Astrid, Varian, Ashtoreth & Brand.
Ashtoreth petted Brand's hair and he stared out sullenly, ignoring her.
"Oh, go find something to do," she snapped at him finally.
"I don't need you yet."
He got up without a word to her and walked away across the floor. Astrid watched him go, and then started to pace after him, feathers rustling uneasily.
Varian grabbed Brand's arm and pulled him into a recess. He went to yell, but she flashed her violet eyes at him.
"Varian," Brand breathed.
"What are you-"
"Getting you out of here. The Old One insisted I do it, and he saved my hide. So, here I am. Now, let's go."
She wrapped her arms around him and he wrapped his around her then they disappeared in front of Astrid's eyes.
~*~*~*~
A game of cat and mouse commenced, Varian flickering through dimensions with Astrid pursuing, sword unsheathed and glittering strangely in the light of many words.
"I can't...do this...for much longer..." Varian panted, immense batlike wings starting to falter.
"Hold on tight."
~*~*~*~
Khe barrelrolled and snapped into existence in the spacestation, skidding along the ground and hitting lampposts, benches and garbage bins as the inertia carried khe along. Brand clung to khet neck, eyes closed in anticpation of hitting something Varian wouldn't be able to protect him from.
"F*CK!"
They slowed and stopped as Varian's claws scratched wildly along the floor with a screech.
"Now, you go. Go now. Run."
Varian nudged Brand off khet back and gave him a push in the back with khet arrowshaped head. Brand glanced at her, violet eyes whirling calmly then took off running.
"DAMMIT! I'm getting sick of this! You FILTHY LITTLE SCIENCE EXPERIMENT!" Astrid screamed and Varian whirled to face her, ruff spreading and mouth opening to emit a threatening hiss.
Khe ducked khet head as an arrow sped towards khet eyes, wings thrown up protectively.
"OW! F*CK THAT HURTS!"
Varian wailed in distress.
Leroy and Oliver
"Sir? There's a disturbace on the commercial level."
"I'm sure security can handle it," Leroy replied.
"Uhh, I think you should see it for yourself."
Leroy have the messanger a curious look, then stood up and headed down himself.
"Uncle Leroy! I was just about to go and get you," Oliver greeted, racing over to the elevator as it opened. "You won't believe it... but there's a dragon in the eatery!"
"Maybe he likes Tony's pizza," Leroy suggested.
"I'm not joking."
"Really? I was..." then Leroy saw Varian for himself. "Oooookay... This was... slightly unexpected."
Varian and Astrid
Varian wheeled, wings deflecting another flight of arrows then shifted and ran to dive under a bench. She scrambled under it then took off again and leaped, shifting midair to form claws and wings.
Astrid swore and sighted carefully along her last arrow. Come on, come on, come on...
She got in her one clear shot.
Varian screamed, then began to fall, form flickering wildly before he hit the ground, one hand to the arrow protruding through his ribs and feet apart, knees bent to take the fall. Astrid landed and Varian spat at her, backing away with bluish blood trickling through his fingers.
"Enough. Where is the Key?"
"Where you won't find him," Varian panted, backing away more and swaying with pain and weariness.
"There are enough humans to mask him."
Astrid's sword glittered in her hands and Varian stumbled, falling to the ground.
"Such an irritation..."
Her sword started to swing downwards, then she yelped, dropping the sword and clapping her hands to her eyes as Varian spat acid at her face. Varian struggled to her feet again and ran towards the open door, path weaving as the bloodloss started to catch up with her, neon lights glinting over her inhumanely metallic silver hair.
Astrid hissed, and picked up her sword by touch.
"Game over. You die now."
Leroy, Tanya, Hunter, Ivan and Tate
"Just who are you?" Leroy demanded, closing in on them, and looking at Astrid.
"The girl is Varian," Tanya said, stepping from the ever growing crowd. "Our winged friend on the other hand?"
Hunter, Tate and Ivan looked on. Tate gave a nervous twitch, trying to restrain from shifting.
Varian & Astrid.
Varian smiled slightly, looking at Tanya.
"The Old One sends his regards."
She gritted her teeth and pulled the arrow out so her healing could kick in. Astrid wiped her eyes clear of blood and poison, other hand holding her sword as she strode towards the small group.
"Varian, you have inconvenienced my mistress for the last time. Where is the Key? Tell me and I'll make your ending quick instead of slow," Astrid hissed, ignoring Leroy and the other aliens as mostly unimportant.
Varian flipped Astrid the bird.
"Gone. Nyah nyah nyah nyah, motherf*cking leather BDSM slut whore. Meh!"
Varian stuck her tongue out at Astrid and giggled insanely as Astrid snarled.
"Go lick Ashtoreth, bout all you're good for anyway, you possessing theiving scum of a demon."
Astrid, completely out of patience and eraged beyond reason, hurled her sword at Varian. The hybrid looked down at the metal protruding from her chest and blinked slightly.
"Well, f*ck."
Then collapsed in an untidy heap. Astrid cracked her knuckles slightly and her wings flared, ebony feathers gleaming.
Tanya, Leroy and Libby
"Healer!" Tanya called, hurrying over to Varian.
"You leave," Leroy demanded of Astrid. "I don't care what you want, you will not come to my station and behave in such a manner."
He gave her a dark look, preparing his power should an explosion be neccesary. Meanwhilst, seeing someone get run through with a sword had uped the fear factor in Libby (though she could not stop herself from watching) and she unintentionally started making bubbles. Bubble, bubbles all through the place.
Astrid
Astrid smiled at him slightly as she grabbed her swordhilt and pulled it from Varian, then took to the air.
"Watch yourself, alien. You're not the only thing in the heavens."
She disappeared with a thought and flick of her hand.
Brand broke cover and ran to Varian, dodging bubbles as he ran.
"Varian!"
Varian rolled over onto all fours and hacked.
"Note to self, do not do that again. Swords hurt like a bitch."
Libby and Yvette
A nearby healer put his hand on Varian.
"Libby!" Yvette scolded. "Get a hold on yourself."
Libby gulped, and the bubbles stopped.
Varian & Brand.
Varian shrugged the healer off and pointed an accusing finger at Brand when she got to her feet. Albeit a bit unsteadily and blood drying on her body.
"You! Very important! Will stay out of danger and unhurt at all times! Bad Key!"
Brand started to say something, and she cut him off.
"What if Astrid was still lurking about?! Bad Key! She's not very bright, generally, but she is very cunning. Bad, bad Firefly Key!"
Brand scuffed his foot slightly, hands in his pockets and looking sheepish.
Tanya, Ivan, Hunter and Leroy
"Varian?" Tanya asked softly. "I'm Tanya. Do you remember me?"
"They've met?" Ivan whispered.
"Guess so," Hunter whispered back.
Leroy folded his arms across his chest. He'd like to know what exactly was going on here.
Varian & Brand.
Varian looked at Tanya and nodded once sharply, before she got back to haraunging Brand. Hand gestures and poking him in the chest and stuff.
"Alright, alright. Geez, you're worse then Faith," Brand complained, rubbing his chest slightly.
"Pfffft. Bad Key. I risk my life, which is very, very precious to me to return a favour and get you the hell away from Ashtoreth and you don't return the simple courtesy of keeping your head the f*ck down. I nearly died. And I'm damn near industructible, the ONE thing I can thank Blakesley for."
She put her hands on her hips and regarded him severely, before turning to the group of aliens.
"So who all else is here?"
Tanya, Leroy and Oliver
"This is Leroy, Leroy Brown," Tanya said. "He's the Commander of this station."
Leroy nodded.
"His nephew and apprentice, Oliver."
"Yo."
"And well," Tanya looked around at the others. "If I tried to introduce everyone else here, we'd be here all night."
There was some tentative laughter from the crowd.
Varian & Brand.
"I'm Varian and that's Brand," the hybrid said calmly, looking out over the crowd, arms crossed over her chest.
"And can I borrow some clothes off someone?"
Brand snickered slightly.
"Oh, for god's sake, f*cking bite me, Red. I can't shift clothes. And for some reason, warmblooded two leggers put so much emphasis on the naked body. Quite ridicolous."
Tate, Tanya, Ivan and Hunter
"I'll get something," Tate said.
"Thank you Tate," Tanya replied.
"Always ready to please."
"We know," Ivan snickered in an aside to Hunter.
Hunter chuckled.
"Who was chasing you?" asked Leroy.
Varian & Brand.
"The bitch with black wings and a whore complex is Astrid," Varian said.
"Not that that's really her. She's possessed or some shit by a mega evil thing, and what she should be is something completely different. She's a half and half. Dath and mutant. Mutant's where the wings are from. Now, she works for Ashtoreth."
"Scary woman," Brand said, then shuddered.
"Yeah, you get that when you're one of the beings of ultimate evil," Varian said.
"She's planning to take over the world, strip it bare then go home."
Oliver and Tate
"I've heard that story before," Oliver joked.
"It's hardly a laughing matter, Oli."
"Sorry."
"Here's some clothes, Varian," Tate said, rejoining them with a bundle in her arms.
Varian & Brand.
Varian took the clothes and started to put them.
"Oh, she might. It's not definite yet. There's different things in process..."
Brand coughed slightly.
"And as long as *he* stays out of her hands, we'll be a whole lot closer to not being destroyed."
"I'm not human," Brand explained.
"Or I wasn't originally. I was this ball of red energy...thing."
Leroy and Tate
"And what makes Brand so special?" asked Leroy.
"Can I get you anything else?" Tate inquired.
Varian & Brand.
Varian gave her a considering look.
"Live meat? Or possibly someone feel like donating blood?"
Brand shrugged slightly at Leroy's question.
"I open gates to heaven with my blood. It's something that appeals to her, and the energy I was made of before I was a person has a high...ever read the Discworld novels? High thaum content. A thaum being the smallest unit of magic, much like an atom. She wants me, I don't want to be with her. If she has me, she has a much higher chance of ending the world. That easy enough for you to understand?"
Leroy, Tate and Oliver
Leroy grinned.
"Sure that's easy enough," he chuckled. "Well, you're welcome to stay, if you'd like."
"Okay, Tate said agreeably, rolling up her sleeve. "You can have some of my blood."
"Tate!" Oliver exclaimed.
"What?" Tate blinked. "She would like some -"
"I know that much. But you -"
"My power won't let me do anything that will directly hurt me, which is something I'm not going to try to fight to change," Tate pointed out. "She's hungry, and she's not going to run me dry, so it's perfectly fine."
Varian & Brand.
"Girl guide's promise," Varian said, raising her hand.
"You were never a girl guide," Brand accused.
"You haven't been alive long enough."
"I nearly ate one once, does that count?"
Tate and Oliver
Tate giggled and Oliver didn't look any more impressed.
"Uncle Le-"
"If Tate says it's safe, it's safe," Leroy replied.
"Hmph."
Varian & Brand.
"And you say I don't have a sense of humour. I made her laugh," Varian said to Brand.
She stepped slightly closer to Tate.
"Hybrid."
"Energy thingie."
"Science experiment."
"Annoying waste of space."
"Frankenstein."
"Unlike Frankenstein, I *plan* on killing my creator and succeeding at it. I bit off his hand, if that helps," she said cheerfully to Leroy and Tanya.
Tanya, Tate and Leroy
Tanya gave a small smile and Leroy turned to the crowd.
"Okay people, nothing more to see here. Go back to... whatever it was you were doing."
"Whenever you're ready," Tate said to Varian.
Varian & Brand.
"Always," Varian said.
"Sluuuuuut," Brand hissed between his teeth, smiling slightly.
She raised an eyebrow at him as she lifted Tate's wrist to her face.
"Shut up. You'll hurt yourself less."
Her fangs grew sharper and cleaner edged as she slid them into Tate's skin and started to drink.
Tate and Oliver
Tate gasped a little at the sudden shock of it, then relaxed.
"You sure you're okay?" Oliver asked.
"It's fine, really," Tate replied.
Varian.
Varian drank for a few minutes, letting the blood flow down her throat. She let go and then licked across the bite to heal it without a scar.
"Thank you."
Tate and Oliver
"Always happy to please," Tate said.
"Yeah, that's the problem," Oliver muttered.
Varian & Brand.
"There are worse things," Varian said.
She studied Tate carefully, then her face morphed and hair changed colour to become a copy of what Tate appeared to be at the moment.
"No matter how many times I watch you do that, it freaks me out," Brand said.
Varian smiled slightly and studied her hands, letting the fingers lengthen and the nails grow to hard metallic points. Her hair shifted colour again, darkening to a blue so dark it was almost black.
Tate
Tate tilted her head to the side and smiled.
"Cool," she nodded.
Varian.
Varian looked down at the area she'd skidded through on a scaled belly.
"And, um, sorry bout the mess. This was kinda the nearest open, safe-ish space that didn't have at atmosphere of chlorine or something else equally nasty."
Leroy
Leroy chuckled.
"It's okay," he said. "Our repair crews are already on it. And in any case, this is the beauty of being able to manipulate atoms. Now, shall I have rooms arranged for you two?"
Varian.
"I need to sleep. Hibernate, more the word," Varian said.
"Then I can wing him to where he;s meant to be. Dammit, I hate prophecies. Blasted things."
Leroy and Oliver
"But they can have their advantages," Leroy smiled, looking around the station. "Anyway. Oli? Can you -"
"I'll check the computer and escort them right away, sir, yes, sir," Oliver joked.
"Good attitude, keep it up."
Varian & Brand.
Varian hummed to herself slightly, a queer tonal descant which lilted like water.
"Tut, tut. It looks like rain."
"Localised weather disturbances would probably not be good inside a space station," Brand said hastily.
She pouted at him.
"But fun!"
Ryans, Tate, Hunter and Oliver
"Not if you're the one eating pizza," Yvette commented. "Soagy pizza, not much fun."
"Really? You think so?" Ivan asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Just a hunch."
"I see."
"It's always wise to listen to your gut," Tate nodded.
"Hence why we're talking about pizza," Yvette joked.
"It all makes sense now," Hunter chuckled.
"Oh, Varian," Tate said. "We haven't been introduced yet. I'm Tate, of course, this is Yvette, Ivan, Hunter and Libby."
Libby waved shyly.
"Okay," Oliver spoke up. "There are some free rooms in A Block."
Varian & Brand.
"He needs a bed, I can sleep wherever," Varian said.
"Nice to meet you all," Brand said.
"So...all aliens? Friends of aliens? I've mostly just been with mutants. And demons. And whatever she is."
"I have no definition," Varian said, nodding slightly.
"The whole is greater then the sum of its parts...or some such shit. Or you could just say Blakesley hit a jackpot. Hate him."
Oliver, Yvette, Libby and Hunter
Oliver started leading the way.
"I'm a human/Dath hybrid. Hunter is a Dath/Sem hybrid. Yvette, Ivan, Libby and Tate are all full blooded Daths," he told them. "I'm pyrokinetic, Hunter is technokietic -"
"I have X-ray vision," Yvette interupted. "Ivan has electrokinesis, Libby has Bubble - hence the display of such eariler."
"uhh, sorry," Libby said bashfully.
"And Tate is a pathicshifter," Hunter finished.
Varian & Brand.
Varian nodded slightly.
"S'cool," Brand reassured Libby.
"Friend of mine at the mansion, her power is kinetic energy. She gets upset, things start to glow red and then KABOOM! Terrifed scream of 'Duck!' and a crater in the floor. Bubbles are *nothing*."
Varian looked at Tate and ran her tongue along her bottom lip thoughtfully.
Should she tell them about Christian? Nah, he'd have been and gone already.
Libby, Hunter and Yvette
"Bubbles are fun," Libby said reproachfully.
"Wow, an actual crator in the floor?" Hunter said. "Cool!"
"Hunter, I think the point is that it's not cool," Yvetter pointed out.
"Uhh, yeah..."
Varian
"Expensive," Varian said thoughtfully.
She yawned widely.
"Cool to watch though," Brand said.
"They explode in red sparkles."
Hunter, Tate and Ivan
Hunter chuckled.
"I love these," Tate grinned. "Yay for the giant convery belts!"
"It never fails. Every time we step on one, you say 'yay'." Ivan said.
"Actually, everytime I step on one with you," Tate teased.
Varian
"Hmm..."
Varian poked at it with her foot, then stepped onto it. SHe didn't like machines at all.
Brand got on it as well.
"This place is so cool."
Oliver and Yvette
"You can thank my uncle," Oliver said proudly. "It was his idea and he was in charge of the construction from day one."
"By the way, Oli," Yvette teased. "Do you know the word 'neopism'."
"Sheddup."
Varian
"Yeah, the whole place is like wow," Brand said.
"I thought the mansion was cool...this is like ten times better!"
He bounced along happily, eyes looking around eagerly.
Varian's lip curled slightly, then returned her face to its impassive stare.
Oliver, Yvette and Tate
"The mansion?" Oliver repeated. "As in the Xavier institute?"
"What's that?" Yvette asked.
"It's a mutant school," Tate explained. "Oli and I visited there a couple of times."
Brand
"Yeah, I was there, then Tulsa, then Ashtoreth's Court since Ashtoreth has this delusion where I belong to her," Brand said.
Oliver
"Ahh, okay," Oliver nodded.
He stepped off the people mover.
"This way," he directed. "Well, you'll be safe here. Or at least, that's the plan."
Varian
"Astrid thinks I'm dead, and she won't know where you took Brand," Varian said.
"Won't she be getting an unpleasant surprise one day."
She rubbed her chest where the sword had gone straight through her body.
"And that will be fun."
Ivan, Yvette and Oliver
Ivan chuckled.
"Rude shock indeed," he said, grinning.
Yvette sighed.
"Why do people insist so much in being so violent?"
"We're not all pleasant people like you," Oliver replied.
Yvette rolled her eyes.
Varian
"Here's this thing called life, princess," Varian said in a bitter voice.
"You tend to live, or you die. Often in a f*cking violent bloody way. If someone's gonna die, it's going to be someone else and not me."
"How old are you exactly anyway?" Brand asked.
"I was born November 2002," Varian said.
"Decanted, whatever..."
Yvette and Oliver
"I still don't see why people can't just get along," Yvette said. "I mean, gee, just because you can't agree with someone on something, doesn't mean you should kill them." "As I said," Oliver put in, still guiding the way, "we're not all pleasant people like you." "And we're not all adrenaline junkies like you." "Vette -" "Don't Vette me," Yvette frowned. "I'm not the one who wants to spend his life trying to make it as short as possible." Oliver shook his head.
Varian
"Pause for a f*cking reality check here, princess," Varian said.
"The thing people disagree with me on, is that I'm actually f*cking sentinent and a person at f*cking all. Or that I should die. I happen to disagree with that a lot. Sometimes things aren't so f*cking black and white like you think they are."
"Calm, peace, dignity!" Brand pleaded.
"Oh for f*ck's sake, grow the f*ck up and f*cking bite me on the f*cking ass."
Varian thought for a moment.
"F*ck."
"Could you have said more expletives in a sentance?" Brand said.
Varian's eyes glinted.
"Want to see me really try?"
"No! No no. You spent FAR too much time with Jay."
"I know. Funny guy. Asshole, but funny in a I want to kill him slowly and painfully, but his life is so f*cking pathetic you know watching him live it is going to be hilarious kinda way."
Yvette, Tate and Oliver
"There's a difference between self defence and -" Yvette began.
"Now, now," Tate spoke up. "Let's not continue this. We're all entitled to our opinions, career choices, lifestyle decisions, etc, etc, etc. Oli? Are we there yet?"
"Just around this corner," Oliver said. "Here."
He opened up the door and lead everyone inside.
"I hope your quarters are to your liking."
Varian
"Oh! Another thing I have a problem with. the world ending. I kinda want that to not happen too. YIRAAS, they stop some of that happening."
Varian nodded and Brand pushed her towards the door.
"Idealogical debate later."
"And violence is fun. Bet you've never dropped out of the sky on a deer and broke its back before you eat it. All you two leggers, all the f*cking same. So prissy and unwilling to get your f*cking hands dirty. Shut up, stop whining and f*cking deal with how life is. Violent, bloody, messy and you don't always have time for idealogical debate on what are the ethical and moral grounds for the violence you're about to commit. Hey! Dammit! Stop shoving me!"
Brand pushed her into the bedroom and a stream of swearing followed.
"Night!"
He coughed slightly and leaned against the shut door. Varian expressed her opinion about this quite vehemently.
"She has issues."
Yvette and Oliver
Yvette scowled and was about to say something when Oliver clamped his hand over her mouth.
"Can it, Vette," he said.
She glared at him, but he had turned his attention to Brand.
"If you need anything, you can contact information by pressing that button there," Oliver instructed, gesturing to a button that said 'info' on the computer console. "If you're interested, you can get on the internet from here. Umm, yeah. Any questions?"
Brand.
"No, sounds five by five," Brand said cheerfully.
He shifted forwards slightly as the door bounced, then settled back against it.
"Nice talking to you."
Oliver
"Nice talking to you too," Oliver nodded. "See ya round."
And on that, Oliver and his... entourage departed.