Author's Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Burst Angel. They belong to the people with money!
Author's Note: Finally got out to an anime con with my lady. And who did we cosplay as?... Meg and Jo! It's been good fodder for the imagination indeed. Although we had to go out and buy real boots….has anyone ever noticed how unstable cosplay shoes are made? They're kind of like little kid booty slippers! My girl wears them around the house now so there you go.
"Avenging Angel" chapter eight
"Assessments and Inquiries"
Jo held still until Meg was taken care of. She did a remarkable job of not tearing up the place but as soon as Meg was wheeled away to prep for surgery, Jo let her frustration known. Her hollowed face set in determination after Meg had kissed their clasped fingers and let go of her hand.
Then the doors had closed. Life's simplicity stilled with the disappearance of red hair and blue eyes. Rage pumped then and Jo's long legs propelled her down the hallway. With a fluid gesture, her hands extracted her Desert Eagles from her holsters. Two empty clips hit the tiled floor as Jo's boots pushed her past them and she clicked in two fresh ones. Around a corner and Sei stood waiting, always seemingly aware of her intentions. Damn it.
"Where do you think you're going?" Sei asked. Her arms were crossed under her breasts. Jo stopped, both feet spread. Her scarf settled back around her.
"Don't try to stop me. They need to pay for shooting Meg and you know it." Jo's single-mindedness made her seethe with impatience. Her hazy mind contemplated knocking Sei out of the way. While the older woman had never been a physical threat to Jo or Meg, she was getting obnoxiously close to it right this second.
"I can't let you do that, Jo. Meg's here, in custody and she's going to be okay. You can't go in half-cocked just for revenge. It's already a delicate situation as it is. You must understand this," Sei tried to reason calmly with her. When a diplomat, one had to handle Jo as an equal, but also with double-thick self-absorbent kid gloves.
Jo slid her weapons home to her holsters and raised a gloved fist. "I don't fuckin' care! They hurt Meg! That's all I need to know and nothing you can say will change that!"
A drop of blood fell to the floor behind Jo's boot followed by a rapid pattern of crimson. Sei blinked and followed its track back up. She silently stepped to the side and gasped. Jo looked completely unfazed from the front but the back of her grey head was a bloody mass of red and tangled hair indicating an urgent wound. Sei pointed, always calmly aware of how close she should get to the genocide angel.
"Where did you get that wound?"
Jo's hand reached back; her gloved tips came back red so dark it was almost black. "Doesn't matter."
Obviously she could work with it. Sei wasn't satisfied and pointed to the medic wing. "Jo, you need to have that looked at! You may be a good fighter, but your body's not invincible!"
"I don't care! The only thing that matters is Meg!"
Leo exited into the hallway cradling two cups of coffee. When he saw the two women opposite each other, he looked for a place to set them down in a hurry. "Hey, hold up, what's all the shouting about?"
Lacking a hallway table, he had to opt to set them on the ground. Straightening, the tall mechanic advanced smoothly toward Jo. "Hey, ya'll been fighting? Where'd that blood come from?"
Leo's concerned frown flashed from Sei to Jo. Sei held her hands up, assuring him she was unharmed. "Jo's been hurt in the fight and hasn't told us. We have to assess her injury, but as usual she's against it."
"Damn right. I've got to take care of the guy who shot Meg," Jo made to stalk past Leo but the bearded man surprised her by actually touching her, gripping her shoulder. He blinked wide eyes when Jo's tired gaze met his.
"Jo, you can't be serious. Meg's going to be fine, but you're not. Not without checking that out…." Leo's kind words fell flat as Jo grabbed his arm and bodily threw him to the floor. "Hey!"
Sei moved forward, leaning on her crutch with one hand and touching Jo's arm with the other. "Jo, we're not here to fight you…"
"Then get out of my WAY!"
"Aw, hell, Jo!..." Leo bounded up from the floor towards her before she could put her hands on Sei when the medic wing doors opened.
The three turned to look as Meg limped out, a wincing nurse half holding her up. "WHAT is going on out here?" she demanded. Her hospital gown was half slit down the left side, exposing her temporary bandage. An iv drip clawed savagely out of the back of her left hand and the nurse held her up on her right side so as not to tamper with it. Half of one round breast bobbed into view from the partially closed gown and Leo politely averted his eyes. Sei reached, concerned, and at the mere sight of her, Jo visibly deflated.
It was instantaneous, like pricking a balloon with a pin. She sagged and covered the back of her head with a gloved hand. "Nothing, Meg…" she murmured.
Sei cleared her throat. "Go on back in there and relax, Meg. You're about to go under and Jo's not doing anything. Are you?"
Jo's red eyes promised a swift revenge later but she nodded slowly. "Yeah….sure…"
Oblivious, Meg let the nurse steer her back around, dragging the iv stand with them. "Geez, I hope not! Damn, I'm already freaked out about being put out and Jo's actin' up again…"
Jo slouched down as Meg's words sank in. With the redhead gone, she knelt down, eyes glazed. Sei and Leo nodded to each other and both took one of Jo's arms, flanking her.
"Come on, girl, we're gettin' you a drink!" Leo grinned. Sei shot him a sharp glance. "She needs to be bandaged first! And she shouldn't be drinking that much with this much blood loss…"
"Whatever…" Jo murmured.
Twenty minutes later, she was bandaged and sitting in a huge chair in a media room. A polished oak bar ran along the curve of one wall and Leo was flipping channels on the flat screen. He took a sip from a sweating beer stein and grinned at the bewildered gunslinger. Jo stared into the depths of a thick half glass where ice cubes floated in a dark sea. She slowly lifted the drink and held her breath as bubbles from the diet cola tickled her nose. Warmth flooded her throat from the cautious sips however. She coughed and frowned at Leo's grin.
"How do you stand this?"
Leo gulped from his beer. Brown liquid dribbled into his goatee. "It gets easier each time is how."
Jo took another cautious sip. The rum and diet cola burned again and her nose began to sting. Her eyes watered momentarily as the urge to cough was palpable. A moment and a swallow; the taste was becoming more familiar. Jo took another slow sip. Leo laughed at this careful foray.
"Sorry, girl, I make 'em a bit strong. You okay?"
Jo nodded, her red eyes thoughtful. "Yeah…" Her limbs felt warm and she knew the alcohol was hampering her. But after a moment, it was becoming rather nice, like floating into sleep. Warmth drifted to her core and her knees fidgeted.
'No wonder Meg drinks wine. Maybe I should drink with her sometime….' Jo thought.
Leo finished his drink and gestured with the glass. "You wanna tell me how you got your head opened up now? Because if Sei's surprised, she sure as heck didn't see it."
"Sei was under a table, Leo. And no, I don't know how it happened…" Jo took another sip, grimaced slowly. "I was going toward the bastard that shot Meg and someone got a cheap shot in."
Leo got up to pour himself another draft beer. "Well it looks pretty bad, Jo."
"Doesn't even hurt. Can I have another one of these?" Jo held her glass to Leo, looking like a questing child. Leo nodded and clinked bottles and ice cubes.
"If you keep knocking these down, it really won't hurt," he promised. Jo waved a hand.
"That's beside the point," she murmured. Sei walked in, reading from a medical binder. She raised her brows at the sight of a quiet Jo sipping at a glass of what looked to be dark liquor.
"Dare I even ask? Why not…. Jo, what is that?" Sei asked, exasperated. Jo sipped and cradled her glass protectively.
"It's mine, Sei….you can't have it," Jo said, her eyes flashing in warning. Leo laughed and raised his beer in tribute to his woman.
"Everyone's settled, so just relax a minute, Sei. We're safe here," he urged. Sei gave him a dark frown and flicked her eyes toward the inebriated Jo. Leo was in the process of handing her yet another drink and froze under her glare.
"I don't think so…not yet that is. Jo, why don't you give us that glass and lay down?" Sei suggested. Jo shook her head.
"Nuh uh. It's mine. Where's Meg? Is she out yet?" Jo slurred. Sei sighed.
"She's sleeping now but she won't be up for hours. Why don't you get some sleep and when you get up, she'll be here," Sei said smoothly. Jo set her glass down hard, almost toppling it over.
"Nuuuuuuuh, I'm gonna go see her now," Jo promised, stumbling for the door. Sei bound to her feet after her.
"Jo! She was in really bad shape! You shouldn't go see her until…"
Leo set his beer down and flanked Jo's fumbling footsteps. "What could it hurt, Sei? She's hell-bent on getting to her anyhow. Might as well show her the way so she won't rough anyone up."
Sei sighed, feeling a migraine close in. With Wong and the other older heads of her syndicate about with their bodyguards, a scrap could go down under wrong impressions. Particularly with Jo drunk. Particularly with Jo drunk for the first time. " Okay….she's this way, Jo. Just… calm it down," she suggested.
Jo bumped into the doorjamb and straightened. "I'm okay…"
Sei sighed as she and Leo trailed after the swaying gunslinger. Once a room was approached in the medic wing, Jo paused, surveying Meg lying unconscious. Her left arm was a mass of bandages and the iv dripped steadily into her hand. Her round breasts rose and lifted beneath her partially opened gown and her red hair spread across the pillow.
She was beautiful. Jo watched her through blurring eyes, feeling the familiar twinge the organ in her chest wrought. Meg had just been her partner and it was shortly into their relationship that Jo felt the absolute need to protect every fiber of her being. It was how she was programmed; protection meant love in its own way.
"And I'll die trying to protect you…" Jo murmured. Her fingertips caressed Meg's white cheek. Leo and Sei looked at each other, silent.
"Will you go lay down now, Jo?" Sei asked. Jo nodded; and lifted the edge of the sheet and crawled in on Meg's right side. She laid an arm protectively over the voluptuous girl, mindful of her left arm and iv. With just a few more rapid blinks of her red eyes, Jo buried her face in Meg's hair and began to snore.
Leo rubbed the back of his head. "Well I'll just be. That's about the only time I've seen Jo calm down so quickly."
"It's quite a normal occurrence where Meg is involved," Sei said and took his arm while she leaned with her other hand on her cane. "Now, let's get back to my room. I am so tired, Leo."
"Sure thing, babe."
The door closed on the sleeping girls.
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Takane and Amy set into their breakfasts while Kyohei manned the stove. A western breakfast had been ordered and while it wasn't up to his expertise, Kyohei had to admit flipping pancakes was a way to relax first thing in the morning. Especially when the ladies in question were loud-spoken and his friends to boot.
"Okay, who wants next batch?" he asked, bringing a plate of steaming pancakes to the table.
"Hell yeah, Kyohei, lemme at 'im!" Takane said enthusiastically. She scooped three more onto her plate and lathered on the syrup.
"No fair, Kyohei's my little kitchen monkey, I should have had first crack!" Amy pouted. She perked when Kyohei served her and sat beside her.
"'Kitchen monkey?' " he asked, eyebrow quirking. Amy shrugged and blushed before putting her fork in her mouth.
As the young ladies laughed back and forth, a nurse was having an inner battle down at the medic wing. She had to check Meg's iv and bandaging but there was a small problem. There was a grey-haired girl draped all over her. Her head was bandaged heavily and while the nurse thought she was a patient at first, she couldn't find any paperwork in the room and she was sharing another's bed.
And while the young nurse was good at her job, she was very hesitant to wake the young woman out of Meg's bed. For one thing, she was murmuring in her sleep. Another thing, she wore two mean-looking pistols at her sides. And while this was an area rendered to Bai Lan toughies, one usually didn't tote their prowess openly. So the nurse debated waking the girl and getting shot, or not waking the girl and getting chewed out by her supervisor for neglecting her patient. Either way, she was in hot water.
"I should have become an accountant…" the nurse muttered before coming to a decision. She paced in the doorway then cleared her throat. The grey-haired girl didn't move. "Hey."
Still nothing. Jo snorted and moved her lips against Meg's hair. The nurse rapped at the bedroom door. "Hello, miss!"
Irritation. Increasing irritation was pressing at her subconscious. As Jo slid back into waking, her sharp ears tried to assess the possible threat. Feminine, unsure….but still, it could be a front to a bigger challenge. Jo carefully slit one eye half open. A rather pretty nurse was hovering, unsure if she should touch her to gain her attention. Jo sat up abruptly and saved her the trip.
"What?" she murmured.
"Eep!" The nurse jumped back, placing her hand on her chest. "You scared me!"
"Okay?" Jo asked. Her hooded gaze seemed to fill in the rest of her statement: "And what DID you want?" Her head clocked and heaviness filled her eyes. Jo leaned her elbows between her knees and settled her suddenly heavy head into her hands. "AAaaaaaoooooowww."
"Are you okay? Miss? I can help you, but you really shouldn't be in that bed. Miss Meg's just had surgery…" the nurse reached to help her but Jo brushed her off. She smacked her lips and worked her tongue around in her mouth. The taste of something having died surged through her cracked lips and Jo gagged.
"Water, now," she urged, her red eyes deadly. The nurse nodded and hurried to fill a glass from a nearby pitcher.
"H-here! Do you need anything else? A look at your bandage?" the nurse reached for Jo's head but Jo brushed her aside, accepting the glass of water on the downswing. The nurse looked at her empty hand and Jo. Water dribbled from the corners of her lips and down a slender neck.
"Hmmm…. Damn Leo…" Jo murmured. She slid out of the right side of Meg's bed and gazed down at her girlfriend. Meg's eyes fluttered at the commotion and her blue eyes drank in Jo.
"Jo…you're here," she whispered. Jo smiled and knelt beside the bed. She leaned her head against Meg's shoulder and let the injured girl thread an arm around her neck.
"Believe me, they tried to keep me out," she whispered leadenly. Meg giggled sleepily and wound her fingers through grey hair. Her fingertips bumped up against the stiff bandage and she explored slowly.
"What's this?" she asked and yawned. The nurse snapped to crisp attention and checked Meg's iv, patting her arm as she did.
"Drawback of the trade. Sei's more worried 'bout it than I am," Jo confided. Meg closed her eyes, nearing sleep again.
"She's had enough of you lately. Stay with me…."
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Takane strode into the hospital room later like she owned the place. By this point, Jo had been shooed off of Meg and was idling nearby, arms crossed. The doctor paid her no mind and rewrapped Meg's arm expertly.
"Well now, how ya'll doin' up in here?" Takane twanged, leaning against the doorframe and grinning. Jo rubbed her brow and gave the policewoman a confused look. Even though she kept drinking water at the nurse's suggestion, her head felt like every word was splitting it open.
"Eh, what are you doing here, Takane? You didn't go to the meeting," Jo murmured. Takane assessed her bandaged head and plopped in a chair beside Meg's bed, patting the redhead on the arm as she crossed her legs.
"I might be glad I didn't seeing is how ya'll are this roughed up! But it looks like I missed a good fight," Takane drawled. Meg sipped from a carton of juice and grimaced.
"And getting shot was the highlight of the day! Thanks ever so much for bringing it up, Takane."
Takane smiled at her anyways. "Your first bullet, right? I do know what that's like. If you're going to be okay, you're going to bounce back that much stronger."
Meg gazed at Takane up and down. "You've been shot before?"
Takane shrugged. "Hey, it comes with the job. Sometimes we handle the dangerous folks too. So how's your hangover, Jo?"
"What?" Meg whipped her head toward a stunned Jo who was busy slurping another glass of water. She glowered at Takane and crushed the paper cup in her hand.
"You know too much, Takane. I suppose Sei let you in on it."
Takane laughed. "Hell, you drunk would have been a sight to scare anyone! And I missed out on everything. Bet your head feels like shit now, huh?"
"JO you were drinking? Dammit, you shouldn't have been, you were hurt too!" Meg complained. Jo winced and glowered at the smirking Takane.
"You are gonna pay for letting that one slip, you know."
"Oh, I'm so scared," Takane shrugged.
While the gunslinger rubbed the hurts from her head and listened to her lover bitch at her, a large chinese man waited beside his employer. It was irritating really, to have to wonder who would have been the victor until scrawny little Chang had clubbed the strong girl across the back of the head with the broken down parts of a chair. She was only a girl, but her strength was unprecedented. The bearded man rubbed a hand across his chin and waited for Chongkun. The handsome young man stepped out of the bath in a saturated silk robe, scrubbing at his damp hair with a towel. At the sight of him, Chongkun laughed.
"Still troubling over your encounter with Sei's warriors?"
The bodyguard nodded, his dark eyes hooded. "She was so fast it took all I had to keep up. What is she, boss?"
"It's quite simple, really. The girl is a monster," Chongkun sprawled himself in his computer chair and kicked long legs up onto his desk. "Sei deleted her copy of her records but I had a back link to Grandfather's hard drives. That grey-haired girl is the last of the genetically altered warriors known as Genocide Angel. She knows no fear and exhibits strength equaling that of the strongest of men."
"Genocide angel…." The guard looked down at his large hands and clenched his fists. "She won't be any match for me. I can take care of her."
"And isn't that why I hired you?" Chongkun poured himself a brandy and sipped, smiling. "Now, please show in the lady. And take the rest of the night off, Huang."
Huang bowed his head and opened the office door. After assessing from his comrades in the halls that the girl had been searched, he allowed the voluptuous woman in. As he closed the door, Huang caught a glimpse of bare thigh as the prostitute lifted her garments to take off.
End for now
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Sincerely yours, pen
8/26/11