She Wants the World to Burn...

Something was going on, but Jr. didn’t want her involved. As he explained about this chick having the ability to imagine things and make them real, Shizuka found herself frowning. That sounded like some definitely godly type things. She was used to powerful ninja, but this was on a whole other level. As much as she wanted to help, she knew something like this was above her head. She would stand no chance going up against someone like that.

Before she could try and respond though, something caught her attention out the window in the distance. Like the sky was ripped open, a girl fell out of it and disappeared into the darkness of Makkura. This girl seemed to be strong, and after a closer look her head would tilt in curiosity: she looked familiar. To Jr. she’d pull out her Kurayami headband, pointing at it, before then raising her hands above her head as if she had bunny ears, before pointing out the window.

Another girl came in, who with her skills Shizuka recognized as a shinobi, though she didn’t know her. The girl seemed to have some good ideas on how to help. Shizuka could only hope that things worked out. Still, she wouldn’t get involved if Jr. didn’t want her to, but she wanted to stick around. Whistling once more to grab his attention she’d point to herself, and then to the floor, head cocking in the silent question of if she could stick around. She really didn’t have a home, she basically had been living on the rooftops around the city, keeping an eye on things, and no job either, so it wasn’t like she had anything else to do. Even if she couldn’t help with the current issue, perhaps she could help with something else that might come up. Seemed a lot of drama was going around now.

Shizuka asked if there was a way she could help by writing it down. Jr said since it was as if they were against some holy being, she shouldn't get involved. Shizuka seemed disappointed, but she seemed to understand. As she seemed to be asking if it were cool to stay here in the office, a screen opened to show a girl coming out of a 'hole' in the sky, sort of the same way he got here. If it weren't for the fact that he could levitate now, Suna knew he probably would have been reduced to a red stain.

Yet another girl came into the office, who herself resembled a ninja. Was she also from the other world? How many girls did Jr know??... He couldn't help but to agree that she'd come up with a great idea. Something to shut those Godly powers off instantly, an ability or a device. Jr said he could do both of them. Suna saw in Jr's mind that he could build anything out of scratch. As for how he could make an ability? Suna didn't know. Jr had freely opened his mind and let Suna take a look around, but Suna wasn't the nosy type; he didn't like looking at things that he shouldn't have.

"You can leave those to me," Suna said, finally chiming in. "I can get close to her if it comes to that. If you using your time thing gets you tired like that then maybe you shouldn't do that, yeah? You're the Kage here, the guy that runs the show. I'm the only one that can do it. If I die, who cares, right? I'm a Shinobi... I'll be the hero who saved this place. I can't think of a better way to go."

Quiet wanted to help, but Junior didn’t think it was a good idea and honestly Niala couldn’t help but to agree. She knew Shizuka had a sniper rifle, but what else could the girl do? She didn’t think she had power on that level unless Quiet was keeping it hidden. It was probably best she not jump into the whole ordeal. However, it seemed - if Niala was reading the gestures correctly - that Shizuka at least wanted to hang out here. She had a feeling that if Shizuka still wanted to hang out despite the danger that chances were her and Junior knew each other pretty well from one of those ninja worlds, despite them going on a date in the past, she didn’t mind if him and Shizuka had got close elsewhere, fighting side by side and adventures could bring people together pretty close, but Niala wasn’t going to dwell on it considering there was a war going on. That’d be something to figure out later on when things were peaceful again.

Ka’lara entered the office, apparently having overheard what was going on since she was perched on the roof keeping an eye out for the alien. She had a good idea, mentioning the same device the Templars had used on Cala and had tried to use on Nanalie, or a power similar to that. It definitely was a sound idea, if someone could get close enough to use it on her. That would be a dangerous move, but if it paid off… well, Niala couldn’t help but to think that Ka’lara was right. That lady’s body likely wasn’t as trained as her mind, she’d likely be much weaker physically.

Jr. seemed to agree that Ka’lara’s idea was sound, but mentioned he probably shouldn’t personally do something that dangerous, getting up close to someone like that, after what he’d just done. However, Suna chimed in, saying he’d do it. He seemed to have no fear of dying, saying he’d be the hero. Niala was about to comment, saying she didn’t want anyone to have to die in this, when several cameras on her screen auto zoomed into Sunset Island, causing her attention to shift on them. She could see jets flying towards the island, but she could also see a great giant pool of darkness beneath the ocean moving closer. ”Shit…”

Leaving several camera angles up of the island as a whole, she’d shift a few more for a closer inspection, revealing Amaranth, Ghost, and Destiny all looking ready for what was to come. Sure enough, Ghost was already proving what he could do, slowing down two of the bombs, one of which he put behind him while he seemed to take an explosion point blank, only to be unscathed by it.

Even as she watched she couldn't help but to think back to what Ka'lara had mentioned about Zephyr likely being physically weak. It made her think about her own self, and how she'd never been in a fight herself. Sure, she had this godly power, but physically she was nothing. "Ka'lara, when this is over with... I need a favor from you. I want you to train me like Spook trained you."

Jr. didn’t seem to mind that Ka’lara had overheard what was going on. What’s more, he didn’t want Shizuka involved, and she knew he didn’t want her involved either. That was fine, she was waiting for another round with the alien. With the boss thinking her idea was good, she couldn’t help but to grin and nod, glad she could help out in some kind of way. However, what he said afterward had her brain going again, more ideas popping up in her head. Meanwhile, it seemed that Suna was willing to do it, even if it meant having to go out like a hero in the process.

Then, Amaranth’s island was being attacked, and this caused her attention to snap to the window. Her and Amarnath had got pretty close, so much so that Amaranth had placed a seal on her to allow her to use her jutsu on the island and even teleport to it when needed. She was itching for a fight, but this was beyond her. She was good at punching and kicking things to death, not dealing with Gods.

”Hey boss-man, I got another idea and it might help your dude here, too.”, Ka’lara would speak while watching what was going on, giving a nod towards Suna to indicate who she was speaking about. ”So like… use the device to keep Zephyr from using her magic, yeah? But, what about another device or power that negates magic so it’s safer to get closer to her? I know people in the other world who could use medical ninjutsu to stop people from using chakra for a period of time. I once knew a ninja who had this thing that’d basically absorb chakra and redirect it elsewhere, so you had to get up close and personal to fight ‘em. Maybe y’all could do something like that too, eh? Keep her power from being able to affect whoever goes after her.”

Then, suddenly, the second in command was asking her to train her like Spook had done Ka’lara back when she was Nanalie and living in the other world. She wondered if her words had rubbed her the wrong way - Ka’lara just had called it like she saw it. Apparently Niala had taken it to heart and reflected on herself. ”I don’t mind, ma’am, but if that alien shows up again I gotta go in for another round, been itching for this. But why wait? I mean, I know shit’s going down now, but honestly, what better time to train? Shouldn’t wait for peace times just to train. You’ll get stronger during times of war, rather than peace; there’s more at stake, and it forces you to push through things you otherwise wouldn’t, ya know? I got to warn you though, I’m not gonna go easy on you, you’ll be hurting - I’ll do it, I just don’t want the boss-man angry at me for basically beating you up.” If Niala was where she thought she was physically then chances were she’d be in agony for a while until she got used to what Ka’lara was going to put her through. They’d start slow, sure, but it was still going to be intense, otherwise nothing would come from it.

--

"Sure. I'd rather you were here, I don't know if she knows who's all in the Company," Jr responded to Quiet. "It'll be safer for you if you stay here. If you don't have anywhere else to go, you can have a suite downstairs."

Suna was all for him making a device and an ability to shut down powers, even going so far as to say he was ready to die. "Suna, its not so serious here that you have to go throw away your life," answered Jr. "We wanna do this clean, avoiding anyone---"

Jr himself got up from his desk, walking over to the window. She was for real? Even from here Jr could see the island being surrounded. He looked at the screens for a better view, seeing 2 jets drop what looked to be nukes... Only for them both to be caught by Ghost. He blew one of them up right in front of his face. Even the tower rocked somewhat from the explosion, and Jr started fearing the worst... just for the explosion to be absorbed into Ghost.

"Damn... I've never seen him in action before, to think he was capable of this," Jr said. "No wonder they called him the secret weapon." It appeared that Dez was adding something to Ghost's smoke, that essence move that his father came up with to kill that sith army. Jr went and sat back at his desk and opened the bottom drawers to the left and right of him, pulling out tools and materials to begin building a device.

To Ka'lara he'd respond: "Vigilante, he has something about him that cancels powers... But last I knew, he was chasing that alien around, like I thought you were. I'd have to ask him if he'd be willing to share..."

Ghost looked like he was doing something else. As whatever was underwater got closer to the island, Ghost looked to be raising something up from below as well...

Jr. was letting her stay, which made her quite happy. She wouldn’t get involved since he didn’t want her to, but she wanted to be able to at least keep an eye on things. He mentioned a suite, and she whistled and nodded her head. That would definitely be helpful considering she’d been homeless up until that point.

Suna commented that he was willing to die a heroes death if needed to get this powerful godly woman gone, but Junior mentioned that wasn’t needed. However, at that moment something began to happen over on Amaranth’s island, a giant explosion going off that even Shizuka could feel the whole way over here. She half expected to see the island in ruins, yet it seemed like one of the people over there was able to stop it.

Meanwhile, Ka’lara seemed to have another good idea, and Niala seemed like she was looking to be trained after this was all over. Ka’lara sounded like a fighter with her response, and she couldn’t help but to wonder if Niala would go off right now to train with her. Apparently, there was someone Ka’lara was looking to fight though, and made it clear she’d head off to go do that if this person appeared.

For now, Shizuka stayed true to her name, simply staying off to the side and watching out the window, wondering how this whole ordeal was going to end. She could definitely understand Junior wanting her to stay out of it, considering the way things looked to be going.

Suna didn't feel like he'd be wasting himself if he went out stopping a villain that could potentially ruin the world. He was about to respond before there was a boom and a tremble. Suna looked to see a giant explosion forming... but then it got small and vanished. Jr said it was because of that Ghost guy who was here not too long ago. How the hell did he do that?... Suna was sure the whole island was about to vanish in fire, but it looked like that fire was sucked inside of something.

On the screens that Niala brought up, Ghost looked to do just that, take all of the fire inside of himself. He was glowing, but he wasn't on fire. Suna couldn't really get a read on the guy when he was here; it was like he was here, but not here. Jr sat down again and looked to be building something from supplies in his desk. Niala mentioned something about negation, and Jr responded by saying it was a specialty of someone named Vigilante. Suna wondered if he'd get to see this guy, he was spoken of several times. He had to be someone important to be mentioned so many times...

He found himself wanting to go out there and help them. A diabolical word threatening battle, right here. He'd always dreamed of something like this, but in his dreams, he was the bad guy. It was probably because of the way he was raised, as a weapon. Suna wanted to turn that around, and he felt like this was his chance, even if it meant dying.

"I'll go and help," Suna said. "Are you making that for me? If it's something that'll turn her God powers off, i'll do it. I'll be careful, leave that to me." He was still ready to buy it if he had to. Whoever this woman was tried to blow up an island that looked like a vacation area. She had to be stopped.

Ka’lara was willing to train her, but suggested that instead of waiting until all of this drama was over, they do this now. She could understand where she was coming from, but Niala knew the power they were dealing with personally, so she also felt she should be precisely where she was at. Especially as the battle over on Sunset Island began to get more heated. However, an idea came to mind: she had heard shinobi sometimes had the ability to clone themselves. Not just that, but when these clones dissipated, they would pass whatever knowledge or experience they gained onto the original. Something like that wouldn’t be hard for her to do considering her own abilities. ”I’ll make a clone to train, the same way I heard some shinobi do. This way you can train my clone, and when it’s done all of the information and experience will be transferred to me.” If Ka’lara didn’t have an issue with this, and if no one else voiced a problem with it, that’s precisely what Niala would do.

A clone would form, the perfect replica of Niala, connected too her in a way that anything the clone experienced in any form would be knowledge and experience transferred to her. The clone was made to be hardy, so that it could take a beating in a manner of speaking. Leaving the clone to Ka’lara, she would keep her attention on the fight that was going on, beginning to feel more and more that she herself might have to step in and reveal her cards - so to speak. From the way the creatures were getting closer it was clear that some of their abilities were no longer affecting them, and Niala could only assume it was because Zephyr had imagined it that way.

As Junior began to build something, her gaze would flicker over to Suna who seemed to want to go over and help out. ”If you’re going to go over there, unless you know one of them personally, someone might want to give them the heads up first. Otherwise, they might think you’re another threat. Dez kind of has an attack first, ask questions after they’re dead mentality. Dunno about Amaranth or Ghost…” Turning her focus back onto the cameras she'd watch as Amaranth manifested some sort of golden thread that looked to reach into the heavens itself, cutting it with a swipe of her scythe: what was that?

The fight on the island was getting more intense, and Ka’lara really couldn’t tell in the moment who the outright winner or loser would be. Zephyr had this godly power at her disposal, but Ghost, Destiny, and Amaranth seemed to be holding up on their own. Meanwhile, Niala didn’t want to leave the office, but was willing to create a clone for Ka’lara to train. The type of clone she was talking about reminded her of a jutsu she knew: Shadow Clone. She would’ve preferred teaching the real Niala, rather than a clone, but she could also understand with her being the expertise about this power, she didn’t want to go too far. Ka’lara meanwhile weaved handseals, creating a shadow clone to take Niala off to begin training, while the real Ka’lara remained where she was and watchful. She was still half expecting the alien to appear with all the chaos already going on.

Speaking of… ”Honestly, boss-man, I haven’t seen V since that fight. It was pretty bad. That alien kid just kept getting stronger. At some point he almost killed me, but then something - I still dunno what - healed me and I found myself back on my feet and feeling better than I did even before the fight started. The kid transformed, but somehow V was able to guess his weakness. When we defeated the kid again, V mentioned that he was going home, but not back to the tower. I haven’t seen him or the alien since then, but I’ve been keeping an eye out for them and training to get even stronger. The alien kid made it clear he was going to come back. I thought you would've heard from V by now, honestly, or else I would've said something sooner.” Ka’lara would explain while keeping her eyes on the drama still unfolding on Amaranth’s island.

She was still itching to get involved herself, especially after Amaranth had trusted her enough to teach her her trademark “swift release” from the other world. Suna seemed keen on doing just that, heading over there and helping out, but Niala mentioned that maybe someone should give the three a heads up, in case they take him as another threat. Niala still didn't know what kind of ability Amaranth had just used, or what effect it'd have, but she was really curious to find out.

"You know, I think Amaranth and Dez still wear their comm's from the other world...", she'd suggest as a means to let them know that Suna was coming over, if he indeed did.

Ka'lara said she didn't know where Vigilante was. The alien kept getting stronger and stronger, and the battles were dragging on forever. It was cool of V to lure that dude somewhere else so that cities wouldn't be ravaged in their battles, but it wasn't cool not to check in every so often. That alien had a big ego, but then, so did it seem the same with V. They both had something to prove it seemed.

Water rose up in the river into walls suspended in mid-air like something off The Ten Commandments. The flashing and rope-like strands of electricity could be seen next. The screens that Niala opened provided a better view. They said that Zephyr had God-like powers, but, Ghost did too. It was shocking to finally see what he could do. Jr in the meantime took one of the collars from that building incident where V rescued Cala and began to reverse engineer it.

Inventor:

Jr put in his old earpiece from the top drawer at Ka'lara's suggestion. "Dez, Amara. Suna is coming in to help," he said. "Don't shoot! Alright? It's the little dude with the mask and the gourd. He's on your side! I'm sending him in with a couple of things that'll hopefully put an end to this. Don't attack him! Alright?"

Jr stood up and handed Suna the fully constructed collar. He would then cause his wings to appear. Reaching back, he plucked one of the feathers and caused them to disappear into his back once more. Jr closed his eyes and concentrated on this feather a while. It started glowing a white color, making the halo above his head glow brighter, and would blind whoever looked at it without protection a few moments. Next he'd hand it to Suna.

Power Creation:

"This might be hard to believe, but I can give people the ability to make their own powers," he said. "You just have to think about what you want while you're holding that. I'll leave it up to you what to decide, alright?... Don't lose that, Suna. If the wrong hands got on that... Well, that'll just add to the pile of problems going on already. As a boss, I gotta warn you that you might die, bro. I don't want you to, so don't turn this into a suicide mission if you don't have to, alright?" Jr put his hands on Suna's shoulders. "Seriously, bro. You don't have to do this. But if you do, and you don't think you can handle it, no one will blame you for bailing out. When you get back from this i'll pay you, either way it goes. Good luck bro."

It honestly seemed like there was a lot of drama in this world. Between what was going on at that moment in time, to hearing about this alien kid that had attacked several times now, the Templars and Assassins she’d heard about, and who knew what else, it was easy to say it wasn’t boring. Still, she didn’t enjoy the Kane’s being fucked with. She didn’t know all of them, but from what she’d witnessed they were good people. Alec had taken her in and taken care of her, freed her from her life of imprisonment as nothing more than an experiment and a weapon. Then Jr. had become like her best friend. It bothered her a bit she couldn’t do more to help, but she was smart enough not to go running into something she had no business being in, she’d only paint a target on her back and put more people in harms way.

So, Shizuka remained by the window, looking out at the battle and seeing how it was progressing. Junior seemed to complete what it’d been he was working on, and at the suggestion of Ka’lara he pulled out the old comm piece to warn them of Suna’s soon to be arrival. It made her realize she should probably get a cellphone sooner or later, she’d seen so many people with them and knew it was the modern way to communicate.

Having keen eyes of a sniper, Shizuka noticed something that seemed off. It was apparent this supposedly all-powerful lady was trying something. Removing the gunscythe from her back she’d look through the scope, getting a closer look at the situation. It looked like the woman was trying to form a connection between herself and Amaranth, and Shizuka had a feeling no good could come of that if it were established. She didn’t know what it was, not honestly sure of the type of power within this world and the next, but she could see it, could anyone else?

Quickly, she'd place her weapon leaning against the closed window, drawing a crude picture of two stick figures, one with a scythe above it's head, the other fangs. She'd draw a rope beginning to connect the two like a teather before showing those present in the room. She'd indicate her own eyes, and then whistle questioning at them, asking if they could see that too, and perhaps what it was if they knew.

This was crazy. He'd seen stuff like this back in the other world, but not on such a scale as this. So this was how fights went in this world? Suna didn't know everything that was going on over there, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little afraid. It wasn't enough fear to prevent him from going over there. If he was lucky, he wouldn't have to fight at all...

Jr handed him a collar, and Suna took it with his mind, making it float next to him. Feathers and wings came out of Jr's back after that, and after what looked like a jutsu he was handed a feather next. A free power, from a feather... Under normal circumstances, Suna would find this hard to believe. But with the ability to read minds and the atmosphere around him, he could tell that this was no lie. Suna would save that forever.

Jr said not to make this a suicide mission. He showed genuine concern and called him 'bro' repeatedly. It was rare that anyone actually showed that they cared, so Suna nodded his head. His mind working quickly as he watched the screens, he was already coming up with a plan.

"No worries boss, i'll do my part," he responded, floating over closer to the screens, watching closely. "I might be able to stop this right now."

Suna watched the screen for what seemed like long moments. Without another word said he would just suddenly vanish...

/Exit/

Zephyr had tried creating some kind of connection between herself and Amaranth only for Destiny to intercede, forcing the connection between herself and Zephyr instead by instantly switching places with Amaranth. Whatever the connection was though seemed to be absorbed suddenly, and a thunderstorm was immediately forming as Destiny looked suddenly really pissed off.

Suna left to go help after Junior warned Destiny and Amaranth through the earpiece that he was coming. Keeping her gaze on the multiple screens she had up, some still watching from a distance and some at a more close-up angle, she continued to watch the end of the battle. It seemed like Zephyr was stuck in place, unable to move from likely the combination of magic she could sense and see Destiny and then Amaranth performing. Suna arrived right on time, and was able to slap the collar on Zephyr after appearing right in front of her.

Using her seer abilities, Niala took a glance at the connection that had formed and then been destroyed, a frown appearing on her face. Shizuka seemed curious about it and so Niala would explain what it was, ”Oh, I see… that connection was a life connection. Zephyr tried to make it to where if she died Amaranth would die with her. However, because Destiny cares about and loves her daughter so much she gained some kind of ability that allows her to sacrifice herself for Amaranth, that’s how they were able to trade places and how Destiny forced the connection suddenly on herself before destroying it.”

The collar worked, Zephyr was rendered powerless, and held in place by the two attacks aimed her way. It wasn’t long before Destiny crushed her like some grapes for wine, a truly painful death or so Niala could imagine. The thunderstorm seemed to begin to clear after Zephyr was dead, as well as the weather on the island beginning to change back to what it was normally.

Jr gave the heads up that Suna was coming over to help out using the comms system Ka’lara had suggested. However, before Suna left Jr gave him a feather, explaining that he had the ability to give people the ability to make their own powers. He warned Suna not to lose it, and Ka’lara could definitely see why it’d be bad if it got into the hands of someone else. Jr then warned Suna he could potentially die, and if he found himself over his head he could walk away - he’d be paid either way. Suna still wanted to help, and vanished to go do so.

Ka’lara kept her gaze on the battle, remaining silent for a few moments. It seemed like it was ending, Zephyr trapped and unable to move, Suna slapping the collar on her that looked like it worked to stop her from playing God anymore, and then after a nasty thunderstorm began to brew Zephyr was turned into mashed potatoes. Having seen plenty of people die in the other world and even here, it didn’t bother her.

With the end in sight, Ka’lara’s gaze immediately moved toward the heavens, keeping an eye out for the alien kid, while finding herself wondering what V was up to since he disappeared too. She listened to the explanation Niala gave, as Shizuka had been curious about something, and it was this that caused Ka’lara’s attention to focus over onto everyone else again: Zephyr had tried taking Amaranth with her, but Destiny had trumped it. ”I take it that’s why it started suddenly thunderstorming in the middle of a blizzard, cause Destiny was pissed right?” She’d heard that from time to time some really nasty storms had shown up over Edge City, but having seen it suddenly appear after Destiny got angry… Well, it made her wonder if it happened to all of the Kane’s when they got pissed. ”Why would anyone be stupid enough to fuck with someone who has enough power that when they get angry a scary thunderstorm just pops up?”, Ka’lara would voice out loud with a shake of her head.

With everything over Ka’lara began to contemplate going back up on the roof and returning to keep a lookout for the alien. She was glad she could help, even if all she did was throw out a few ideas and suggestions, but she found herself itching for her own fight now. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder where V had disappeared to, and what he’d been doing, plus that alien kid… was he going to show up stronger than ever, too?

It was hard for Jr to really get a read on Suna, seeing as he covered his face up. But he didn't feel like Suna was gonna kamikaze himself at Zephyr anymore. He said he might even be able to end this whole thing right then and there. He stared at the screen for a while, then disappeared.

Moments later, Jr could see him appear right in the middle of this crazy battle something out of the bible, right in front of Zephyr. It didn't show on his face, but Jr feared the worst. Suna was successful in putting the collar on Zephyr, bringing this new chapter to a close. Jr sat down and slumped back into the leather chair, letting a long sigh come from deep within with one hand over his face, rubbing his eyes. A sigh of relief.

Someone with game changing powers attempting to bring back dark times, stopped. A leash put on. Jr figured maybe they'd lock her up, but his sister had other plans. His expression didn't even change as Dez crushed the woman to death. It was brutal, but maybe it was better this way? It wasn't a good idea to even chance her getting free again somewhere down the line, with even more sinister plans. The standing waters collapsed with a big explosion of water that looked controlled somehow, probably the doing of Ghost.

Niala spoke of what was happening over there. Zephyr attempted to connect herself to Amaranth, so that if she was hurt or died, Amaranth would get hurt and die too. Jr heard about something like that happening in the sith war too. It was a coward 'crab-in-the-bucket' tactic that many 'villains' used, 'if I die i'm taking you with me.' Ka'lara spoke on how whenever Dez got angry the weather would turn nasty. An unfortunate perk that came with being a Kane. Jr could do the same thing but he'd been working on his temper as of late, even in the face of someone who could imagine the worst-case scenario and bring it to life.

That was over now. Boss life was too stressful. Long gone were the careless days of lounging on beaches, eating snacks and staring at mostly naked girls...

Shizuka could only shake her head as she listened to the conversation going on around her. It seemed like Zephyr had tried taking Amaranth with her should the whole ordeal had ended badly for her. She couldn’t even fathom trying to do something like that to someone let alone to a kid. It was starting to seem like a good idea to get back to training herself, with the brief mentions of it between Ka’lara and Niala plus also seeing some of the powers people in this world had.

However, rather than leaving, she focused her attention onto Jr. He looked stressed now that the whole thing was over, and she couldn’t help but think back to the other world and how they’d first been introduced at Alec’s suggestion that she help keep Jr.’s temper under control. Back then, on Alec’s ship, Jr. had been the first one to make a move which Shizuka could remember like it was just yesterday. It seemed to work, in fact, Jr. had been the only one to keep Shizuka’s own instincts to kill mixed with a bad temper under control too. He seemed to have a pretty good hold of his temper these days, but perhaps she could help with the stress?

Figuring he’d made the first move in the other world she’d do the same here, she wasn’t sure how they stood in that moment but figured giving it a shot couldn’t hurt. Seeing Jr. leaning back in his chair she’d move over behind him, and if he didn’t shrug her off she’d lean forward slightly, making sure not to send either of them tumbling backwards, before gently draping her arms over his shoulders as she’d done so many times before in the other world. If he didn’t move away or otherwise indicate he didn’t want her to do that, she’d begin to hum the usual soft, relaxing tune she did back in the other world.

”Probably.”, she’d comment in answer to Ka’lara’s question. Junior looked stressed now that everything was over. However, before she could say anything it seemed like Shizuka was making a move to drape her arms over Junior’s shoulders. Briefly, Niala’s gaze would shift to purple, rather than black, as she glanced into the past of the one of the other worlds. She could see something similar like this happening repeatedly between Junior and Shizuka, though Junior was much younger, and just a clone of the real one.

Niala wasn’t the type to get jealous. Her and Junior had gone on a date, but it had been a while ago. Besides, from what she could see, Shizuka seemed to have a touch about her - at least in the other world - that could keep Junior’s temper in bay in ways that Niala could never imagine herself being able to do. She wasn’t upset, she wasn’t salty, it seemed like the two of them were good for one another. So, as her gaze turned to normal and she wondered if Junior would allow Shizuka to remain like that, Niala could only smile, a genuine and happy smile. She cared about Junior, and just wanted him happy, regardless of if they were just friends or not.

The fight had gone well, Zephyr was gone, and now things would hopefully stay calm for a bit - though, for how long would be anyone’s guess. Since her presence in the office was no longer needed, she’d focus her attention onto Ka’lara. ”Let’s go train. I’ll be reachable on my cell phone if anything else pops up. I’m kind of itching to see what we’re going to be doing. Besides, I have an idea… I noticed you can’t fly, Ka’lara, though V and that alien kid can. Maybe I can help with that.”

Rising from her desk, she’d wait for a brief moment to see if anything else was needed from her, before leading the way out of the office should Ka’lara follow her.

It seemed like the new girl was trying to get close to the Boss-man, which only made Ka’lara grin, though she kept any comments to herself. She knew he had a stressful job, so if some female could help him relax then better for everyone. Niala then mentioned wanting to train, and even mentioned maybe being able to help teach Ka’lara had to fly. It had certainly been a pain in the ass being stuck on the ground against an opponent who could fly, and while she could jump high and parkour like a pro, it wasn’t the same. ”Awesome!”, Ka’lara would respond.

Glancing towards the Boss-man she’d add, ”If that alien kid shows up, lemme know Boss-man. I’m ready for another round.” With that said she’d follow Niala out, a bounce in her step in excitement. She was happy to be able to help and teach Niala how to fight, but she was also excited to learn something else that could help in this epic but long battles her and this alien kid had been getting into.

[Exit]

Niala wanted to train and learn how to fight. She asked Ka'lara to help her with this. Jr didn't mind that she was up here, out of the way. She'd been a big help in finding Zephyr, and this probably would have ended differently without her. If she wanted to learn to defend herself, that was fine with him. This way, in the rare occurrence that she actually left and went somewhere, he wouldn't have to worry about someone starting things with her.

A pair of arms came around him from behind, and memories that were created with the clone he sent into the other world to look for his dad and sister flooded his brain. Here, he'd gotten close to Niala once. There, he'd gotten pretty close to Quiet; his temper there was far worse than it was here, and his father, after rescuing her from weirdo scientists, recruited her and asked her to help keep Jr calm. Jr was far more forward there than he was here, but that didn't mean he would resist or push her off of him.

Niala didn't seem like the jealous type, and didn't really have any reaction. It still made Jr somewhat uneasy with as close as they once were, but maybe she wasn't into him the way he thought she was. Soon they were gone, off to train, not before Niala said to call if he needed anything, and Ka'lara asked to let her know if there were any other sightings of the alien. Jr replied to both with just a nod of his head. The office, once nearly crowded with people, now only contained Jr and Quiet.

He took his hand from over his face, leaning both arms on the rests of the leather chair, looking between screens. His left hand brushed back all of the white strands and fluff in front of his face, wondering what was next...

Niala seemed really interested in training, and now the danger had passed she was eager to do it in person rather than through a clone. Shizuka noticed briefly, before the woman left, the way her eyes had flashed to purple and back again. It reminded her of when they’d turned black during which time Niala seemed to be looking into the future, and couldn’t help but to wonder what the purple indicated. Either way, she seemed to smile before leaving with Ka’lara. Both women were going to train, and Niala even left with the promise of teaching Ka’lara how to fly. Shizuka wasn’t sure how something like that could be possible, but figured she’d see it sooner or later.

With Jr. not resisting her attempt to drape her arms over him, she’d remain like that, her soft humming continuing. She found herself looking around the office some more out of curiosity, really taking it in for the first time since she arrived. In the back of her mind she felt like they were waiting for something: was more trouble coming? Did this sort of thing happen often? She knew back in the old world there was always the sense of danger around, though there was also a lot of bark and no bite, and while there were some bad guys here who preyed on women, or robbed people of things, this was her first time seeing something of this level and magnitude.

Glancing towards the screens that Jr. was watching, she’d find herself idly playing with a strand of his hair with her right hand, while her left arm remained draped loosely around him. She found herself realizing how much she actually missed this habit of theirs, and hoped it’d be something that could continue. Still, she wished she had some way of communicating without whistles, gestures, or her very archaic writing abilities as she was curious to what Jr. was thinking in that moment. She was curious about a lot, actually.

Suna reappeared nearby the desk, Jr and Shizuka, hovering in mid-air. His hair was wet, along with his suit, shining in the lights from the office. Screens were still up, hovering in the air like he was, but all was calm now. There were no thunderstorms, no giant shield, no smoke, no crazy effects. Except for the snow, things were normal again... about as normal as things got here in this city.

No one was in the office except Jr and Shizuka now. He wiped moisture off the lenses to his mask after rolling up one of his sleeves, noticing that Jr and Shizuka appeared to be pretty close, her arms around him, idly playing with his hair. Suna was sort of jealous, but since his face was totally concealed it didn't show on him. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want a lady friend, but Suna knew that would never happen. Who would go out with him? Someone who's trashed face was covered up 24/7?

"You know, your sister and Ghost was scarier than that lady would EVER be," he said. "Did you see how Dez did her?... It also feels kinda weird over there, Junior. Keep your eyes open, alright? I could be wrong, but... I donno. It just feels weird..."

The clone's memories continued to spill over into and mix with his own. He sat back and thought about what happened over there sometimes. How his father formed that old crime organization again, 'The Dark.' How he'd pretty much taken over that first world they'd visited, and how no one got in their way in that second one. How some ninja tried to talk and act tough at a ninja summit, only to go run and hide in the end after wiping a village totally off the map.

How Quiet and he had gotten to the point where she would hang onto him, such as like she was now. He had to admit, her presence did put him more at ease. Suna returned to the office. Jr could smell the rain and island air on him, and he was taken even farther back into his memories, to the times when he wasn't in charge of anything and just lounged around all day on beaches. He wondered if he would ever be able to return to that.

"Thanks Suna," Jr said. "You did good for your first time out. I'll set you up an account and put a generous amount in there. I know you can probably talk to people with your mind, but i'll get you a cellphone too. All Company Members have one. We'll set you up with a room downstairs too, if you want."

Suddenly Suna appeared again just as quickly as he’d left earlier, only this time he was dripping wet from the thunderstorm that seemed to have originated from Destiny in her anger. When he mentioned that Dez and Ghost were scarier than that lady Shizuka couldn’t help but grin and nod her head in agreement with the statement. When he went on to mention that something didn’t feel right over there, and suggested Jr. keep an eye on things she would cock her head to the side curiously, wondering what else could be coming. Zephyr was dead, right?

Continuing to play with a strand of Jr.’s hair she listened as he thanked Suna, and complimented him before mentioning setting him up an account and putting a generous amount in it along with setting him up with a cellphone and a room downstairs. She couldn’t help but to wonder what sort of adventures she herself would get up to. But it also reminded her that she had no way of communicating with anyone beyond the usual humming and whistles in the wireless communicator on her person. Of course, she could probably talk if she wanted to, but even as the thought crossed her mind memories of her past awakened within her as if she was back in the other world and a child again, remembering it all as if it were yesterday: her parents hiding her from the headband crew when she was a child, her not understanding the sheer scale of the danger she was facing and just wanting to continue to play, her sounds of protest drawing attention, and her parents being slaughtered for hiding her, then her being kidnapped, experimented on for years until she was finally rescued... She had been the cause of death to her parents, and it was something the headband crew had reminded her of almost daily, she hadn't spoken since then, and any thought to do so brought that sensation of impending doom down on her shoulders.

However, as the sun broke through the parting clouds and shined through the window, hitting Shizuka’s back, an immediate high look would form on her face while her body began to glow softly but harmlessly, as if absorbing the light from the sun itself: the sensation causing the memories to vanish as quickly as they came. Only, unlike in the other world where light only made her high, here it was empowering. She felt stronger with the direct sunlight on her, as if it were enhancing her like some kind of drug. It was a blissful feeling, one she found herself quite enjoying - almost addicting. However, even in her high state she couldn’t help but to wonder at her own abilities: if the sun could make her feel like this, what would it do in a battle scenario?

Word Count From Previous Posts/Thread: 4,328
Word Count From This Post: 472
Total Word Count Towards Light Manipulation Unlock: 4,800 / 5,000

Light Absorption Post Count: 1

Suna was being thanked and praised again. As it wasn't something he ever got, it would take some getting used to. He said he'd set up an account and put a lot in there. Jr said he'd get a cellphone, and that he was free to stay here in the tower if he wanted. As he was mostly squatting in places, inns and hotels and fooling people into letting him stay in their houses and apartments, his own place sounded great.

Suna saw the sun streak through the clouds left behind from that fight. Shizuka seemed to have some kind of reaction to the sun shining on her, like she was drunk. It made him think back to the other world. "Shizuka, wasn't there... some other guy, like you?... When the sun hit him he'd... glow... He had a sword, and didn't say much, just like you too... I can't remember his name, but is he here? Did he come to this world too?..."

Well, if he wasn't going to have a girlfriend, maybe he could have a bro? A partner? With how things were going, he knew it was just a matter of time before the next episode...