Northern Downpour

by **Chellizard** November 8th 2015, 2:28 am

Wind rushed into the old, small, silver corvette that zipped down a highway. Music was blaring from the stereo system, making the ride much more pleasing. Tucked into the car was almost everything important that Skyler and Lilia owned. Skyler's main harddrive for her computer, seeing as it was the mainframe that Aiva was born and resided on, for the mean time. The rest of the luggage was clothes, a few sentimental items, and snacks. Lots of snacks.

"Ma," Lilia started, glancing over and up to Skyler with her big beautiful blue eyes.

"Yes sweet'art?" Skyler's thicker southern accent was in no way going away anytime soon. She glanced to Lilia for a moment, her left silver eye peering at her.

"Why're we going to New York again?" She asked, popping small handful of candy coated chocolates into her mouth.

Skyler did not want to repeat her horrid reasons to Lilia, but she knew she had to. It was the only way to make Lilia understand fully - especially given the fact that this girl had been through enough.

"I was held hostage, Lilia. What if anyone had found out about you? What if they had discovered your beautiful secret?" Skyler reached over and held onto Lilia's hand, gripping with firm love.

"I'm not going to let anything ever happen to you again... I know better people around New York than New Orleans. We'll be better off here. Plus, I made sure to get us a house in Astoria, outside of New York City. It's not far, just a bridge away. But, that way my work and your school will not be far apart." Grinning, Skyler slowed at a toll road and tossed three shiny quarters into the slot.

She then pulled off down the final stretch to skip the main city and end up at their house.

"Life here will be much better. I promise." It had been the fourth time Skyler said that. She was not lying, no, just that she was only telling a half truth. Life for Skyler and Lilia was never easy, or better for long.

The past always had a way of creeping up on them.

--

"Ma! Girl ALIVE! is gonna be in town!!" Lilia came to Skyler, screeching with joy. Aiva was not far off. The little artificial intelligence had actually started to enjoy the band as well. They were quite talented girls, and a great influence on younger girls all around the world.

"And I expect you to want to go, huh?" she asked, unpacking the last bit of their clothes. She had one little box left. It was a set of dishes with only two of each item needed for eatery. She also packed one pot, one pan, and a frying pan. Luckily the kitchen came fully equipped with electric stove tops and ovens. The home was lovely, a simple three bedroom, two bathroom with the basic living areas. There was also a large, half finished basement.

The night was almost upon their new residence. Skyler tucked Lilia into her bed, and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. Lilia stopped Skyler from walking out by grabbing her gently by the hem of her shirt.

"Ma... thank you. I love you." She murmured, pulling herself out of bed to give Skyler a big hug around of her neck.

The late-thirties silver haired assassin smiled warmly as she hugged Lilia back. "Alright, alright. I love you too. Get some sleep. School starts early!"

It wasn't too long until Lilia drifted off to sleep. Skyler made her move.

She had really ventured to New York to start looking into the bigger picture. She had caught wind the last time she was in New York about an organization starting up major crime to scare the citizens of the city to stay indoors when it got too dark. For most of the poverish parts of the city, no one ventured out. They did not want to risk getting shot, or kidnapped. Skyler made it her goal to try and do better. She had practiced different ways of knocking her enemies unconscious, rather than killing them. Aiva had become her second form of vision. Losing her sight in one eye had given her a whole knew sense of space and reality. She fashioned a wide lens camera into her eyepatch, fed directly into her brain via an electronic signal passed through her temple. A sensor was built into the custom eye patch, this sensor being what passed the signal on.

She had her sight back, plus more. She was on a whole new level of expertise now.

"Mama! How could you go back to your old ways!" Aiva popped out of nowhere, hissing angrily into Skyler's ear.

Skyler was tucked behind a car that was stationed outside of a warehouse. Some very interesting activity was going on here. She was going to put an end to it. Moon lighting as Karma again made her feel urges to kick someone in the head, but she held onto her inner peace by focusing on breathing.

"Do not make me mute you... Shh. I'm sure you saw the information on my laptop. Don't act foolish, Aiva." Skyler was in a whole different mindset right now. Her goal was to spot how many people were in this warehouse, and what exactly they were up to.

by **Pain** December 1st 2015, 2:49 am

"Stop! I'll tell ya' whateva' you wanna' know! J-just please, stop!"

The thug cried out in agony as the final finger on his hand was snapped like a toothpick. He writhed in Pain's mighty grip high above the ground, but his struggles were entirely in vain. One hand help up him up by the throat, the other slowly picked him apart. Drool and tears began to ooze from him as he pleaded for mercy, clearly in extreme anguish. No amount of kicking or screaming helped, he had been trying non stop for the past five minutes.

"You sure about that, punk?"

Pain threatened coldly, his expression blank and unnerving. The man was clearly broken down, in complete fear of the icy eyes that barreled down on him. Surprisingly, this guy had put up far more of a fight than he was used to. Most gave up after an angry glare, or a good break. This guy just wouldn't give. The Crusader must have truly inspired his followers, if they were willing to go this far for him. It didn't matter though, none would withstand his interrogation tactics. Even if one could withstand the physical trauma, he would resort to mental manipulation. Using his mental powers to dig through their minds, though that was usually a last resort. A few broken bones will heal, connecting with Pain can kill.

"You're a tough one. I'll give you that."

He said callously as he dropped the man onto the cold concrete. The man immediately gasped for air, overwhelmed by the whole experience.

"Talk."

Pain demanded sternly as he crossed his arms, a slight snarl escaping him as he glared down at the injured man.

With one hand entirely broken, he desperately fessed up the current location of The Crusader and his men. They chose to organize there often, and made use of the facilities for their own schemes.

"Everything I broke wont cause permanent damage. If you get yourself to a hospital." Pain said calmly, his tone immediately changing once he had gotten the information he needed. He moved to leave the alley, turning away from the man intending to leap into the sky. Before he left, he gave one last statement. "As long as you follow men like The Crusader, you'll find yourself here again.-- Whatever you do, make sure it's worth it."

"And what makes you any better?" He retorted vehemently, the physical and emotional pain clear in his voice.

Pain paused for a moment, visibly taken aback by the man's response.

"Nothing." The emptiness in his response was apparent even to a stranger.

With that, he leaped away towards his destination.

~

The trail led to an old chemical plant, one that had miraculously survived the assault on New York. Though it was in bad shape, it could still operate as a headquarters in the right hands. It seemed entirely abandoned, old dim lights barely illuminating the outside of the facility. With light steps, Pain conscientiously approached the entrance. It was locked, suspicious, but it's not like he needed to knock anyway. With a simple push he forced the door metallic open, ripping it off it's hinges silently. He leaned to drop the torn door before proceeding to enter.

They had no idea what was coming for them.

Northern Downpour

Northern Downpour

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