Unforseen Beginnings
Four Outcasts were sitting around a small table, cards and chips and wads of cash all piled in the center. They were laughing and talking, joking about people they ripped off to get the money they were gambling with. Three of them were relatively small in build, but there was a brawler amongst them. The brawler looked upset, thinking that he was being ripped off by one particular Outcast whom was having an awfully long strip of luck. Grudgingly, however, he was keeping his cool.
They were unaware that they were being watched from around the corner.
Kien was standing still as a rock, peering through his spy-cam to see what was going on. He'd been tracking a stolen artifact that endowed anyone who wore it with strange powers. His last contact, probably behind bars and bruised up a bit, told him about this get-together and hinted that there was something larger going on. Kien wasn't particularly fond of finding out about "bigger things" going on in Paragon. He continued watching the game unfold as it was slowly heating up.
"So make yer damn bet already."
The brawler was clearly getting frustrated, and things were about to turn for the worst. The smallest Outcast was smiling as he looked at the others, and put a hundred dollars down. The other two Outcasts groaned as they saw the large ammount of cash and folded.
"Man, I can't match that. I'm out."
"Too steep a bet for me."
The brawler looked at the ammount and realized that he could match that, but that would be all he could put down, but remembered he had something else he could bet.
"I match your bet," the brawler laid out the last of his cash, "and raise you a mystical amulet."
The brawler pulled the exact amulet Kien was looking for out from under his shirt. It glowed with an eminating pulse of dark energy, and the other three Outcasts stared at it in awe. The smallest one looked at it for a moment with his eyes locked on it, but then started smiling again as he laid his hand out.
The brawler looked down at the cards and felt his muscles tense. He'd been playing fair and as aggressive as he knew, but the little Outcast was somehow beating him at every turn. His anger got the best of him and he slammed his arms down on the old and rotting table, which splintered and crumbled. The other two Outcasts scrambled as the brawler got the little Outcast by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
"You been playin' me haven't you. HAVEN'T YOU!"
The little Outcast was struggling to breathe as the brawlers hands tightened, restricting the flow of air to his lungs. He clawed at the wrist of the brawler, trying to lighten his grip, but his nails cracked and broke as if he were clawing at stone. Kien saw this and realized that the retrieval of the amulet was going to be a bit more difficult than he expected.
The brawler used his free hand to rustle through the small Outcast's pockets, and found a whole stacked deck of cards. The little Outcast was obviously cheating.
"So you were playin' me, you little punk! I was playin' fair n' square. But fair n' square obviously ain't in yo vocab. I'll just have to teach you the hard way..."
The brawler was about to swing his free arm at the little Outcast's stomach when Kien came flying into the alley feet first aimed at the brawler's chest. Kien channeled kinetic energy into his feet and when they impacted, knocked the brawler into the dumpster behind him. He lost his grip on the little Outcast who fell to the ground, gasping for air. The brawler was not happy. He got up and looked at his assailant who was crouching by the little Outcast, apparently tending to his wounds.
"You okay? Is it still hard to breathe?"
The young Outcast was startled that this hero was checking on him when the brawler could get away, but took the help as he needed it. Somewhat croaking, the young Outcast slowly got up as he answered.
"Yeah...cough...I'm okay. Why'd you he-"
The brawler charged at Kien with full force. Kien heard the rumbling footsteps and pushed the young Outcast out of the way, letting the brawler hit him. Just before the brawler hit, he put up a kinetic shield around his body, allowing the shield to take the brunt of the force. The brawler held on to Kien as he pummeled punch after punch into Kien's gut, seeing the shield strain after every hit.
"How dare you interrupt my business like that," yelled the brawler.
Kien used this chance to propel himself with the brawler hanging on, into the air. He was starting to strain to keep the shield up as he put more focus into his flight, guiding their path to a nearby dump yard. As they were just overhead, Kien let himself fall as he channeled as much focus and energy into his shield. The brawler kept punching and punching as they fell, and when he saw that they were falling into the dump yard he jumped off. Kien then righted himself in the air as he watched the Outcast fall into a pile of scrap metal. He dove after him, rocketing as fast as he could towards the Outcast while channeling kinetic energy into his hands, and the brawler leapt into the air towards Kien.
The few workers that were at the yard saw the ensuing battle and scrambled, one calling the police. The call to the police would then flag the Longbow who would come to aid against the super-powered Outcast.
The Outcast was furious, guiding his path into the path of Kien's flight. Right before the two struck each other, Kien made a small, quick adjustment that guided his fists into the Outcast's stomach. Though the Outcast was super tough, the combined force of Kien's momentum, along with the kinetic energy focused on one point of his body, he felt the impact send waves of pain through his gut. The brawler went limp and fell towards an open area of ground in the dump yard, leaving an impact crater where he hit. The brawler looked up in the sky where Kien was, his eyes losing focus, and fell unconscious.
Kien floated softly down to where the brawler lay, and the workers who had scrambled were now slowly gathering around the crater.
"Stay back people, we don't want any of you getting hurt," Kien commanded. He may have knocked the brawler unconscious, but he didn't want to take any chances. The faint wailing of siren's, along with the whir of Longbow Air Units, told Kien that he was losing time and needed to get the amulet before they arrived. He slowly reached under the brawlers shirt and grabbed the chain the amulet was attached to, pulling it off from around the brawler's neck. He held the amulet up, looking into the dark crystal that eminated its eerie glow.
"I hope this is what I've been looking for," Kien thought.
As the Longbow Air Units landed, their jetpacks retracted and the four of them walked over to Kien. Kien swiftly put the amulet behind his cape and into a hidden pouch as he stood up and walked to the lead Longbow.
"The Outcast has been contained, sir. I managed to knock him out."
The lead Longbow looked over at the crater and saw the big brawler laying still in the dirt, the only motion coming from the rise and fall of its chest. He looked at the other three Longbow, motioning with his head. One of them pulled a set of restraints designed for the super strong from its back-pack, and they went over to restrain the Outcast.
"Good work. The Longbow once again owe the ICONS a debt. It's always hard for us to capture an Outcast like that, but..."
The sudden screams from the workers and the thuds of the falling Longbow preceded a roar of contemptment that came from the now half-restrained Outcast brawler. The Longbow had managed to restrain one arm, that was buckled around the Outcast's chest, but he'd apparently woken up as they tried getting his other hand. The three Longbow that tried to restrain him were on the ground in pain, and the Outcast was charging full speed at Kien and the Lead Longbow. They weren't able to react quickly enough, and Kien immediately put up a kinetic shield to try to protect the Longbow and himself. He'd gotten the shield around the Longbow, but when he looked over the brawler was aiming straight for Kien's head. Right when Kien was sure the brawlers fist was going to impact his face, another smaller fist of black and white struck the brawlers right cheek, as Statesgirl and the brawler went flying towards a stack of crushed cars.
Kien and the Longbow stood up as they looked over at the cars falling on top of Statesgirl, hitting her square in the head as they simply impacted and fell to her sides. She was standing over the flat knocked out Outcast brawler, getting his other arm into the restraint.
Kien and the Lead Longbow ran over to Statesgirl as she held the brawler up by one the handles on the back of the restraint. Cheers rang as the workers stood up from where they took cover and were running in to greet and thank Statesgirl.
"Do I always have to save your butt Kien," Statesgirl smirked as she rubbed in her sudden rescue. The Lead Longbow laughed as the police arrived with a containment truck, and officers streamed into the dump yard. Kien simply put a smug smile on as he laughed sarcastically. Two officers took the brawler by the arms as one grabbed the handles on the back of the restraint, and they led the Outcast into the containment truck. Statesgirl then stepped out from between the piles of crushed cars and the Lead Longbow thanked her.
"You always seem to be there at the right time Statesgirl. I personally owe you one."
"Only doing my duty for the city."
Kien smiled as he hung back, one arm behind him as he checked the pouch for the amulet. It was still there, but Kien's mind was distant. As the Lead Longbow went over to his injured teammates, Statesgirl walked to Kien's side.
"So, did you find it?"
Kien nodded, not moving his eyes or head from where they were. He was only hopeful that the old lady was right, and that this amulet was a key to finding out if his parents were really dead, or if there was a chance one of them, if not both of them were still alive.
Statesgirl looked at Kien's face as she moved in front of him, looking into his eyes. She wanted to help him as much as she could with finding his parents, but was unsure if the path he was taking to find them was the right one. The slight worry and earnest look in her eyes made Kien come back from where his mind was and he cleared his throat.
"Oh, I'm...I'm okay. I just hope that I'm right about this. Well, more like I hope the old lady is right about this."
Statesgirl knew that Kien was taking a chance at this, and wanted to take his mind off his parents, try to get him to lighten up and uplift his mood.
"Well, forget about that for now. You shouldn't be dwelling on that too much."
"Oh, well what do you suggest I do then?"
Statesgirl smiled. She'd been wanting to do this since she heard of Kien's flight abilities, and this would be a good way of getting Kien to focus on something else.
"How about...a race? See who's fastest?"
Kien's face warmed up as he slowly smiled. He felt a sudden surge of confidence and a warmth that eased his nerves as he looked into Statesgirl's eyes. She was incredibly beautiful to him, overwhelmingly attractive, and her curves went in all the right ways to excite him in a manner he never had felt before. She smiled as he looked at her, and she stood back a step.
"So, where do you want to start this?"
"Well," Statesgirl slowly planted her feet, "how about here. And NOW!!"
Statesgirl bound for the skies as she rocketed off, looking back as she laughed. Kien just smiled as he took off after her. They were in an aerial dance, diving in and out of alleys and swerving back and forth between buildings, accelerating more and more as the chase continued. When their speeds were getting too high to handle in tight quarters they ascended towards the clouds, Statesgirl leading as Kien gradually gained on her. They played cat and mouse as Statesgirl tried covering her tracks in dense clouds, but Kien was still on her tail, gaining and gaining. Kien finally was within reaching distance of her and he grabbed her by the waist as she looked over to her side and saw him right beside her. They both slowed down and stopped as they smiled at each other, Kien's hands softly holding her at her sides.
Statesgirl found herself feeling those emotions creep up on her again, but this time they were much stronger than when she first felt them. She looked up into Kien's eyes as they floated amongst the clouds, the soft winds lifting her cape and hair behind her. Kien looked back into hers as her hands caressed his arms, and their lips met. The kiss wasn't full of passion, but it was sweet. It wasn't doused in lust, but it was calm. It wasn't emblazoned with love, but it was kind. Kien for once felt at peace, a moment that sat still in time. It felt like an eternity, but an eternity that he didn't want to end. Statesgirl felt as if she wasn't herself, that this was something she shouldn't be doing, but what her mind was telling her body was getting lost in translation. A part of her wanted this, while another part was against it. The part that wanted it was apparently on control, and though she knew that it wasn't right, she still enjoyed the sensation and lived in the moment.
A buzzing sound suddenly broke the moment, Statesgirl floating back as she pulled out her comm. Kien did the same as he saw the "Return to Base" flashing on its screen. He looked up at Statesgirl as she looked up at him.
"Kien...I..."
"Don't worry," Kien straightened up, "we need to get back on track anyways."
He smiled as he slowly began flying away, and Statesgirl pursued. Kien saw that she was right behind him, and decided to show her what he was really capable of. As he looked back at Statesgirl, he waved like he was saying good-bye.
"See ya back at the base."
With that he rocketed off faster than Statesgirl had ever seen. She could see the air trails rippling behind him as she pushed herself to her max and he still was gaining speed. When she hit her max she heard the sudden pop then boom as Kien went past the sound barrier. She was in shock and awe, as she continued back down towards Earth.
'He was just toying with me back there,' she thought. The idea angered her, but also made her wonder, 'What else is he capable of?' She smiled as she thought more about them being together, and what their future might be together...