[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

312

@amora

Sonnet's eyes narrowed in vindication as the European made his move. Judging by his reaction the situation he had something, or everything to do with what was happening right now. It was a double-cross. Kenshin controlled a great deal of the crime on the East Coast of the US, and almost all major drug shipments in New York went through Yakuza hands at some point. Removing him would not have killed off Yakuza presence on the East Coast, but it would have thrown the criminal organisation into disarray.

Fortunately, Sonnet was not attached to the survival of the escort. She went for her gun, or she would have done if Amora hadn't gotten there first. That the woman could look after herself wasn't the surprise, her changing shape was. Her frame grew noticeably thicker and taller, her shoulders and hips broadening until she could have been mistaken for a body builder rather than the svelte figure she had been earlier.

There was a volley of shots as the heavy man emptied his gun into her. Sonnet fully expected the woman to topple, riddled with bullets. She did not expect to hear the sound of metal rain as the bullets bounced off her and pattered to the floor. She hit the man so hard that he spun in the air, tumbling onto the roof of the car. He did not get back up.

Sonnet's eyes widened as she realised that Amora's clothing had not changed size with her. The woman was now almost naked, Sonnet didn't know quite where to look, and once again she felt a flare of anger at the temerity of this woman. Did she think that she was incapable of handling this situation?

With some effort she reigned it in, simply nodding curtly before clapping a hand onto Kenshin's shoulder and disappearing with a sound like a swift inhalation.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

Amora watched Sonnet clap a hand on Kenshin's shoulder and disappear into thin air once more, this time out of the garage and somewhere Amora presumed safe.  Now she turned and the shooters stopped to reload.  She walked out into their line of sight so she could better see them and they could see her.  She walked forward and one man leaned out and fired at her, the bullets having the same result as the European's.  Others followed his lead and Amora stopped and stood there and looked up at the ceiling, her eyes closed.  She took a deep breath and let it ease out and waited.  The men eventually stopped firing and she looked at them.  They looked at her and lowered their guns.  "You can keep going, if you like," she said.  "But you'd be wasting your bullets."
    She heard what sounded like a trunk opening and closing and one rounded the corner with a tire iron in his hand.  He ran at her and swung with a yell.  The iron clunked against her arm and left no mark.  He tried again and she looked down and sucked on her lip.  The third time she caught the iron and ripped it from his grip and bent it in two and tossed it across the garage where it clanged loudly.  She gripped the man's throat and lifted him several feet in the air, his feet flailing around.  "I ruined a good outfit because of you guys," she said.
    "What are you going to do to him?" one said from around cover.
    "I'm not going to kill him if that's what you're wondering," Amora said.  She lifted the man higher and threw him down onto his back and planted a foot on his chest and held him there.  "They could bring reinforcements, though," she said.  "They'd be the ones who would kill you."

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

409

@amora

Sonnet and Kenshin reappeared in his office. Kenshin pulled away from her immediately, moving to his desk to pick up the phone. This had been a direct attempt on his life, and such an insult could not go unaddressed. He started barking into the phone in Japanese, while Sonnet pulled her gun out of her jacket, checking it over before cocking the evil looking black device.

Their eyes met for a moment, Sonnet clearly wanted to go back. The attack on Kenshin had been as much of an insult to her as it was to him, more so, as she was responsible for his safety in this situation. He obviously thought for a moment. Sending a group of men would no doubt make things more efficient, but Sonnet had only been stymied by one individual, and they had been a particularly potent metahuman. He nodded, but before he had finished Sonnet was already gone.

---

Sonnet reappeared crouched behind the car, the sound of displaced air covered by the muffled echo of the gun shots. She could hear the brief conversation, and leaned down to peer under the car. There were still half a dozen men, men who should have been more than enough to kill her, Kenshin, and the escort had they not been metahumans. She almost laughed. What were the odds that of the group these thugs had tried to ambush two of them were metahumans.

Metas were still relatively rare, and while it was a badly kept secret that the Yakuza on the East Coast had a meta. That the meta in question was Sonnet was a well-kept secret known only to a few. The European would have come with a lot more men had he known who he was ambushing. Neither of them had expected Amora to be a metahuman though, and one that could become bulletproof. That was a surprise, and no doubt a piece of information that would become useful later. Now that she had seen her power in action, something was nagging at the back of her head. She pushed it away, then stepped out from behind the car, gun up and blazing.

A man went down immediately as a bullet took him in the shoulder and Sonnet vanished before the men could retaliate, appearing beside another to break his nose with the butt of her gun, before pressing the barrel into his gut. His body muffled the sound of the discharge.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

The Yakuza only had one reinforcement, it seemed.  Amora heard the shot and saw that Sonnet had returned and was firing back at the men.  Then again, her method of travel was much more efficient than car or plane.  More assassins went down.  Still, about six or seven remain - Amora missed count in the confusion.  She couldn't just stand here.  She looked down at the man held under her foot.  He was trying to see where the gunfire was coming from.  He looked at her, his eyes shining.  "Are you a goddess come to earth?"
    Amora smirked.  "I come from Pluto," she said, fully aware that he would likely misunderstand her entirely.
    He could only stare and say Wow in silence then, gathering himself again, said, "Please, I don't want to die."
    "You should've thought about that before you took this job," she said.  "Pretty rich coming from a would-be-assassin."
    "I don't want to die," he said again.
    "Well, I can't make any promises," she said, and turned his head to the side and struck him once with her large fist before he could protest further.  She dragged him out of the path and laid him by a car and ran toward the gunfire and met the shooters with elbows and knees and knuckles, taking out the remaining men that Sonnet had not already dispatched since her return.
    Then the guns fell silent.  Amora looked over toward Sonnet and came over to her and looked down, a hand raised up and braced on the concrete mere inches above her head.  "I think that's all of them," she said.  "You okay?  Everyone else?"  She looked over at the car.  "One's still alive over there.  He's pretty shook up."

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

284

@amora

Sonnet her arms around a man's throat, and she held them there as his struggles grew weaker until they finally stopped. She dropped her arms, letting his body fall forward unceremoniously. Between the two of them, Sonnet and Amora had made short work of the would-be assassins, leaving a number of groaning or dead men scattered throughout the parking lot. Sonnet noted that the other woman seemed to have held back, with that increased strength and toughness, killing the men would have been easy, yet more of her victims were still alive.

Sonnet moved back towards the other woman, averting her gaze from her nakedness. Somehow the woman seemed more confident being naked in front of them than she had before when fully clothed. At least Sonnet managed to control her blush.

She glanced down at the man that she had knocked out, then the European, who was beginning to come to his senses. It was obvious that he had arranged this little shootout, but it would be good to have an employee who could confirm it.

"We'll take both of them, they think they can act with impunity in New York. Clearly we need to send a message."

She looked Amora in the eyes, expecting a challenge to her demand. After all, the woman had been careful enough not to kill the men she had incapacitated. She could not be so stupid as to think the European and his lackey would be walking away from any conversation with Sonnet and Kenshin now.

She glanced around the parking structure, more to avoid looking at the naked woman than for any other reason. "You fight well, I'm impressed. There aren't many that could do this."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

Sonnet moved around and checked the others, Amora watching what she did.  A few of the others were still alive, but she guessed they all belonged to her.  Sonnet had been thorough in her shots, while Amora had held back.  So far she always had, despite the occasional overwhelming temptation to kill everyone she dealt with.  She wondered what it felt like to take a life.  But she was not about to ask Sonnet, who was checking on the European, who was beginning to come around.  Sonnet told her they'd take both men and Amora assumed she meant the man she had moved by the car.  She looked down at him.  He had said he did not want to die, but she had not made him any promises.  And for all she knew he was simply trying to get out of this unpleasant situation so he could kill another day.  Perhaps even come after her or somebody she cared about, despite that social circle being fairly small aside from family.  But family was enough.
    She leaned down and with one hand picked him up and carried him over to Sonnet like she was carrying a sack of groceries.  She set him down by the European and Sonnet complimented her on her fighting ability.  "Well, thank you," Amora said.  "I hope we're going somewhere private.  I don't have anything else to wear."  She shrank down and picked up her things and held them against her side.  Underneath her bundle of torn clothes she could feel the tremor in her hand.  She looked at the remaining men in the garage.  "Someone else will find them soon," she said.  "I'm ready when you are."

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

347

@amora

At least the woman had not argues over who would take the men, she might be bulletproof, but Sonnet doubted that Amora was prepared to fight her over them. After all, they'd tried to kill her too. She watched as the 7 foot woman picked up the still unconscious assassin and carried him over as if he was an object rather than a person, she felt herself warm to the woman slightly.

Still, she had to carefully watch what the woman was carrying rather than her, since she was still entirely naked. She looked away as she bent to pick up her clothes, holding them in a bundle. She was back to her normal size, and though she was still taller than Sonnet she somehow seemed smaller, less confident. Sonnet mused over her words. Clearly she expected to be taken with her. She would be deposited into a cellar in that case, filled with Chinpira, and no doubt Kenshin by now. Sonnet had felt the eyes of those same Chinpira on her before in gambling dens and drinking houses to know that it wasn't a pleasant experience.

She fought back her urge to blush and look away, giving the other woman the once over, her eyes carefully steering clear of more private areas. "Give me a couple of minutes."

She vanished, taking the European and his erstwhile henchman with her.

A couple of minutes later, as promised, she reappeared, this time with a bundle of clothes in her hands. She dumped them onto the asphalt and immediately turned away, ostensibly to look out at the bodies that were still strewn about the structure, but really so she didn't have to look at the naked form of Amora.

She spoke with her back still turned, "I took my best guess, something in there should fit you."

The clothes still had tags on, but were a fair mix of jeans, tops and a couple of pairs of underwear. Hopefully there would be something in there for Amora so that she was decent when Sonnet took her away from here.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

Sonnet said to give her a few minutes and Amora shrugged as the small woman vanished with the two men.  She sat down on the cold concrete and leaned back against the limo and stared at the light.  This was surely unorthodox activity for someone working for the government.  And she figured the Yakuza crowd would be upset if they found out.  She shrugged again, as if this were a conversation with herself.  She'd just have to take them out, too.  Sonnet had to be the only one with an ability, or else they would have sent someone else to help her on nights such as this one.  The rest only had their fists and their guns.  Both were useless against Amora, as she was sure Sonnet and the others had seen.  Sure, if it came to it, she had no doubt that the Yakuza would look for other ways to get to her.  But she would have help.  It was always smart to have a backup plan.
    True to her word, Sonnet returned a few minutes later.  She dropped some clothes on the pavement, saying she made her best guess as to the size.  Amora grinned.  "They'll fit fine," she said, as Sonnet turned away.  Amora reached down and picked up the underwear and jeans and put them on, then the tank top.  The jeans were a little big, the top a tad snug.  She didn't want to be tugging at the jeans all evening so she filled them out a little, the top growing tighter, but not so much that she was terribly uncomfortable.  She pulled the tags off and said, "Good choices.  I'm dressed now.  Thank you."
    When Sonnet turned around Amora said, "Sorry your little meeting turned to crap.  I'm ready when you are."

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

324

@amora

The Yakuza lieutenant shrugged at the apology. "There's always someone who wants to take a shot."

Though efforts this well put together were rare, this wouldn't be the first time Sonnet had been in someone's crosshairs. She had been working for the Yakuza in one capacity or another for nearly twelve years, Such things were simply part of the risk you ran when you worked for a criminal organisation, even one as powerful and influential as the Yamaguchi-Gumi. Especially one as powerful and influential as the Yamaguchi-Gumi.

Kenshin wanted to talk to Amora, but he had seen the bullets bounce off the woman. He was confident, as Sonnet was, that she could be dealt with. After all, nobody was completely impervious to damage. She wouldn't even be the first brick type metahuman Sonnet had fought, they seemed more common than other metahumans, or perhaps they were just more drawn to law enforcement.

She eyed the woman, that niggling familiar feeling itching at the back of her skull again. Where had she seen her before?

Sonnet rested a hand on the other woman's shoulder before they disappeared from the parking structure to reappear a moment later in another office. This one was much more bare, a simple concrete room with a desk and a few chairs. There were two doors. Gesturing Amora to a seat, Sonnet crossed the room to rap on the door. Kenshin appeared through the door, wiping his hands on a towel. A dark concrete corridor was briefly visible before Sonnet closed the door behind him.

He smiled that grey smile to Amora, and then turned to Sonnet. There followed a short but heated argument in Japanese, along with a number of looks directed towards the taller woman. Finally Sonnet nodded, then turned back to Amora. Without another word her superior left the room through the door he had entered by.

"I don't know about you. But I could use a drink."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

At the lieutenant's comment, Amora wondered why anyone would voluntarily join such a volatile organization.  But, she supposed, this was a question asked of every criminal throughout the history of organized crime.  She glanced at Sonnet when she felt her hand rest on her shoulder and soon that familiar feeling from earlier returned, like being turned upside down as if in a roller coaster, then the sensation disappearing as soon as she gathered her bearings on new ground.  The room they stood in was lacking in decor aside from a desk and a couple of chairs.  Sonnet gestured to one and Amora took a seat.  Sonnet walked over to a door and knocked a few times.  Kenshin came into the room wiping his hands on a towel.  Amora sat with her legs crossed, her hands resting in her lap.  
    Sonnet and Kenshin spoke, whatever it was it wasn't entirely mutual from their tones.  Then Kenshin left as quickly as he had come and Amora wondered why he even bothered making an appearance at all.  Sonnet looked at Amora and suggested a drink.  Amora shrugged.  "A drink is fine," she said.  "Such heated disagreements make one famished."
    She wasn't certain what the game plan Kenshin had was, or if it was even similar to what Sonnet had in mind.  Perhaps that was the discussion they had.  Amora didn't exactly trust Sonnet yet, but she distrusted Kenshin even more.  "Are we drinking here?" she said.  Sonnet had taken the lead so far.  Amora didn't see why she would stop now.

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

379

@amora

Snorting, Sonnet shook her head and grabbed Amora's arm. "Even I have…"

…better taste that that."

The sentence that had begun in the dingy concrete room ended in an alleyway. A homeless man sat up suddenly at their appearance, he blinked a few times, then glanced at the half empty bottle in his hand. He muttered to himself. "Good stuff."

Sonnet lead the way around the corner, it was a dive she visited a lot, the staff there knew her, and made it obvious as she entered. The bulky form of Alex, the huge bartender enveloped her in a hug only a minute after she'd entered. A rather chagrined pair of women in cocktail dresses stared from the bar as the man clapped her on the back. He raised a hand to Amora as well, "Sonnet, you bring another new friend? I think that you might single-handedly be trying to keep me afloat."

He glanced back towards the bar, then smirked, "Or drink me dry."

The diminutive Yakuza lieutenant pushed the friendly giant away. "Everyone knows I'm the reason you can pay rent Alex, but I'll go elsewhere if you want me to leave your stocks alone."

The man clutched his chest as though wounded, then turned to Amora, "What can I get you. On the house."

Sonnet thumped him, "Where is my free drink?"

He shrugged, "I'd go out of business if I gave you free drinks, besides, she's much prettier than you."

He flashed a grin and dodged a halfhearted punch from Sonnet as he made his way back to the bar. She shouted after him, "And nachos!"

She turned back to Amora, muttering good naturedly, "Asshole."

They took a seat in a booth. The bar was not quite a dive, but it was a far cry from the bar they had occupied earlier that night. The clientele was a mix of disreputable and well-dressed, and the patina on the windows made it clear that tourists were not expected here.

Having been surprised at Amora declining alcohol, she questioned the other woman, "You're not going to preach about me drinking now that you're not on the clock are you? Although I suppose you still are." She glanced at her watch, "At least for another couple of hours."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

Amora was getting used to teleporting.  When Sonnet touched her and they left the barren room and appeared in a dank alleyway, Amora didn't even stumble or sway on her feet.  She followed Sonnet, smiling at the hobo and giving him a little wave of her hand.  She let Sonnet get ahead of her and fished some money out of her purse and handed it to the man.  "Get you something to eat," she said, then caught up to Sonnet before the man could say anything to her.
    Inside the dingy bar Sonnet was greeted by a big man Amora assumed was the bartender.  They began to talk and Amora guessed Sonnet was a regular.  Amora wondered why she frequented this place so often.  Then she thought about the atmosphere.  Sometimes the dumps had something the higher-class joints lacked.  Amora could relate to that.  She had come from Pluto, after all.
    Alex asked Amora what she wanted, on the house.  "Oh, just Coke.  Or root beer or something," she said.  She smiled at Alex's comment on her looks when Sonnet played at hitting him.
    They took their seats in a booth and Sonnet asked if Amora was going to talk about her drinking.  Amora shook her head.  "You do what you want to do.  But yes, I'm still on the clock."  Even with the debacle in the parking garage, Amora had not paused.  Her time was valuable.  She could be doing plenty of other things.  Going on dates was fine, but when the date was with people such as these, all monetary considerations were off the table.  She was getting every second's worth.  "I guess you come here a good bit," she said.  "Alex seems like a nice guy."

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

361

@amora

Sonnet hadn't realised that the other woman didn't drink, or perhaps she was just someone who had a strict, no drinks on the job policy. After all, she hadn't touched alcohol while they had been with the European, though Kenshin had hardly touched alcohol either. Sonnet could have forgone, definitely, but it didn't make much difference. The two men would have been unconscious long before the booze started to have any real effect on her. It was both a benefit and a drawback of her ability. Sonnet was no scientist but she knew that to do what she did must take enormous amounts of energy. As a result anything she consumed got burned off pretty quickly, including alcohol.

Sonnet glanced over at the bar as Amora mentioned the bartender, and owner of the place. "Yeah he's pretty good, I've known him a long time. I'm never really sure how much he really knows about what I do, or whether he just doesn't care."

She glanced around at the bar. She did come here a lot, probably because most of the people didn't care who she was. She'd happened upon this bar years ago, by accident, and somehow managed to avoid offending or assaulting the clientele. Most of the people here kept to themselves, and the bouncer at the door was extremely picky, although he hadn't looked twice at Sonnet. When there was trouble Alex tended to deal with it quickly, either that or the rest of the drinking crowd dealt with it themselves.

Most places Sonnet had either learned to avoid, or the people there had learned to avoid her. She was dangerous, and didn't take lightly to having her drinking disturbed. Usually it was a solitary occupation for her, but this was the second time in two months she'd found herself bringing a newcomer to the bar. Maybe that meant something…

"So since you're on the clock do you have to laugh at all my jokes? Or can you actually be a little bit honest with me. Your bill's already paid, and I doubt it would be easy to get a refund out of you even if I wanted to."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄

[Deleted]

Amora thought Alex likely did not care if he really did know what kind of work Sonnet was in.  In a place such as this, Alex probably saw a lot of strange people.  Drunks, lonely hearts, accountants, even killers.  She looked around the bar.  Everyone generally kept to themselves, it seemed.  One woman in the corner was staring at her, squinting as if trying to see her better.  The man sitting across from her turned around and looked at Amora, too, then turned around and said something to the woman and she nodded as if remembering a distant memory.  Then they both looked at her and she gave a little wave of her hand and this seemed to be enough for them and they turned back to their original discussion.
    Sonnet's voice brought her back to her current situation and she looked at her, catching the majority of what she had said.  Sonnet's remark was somewhere between a joke and sarcasm, and Amora could respect that kind of honesty.  She would take sarcasm over feigned indifference any day.  Amora shook her head.  "No, I don't have to laugh at your jokes.  And I'll be as honest as I deem necessary.  I'm sure you can understand why I'm not exactly a tell-all, but you're also not some guy trying to get my home address.  So there's that, I guess.  What's on your mind?  We can start from there."

[Sonnet Matsuda]

In the end everything collides

209

@amora

Sonnet saw the brief glance and wave from Amora, and looked curiously over her shoulder to the couple that had been looking their way. Old clients of hers perhaps?

"Someone you know?"

She smiled, so Amora would be picking and choosing when she was honest, and she wasn't. Perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised; after all, the woman was on the clock, she would answer however it suited her.

Sonnet would rather have been drinking alone truth be told, but Kenshin had made it quite clear that he wanted her to spend time with the woman and find out more about her. Her abilities were clearly potent, and strangely similar to one of the New York Heroes. Something like this could be leverage on one of New York's super powered law enforcers. After all, the escort agency she worked for might be legitimate, but Heroes relied on sponsorships for a great deal of their income, and most companies wouldn't want to have anything to do with that kind of service.

"Well at least your honest about how you see this. And I don't blame you. You don't know me."

She shrugged, wondering how to answer her question. What was on her mind? Maybe it would help to stick with the events of the night; after all, that was what Kenshin would use to manipulate the woman if he could. "Ha, no, I don't think I'll need your home address."

Their drinks arrived, with an assurance that food would be right out, and Sonnet starting pouring the bottle she had been provided with into the tumbler. "Do you take a lot of these contracts? I don't really know your business, but Kenshin paid a lot to get your services, so you must be good, and good means exclusive."

She smirked, "I bet they're not all as entertaining as tonight's was."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

► kaigra ◄