013. action. closed.

[strikeraid]

Who: Skyler (strikeraid), Harper (duette), mmmaybe Dallen (decelerate), Chuck (swissarmyjesus), and Danny (gogoghostpowers)
When: Today, 02/17, around 4 pm; then today, 02/17, later in the evening; then tomorrow, 02/18, right after school.
Where: In order: Somewhere in the Business District, then somewhere in the Dead District, then like... at school or something I'M GONNA ROLL WITH IT
What: Someone tries to kill him (by accident), he tracks down a certain Key, he tries to kill someone (on purpose).

[ Someone is having a very busy Monday and Tuesday. Let us count the ways. ]

[ closed to Harper (for now!) ]

[ After a long, hard day of school, followed directly by a few hours of scrubbing dicks off the wall, Skyler is almost done with his day. Except he isn't, of course; he still has Blood Key shit to do today and he isn't about to give Helene no for an answer. He does need to make a stop at home, though, and the last buses have already left, so here he is, makin his way downtown cutting through a quieter part of the Business District on his way home. He is not expecting to meet anyone, and he isn't trying to catch anyone's eye. All he wants to do is get home. Seriously.

Nothing in his life ever happens that smoothly, unfortunately! ]

[ / closed to Harper ]

[ closed to Chuck ]

[ After weeks of searching, he thinks he's got the right guy. He's been looking for a new guy, he knows, someone who's been on the ball and stayed in fairly good standing with his fellow Keys. He's even friendly, which is weird enough among the Keys, but so far it appears he's been doing nothing but making himself friends with his timely warnings. Things have probably been pretty cozy for him.

Well, that's enough complimentary bullshit. After all, his fellow Keys did end up leading right towards him in a roundabout way, traveling backward from contact to contact until he reached the right cell, and then the right people within the cell. He follows the alley between the two abandoned buildings down, the other teen's back coming into view. This is the third person from the group he's questioned, and he's got the line of questions down to an art.

He walks towards the guy. He doesn't know his name, so he just calls out to him in a low, gruff voice, a part of his Key disguise. ]

Hey, you. Got a minute?

[ / closed to Chuck ]

[ closed to Danny ]

[ Skyler is stalking Danny after school on Tuesday. I repeat, he is taking his books and jamming them all in his locker, then sitting at the door he knows Danny uses to leave the school, waiting for him to come by. Suspicious? Maybe, but he's pretty sure Danny isn't expecting what's coming next. WHAT DO ]

[ / closed to Danny ]

Comments

i was already logged into this one when i opened the log up

[gogoghostpowers]

[WHAT DO, you ask? Why, the same exact thing he does every Tuesday after school, which is leave school to walk home.

Although today he's looking smugger than usual as he heads out the school building, seeing the remains of his dick antics (his andicks, you might say) still adorning the walls on his way out.

He suspects nothing.]

fate

[strikeraid]

[ GOOD. Skyler slips from his seat as Danny walks past him, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking behind him. He isn't sure where he's going, but he's waiting for a moment where they're alone enough that a possible altercation would go unnoticed by anyone else a ways around. Where... does Danny go... ]

[gogoghostpowers]

[He's headed in the direction of downtown, to meet up with a friend before actually heading home. The path Danny takes is quiet, especially for school having just let out, but that might be because it's a little shady. Mostly it's just used for garbage trucks or delivering stock to nearby shops, so people generally don't go there much. But Danny's taken this path dozens of times before and feels pretty safe even if it looks a little dubious.]

[strikeraid]

[ ... What an incredibly convenient coincidence. Skyler takes a moment to steady himself, thinking through his plan one more time - he's probably only gonna get one shot at this, he already knows what Danny's powers entail - before going into a crouch and willing his cybernetics to make him faster.

If Danny doesn't like getting clotheslined in the back of the neck and into a wall, this is probably going to be a very painful experience. He doesn't go as fast as he could - he wants Danny to know how badly he fucked up by screwing with the wrong guy, and flattening him from the get go isn't a good way to do that - but he isn't about to pull a punch. He is going to kill him today, after all. ]

[gogoghostpowers]

[IT'S ALMOST LIKE IT WAS PLANNED OR SOMETHING

Danny is thankful for the fact that he doesn't need to breathe any more, because the speed at which he's yanked back and tossed against a wall is enough to force the air right out of his lungs.

Of course, slamming into a wall like that isn't very pleasant either. He cries out from the pain of the impact. It takes him a few moments longer to finally open his eyes and see what's going on.]

Sk--Skyler!

[strikeraid]

[ He follows up quickly, going to grab Danny by the collar and ramming him against the wall again. Just Like You by Three Days Grace starts playing in the background. I type up my last will and testament. ]

You know what I am.

[ ... Clearly, that's all the explanation Skyler is willing to give him. A hum starts up in the air as white lights form around Skyler, Danny being inside the lights' radius. They coalesce into hard crosses, forming a floating fence that slowly starts to orbit around them, sending the snow falling around in flurries. He is charging up for something. If his intentions aren't clear enough yet, his hands suddenly burst into flames at Danny's chest, and he seems perfectly calm about it, if being perfectly calm also entails being wrapped up in cold fury. GET OUT OF THERE DANNY THOSE LIGHT THINGS EXPLODE ]

[gogoghostpowers]

[Danny has never before had to fight anyone or anything with magic powers. This is all-new territory for him. And yet, even so, he can still recognize that whatever these lights are, they are bad news.

His mind seizes up for a moment, but he still manages to force himself intangible just in time to avoid brushing up against SPONTANEOUS HAND FIRE. Thankfully, intangibility also provides him with an opportunity to jump from the wall to the side of Skyler in the middle of the street. He solidifies again just out of reach.]

Yeah--I know you're crazy!

[strikeraid]

[ He looks over at him, and I hope Danny is standing far away enough because he's going to make his light fence explode now. It shatters the pavement around him and leaves a shallow crater in the wall he had pinned Danny to just seconds before.

Whether he was standing far enough away or not, he's going to charge through the explosion, chasing him down with his fists on fire, pulling back for a punch if he gets close enough. He doesn't seem to want to discuss his current crazy levels at the moment, but if he were to take a guess at his own crazy quota, it'd be high to maxed out. ]

[gogoghostpowers]

Holy--!

[Danny barely has time to get out the way. The only reason he manages to dodge Skyler's blow is due to a combination of going intangible again and flying out of the way. Again, he goes back to solid, but remains hovering about four feet up in the air, staring at Skyler and his flaming fists.]

Forget this--I'm not gonna sit around here and wait for you to cream me!

[He sounds a lot braver than he feels. He's lucky to be flying right now because he thinks his knees would give out on him otherwise. But Danny forces himself to ignore this and fly upwards, taking off. He's staying relatively low, close to the building tops, since he doesn't want to be spotted, and at a brisk, but not terribly fast, speed.

Besides, it's not like Skyler can fly anyway! He's in the clear now, he can't be followed.]

i am here with this chump too though

[swissarmyjesus]

[Chuck stops mid-step in the street and glances over to the source of the voice. This guy...doesn't look familiar at all. And pretty suspicious too. Hell, he looks like he could be a Key, with the sunglasses and bandanna and all, but he's not entirely sure.]

I might. [He crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow.] Who are you?

destiny

[strikeraid]

[ Skyler looks him up and down. Well... the confidence means that he's either a Key or a crazy network person, and honestly, he's kind of looking for both, so this is a great start. He comes closer, looking at the guy's eyes through his shades as he digs in his pocket for his phone. ]

Nobody. For now. Are you a Key? [ He has his phone in his hand and is scrolling through his text messages. (do you have any idea how long it took to delete all of the dick messages. do you.) ]

[swissarmyjesus]

[(I am in the wrong journal to be laughing at this, but here I am, laughing at it anyway.)

He takes a step back as Skyler comes forward, just to keep some semblance of personal space.]

Yeah, I am. So?

[He tries to make himself look tougher, in case this guy isn't also a Key and is looking for a fight. Too late, he realizes that he probably shouldn't have been so quick to answer his question--after all, what if he's another one of those crazy Blood Key-killing freaks on that network thing?]

[strikeraid]

[ Hey, two out of three isn't bad! And if he's a Key, he's probably in less danger than he thought he was. He finds the right message - the warning from mid-January - and turns his phone around so he can see the message.]

Same. Don't piss yourself. I've been trying to find the guy who sent this message. Was it you?

[swissarmyjesus]

[Chuck leans in to get a better look at the phone and the message on it.]

Yeah, that was me.

...How long have you been looking for me? That happened like a month ago!

[strikeraid]

[ Skyler switches the phone off and stuffs it in his pocket. ]

So, a month. Good thing you're popular or that would've taken way longer. [ Skyler finally shoves his shades off his face, taking a good, hard look at this guy. No contacts today; his eyes are blue with keyholes in them, if there are any doubts left whether he's a Key or not. He also looks exactly like dick dude! ]

"Is this a Key thing or not." [ He quotes that first post of Chuck's directly. Yes, he's been stalking his posts. ] I cannot fucking believe it.

[swissarmyjesus]

[Chuck frowns.]

What? It's not like anyone bothered explaining any of this to me, how else was I supposed to figure it out?

[Then he realizes what, exactly, Skyler is quoting.]

Wait--you're on that thing too? [His voice has dropped to a loud whisper. The Dead District may be Key territory, but it's definitely not network territory.]

[strikeraid]

And we were doing a hell of a job keeping our shit under wraps until you came along. [ He ditches the stupid voice and lowers it to an undertone when Chuck mentions the thing; clearly they were both on the same page, here. ] Now I'm wondering how everyone and their literal fucking mothers know that it's more than your sad self when it comes to us on the Network. Unless I got you to blame for that, too?

[duette]

[ Also attempting to trot her way home is Harper, having stayed after hours to help get the home ec room in tip-top shape for the baking bonanza that would happen on Monday — preparation for a good ol' fashioned bake sale. Fundraising, goodwill, resume-level stuff, and all that jazz. She didn't anticipate on staying quite so long though, or missing all the buses, so she's made it a point to get a move on. So she keeps her pace brisk as she follows the main street down to where she may still be able to catch the light rail.

Brisk because it's gotten chilly. She hugs her peacoat to herself, over her Starling uniform, and ducks her chin into her oversized scarf. Also occupying said scarf is Rery, small enough to not draw any attention from where he's hidden. ]

So, did you like my school? [ Harper tilts her head a little towards the fairy, trying to play down the fact that it looks like she's talking to herself. ] I can't imagine it'd be less boring than staying home! With the television or my computer, you know... oh, wait, shh.

[ She motions for him to duck as she goes to pass an...unfortunately wild-haired stranger. ]

[strikeraid]

[ ... Is that girl talking to herself? He slows a little, rubbernecking slightly as he gives her a onceover. Private school chick. No one he's ever talked to, probably, but her voice is ringing a bell.

Who was she talking to? It doesn't look like she has one of those stupid cell phone ear things, and she's definitely alone. He looks back, wondering if she might be following someone.

All this dithering may give her time to ponder the vague possibility that he looks exactly like the guy who drew dicks all over his face on the network a couple of weeks ago, btw. He's glanced over the post, but he hasn't exactly been keen to analyzing every face that popped up on the dick debacle. And even if he had... well, he did say they had nothing in common, right? There's no way he'd recognize or regard her any longer than he has to.

(Also, she may or may not be close enough for that echo. Just sayin'.) ]

[duette]

[ Feeling the prickle of eyes on her, Harper can't help but glance sideways in response. It's an impulse she immediately regrets, because she knows that face. Defensively, she seizes up, pressing her school bag and a fancy box of something-or-other under her arm. ]

Skyler!

[ Read: DICKBOY. ]

Skyler Veracruz, you stop right there!

[ Neverminding the fact that they haven't actually met in person yet, she's never going to pass up the chance to use someone's full(ish) name for its dramatic and authoritative effect. If it wasn't Danny actually responsible for everything happening here, she'd probably thank him for giving her that leg up. As it is, she squares herself on the pavement, none the wiser and so battle-ready. ]

What was with that display at the school the other week? Here I thought that you were one of the sensible ones —

[ On that word, she advances a step forward, but something strikes her into stopping short. A heartbeat.

For a moment, she's eerily still. The calm before the storm. ]

[strikeraid]

[ Remind me to definitely contrive a situation where she learns his full name, double given and surnames and all. He jumps, backing off - yes, he does know that voice - but he is pretty certain that someone he remembers so poorly has no business wandering around calling him by his full(ish) name. ]

Sorry, do I know you?

[ The display at school the other week? Well, according to her uniform, they don't actually go to the same school and he's about to call her out on that when - wait a minute. A display? Last week? That could only have been... oh my god, fuck you Danny Fenton. Although he doesn't know where this girl is getting to gall to call him out in public, he's pretty certain that he now knows what she knows him from. He's about to argue back, getting her to calm down before she brings down the entire street by shrill indignation alone when

she

pauses?

... Oh shit, she's about to echo. He can spot that blank look from a mile away now. He frantically looks up and down the street, checking to make sure they're alone - yes, they're alone, no cops, no passerby - and looks back at her, thinking about the street he just traveled through. Yes, there are plenty of out of the way alleys they could use if whatever she echoed back was too obvious to hide, they would work this out, she'd be ok...

... That's. Kind of a long pause. He cautiously moves forward, peering at her. ]

... Uh. Hello?

[duette]

[ Harper possesses the gall that few other girls do at her age, but luckily (or not so luckily) it's halted dead in its tracks. For a second, she doesn't seem to realize his own stance towards her has shifted too. She's too busy focusing on the words that strike through her mind: "I'll absolutely never forgive you!" — which wasn't an odd sentiment, for what she's feeling right now, never being very generous with her forgiveness anyway, but...

...it's not just her voice. It's another's. Strong. Too strong. It floods her nerves, and she's so overwhelmed by the feeling that she doesn't notice Rery has darted out from his hiding place in her scarf. The little jewel-creature retrieves what looks like a compact from a pouch on her bag, expression alarmingly determined.

Proud, almost. ]

I know what to do now! I can show you!

[ Vision clearing, Harper seems to finally realize what's happened, but before she can open her mouth to protest, a blast of light erupts from whatever the little fairy has done in response to her memory.

Followed by a whiff of something decidedly magical. ]

Wh-what...?!

[strikeraid]

[ Skyler... does not have a realization anywhere near as profound. Is that a fairy carrying a make-up thing? WHY IS LIGHT COMING FROM HIM LIKE THAT. WHY IS HE SUDDENLY A FLASHLIGHT.

WHY DOES THE AIR SMELL LIKE RAINBOWS AND UNICORN ASS. ]

Uh......................

[duette]

[ As if the universe is laughing in the face of all his unspoken questions, a torrent of glowing white ribbons spews from the compact like the act of a vengeful god. Harper barely has time to react as her whole form is overtaken by the same glow, and she lets out an ear-piercing wail as the ribbons whisk around her of their own accord. As they mold to her body, they explode into gleaming bits of light, leaving behind...

A dress. A frilly, white, magical dress, fluttering in the nonexistent breeze. ]

Y-You...

[ Harper seems to finally get a grip, clamping one arm down over the brooch affixed to her chest. It messes up the flow of ribbons, and, with the white tendrils whipping every which way, Harper suddenly rushes him. ]

WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!

[ Rearing back, she lets her fist fly at him with an impeccable form she shouldn't have even had.

(That vengeful god? It's her.) ]

[strikeraid]

[ Hey, guess who doesn't have a contingency plan for getting bull rushed by a tiny girl in a poofy dress? This guy.

He knows what's coming after he sees the dress - this actually isn't his first Precure encounter - but he doesn't realize how upset by the transformation she would be. Meaning that he only has a couple of seconds to stutter out the first sounds of him telling her that he hadn't done anything, that he was just as confused as she was--


He feels her fist connect with the bone under his right eye, almost from an out-of-body perspective, almost as an observation, then he hears the faintest of cracks as her knuckle connects with his nose. His feet are lifting off the floor. He's. Flying?

He could. Technically. Catch himself with an ability. But it's all going too fast. He shoots into a nearby brick wall. It shatters into hairline cracks. TEMPORARY K.O. ]