A Goddess Goes for a Walk (Open)

Even near midnight, Piedmont park has its visitors. Nothing like the day crowd, but people still walk down the pathways and admire the lights over the water.

Kevin was just talking to a cigarette and calming down after the latest fight with the mother of his child. She called the cops, but he knew she wouldn't press charges. He'd come back in the morning and everything would return to routine. He liked walking in the park sometimes on nights like this. At this hour, some parts of the park were pretty much deserted. He enjoyed the solitude. Although this night he hadn't gotten it. shortly after he got to the park, a young woman started walking behind him. She'd been following the exact paths as him for 20 minutes now. Nothing wrong with walking, but he wished she'd walk somewhere else you know? As he passed the dog park, he decided to cut through the nearby nature trail. Only reason people went there at this hour was to smoke, drink, or fuck. In any case, he was pretty sure no little white girl would follow him into the woods alone at midnight.

Against all bets, she turned down the dirt path and followed him. Fed up, he finally turned around to say something. In the process, he got a good look at her. She had a thin build, and mid-length brown hair with two long tendrils of bangs that framed a pale face and vivid blue eyes. Despite the hot humid Atlanta night, she wore a long-sleeved white shirt and simple jeans and sneakers. "Look girl, you following me for a reason? Cuz I ain't lookin for no company ton-" Kevin didn't get to finish his sentence before a slender hand reached up to grab his throat and lifted him effortlessly of the ground. In a panic, he reached behind him to grab the pistol holstered in the back of his pants, but before it could even be a threat the young woman grabbed his hand, breaking every bone in it, and tossed the firearm aside. "Repent murderer. Your judgement is here. You have but a few moments." Kevin's bladder emptied itself involuntarily out of fear. Murderer? He had killed someone when he was younger, in his gangbanger days. He'd gotten out of that though, he never imagine it would come back to him. "P..please. I have a family." The woman's blue eyes were unfazed. "Then you have committed one more sin, for you have abandoned them."

With that Megaera snapped his neck and tossed his ragdoll body into the shallow creek beside the pathway, and slowly made her way back to the main path. As she came back out into the pale light of street lights and a nearly full moon her vision blurred, and her knees buckled. She caught herself on a lamp post, holding her head in her other hand. "Curse this body...." She muttered to herself. "You haven't eaten or slept in way too long. I've been trying to tell you. Lilian's voice spoke up in Megaera's mind, the original owner of this mortal body. "Shutup." she muttered out loud. She knew Lilian was right though. This mortal body needed food and rest. The problem was food was hard to come by without money, and a god couldn't let herself be reduced to begging. She stumbled her way to a nearby bench and fell down onto it's wooden seat breathing heavily as if exhausted by the short walk. She could rest here a few moments, give her the energy to plan her next step at least.

((I hope you don't mind if I'm hopping in! If you do mind I'll leave (: ))

Audrey was a traveller. He disliked staying in one place too long, and would rather hop around from state to state. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t afford this state hopping, oh no, it was easy for him. He had come to Atlanta, Georgia, for a bit of a break. He spent quite some time in New York City, so two days away from the bustling place felt good to him. Audrey had to admit, he enjoyed walking alone in parks when it was dark. There was just so much more you could admire when it wasn’t choked with people. Sure, in Piedmont park, you got the occasional miscreant, drug addict, or drunkard, but he found it quite nice, nonetheless. He had decided to go down the dirt path, because what was life without a bit of off roadiness, anyway?

His quiet walk was interrupted when he heard what sounded like two pairs of footsteps and a man’s voice as the footsteps drew to a halt. He quietly moved to get closer, hiding behind a nearby tree, so he could hear what the ruckus was about. He could hear pain, and the sound of bones cracking under a strong force. Super human, he decided. He hadn’t come prepared to meet a super human at such an hour. The weather in Atlanta was much too hot for him to be wearing his usual suit with his better guns. He, however, always brought his revolver with him, hidden away in his trouser pocket. Repenting for murders? Judgement? What was this person, some sort of psychopathic god? The man apparently had a family too. He couldn’t help but cringe slightly at the sound of a snapping neck. That was one more widow left to cry over the loss of their lover. One more widow whose love was taken away by those filthy super humans.

He quietly pulled out his revolver and turned, only to see a girl, who couldn’t have been more than 18 years of age, clinging to the lamp post. She was the murderer. Weather a young girl or not, murderers and the super human menace must be dealt with. With the way she so easily snapped the man’s neck, though, Audrey was having second thoughts on approaching the girl with just his revolver. He took a few moments to plan out what he would do, taking quiet breaths as he did so. He turned around to see the girl drag herself over to the nearby bench. She looked exhausted. Audrey put away the gun and decided to walk to her. Play the nice guy and offer some assistance. He quietly followed, then walked over to the girl, who seemed to be slumped on the bench, and tipped his hat slightly. “Good evening, young lady.” he greeted with his most polite, possibly suave, voice, “Are you alright? You do not look so well.” Audrey was not used to talking to people, let alone strangers who were super human. The thought of even conversing with the kind that killed his wife made him sick, but he stomached it and spoke anyway.

Megaera opened pale blue colored eyes and looked up at the man speaking to her. It seemed he was trying to be a helpful stranger, though Megaera's pride would never let her accept such aid. "I am merely...fatigued. I needed a moment's rest."

she steadied herself with a hand on the backrest of the bench and lifted herself. Her thumb left a splintered indent in the wood. She shakily stood up and stiffened, focusing her blue eyes on the man in front of her. Several seconds went by as she stood motionless and stared straight at him. It seemed like she was staring through him. Finally she opened her mouth and simply said "You stink." She didn't change her expression as she uttered such a random remark. "Who are you? You reek of desire...perhaps enough of it that the fates blessed you that your path would cross with mine."

As she spoke to the man the pale blue of her eyes was taken over by a fiery orange that seemed to glow in the darkness of the night. She smiled as she looked at the man and spoke in a condescending tone. "I can't decide whether I should kill you or knight you." Her smile widened. "I wonder, what fuels your desire? Who is it, that you so need to inflict vengeance upon?"

“Fatigued...” he muttered to himself, still standing there, watching the girl. His eyes were examining everything that needed to be remembered for future reference. Her hair colour, her face type, her eye colour; anything that would help him locate her. He glanced to her hand as the wood splintered under what seemed to be sheer strength.

As she stared, Audrey stared back, unfazed. He did not find it strange to be staring at anyone at all. He did it all the time, after all. “I assure you, miss, I showered not too long ago.” he replied, adjusting his hat slightly. “My name is Audrey Campbell. And who might you be? Judging by the way you speak, you are no ordinary teenage girl.”

He watched as the colour of her eyes change to a glowing, fiery orange, and he had to make a mental note of her ability to do that. She was definitely no ordinary girl. He stood strong, though, and kept his expression straight. There was fear, inside him, but he decided that facing fears was something that had to be done, for the sake of his goals. “To kill or to knight, I do not make that choice, do I?” he stated plainly, his tone sounding slightly more mischievous, but only slightly, “I wish to put an end to the kind that killed my wife.” he said, body tensing slightly as he did so, “The very kind that threaten the lives of the innocent every day.”

Megaera stared expressionlessly at Audrey, looking contemplative. "Perhaps then, you understand. This ages notion of justice is twisted and warped. The innocent can not defend the innocent." She gave a small smirk. "This troublesome body is merely a means to tether me to this plane." As she spoke red gems on her black choker began to glow, four red swords surrounding a red sphere. Her mundane clothes changed before his eyes into a form fitting navy outfit, accented with red and white. It ended in a white skirt with a smaller red skirt underneath. Steel greaves and gauntlets appeared on her arms and legs. The red sphere in her choker lost its color as four red wings materialized from her back and she lifted slightly off the ground, floating in the air.

"I am Megaera, the goddess of vengeance. When you have been wronged, when your heart cries out for justice to be done on your enemies, I am the one who hears your prayers. When you lie, cheat, steal and it is I who stalks in your shadows. Mine is the sword of justice." She looked down at him with her burning eyes. Suddenly she felt her body's fatigue gripping her again. She dismissed her wings and sat back down on her bench, trying not to seem too weak about. She crossed her now armored legs and looked up at Audrey with a mischievous smirk. "So I wonder, do you still believe this to be a chance meeting, or have you called upon the gods without even realizing it?"

He just watched, keeping himself cool and collected as Megaera started her transformation. It was not something he had expected, but he had already known that this was not just a normal girl. Apparently, not just a normal super human either. He had to admit that there was definitely something mystifying and intriguing about Megaera, her armour, and her stature. “What is justice when even those who are meant to bring justice do not understand the meaning of the term?” he questioned, a smirk playing on his lips as the girl lifted off the ground. No, definitely not someone he was going to pick a fight with. Not at all.

Audrey listened intently, and decided this girl was not lying. A goddess within a human vessel, huh? He had to remember that. Human vessels, though, meant human weaknesses, however, he had already decided that he would not mess with a goddess. Despite his scepticism on the truthfulness and reliability of this story, he would rather be safer than sorry. He slowly got down on one knee and brought a hand to his chest, doing a small bow. “Then, it is an honour to be graced by the presence of a goddess such as yourself.” he said, then bringing himself to stand at full height again, “Perhaps it is by chance that I have unknowingly called upon you. Perhaps fate has decided to grant me the presence of a goddess like yourself, Megaera, to show me that there is a possibility for justice in this world. A true and righteous justice, unlike the justice twisted by the hands of humanity.” Though, Audrey had his own sense of ‘justice’ that probably was not appreciated by all either.

Megaera regarded the man coldly. He was bitter and desperate it seemed, but those things could be turned into resolve. Besides, what human didn't need a little guidance? This one may prove useful to her. "The would-be gods of this age, the so called heroes do nothing but allow this world to ruin further. This world must be created new, given new gods for its guidance. The day humans chose their own fate was the day this world became doomed." She looked up at the finely dressed man. "Follow me, and I can give you guidance. I can give you the revenge you desire. and most importantly..." She stood up to look the man eye to eye. "I can give you the power to take that revenge yourself. To save this world it must be bathed in fire. However..." She trailed off. "This body is young, and my power is far from at its fullest. I cannot simply recreate this world with a brush of my hand, and I recognize that i may need more...subtlety than I am used to entertaining. Pledge yourself to me, become my knight, my priest, my paladin, and I will give you the power you desire. That is, if you are willing to erase from this world those we both know do not deserve to dwell on it. Prisons have grown to cities, the human race is living in it's own filth!" She looked at the man. "What do you say? Of course, an oath here and now is not necessary. I do not expect your faith so easily, but it won't take long for you to see the truth in my words."

Audrey stood and listened to the girl as she spoke. The way this self proclaimed goddess spoke, he was sure that it was no ordinary teenager. He had already known from the start that she was not ordinary, with what strength she had exhibited earlier, and the trick with the wings and her armour. He just needed to back up all his thoughts and predictions about this girl or goddess. A human who said they needed no guidance was a liar, for everyone might just need a push in the right direction. People may have too much pride and ego to admit their need for advice, but it was definitely there. There was a lot one could learn when one has seen through the eyes of the bitter and resentful.

“Heroes burn the city to the ground. They are tearing it apart from the inside out, and cannot grasp the simple concept of what is worth destroying cities for.” he said plainly, almost bitterly as well. “Our world has become a sheep pen with no shepherds. A cacophony of blind leading the blind, not knowing or seeing the havoc and destruction they have left in their wake.” He just listened and looked right back in Megaera’s eyes. The promise of power was something that caught his attention. Power would help him if he wanted to continue taking down the supers, but would gaining this power turn him into the very thing he was hunting? If so, he had to consider himself as a potential threat too, and that meant he could be hunting himself. The thought of being able to eradicate the world of the mutant menace really did sway him. “And I do understand that many are building their own cages, while the government continue to strengthen said cages with lies and deceit.” he said. Possibly it was a tad bit metaphorical, but sometimes metaphors allowed him to get the message across with ease. Audrey had never been the type of guy who was that great with his words.

He quickly did a quick scan of the surrounding area with his eyes, before turning his focus back to the goddess girl. “I will have to think and consider this offer.” he said. Audrey was not sure if he could just trust someone off the bat like that. He knew the message that this girl was trying to convey, and he really had to think hard about it. Audrey was a lone wolf, but maybe the support from another party would help him on his endeavour to rid the world of pesky super humans. “Faith is often a difficult thing to give.”