03-24-2009, 07:27 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-24-2009, 07:28 PM by Piper Juunanagou.)
As her blonde companion made his way into the opening of the alley, the redheaded medic wore a tense expression on her pallid visage.
“Hey,” the courier declared as he waved his hands toward the group of people in the alleyway. Due to her current location, Piper lacked the angle needed to see the group that Kaden had stumbled upon, but when she saw the warm smile fade from the courier’s face, she immediately knew that their twosome had just struck another bit out foul luck.
“Hands in the air,” someone from around the wall growled. The man’s voice was slightly muffled, as if he was talking through a mask or helmet. “Now,” the same man growled, and that’s when Piper heard the trio of soft, mechanical clicks. The woman recognized the noise—it was the sound of those damn energy rifles being activated.
“Hey, now,” Kaden shot back as he slowly raised his hands in compliance with the armed grunts. “No reason to wave the guns at me,” he added as he began to shuffle out of the alley. His movements were subtle enough that his aggressors couldn’t notice, but Piper knew exactly what he was trying to do.
Is he trying to give me an opening? Piper pondered as the courier crept backwards toward the relative openness of the street. For a moment, it seemed that Kaden would simply be able to sidestep away from the gun-totting thugs, but that was before another of Kai’s grunts spoke up.
“Stop moving,” the second voice replied. From what Piper could discern, the speaker was a female, although it was hard to tell through whatever gear they were wearing to protect their heads. With a frown, Kaden edged back one last time before glancing toward Piper with only his sad eyes. It was then that the medic knew that this little tryst was not going to end well.
“I’m sorry,” Kaden replied. Piper couldn’t tell if he was speaking to her or toward his aggressors. Either way, the courier quickly followed up his remark by whipping one of his hands toward the group of thugs.
“Not a chance,” Piper gasped as she ducked her head and charged toward her ally. With a grunt, she slammed all her weight and all her strength into Kaden. The courier let out a surprised yelp as he was sent careening to the street. Piper and Kaden’s eyes met for a moment right before the startled blonde slammed onto the ground and was carried down the road by the momentum.
In the immediate background, the redhead heard the pneumatic rattle of the energy rifles.
Adrenaline began to course through the woman’s bloodstream as she spun to face the three armed thugs. A fourth lay one the ground—seemingly unconscious as a result of Kaden’s skill with his hands. Biting her lower lip, Piper tried to move out of the path of the oncoming projectiles. Despite the fact that she was becoming faster and stronger each day, she was still no superhuman. The redhead managed to dip around the first volley of ki bullets, but as she tried to move around the next succession of bullets, her reflexes failed her.
Piper let out a scream as two bullets grazed her left arm and shoulder. The next round, however, found its mark right above her hip. The impact caused the woman to collapse to her knees. A few yards away, the trio of armed thugs lowered their weapons, as if they expected the woman to die right then and there from her wounds.
Lifting her head up, the injured medic turned her attention toward a nearby wooden crate. With a wave of her hand, Piper sent the object sailing toward the threesome. Like startled fish, they broke apart as the crate slammed into the wall of an adjacent structure. Grimacing in lieu of the pain radiating from her bleeding shoulder, Piper sized up a nearby rock and used it to nail on the thugs in the exposed back of their head.
At this point, the two remaining grunts had regained their bearings and were turning to finish the woman. With a weak smile, Piper used her powers to dislodge one of the supports for a small balcony above the soldiers’ heads. Unable to support its weight, the aged balcony came screaming down to the ground. One of the thugs managed to dive out of the way before their comrade was buried beneath the wood and brick.
“You bitch,” the remaining thug—the female-sounding one—screamed as she lifted her weapon. Glaring down the woman, Piper telekinetically drew her own firearm and fired off two rounds at the woman. The woman let out a weak, desperate cry as she collapsed. Before the redhead could fire off another shot, a recovered (and rather horrified) Kaden sprang forward and disarmed his injured companion.
“She’s …dead,” the young courier stammered as he tossed Piper’s handgun to the side.
“What?” Piper muttered as she painfully rose to her feet. “She’s not dead, I didn’t aim for anything important,” she reasoned as she lurched over to Kaden, who was kneeling over the bleeding, unconscious woman. The young courier seemed to be shaking once more as he pointed to the two holes on the woman’s chest: One was near the center of her abdomen and the other was almost over her heart.
“Did you even aim at all?” Kaden accused as he turned to face the now mortified Piper. The courier looked just as he had when he had accidentally claimed a life earlier—hurt, mildly traumatized, and slightly erratic. “You hit her almost square in the chest!” He blamed as he moved up away from the dying woman and took a few steps down the alley. The young man ran both of his hands through his hair as he walked toward the other unconscious soldiers.
“But she shot me…” Piper mumbled as she fell to her knees next to the woman. Kaden was right, the redhead hadn’t taken the time to aim—she had been too caught up in the rage and adrenaline. And because of that, this woman was bleeding to death in a lonely alley in a deserted town. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Piper whispered as she lifted the woman’s visor up from her face. The woman beneath the mask was probably in her mid-twenties…just out of military training.
Just then, a gasp escaped the unconscious soldier as her eyes shot open. Before Piper could utter even the slightest noise, the injured woman clasped her fingers around the redhead’s wrist.
In that moment, the medic saw the fallen soldier’s entire life flash before her eyes. Piper saw the soldier graduate school, she saw her finish boot camp, and then she saw her wedding to her childhood sweetheart. The dying woman had it all—loving parents, straight A’s through school, all the friends someone could ever want. She had the life Piper could only dream of having.
The last memory force-fed into Piper’s head was of the woman’s two young children—cute, adorable, and completely innocent. They were loved and adored by their almost overly loving parents, and now their mother was dying. Those two children would never have a normal life ever again, and their father would be deeply scarred for the rest of his days.
…And it was all because of Piper.
“No!” Piper wailed as the woman’s memories faded and her body once again went limp. The redhead continued to mumble incoherently to herself as she began to fish through her small side pack for something—anything—to help the woman. Unfortunately, all that was left was scraps of gauze, Piper’s prescription medication, and an empty bottle or two of morphine.
“No!” Piper repeated as she wrapped her good arm around the dying woman and pulled the body up onto her lap. The redhead closed her eyes and hugged the body close to her, despite the fact that the woman’s blood was pooling out onto her.
Having verified that Piper hadn’t killed the other soldiers, Kaden watched her complete and utter breakdown in silence from a few yards away. He wore a heavy sadness on his face as his companion, already shaken from being shot, cradled the dying woman in her arms. Beneath her labored breath and her uncontrollable sobs, the medic continued to mutter ‘I’ll save you, I’ll save you.’
“What’s going on?” A new voice asked, prompting Kaden to turn to face the newcomers. What he saw was a young man with a tail and a tall, blonde woman.
“Hey,” the courier declared as he waved his hands toward the group of people in the alleyway. Due to her current location, Piper lacked the angle needed to see the group that Kaden had stumbled upon, but when she saw the warm smile fade from the courier’s face, she immediately knew that their twosome had just struck another bit out foul luck.
“Hands in the air,” someone from around the wall growled. The man’s voice was slightly muffled, as if he was talking through a mask or helmet. “Now,” the same man growled, and that’s when Piper heard the trio of soft, mechanical clicks. The woman recognized the noise—it was the sound of those damn energy rifles being activated.
“Hey, now,” Kaden shot back as he slowly raised his hands in compliance with the armed grunts. “No reason to wave the guns at me,” he added as he began to shuffle out of the alley. His movements were subtle enough that his aggressors couldn’t notice, but Piper knew exactly what he was trying to do.
Is he trying to give me an opening? Piper pondered as the courier crept backwards toward the relative openness of the street. For a moment, it seemed that Kaden would simply be able to sidestep away from the gun-totting thugs, but that was before another of Kai’s grunts spoke up.
“Stop moving,” the second voice replied. From what Piper could discern, the speaker was a female, although it was hard to tell through whatever gear they were wearing to protect their heads. With a frown, Kaden edged back one last time before glancing toward Piper with only his sad eyes. It was then that the medic knew that this little tryst was not going to end well.
“I’m sorry,” Kaden replied. Piper couldn’t tell if he was speaking to her or toward his aggressors. Either way, the courier quickly followed up his remark by whipping one of his hands toward the group of thugs.
“Not a chance,” Piper gasped as she ducked her head and charged toward her ally. With a grunt, she slammed all her weight and all her strength into Kaden. The courier let out a surprised yelp as he was sent careening to the street. Piper and Kaden’s eyes met for a moment right before the startled blonde slammed onto the ground and was carried down the road by the momentum.
In the immediate background, the redhead heard the pneumatic rattle of the energy rifles.
Adrenaline began to course through the woman’s bloodstream as she spun to face the three armed thugs. A fourth lay one the ground—seemingly unconscious as a result of Kaden’s skill with his hands. Biting her lower lip, Piper tried to move out of the path of the oncoming projectiles. Despite the fact that she was becoming faster and stronger each day, she was still no superhuman. The redhead managed to dip around the first volley of ki bullets, but as she tried to move around the next succession of bullets, her reflexes failed her.
Piper let out a scream as two bullets grazed her left arm and shoulder. The next round, however, found its mark right above her hip. The impact caused the woman to collapse to her knees. A few yards away, the trio of armed thugs lowered their weapons, as if they expected the woman to die right then and there from her wounds.
Lifting her head up, the injured medic turned her attention toward a nearby wooden crate. With a wave of her hand, Piper sent the object sailing toward the threesome. Like startled fish, they broke apart as the crate slammed into the wall of an adjacent structure. Grimacing in lieu of the pain radiating from her bleeding shoulder, Piper sized up a nearby rock and used it to nail on the thugs in the exposed back of their head.
At this point, the two remaining grunts had regained their bearings and were turning to finish the woman. With a weak smile, Piper used her powers to dislodge one of the supports for a small balcony above the soldiers’ heads. Unable to support its weight, the aged balcony came screaming down to the ground. One of the thugs managed to dive out of the way before their comrade was buried beneath the wood and brick.
“You bitch,” the remaining thug—the female-sounding one—screamed as she lifted her weapon. Glaring down the woman, Piper telekinetically drew her own firearm and fired off two rounds at the woman. The woman let out a weak, desperate cry as she collapsed. Before the redhead could fire off another shot, a recovered (and rather horrified) Kaden sprang forward and disarmed his injured companion.
“She’s …dead,” the young courier stammered as he tossed Piper’s handgun to the side.
“What?” Piper muttered as she painfully rose to her feet. “She’s not dead, I didn’t aim for anything important,” she reasoned as she lurched over to Kaden, who was kneeling over the bleeding, unconscious woman. The young courier seemed to be shaking once more as he pointed to the two holes on the woman’s chest: One was near the center of her abdomen and the other was almost over her heart.
“Did you even aim at all?” Kaden accused as he turned to face the now mortified Piper. The courier looked just as he had when he had accidentally claimed a life earlier—hurt, mildly traumatized, and slightly erratic. “You hit her almost square in the chest!” He blamed as he moved up away from the dying woman and took a few steps down the alley. The young man ran both of his hands through his hair as he walked toward the other unconscious soldiers.
“But she shot me…” Piper mumbled as she fell to her knees next to the woman. Kaden was right, the redhead hadn’t taken the time to aim—she had been too caught up in the rage and adrenaline. And because of that, this woman was bleeding to death in a lonely alley in a deserted town. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Piper whispered as she lifted the woman’s visor up from her face. The woman beneath the mask was probably in her mid-twenties…just out of military training.
Just then, a gasp escaped the unconscious soldier as her eyes shot open. Before Piper could utter even the slightest noise, the injured woman clasped her fingers around the redhead’s wrist.
In that moment, the medic saw the fallen soldier’s entire life flash before her eyes. Piper saw the soldier graduate school, she saw her finish boot camp, and then she saw her wedding to her childhood sweetheart. The dying woman had it all—loving parents, straight A’s through school, all the friends someone could ever want. She had the life Piper could only dream of having.
The last memory force-fed into Piper’s head was of the woman’s two young children—cute, adorable, and completely innocent. They were loved and adored by their almost overly loving parents, and now their mother was dying. Those two children would never have a normal life ever again, and their father would be deeply scarred for the rest of his days.
…And it was all because of Piper.
“No!” Piper wailed as the woman’s memories faded and her body once again went limp. The redhead continued to mumble incoherently to herself as she began to fish through her small side pack for something—anything—to help the woman. Unfortunately, all that was left was scraps of gauze, Piper’s prescription medication, and an empty bottle or two of morphine.
“No!” Piper repeated as she wrapped her good arm around the dying woman and pulled the body up onto her lap. The redhead closed her eyes and hugged the body close to her, despite the fact that the woman’s blood was pooling out onto her.
Having verified that Piper hadn’t killed the other soldiers, Kaden watched her complete and utter breakdown in silence from a few yards away. He wore a heavy sadness on his face as his companion, already shaken from being shot, cradled the dying woman in her arms. Beneath her labored breath and her uncontrollable sobs, the medic continued to mutter ‘I’ll save you, I’ll save you.’
“What’s going on?” A new voice asked, prompting Kaden to turn to face the newcomers. What he saw was a young man with a tail and a tall, blonde woman.
Quote:Vad's Whimsical Whimsicalisms: Men. Good stuff there.
![[Image: Viper-Mini-Sig-Piper.png]](http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b318/ThundercatsHO/Viper-Mini-Sig-Piper.png)
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning,
but anyone can start today and make a new ending.