Her eyes were drawn to a source of movement from her right, she tracked the Empowered clothier- Parian -as she separated from Brandish and Lady Photon and settled against one of the numerous wooden beams that helped to support the ceiling. Briefly, she flicked her gaze up to the rafters above making note of any electrical wiring that would potentially hamper moving about in the spacious area.
But then she flicked her gaze back to the girl, dressed as she was in enough layers to have satisfied the court dressers, any ques to be gleaned from her body language were almost non existent. However, simply because she could not see the girls body did not mean she could not see her mind… and on the inside, she was in turmoil.
Sadness-Confusion-Anger-Despair among many others swirled about and confounded the girl. Perhaps, Ganondorf's suggestion to acquire her held some merit, if only to help the girl… although, having Taylor approach her would likely be for the best given her suspected age.
Her musings were cut short however as from her peripheral she felt Faultline and Uber turn away from the bar. Uber rejoined them, coming to stand next to Leet's construct; while Faultline strode into the center of the cleared space, her step and stance confident as she drew everyone's attention to her and began speaking, establishing the rules of neutrality and the conditions that those present were to abide by.
It was then that she felt the probe- for lack of a better term -approach, the crude torrent of mental energy surging through the metaphysical realm before deflecting off her before deflecting off her mental barriers like an arrow off a shield. It came back again, but the effect was the same and it retreated.
Watching it, she split her attention she followed the probe back to the breast plated man of the False-King's retinue. Victor, the Skill Thief as Uber had called him.
That he would attempt to use his power while under the rules of neutrality was troublesome; and after considering it for a moment, she took an outer layer of her own mental barriers and wrapped them about Taylor's mind.
She was confident that the girl wouldn't notice, for the time being at least. However how long that would be was in question, the girl was adept at learning, she'd absorbed what she had to teach her with such ease that it wouldn't be much longer that she could feel such things. Her Breaking Through would only advance the process.
Shifting her main focus back to the world at large she listened as the other Empowered spoke up about their own encounters with the Villain that had been terrorizing the city. Even the Bloody Ogre- as she had named it in -spoke up; its voice surprisingly human as it recounted how its family had been killed during the initial bombing spree.
It was then, that she reached out to touch its mind that she found it to be human. Drowned in Sadness, tired and very Angry yes; but a human nonetheless. He had simply used his power to change himself to escape the shame of his failure.
And for not the first time, she considered whether the powers these people had been granted could even have been considered a boon or not; for all the chaos they seemed to have caused.
It was as the independent Heroic and Non-Combatant Empowered concluded their testimonies and Faultline drew the attention back to herself that she felt the probe strike out once more. But not at Taylor, nor herself, nor any of the other Empowered; but instead at Ganondorf.
She tensed as the Lord of Darkness didn't simply deflect it, but instead seized it in a vice like hold of mental strength and began to flex his power.
She turned to where the power was gathering just in time to see the ethereal blade of his phantom pierce through Victor's chest; and even as people began reacting, she drew one of her four blades with her left hand while letting the rope dart hidden up her sleeve slowly unravel and fall into her right hand.
The two warrior women standing guard spun and placed themselves between the False-King and Ganondorf's Phantom. The atmosphere in the room grew tense and heavy as a number of the Empowered gathered themselves, readying for a fight. And then it increased, as the Phantom pulled its blade from Victor's back and with a single swipe removed the man's head from his shoulders.
There were a few startled sounds and someone emptying their stomach. But a roar of unbridled fury drowned that all out as the barechested and tiger masked man of the False-King's retinue leapt at Ganondorf, claws of air reaching out.
Ganondorf didn't even look in the man's direction, instead simply raising his left arm; palm out to him. Watching, she felt a flicker of his power and then a shield of glittering darkness appeared between the two of them and Stormtiger bounced off, slamming into one of the beams before collapsing to the floor.
He wasn't out though and he shifted, dazed but still awake as he used the beam to help himself rise to his feet.
But before the man could push away, however; several globs of clear fluid splattered against his arms and legs; sticking the limbs fast to whatever surface they were against. Soon enough, the material turned opaque and the man was soon struggling just to even move his arms.
He was immobilized, and from her peripheral she saw several more globs fly at Ganondorf and solidify around his shoes. She stopped, eyeing the material as it turned opaque.
Quite honestly she doubted it would hold him, but at least he didn't resist out of hand and cause more trouble. Instead he simply stood there, his arms crossed over his chest once more.
She looked to the source of the fluid.
Shirtless, and fat like a ripe pig. Bald, with gelatinous skin that was littered with dark formations; and as he stepped under a light she was able to see his skin was actually translucent, with his bones and internal organs showing in stark relief.
Gregor The Snail, one of Faultlines compatriots and a type of amnesiatic Empowered that often had some sort of monstrous mutation.
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Faultline shouted and reaching to her back she smoothly pulled out a short, one bladed sword that was just as long as her forearm. It appeared to be of good make, but by itself wasnt very threatening; combined with the power Uber had said she possessed, however; it was an all to deadly implement indeed.
She pointed it toward Ganondorf, who simply crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at the woman. "You just executed a man in my club," she said, her voice cold and her stance deadly serious, "explain yourself. Now-" She suddenly looked to the False-King, "And you can wait Kaiser."
The False-Kings fingers twitched and he looked down at Faultline, "You expect me to just-"
"Yes," Faultline interjected, cutting him off, "I expect exactly that."
Watching her, she saw the fingers on the woman's free hand twitch in Ganondorf's direction and a moment later she heard a quiet creaking from above; flicking her gaze up she saw another of Faultlines mutated Empowered. This one another man in just a pair of shorts, his skin a bright luminescent orange; but more strange than that he had a thick tail waving behind him as he crept along the crossbeams to overlook the False-King's retinue.
Ganondorf snorted, but thankfully he acquiesced to Faultlines demand. "As I stated, the thief attempted to invade my mind and seize what was mine. And did you not say those who broke the neutrality would be dealt with?" He asked, turning the woman's earlier statement back on her.
"As much as I doubt what you claim, there are properties that we abide by. Vicktor knew them, he would not simply have-"
"Oh that is a complete load of bullshit," Uber growled out, his voice modulator giving his voice a rasp. Stepping away from them, his head cocked in the False-Kings direction and she saw that he had his large pistol drawn and tapping it against his thigh.
"You wanna talk about your peoples propriety, then how bout I talk about the time Vicktor hired me for a job just so he could steal the body language recognition skill I was using." He laughed a cold, bitter laugh; and as he drummed his fingers on the grip of his pistol the muzzle suddenly began glowing a bright, ominous blue.
"I couldn't go out in public for months because of what he did, I couldn't tell whether a mom with a stroller was about to kill me or give me a fucking hug. So fuck you and fuck him. He was a parasite plain and simple and if you're gonna get pissy over your man getting what he deserved then you should have kept him on a tighter leash."
The False-King growled at the insult and his fingers twitched again but he made no moves. "All lies, you're just a failure. A C-Ranked nobody."
Uber simply shrugged, accepting the insult but- from how his fingers tightened on his gun -not particularly appreciating it. "Im also a C-Ranked nobody who can calculate the proper drop trajectory that would let me pop your head like a watermelon... so I think I'm fine with that."
The tension in the room increased yet again at the veiled threat and it was almost a relief when someone cleared their throat. "They're telling the truth," a girls voice suddenly added, and she looked over to Tattletale; who was simply looking between her, Uber and Ganondorf. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck as the girls gaze suddenly passed over her and she grinned. "He also tried to go after the one in the robes," the girl nodded in her direction and she narrowed her eyes as the unsettling sensation began anew, "the one on the right."
She then nodded to Viktors decapitated corpse, "Also it looked like he was riding high or something. Just throwing it out there."
Slowly, Faultline turned to look over her shoulder at Tattletale; keeping the gaze for a long moment before the girl shrugged.
"This is a complete farce." The False-King bit out, "One of my men has just been killed without any provocation. If you think I will just-"
"Yes actually, I can think that." Faultline interrupted, turning away from Tattletale to face the False-King. "Tattletale may be a smart ass that tries to live up to her name at every opportunity, but that doesn't mean she's wrong most of the time... and as it happens, I agree with her." She shifted her sword away from Ganondorf and in his direction, "Viktor had enough of a reputation that I wouldn't have put it past him to try and use his power when no one suspected it, I know for a fact that he their is a MIT professor currently on permanent stay at a psychiatric hospital because he spontaneously forgot nearly forty years of his life. I guess it was just a coincidence that Victor was in town at the time."
She shook her head just a bit, "So yes, I do expect you to deal with it. Your man couldn't hold himself in check and that his failing, as well as yours."
The False-King looked around at the other Empowered, all of whom simply stared right back. It was obvious he'd lost any support that he may have had when Ganondorf started this mess. He looked at Ganondorf, anger-indignation-rage radiating off him as his fingers twitched.
"Dont even think about it Kaiser. If you can't control yourself, then leave."
Slowly, a long claymore with a stylized bird guard grew out of his gauntlet and and he gripped it tight; looking over everyone one final time.
There was a sudden swish of fabric as Skidmark stepped into view, his cape flapping behind him as he stopped in front of Faultline and Gregor; raising a boxy gun in the False-King's direction and waving his hand to create a shimmering blue field over the floor. "Just try it shit cracker, I haven't gotten yer white ass back for bustin up some of my boys last week."
Snarling, whether at the fact that a man of dark skin was challenging him or that he'd lost; he spun around and stabbed the point of the sword once, into the material that held Stormtiger's arms in place against the beam, then again into the material around his feet. Barking out an order, the barechested man stepped into line behind him and as a group they stalked out of the building; only Fenja and Menja pausing to pick up Victors remains.
The room was silent as the double doors at the entrance of the building slammed shut.
"Good fuckin riddance," Skidmark grunted and stomped back to Squealer, from what Uber had said of him his actions didn't quite coincide to what he'd said the man was normally like; and looking at him, she felt Satisfaction-Pride-Lust… Curious, she focused on that last one, Lust; wondering what was causing it.
But she quickly saw the reason as once he was next to Squealer he slapped her on the rear, eliciting a high pitched squeal from her and she rubbed promptly against him, turning the tense atmosphere somewhat awkward and uncomfortable until Tattletale laughed.
"Man, its a good thing Stormtiger didn't realize that it was you who killed Hookwolf eh?"
Almost as one, everyone looked to Tattletale, then to Ganondorf who simply snorted. "A rabid dog that was indiscriminate in whom it struck out at without considering its surroundings or what may happen? It was the least it deserved."
Much muttering from the rest of the people present followed that. But she stared at Tattletale, there were only a few people who had been on the street when the steel maelstrom of blades- that they'd only later found out to be Hookwolf- had appeared and started destroying a building with asian characters on it.
Stormtiger had been there, along with another that had wielded a pair of small sickles. This girl, however; had not.
Tattletale met her gaze, holding it for a long moment while the people in the room incrementally calmed relaxed as Faultline restored order. She reached out, Smugness-Pride-Satisfaction were the dominating emotions that girl was feeling. But below them, buried deep and only lightly shading her thoughts, Desperation-Anger.
The girls eyes widened and she snapped her eyes to the side before the Black Leather clad Grue.
Trepidation, was the dominating emotion she felt now; but beneath that was Hope-Uncertainty… She turned her attention away from the girl and to Taylor; while keeping the what she'd felt from the girl in the back of her mind.
She touched at the mental barrier she'd put in place around Taylor's mind; noting, with some surprise as she touched at it, that it had not degraded and had begun to establish itself.
Curious, but perhaps she was unknowingly drawing upon the connection that bound her to Ganondorf and Herself.
Setting the curiosity aside as well however; she turned her main focus on the physical world as Faultline Raised her hands, bringing silence to the room and Ganondorf drawled a response to the woman.
Her form giving nothing away Faultline sighed, "This still doesn't settle the matter that you acted out of hand, as the mediator of this meeting you should have brought it to my attention that he was attempting to use his power on you."
"And would he have faced equal punishment for what he attempted to do to me?" Ganondorf rebuked. "There is little else that would have settled things aside from his death."
Faultline just shook her head, "You may have been the claimant but that wouldn't have meant it would be up to you to decide his punishment. You move to the killing option much too quickly for my taste."
Ganondorf simply stared back at her, the eyes holes of his mask gradually dimming. "And you too slowly for mine."
The two stared at each other for a moment longer before Faultline shook her head. "You understand that Kaiser will come after you don't you? Maybe not during the until after Bakuda is dealt with but he will."
"Then he is welcome to try."
She had to swallow the frustration that began bubbling up as her counterpart said that and Faultline began steering the meeting back on track. Now, with someone likely to be actively searching them out she would have to push Taylor even more… It really wouldn't have surprised her if somehow he'd planned it this way.
The rest of the meeting fortunately passed without further issue, however; that didn't mean there wasn't a lingering tension that made things rather difficult and uncomfortable and it was when she approached the New Wave representative that she realized what kind of light Ganondorf's actions had painted them with.
"Pardon me." Quieting, the two sisters turned from each other to face her and she nodded to Brandish. "I hope I am not interrupting, however I was looking to inquire on the condition of your daughter. I had heard she was at the site of one of Bakura's explosions and I thought I would lend my assistance in the event she required a healer."
The two exchanged a glance and their stances shifted, becoming more guarded. "You can heal people?" Brandish asked.
"Among other things."
The two sisters shared another look, and this time it was Lady Photon to speak. "We appreciate your offer however Panacea was not affected by the blast."
"That is good to hear. And no, I do not mind so long as it isn't too intrusive."
Lady Photon pursed her lips and nodded, "If you can heal people, then why do you associate yourself with a man that is willing to kill in cold blood?"
Of course it would be something along the Black and White, Good and Evil, world view the that the 'Heroes' of this city seemed to confine themselves to; shying away from killing a threat even when it would be necessary. "I associate with Mandrag due to circumstances outside of my control- for the most part at least. Were things different, he and I would likely be facing each other on other sides of the board... As for my healing it is only one thing among many that I am capable of- but regretfully I am not nearly as adept at it as your daughter. My efforts would be better used in other fields..."
Glancing over her shoulder she looked to the pool of blood on the floor, "And if I am to be frank. The end result of Victor's actions would have been the same had he been able to invade my mind, if only in a cleaner fashion than my compatriot chose. But no matter what I would not have let him leave here with any knowledge he stole from me."
Brandish frowned and narrowed her eyes, "And there would have been no other solution?"
"No," She told them bluntly, "because in the improper hand they would be dangerous at best and catastrophic at worst. They are... not the sort of things that one can simply know without the associated learning behind them."
The sisters shared a concerned look and this time Lady Photon took lead. "We are quite certain that Victor is-" She shook herself, "Or rather was, unable to steal powers."
She simply shook her head. "What I am referring to lies outside the scope of Parahuman abilities." Shifting her hand under her robe, she extricated a slip of paper from one of her suits discrete pockets and slipped her hand through the slit at the front of her robe.
"Here, for if you wish contact us." Staring at her, confusion evident on her face, Lady Photon looked down at the slip, then back up to her before tentatively accepted the bit of paper. And with that she turned on her heel, her robe swirling about her for a moment as she walked back toward the rest of the group where they were waiting by the front doors.
+X+X+X+X+
The short trip back the warehouse was uneventful. There were no ambushes nor any surprises, however; that didn't mean she hadn't been tense the for the entire time they'd been out in the open, Imperception Field or no.
After what Ganondorf had pulled it would have been par the course for a criminal that had been shamed like the False-King had been.
Fortunately, upon reaching the warehouse she hadn't had to reaffix the fields and barriers that hid and protected the location from the dangers of the city; thanks in part to Greg, who had acted as an anchor for them while piloting his remote construct.
Only after transferring the anchor back to herself did she let herself relax, and climbing up onto the table she sat down, crossing her legs and setting her hands on her knees as she descended into the depths of her meditative sleep.
And so it was through a dark and empty void of her resting mind she floated, ethereal streamers of all colors composed of memory drifted by occasionally. Asside from that, however; it was just her, alone and at peace… just as she had been each and every other time she had been here upon closing her eyes to rest.
But this time it wasn't to be, as a sultry, feminine laugh suddenly shattered the by then familiar silence and echoed throughout the void. "My, when I felt your spirit awaken I never thought I would find you in such an interesting place as this."
Whipping around, she searched for the source of the voice but froze as she felt the warm touch of someone's breath on her ear.
"And to think, that the tale I spun of your legend would catch on in such a way."
Slowly, a pair of pale blue arms snaked around her shoulders but she pulled away; and drifting forward a bit she spun around to come face to face with Midna's smirking visage.
Crosslegged, with her elbow on her knee and chin in palm, the voluptuous orange haired Twili Queen stared at her; the other worldly womens crimson eyes half lidded as she stared her up and down.
"How…"
The Twilight Queen's crimson eyes softened as she smiled. "Oh Princess, what you did- what you gave me. Such a thing will always leave a mark on the spirit, even on one such as mine."
She narrowed her gaze on the other woman while feeling out for the source of whatever was projecting her image. "Youre not real."
Midna simply smirked and floated around her, a length of her hair snaking out which formed into a fist with one finger protruding that she trailed over her shoulder "Yes, I can see how you would think that wouldn't you- with the situation you've found yourself in. Really, aside from myself I never thought that anyon-"
Stopping mid word, Midna's crimson eyes flicked to the side and she cocked her head as if to listen. Then she smirked, the corners of her purple lips turning up just a bit to expose her sharp canines.
"It seems your protege has started without you Princess, better see to her before she accidentally hurts her retainer."
Then the Twili winked and she was gone, disappearing as quickly as she had appeared and only moments later ringing of steel on steel began to echo throughout the void
Slowly, she drew in a deep breath; and concentrating, she cautiously reached out into the void around her for any sign of Midna. Or, at the very least, what had appeared to be Midna. She found nothing.
Then she exhaled, and she opened her eyes to see Jeff flying backwards through the air in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest with one of her knives held in a guard position. She touched at her thigh, and grimaced as she felt two empty sheaths; then Taylor leapt by, following him with another one of her knives in hand.
She sighed as the ringing of metal on metal started up again and she she stood she idly wondered how long she'd over rested. A quick glance up at the sunlight coming in through the windows that ran along the edge of the ceiling told her it had been at least an hour at minimum.
Twisting; she cracked her back, neck, legs and arms with one fluid motion. Then shaking out, she deftly unsheathed her two remaining blades; and absently, as she stepped off the table and advanced toward Taylor and Jeff, she wondered why her dreamless sleep had turned as it had to the fictional queen of the Twili.