Chapter 1: Thieving & Thriving
A blackened sky fell over the world of Ultrona, beautiful streams of blues and greens flooded through the sky as night fell upon them, letting everyone know that the day had passed, However not everyone laid down to rest as so many others would, the night life of the world sprung to life as the lights fade away and brought with them a whole other way of living.
Among this night life was a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, bright cyan like butterfly wings sprouted from her back and black antennae sitting atop her head, twitching every now and then as the wind brushed against them. She was dressed rather provocatively, showing a lot of skin and seeming to be scouting for something...or someone.
As couples and groups passed the young female found herself growing increasingly annoyed, slouching slightly in frustration, that was, however, until she noticed a lone figure walking in her general direction. A sly grin taking over her lips as her eyes looked him up and down, well dressed yet he looked very inexperienced, just the kind of man she needed.
"Well hello sweetheart!" She called out in her thick english accent, words swooning over in a seductive manner, all a part of her charm to get to her end goal, Cash. The lost fellow seemed to look around in confusion before green eyes met blue. He pointed to himself with a look that said 'me?' Only to be lured over to the girl as she motioned him over with her finger.
With a final grin the mutant butterfly turned her posture to be more soft, almost vulnerable, giving a sweet smile to hide the real motive behind her seemingly innocent behavior. "What's a handsome man like you doing out so late?" she asked in a sickeningly innocent tone, though that tone only drew in the rich gentlemen "well I'm afraid I'm rather lost…" He trailed off sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.
With a brief smirk the girl stood by his side, very close to him as she pointed forward. "Down that path will lead you straight into the center of town, there you'll be able to find wherever you're going" she told him as she snuck her hand down to the back of his pants where she slyly took his wallet.
The young man seemed to smile brightly looking down at the petite women "Ah! Thank you so much, uh…" He hesitated unsure of her name however The girl was quick to answer "Taylor" She nodded innocently.
"Taylor! Thank you" He thanked her and before she knew it the young and naive ravenette ran off to find his way home she assumed.
That mischievous grin sneaking back onto her features as she turned around looking at the wallet and looking through the rows of cash before placing a firm kiss on the cold leather. "No No...Thank you" She mumbled proudly before delicately hiding the wallet in her shirt. Humming all the while.
Her night started off a lot like that, she would use her looks and her charms to seduce her way into getting what she wanted, usually being money. Taylor had been doing this for most of her life, struggling along and using whatever she had to her advantage to get along in life, it wasn't desirable, but it worked, and that is all she could ask for.
However, with this way of life came dangers, enemies and crossing the wrong people, in her short life she'd made quite a few of those enemies, beings that she had royally irritated, but then again, if someone had robbed her she wouldn't be too happy. No she'd be furious. So she understood why, but that didn't mean dealing with these people was any easier.
One of these enemies of hers had been a big tycoon, not that she knew the name of him, only that he was huge in stature and could squash her like the bug she was. Well she was a beautiful bug in her opinion but that didn't matter to this man, not after the way she had played him. She'd manipulated and led him on for at least a month, showering him in love and affection, false loyalty just so that she could walk away at the end of the day with cash in hand.
She didn't enjoy it, well she did. But it wasn't the career she wanted, in reality she wanted nothing more than to find someone she wanted to be with and settle down with them, however for her that dream was looking considerably bleak so far. So she would push the thought aside and remind herself that surviving is the top priority for her at this point in time.
She wandered the streets for what felt like forever, scanning the seemingly endless terrain, her eyes following every possible victim, couples, loners, rich people, everyone was an option to her. Besides her mutation gave her an extra flare of charm that others just couldn't handle, she was like a siren on land, a creature made to lure in others to satisfy themselves, only unlike sirens she only wanted money, she wasn't cannibalistic in any form.
Her thoughts continued to wander back and forth on different subjects, after all she had to keep herself at light half entertained whilst wandering the streets, it also helped her forget that cold nips of wind that struck at her body every few minutes, making her wings shudder and almost shrivel up in displeasure.
Really she should have been wearing more appropriate clothes for this weather, but being covered up with little to no skin showing really wasn't going to help her get her wages for the night, so she would suffer for the night yet again.
She noticed the streets beginning to clear, wind slowing down and the night sky beginning to settle just that slight bit darker, windows shutting and stores closing up completely for the night. Rats and other rodents scurrying quickly across the gravel and dirty floor in hopes to find their next meal buried deep within the trash that humans and mutants alike had thrown away in their day previously.
However, the strange peace that came from the settling night was soon disturbed, sounds of men muttering and laughing filling the dark air with a sinister intention. Harsh thuds of someone's shoes walking through the town only growing closer and closer to the neon butterfly. Unfortunately these steps were a bit too familiar for her liking, they were the steps of a tycoon she was already acquainted with, unfortunately.
Taylor mentally prepared herself for the situation that was going to ensue, taking the goggles from upon her head and gently resting them over her eyes, she would just do what she did every time he came near her, flying away. However, that plan didn't seem to really fall according to plan.
For just as her wings began to flap and her feet left the ground, a rough hand grasped at her ankle and pulled her back down to the ground, the butterfly hitting the gravel with a loud crack, letting a pain filled groan emit from her lips, the girl taking note that her goggles had been cracked in the process, well that explained the crack at least, that also meant she didn't have any broken bones. Not that she cared about that right now.
"My goggles!" She whined out in a loud but almost childish tone "do you know how much these will cost me to be repaired? What do you think i'm made of money!" She exclaimed as the large man stalked forward, face dark and malicious, eyebrows furrowed in a menacing manner. He was wearing a dark suit, the most colour that was present was the crimson tie sat neatly on his broad chest.
"Long time no see Miss Skyden" the man's voice spoke with a confident bounce in it, though the confidence was one of sinister intent. "You've escaped me for the last time, and you'll regret crossing me little girl" He pointed out stepping forward to the grounded mutant.
Taylor found herself gulping in slight fear though she was quick to swallow it and replace it with a smirk "ahhh well if it isn't!" She paused, seemingly searching her brain for the missing piece of the puzzle, though she didn't find it. "Mr what's his face!" she exclaimed cheerfully, clapping her hands slightly and standing up, brushing herself off in the process.
Taylors luck seemed to change for the better when she felt a few droplets of water splash onto her hands, the girl looking up at the sky as rain began to fall down, hitting the floor and causing multiple splash-like sounds to be heard from every inch of the ground around them.
It made Taylors fake smirk turn to a real one, the tables had just turned and they luckily had turned in Taylors favour. See in this world magic wasn't uncommon and those who possessed it often used it to their advantage, who wouldn't after all. Taylor was one of those with that gift.
She carefully stood up with placing her hands on her hips with a sly grin. "Well would you look at that?" she stated more so rather than asked as she closed her eyes letting the droplets of rain hit her skin. The dark man frowned further as his men came to his side, guns and other weapons at the ready.
Only their boss had magic that he could use, the rest of them having the unfortunate luck of having to use weapons to defend themselves. However the powerful tycoon knew of Taylors magic, just as she knew of his. The Tycoon had been branded with an ungodly amount of strength, that he used for all the wrong reasons.
Taylor? The ability to manipulate any form of liquid to her advantage, though of course it came with it's limitations. Taylor got into a fighting stance, keeping her eyes fixated on the man in front of her, who also found himself clenching his knuckles and getting into a fighting position. "I'm going to teach you a powerful lesson little girl" he growled in a low tone.
She grinned softly and with graceful agility she sped forward, her feet leaving the ground and her hand moving up, pulling some of the water from the sky and bringing it down against the tycoon, matching the strength of half a ton of bricks, she wasn't a master at her powers but she wasn't bad either.
The force of the blow caused the tycoon to stumble back, his men quick to open fire onto the mutant girl, causing a small eep like sound from her. Though with quick movements she gracefully danced around in the rain dodging the bullets that came hurtling towards her. Maybe ballet lessons weren't such a bad idea after all.
In retaliation she swooped her leg round dodging another bullet and quickly pulled her hands in an upwards position, the water from the floor flying up and swiping up the bullets coming her way only for her to redirect them at the shooters in question. The bullets missed the majority of them however one of the men was unfortunate enough to be hit in the shoulder.
The shot caused him to collapse to the floor with an agonising cry. Taylor smirked softly as she watched the man fall, her ego only building with every minute that passed by. After all the rain that steadily fell was nothing but a miracle for her and most definitely saved her life.
With a growl the dark man took a stand and clenched his fists tightly before harshly bringing them down against the ground and with a loud smash, the gravel beneath them began shaking and cracking, giving off the feel of a miniature earthquake which in turn knocked the mutant off her feet and onto the wet floor.
As he stalked forwards Taylor began to back up quickly, sending hits of now weakened shots of water at him, which the tycoon either dodged or managed to shield himself from. Once close enough he grasped her wrist pulling her off the ground, although this movement caused him a swift kick to the face which made him stumble back, never letting go of Taylor, however.
A low growl emitted from his throat as he grasped her wrist tighter and with full force threw her down onto the ground, causing a sickening crunch to follow. She wasn't sure what she just injured but she couldn't definitely feel the pain of it.
With a soft groan she balled up her fists weakly trying to pull herself from the lying position on the floor that she was in, looking up to the tycoon with a thick traill of blood travelling down her face and across her eye. "Nice one…" she commented weakly.
The tycoon let out a sinister grin as he raised his hands. clenched together tightly as he readied himself to make the final blow that he had been waiting to do for what seemed like an eternity, finally giving her the karma he believed she deserved.
With a shaky breath Taylor found herself closing her eyes tightly and keeping her head down, trying to brace herself for the impact that she knew was coming, a false sense of acceptance traveling through her heart and mind.
However, just as he brought his fists down he was quickly knocked off his feet by a figure only inches taller than Taylor, kicking the large Tycoon to the floor and landing with the grace and strength of a skilled fighter, The butterflies eyes widened in shock, no one had ever stepped in to help her, and she definitely hadn't seen this guy before, that's for sure.
His dark cloak seemed to dance in the wind, covering the mysterious figure with an air of mystery shrouding him, that was the first thing that lured Tay in, the mystery and darkness of this character, yet he didn't seem like he had bad intentions, quite the opposite actually.
The tycoon struggled to get back up after the fall, however his men were quick to defend their boss, pulling their guns up and pointing them up at the new figure with shaky hands, it was clear to see that these men were scared and on edge, after all this creature had just taken down their boss with nothing more than a kick.
The creatures bandage covered head immediately turned to face the men after hearing the mechanical sound of the guns, permanent frown only growing darker as he sped forward at them at a quick pace, leaving no room for any thoughts as one by one he brought them all down to the floor, leaving them with crippled groans and breathless wheezes.
The guns they had been relying on so heavily left dismantled and discarded across the water and blood covered ground. With a confused and almost scared grunt, the Tycoon struggled to bring himself up off the ground, his darkened eyes scanning the small figure in front of him with fear induced curiosity.
Though he didn't dare move forward, he didn't utter a word as he began to back up, he wouldn't face this thing, not after that, he'd get the girl another time, but right now he was far too focused on fleeing back to his warm mansion where he could he try and forget about this creature.
So that's what he did, harsh thump-like steps beginning to back up from the scene before flat out fleeing, leaving his injured men behind without so much as a glance back. Typical, men like that never cared about anyone but themselves. Though his henchmen in question didn't dare let that thought plague them at the moment.
Those who could still walk got up and helped up the others, forgetting about their beloved guns as they helped each other flee the scene like pigeons. Leaving the two figures left in the rain. The mysterious character who still had yet to say a word, simple standing there without a scratch, cloak flowing in the wind around him.
Then Taylor, still left on the ground, injured and confused. Her bright blue eyes wide and filled with curiosity and confusion, so many questions swarming her head she couldn't pick out just one to ask, instead left in utter silence, for the first time in what felt like her entire life she was...speechless.
With a turn of his head the mysterious figure was now facing her, most of the creature covered by its cloak though she could still make out that this thing was some form of mutated turtle, the plastron gave it away. As it faced her for a moment it was silent, the only sound being the pitter patter of the rain until he spoke. "You good?"