for a good while. Deora had spent most of that time trying to get the princess to cheer up after the events of the night before. Once that had been accomplished, Deora took the opportunity to get a shower and a change of clothes. Karak needed a walk, Deora needed some time in the sunlight, but Rydia wanted to stay in bed a bit longer.

Her thoughts were mostly on her parents. She, of course, knew that they would pass away one day. But not like that. Not laying a pool of their own blood. All that remained of her family were either dying or technically dead. Her emotions were somewhere between fury and despair. It began to slowly dawn on her that, despite her training, she had led an extremely sheltered life. One of little heartache or hardship. The life of a royal.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a knock at her door. Her ears twitched and she looked to the entrance. Deora would have just entered, and Fenris would have said that it was "her." The way the dormitories were constructed also made it nearly impossible to sniff out who was on the other side of the door. With a hefty sigh, she stood up and trudged to the door.

She opened the door and immediately scowled at the person on the other side. "Oh, it's you. Fenris isn't here, and neither is my grandmother."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heather spent the next ten or so minutes sharing in the steamy pleasures of the sauna. Outside of the hotbox, there was trouble brewing. A lone gunman had entered the building and forced the staff to evacuate. He took no shots at them, he only had one target in mind. He was going to make an example of any metahuman who thought they could wield power over humanity.

Heather had positioned herself over Liv and straddled her lap. The overload of physical sensations were causing her inner dragon to peek out. She could feel the scales start to burn her back, but she didn't care. She was too busy seizing the moment.

The gunman quietly undid the lock. He then kicked open the door and shouted, "Ray!" He leveled his 9mm handgun and fired two shot into Heather's back. She did not have time to turn around. Her eyes shot open as she gasped and looked down at her lover's eyes with shock and dread. Her eyes rolled back, and she slumped forward onto Liv. Blood drizzled down her back where the bullets made impact.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silhouette stood beside Trinity and watched the butterflies with her. "It could be survivors guilt." she mused aloud. "Freya hadn't thought well of herself since the moment I possessed her. She never truly forgave herself for what happened all of those years ago. Then a few days ago, almost everyone she ever cared about died violently. I don't know what transpired between herself, my brother, and Legio, but it would seem that the Freya and Okami's trauma has compounded in the mind of Fenris. But there's something else, something-"

Fenris' trembling voice echoed, "Freya and Okami are gone! They're gone and they're never coming back! Because of me! They had Lives! They were real! They had friends and family! Rydia, Lokelonni, Trinity! They lost them! I'm all that's left! A failure! Something that was supposed to die when the job was done! But I'm still here! Why're they gone and I'm the one left behind?! They were real and I...what the ******** am I now?! A freak accident?! I'm suppose to be a combination of two souls in one body! Two souls that don't exist anymore! If they don't exist it's then it's like I don't...I can't...I-I...I don't...I..."

Fenris' voice trailed out along with her state of mind. The storm of butterflies multiplied and darkened the mindscape. It slowly began to close in on Fenris. "I think she's having an identity crisis on top of a panic attack." Silhouette cautioned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ilex seemed to wander aimlessly for a moment without a response to Kerana's question, but it did not take her long to smile and point toward a small patch of grass big enough for the two of them to potentially lie down.

"Right there. That should suit our needs just fine." she said happily.

The aged down ancient trotted to the spot with a spring in her step. She sat down with her legs crossed, and then pat the ground in front of her. "Come, Kerana Carter, and sit with me."

Once Kerana had gotten comfortable, Ilex took a deep breath and ran her fingers through the grass with a calm smile. "The world around us is ever speaking. It speaks to those with the ears to listen. I mean that metaphorically of course. Anyone who displays great vim and vigor can hear the voice of the Earth with a quiet mind and an open heart. But there are only a few who can truly comprehend the words. That requires a sense of empathy that very few posses."

Ilex closed her eyes took another deep breath. She held her hands out to Kerana, palms up. "I shall be your guide on your first communion with Mother Earth. Take my hands when you are ready. From there, empty your mind of all but the sensations of the living world around you. The sound of the wind moving through the trees, the gentle scent of the flowers, and the feeling of the grass on your bare skin. Only once you open your heart to the living world will hear the voice of the planet."  

[PixelMuse]

Rikki Tikki Travi

Silhouette stood beside Trinity and watched the butterflies with her. "It could be survivors guilt." she mused aloud. "Freya hadn't thought well of herself since the moment I possessed her. She never truly forgave herself for what happened all of those years ago. Then a few days ago, almost everyone she ever cared about died violently. I don't know what transpired between herself, my brother, and Legio, but it would seem that the Freya and Okami's trauma has compounded in the mind of Fenris. But there's something else, something-"

Fenris' trembling voice echoed, "Freya and Okami are gone! They're gone and they're never coming back! Because of me! They had Lives! They were real! They had friends and family! Rydia, Lokelonni, Trinity! They lost them! I'm all that's left! A failure! Something that was supposed to die when the job was done! But I'm still here! Why're they gone and I'm the one left behind?! They were real and I...what the ******** am I now?! A freak accident?! I'm supposed to be a combination of two souls in one body! Two souls that don't exist anymore! If they don't exist it's then it's like I don't...I can't...I-I...I don't...I..."

Fenris' voice trailed out along with her state of mind. The storm of butterflies multiplied and darkened the mindscape. It slowly began to close in on Fenris. "I think she's having an identity crisis on top of a panic attack." Silhouette cautioned.

“That can’t be good…” At first, she thought she needed to figure out who she is and not worry about finding Freya and Okami. But… if she’s supposed to be the combination of souls and she’s not detecting them… how is she existing? Unless…

She turned to Sill, “ It looks like we need to find them. Sill, are you able to sense them anywhere?” Sill nodded. “Good, let’s start with Freya. Like you said she seems she has a lot to deal with that hasn’t been dealt with. Lead the way.”  

[Nova Blancke]

"Hello Rydia, I am aware of that. Your grandmother is asleep and Fenris is currently drinking with Trinity.

"I have actually came her to ask you about Freya and Ookami. There is something I would like to do but I require knowledge that I am currently lacking. I hope that you might be available to remedy that."

Liv was thoroughly enjoying what was happening. It felt so right to just let it happen. Her hands all over Heather when she could. Certain places on her back felt a bit hotter than usual so she didn't got there. Then it happen. Someone kicked down the door, Liv let out a little scream out of surprise. Then followed the two gun shots. Time seemed to stand still for a bit as she looked in surprise to Heather, back to the gunman then back to Heather who's eyes rolled back and collapsed ontop of her.

"Heather? Heather!"

Arms wrapped around her to try and keep her stable. On hand on her back where she felt the wetness but not of steam. Raising her hand she saw the blood. Behind her hand stood the man that shot Heather. That shot her girlfriend. The light in her eyes intensified, concentrated quickly. Faster than she was able to do before. Liv unleashed the eye lasers on him fully intend on destroying him.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Silhouette replied, "First, I think we should do something to calm her panic attack."

She approached the trembling Fenris and laid a hand on between her folded ears. She searched and found a calming memory that both Freya and Okami shared. When they were children, Lokelonni would hold them and sing throughout their respective transformations to comfort them.

"Feur tour fleur mi say
Ah loora sosa pri
Mi eur contrafi
Stray leur son shati say"

"Seru mena jay
Ey blun do con ja flui
Conre jay masee ploosa quee
Melana see ey"

By the time the third verse came about, the storm of butterflies began to calm along with Fenris' breathing. Once the wolf had entered a sort of fugue state, Silhouette turned to Trinity and said, "I feel you should know, the souls of Okami and Freya have truly become one in Fenris. What I sense are the memories that are unique to them. We can easily parse through their memories that way."

"You're right, Freya should certainly be the first to be dealt with since she was the one in control most of the time, but it'd be irresponsible not to voice my opinion on this matter. The past events of these two are deep and tragic, If we tried to find and address every trauma they've suffered, we'll be at it for a time that I can't accurately predict. She has calmed, and in this state we may get her to disclose the past without probing Freya's memories, but that's not a sure thing. She may still find a disconnect between herself and the memories of the women that comprise her soul, which may result in another episode. Either way I will be with you every step. I owe the women Fenris was at least that much for the pain they suffered because of me."

"What'll it be, Trinity? Shall we delve into Freya's mindscape to aid her in facing Freya and Okami's demons, or should we depart for the surface to give her an opportunity to open up to you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rydia scoffed, "Why should I tell you anything? They might've made the choice to practically kill themselves, but you were the one to drive them to that point. Then you devoured Fenris and only spat her back out when it was convenient for you. What, in your simple mind, do you possibly think you could do for them after all of that?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The assailant had been trying to line up a shot on Liv, but he took both beams through his chest. They cut through him like a hot knife through butter and continued to burn through everything behind him. He dropped to the gun and fell in a smoldering heap on the floor. Static hissed on from the radio that was on his hip. Someone was trying to contact him.

Heather's eyes snapped open and she took a gasping breath. She then arched her back and groaned in pain. The contraction of her muscles squeezed the two pieces of brass out of her back and caused them to fall to the floor of the sauna. She took several deep breaths and looked down at Liv, "Was I *huff* just shot?! Did somebody *puff* ******** shoot me?!"

She stood up and turned around to look at her would be assassin. Her back was still bleeding, but it was where her scales had begun to grow in. There were deep indentations where the bullets had made contact with her back, and the skin around them had begun to bruise and swell from the trauma, but there were no holes.

Heather put her arm to her nose and gagged, "Ugh. Holy s**t, babe!"

She looked up from the body to the holes in the wall, or rather walls. Her eyes could tell that Liv's beams had burned through the building they were into the building across the street. If they hadn't hit a mirror that was angled upward slightly, Heather suspected that they would have kept going until it cut through every building before the Earth curved.

The radio squawked again. Heather looked back down at the body and noticed a that had just started to burn with the rest of it's torso. Ironically, it was a fire with a halo over it. She sneered and snarled, "The Prometheus Watch."  

[Nova Blancke]

"That is the reason. It is precisely because of that, that I have to learn about them both." He responded.

"Earlier I had unintentionally hurt her deeply. That...."There was a short pause."felt wrong."

"I would like to know more about both of them to prevent it from happening again. It is the least I can do as the one who forced the both of them to become something new and continue living.....Please" Legio asked.

Liv was breathing heavily as she scorched the man. In disbelieve she looked back at Heather, Tears were beginning to form when it dawned on her that this man killed her girlfriend. Then much to her surprise, She seemingly turned back to life.

"Uh..ye yeah..." She responded. Guess she wasn't the only one that was durable. Only then she realized the holes in the back of the room. That wasn't something she managed to do before. What she also saw was the the scales on Heathers back.

"The what? Wait...aren't those guys like...basically the KKK for Meta's?"

Theo had to get close, that's usually what you do to those that use ranged weapons. Get close so they can't use their weapon. With a burst of speed he propelled himself towards Theresa to intercept her. During that same movement created a wave of pressure to disrupt the bullets. It wasn't that strong yet. He needed to know what he could or could not do against it.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Rydia studied Legio's expression as he spoke. It was almost impossible to read, but the cadence at which he explained his reasoning was enough to tell her what she needed to know.

She sighed in exasperation, turned, and waved him in. She spoke as she walked to the nearest chair and took a seat. "So you feel guilty and want to apologize to her? Yeah, that'd be difficult if you don't know why you should be sorry. I don't know much about them before I was born; only what my mother and grandmother have told me."

She sat in a way that would allow her to act in a moments notice. No matter what she had been told, she did not trust Legio.

"So, what do you want to know?" she asked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heather nodded and replied, "Exactly. They used to hassle the Matron house regularly. If there was a Daedalus inspection, it was because The Watch tipped them off. I was hoping they'd give up after yesterday. I should've known their hate wouldn't stop with Daedalus."

The radio squawked, but this time a voice came through. Heather picked up the device and turned the volume all the way up so that Liv could hear.

"*BZZT*You there, Benny? What's your status?*BZZT*"

Heather recognized the voice. It was the leader of the inner city chapter, Paul Hassert. She keyed the speaker and said spitefully, "Sorry a*****e, but Benny's a little burned out. Being angry all the time isn't good for you, y'know."

There was a moment of silence before Paul replied, "*BZZT*You scaly dyke! I hope you ain't waiting for the cops, 'cuz they ain't gonna make it in time to save you or your bimbo girlfriend.*BZZT*"

Heather looked to Liv and explained, "I've got a bit of history with this guy. He's probably out there with his other Watch buddies waiting for us. On top of that, a lot of the KPD are sympathizers to their 'cause.' As strong as we are now, we can probably take them all out. Of course, we could fly or blink out of here no problem. What do you think, babe? Do we stay and fight, or should we retreat for now?"  

[BeaMichelle]

Theresa's reaction was immediate. Both Strength and Chariot were primarily melee fighters. But, she wasn't used to fighting a meta that could knock her bullets out with. She thought she'd try and mimic his power.

She reconfigured her right hand into a device that would release a burst of high pressure air at Theonis. Once he was close enough to feel the change in pressure, she fired. What she didn't take into account was how colliding pressure of different temperatures behaves. What came out of her arm was naturally hot. She was blasted backward with a yelp and slid on her back for several yards before she managed to reach a hand back and flip herself upright.

To her pleasant surprise, falling had not hurt as much as it used to. She smiled and looked to Theonis to see what he'd do next.  

[PixelMuse]

Silhouette sang her song to soothe Fenris' panic attack. It was calming to Trinity too even though she didn't understand the language. It look like it did the trick she seemed less agitated down to her breathing.

Rikki Tikki Travi

[...] Silhouette turned to Trinity and said, "I feel you should know, the souls of Okami and Freya have truly become one in Fenris. What I sense are the memories that are unique to them. We can easily parse through their memories that way."

"You're right, Freya should certainly be the first to be dealt with since she was the one in control most of the time, but it'd be irresponsible not to voice my opinion on this matter. The past events of these two are deep and tragic, If we tried to find and address every trauma they've suffered, we'll be at it for a time that I can't accurately predict. She has calmed, and in this state, we may get her to disclose the past without probing Freya's memories, but that's not a sure thing. She may still find a disconnect between herself and the memories of the women that comprise her soul, which may result in another episode. Either way, I will be with you every step. I owe the women Fenris was at least that much for the pain they suffered because of me."

"What'll it be, Trinity? Shall we delve into Freya's mindscape to aid her in facing Freya and Okami's demons, or should we depart for the surface to give her an opportunity to open up to you."

Trinity weighed the options Silhouette provided. In the past, Freya did not want to place the burden on her and so for quite a while, she had kept those dark times to herself. Odds are Fenris may follow that train of thought and not share what needed to be shared and confronted. On the other hand, she needed to be there to square off against Eclipse to save the world. She knew he wasn't Teshou anymore but couldn't help but dread that moment but knew she couldn't leave him in the state he was in the Realm of the Dead. Regardless of not taking the time to deal with this right, this could resurface causing Fenris to suffer.

Freya and Teshoumaru did so much for her as mentors, they shaped her into the woman she has become. In some ways, they were like a second set of parents to her. She could not let Fenris suffer, Freya suffer or Okami. She sighed to herself, right now they were deep enough to let 20 minutes in the surface be a month in the Shadow Realm. She did not know about surviving that long down here without the bare necessities. When she was training for 2 years during those 3 months before the second wave of meteors hit she was able to go to the surface to eat and sleep when needed but here it would be better if she was uninterupted while in Fenris' mindscape. Yet she made her decision.

"I think the best route to take is to address what specifically is effecting Fenris, specifically the memories from Freya and Okami that's causing this disconnect. She and Teshou did so much for me. This is the least I could do."

Her mind couldn't help but think of the logistics of what this could entail, "Yet we may need to take breaks so that I could, y'know... address my mortal needs." She couldn't help but feel by the end of this she would have to somehow have to start over again with getting in shape for the upcoming fight. A sacrifice she suspected that she will have to endure for the wellness of her mentor.

She looked to Silhouette wondering what she thought about the decision she felt she had to go with.  

[Nova Blancke]

Theo had underestimated his half-sister. He was under the impression that she could only create weapons like guns. But it appears it can be anything as long as it can function as a weapon. Her own quick thinking created something that sent out a burst of pressure. He was sent back but managed to stabilize himself quick enough in air.

Theo shot out towards her before he got to her, a force of pressure slammed in from behind her, following up from that move he would go for a leg sweep if he was close enough.

"Thank you Rydia," He followed her and took a seat himself, hands folded on his lap.

" She told me, ever since yesterday she has been spilling her guts to people she dislikes or even loathes. How she is feeling is nothing like Okami or Freya felt. Her thoughts keep drifting back to me. She blamed me ******** up when I remade her. I assured her I did not."

"I tried using....humor to explain it. I told her it was Stockholm Syndrome or that she was in love with me." Legio's hand subconsciously went to his cheek despite the pain no longer being there."It...did not provide the response nor outcome I had hoped. She slapped me. The pain was negligible but it....felt wrong."

"Did she have....a bad experience with....'love' " Legio asked. The word love was still so foreign for him.

Liv listened to it all.

"Why does everyone always say bimbo?" Liv sighed.

"I could...take out all of them but..."She realized something. "It's so easy to just.forget they are people too. I've noticed it ever since becoming a Meta. How easy it is to see them as less, how easy it is...to kill. That last one I am...very much aware of."

"I'd rather avoid that."