running with wolves (II)
chase
The voice comes out dry, almost disinterested. It's a male voice, she's sure now; it's unmistakable. Altered, but recognizable enough. She's sure her heart almost stops just from the sheer surprise, but she collects herself in the next second, face turning into an outright scowl. Gathering red plasma in her fists, Argent's eyes narrow as her vision settles – black is what she mainly sees along with the bright white mask, slits for eyes. But, funny enough, what really stands out are the red X's slashed across his chest and forehead. They stand like that for a few seconds, as if sizing the other one up, a challenge, a mutual confusion. She's not sure what he's thinking; she can barely make out that he's even looking at her. He doesn't look particularly defensive, just startled.
… but then she feels the ripple in the air before it even occurs.
Her mouth twitches, and from pure instinct alone, she's barely dodging an X shaped blade as it snips her hair. "Tch – a coward, then?" she mutters, more to herself to stash away as a mental note – surely seems like the type. Argent strikes, her face absolute livid, fierce, as bright red beams shoot out in his direction from her hands. It should be hard to hit one person, especially if they're human. But something is amiss here, and she sees it… Is he teleporting?! This prompts her to shoot even more red plasma beams at him, though, she is careful to try and not hit anything in the room that looks like it could explode, which, technically, could be anything in this whole building. "And just what do you think you're doing, you bloody tool? Would you stop moving so I can hit you?" She spits out in annoyance at the fact he easily evades her moves. He dodges her offensive strikes with surprising ease, and the more he does so, the more annoyed she becomes. Having enough of this little game, she tries to give a deafening blow; crimson plasma glows nearly blindingly bright in her palms, her even eyes tinting slightly red with the concentration she has to use. She throws a punch, meaning for her plasma to resonate and echo her movements.
Except a flying projectile encases her wrist before she can throw it properly, and the red fist is flown backwards, destroying the wall behind them instead. The plasma had lingered on her palms before they were thrown, and so her hands hurt… badly...
She thinks she hears a chuckle; she isn't sure what she hears over the sound of her own pained gasp. Her hands are trembling, feeling almost stiff; she can't even clench them properly.
"You look like you're past curfew. What? Jump's favorite do-gooders couldn't afford a proper babysitter?" At this, she growls as a response, frowning at the word 'kid'. She levitates off the floor – concentrating, two giant red hands form as they intertwine and smash the intruder, but her shaky hands probably don't help. A moment passes, and she blinks, realizing that she hadn't felt anything underneath her energy constructs. Wincing at the damages done to the crumbling facility already, Argent disperses her constructs, inching closer to the debris, squinting her eyes. "Did I get him...?" She wonders to herself.
Big mistake.
"Not quite, I'm afraid." She doesn't even have time to turn around at his words that are so close to her neck, before she is pinned to the wall with a type of... sticky substance. No matter how much she struggles, she's held in place – as if the giant red 'X' shaped construct is somehow getting tighter the more she struggles. "I'm guessing you're not really from around this city, given that accent of yours." His tone is laced with amusement; the thief deems appropriate to just saunter there like she's not even a fly on the wall.
She's just chopped liver.
First impressions aren't exactly going well. "Go choke on a bone! You're daft thinking I'm going to let you get away!" Robin trusted her with this – she won't fail this! Red X looks at her, it irritates her that she can't even get a semblance of what he's thinking.
She doesn't know why pity is the first thing to cross her mind.
As if she's lost her luster, like some animal in a bloody zoo, he steps away; not even glancing at her. Had he been deliberately keeping her focus in once place? The mere thought makes her feel like some… some petulant child. It's humiliating; she tries to tell herself that's not what's causing the tips of her ears to burn. "Not like I'm giving you much of a choice." He states while pressing some buttons on what looks to be a scanner gun – she is struggling too much to care at the moment on what exactly he is doing. "So – who exactly are you supposed to be?" He's not even remotely interested in what she has to say so why he bothers with making fruitless, petty, conversation has he blood boiling.
He's just tooling with her.
"Argent." She says curtly, not quite realizing that she's humored him. That makes him pause, even for just a second – one eye is squinted in confusion as she rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah – I've heard it before. 'But you're powers are red!'" She grunts even more, struggling against the red goo, the stickiness seeping through her shirt and her skirt of all places. Slowly and gradually, she gathers red plasma in her hands, focusing all her effort on trying to liquify the goo completely. She mutters darkly and looks back to him, intending to spot a weakness, something so can gain some upper hand here. She sees nothing that can help her… But something… clicks in her mind when she really sees that skull mask; she's never felt more stupid than in this second. She tries to stifle that small gasp. Tries. "Yo-you're… Red X..."
And this is enough to make him pause his ministrations. For a brief moment, Argent doesn't know if he's going to say something, and the sudden awkwardness warrants her to want to take even that back. Perhaps he feels something akin to it, as well. "Wow," he drawls out, too seriously and too intense. "They actually told you about me. I'm touched." And just like a switch, he goes back to the scanner. Sarcasm.
She pretends that doesn't elicit disappointment and lets it fuel her indignation instead. Is sarcasm his first language or what? "You're not going to get away with this so easily!"
However, considering the circumstances, Red X doesn't seem at all phased by her obvious threat, or her epiphany. Either he's ignoring her deliberate escapade, or he doesn't very much care. No matter which one it was, both warranted the same conclusion: He's not taking her seriously. "That so?" He places a vial of some bright substance into his belt with slight caution, the scanner placed on the opposite side of it. Where it came from or where he'd pulled out from, Argent has absolutely no idea. It takes a few seconds before he's turning around to fully face her. "Seems like I already am. Sterling, was it?"
Her ears go warm from the anger. "It's Arg— You know what? That's what you think!" The plasma seeps through the construct in that moment, and goo comes off everywhere – and right before he can make any other sudden movements, she forms a giant axe and swings it his way. This time, though, she does not come closer, instead, her vision swinging wildly, vividly to see where the guy went. From the corner of her eye, she sees the same black blur rushing away. Oh, no you don't! An intake of air, and soon she is flying after him – this time, she doesn't much care for the various chemicals in the lab. Her attention is driven by whoever this guy is. But when she goes outside, through the more easier route breaking through the window pane with a fury matching with a hurricane – there is no one.
Her heart is pounding, and the cold air is like a slap to the face. She's panting like a rabid dog, and her vision roams wildly, desperate. Panic wants to seep through the cracks, but Argent refuses to let it even cross her sub-conscience. The T-Com rings, and she snaps it open, just from habit alone. Not bothering to give a respond, she doesn't even look at the screen.
"Argent? Argent! What's going on? We're getting a signal here—" she bares her teeth at Robin's voice, not really appreciating his tone, nor the implication.
She utters the following words with steely determination and lively ferocity. "I have it covered. I'll tell you the details later. Argent out." —click. The little device nearly breaks in her palm, the sturdy material cracking under the weight of her grasp. She looks to her left, eyes landing on nothing but the cluster of stars and the blue hue of the night sky.
Voices, echoes chant in her mind, visually exposing to a path of bright red splotches.
...Follow the trail of red... hunt... destroy... fufill your duty...
Argent keeps her eyes on the red, and hurls her body to that direction, letting the flight ease her mind.
She's going to have a few words with this bloke.