Winsome Blue/A Fight Worth Having

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

[9/10/07]

She walked rather than flew the last few feet to the door. With a quick glance to the left and then to the right she took a deep breath and with a smile reached out and turned the knob. The soft sounds of classical music could be heard but not a soul greeted her. Not that she expected any different.

Blue let the door go and it shut slowly, ominously, finally clicking into place a few seconds later. Someone had taken care not to be disturbed.

Her first few steps were hesitant yet they soon spoke volumes of her confidence and surety. Stepping behind the empty desk she took up stance in a doorway leading to the internal rooms of the office. She took a moment to listen. Her heightened senses, though better when she shifted were still good enough to tell her some useful information.

People.

Lots of them.

Thinking for a moment she remembered the girl's words. Somewhere in here were those with horrible appetites, men AND women who preyed on those weaker than themselves.

And Blue was here to stop them.

She'd come prepared.

Dressed in only a t-shirt and a pair of shorts she slipped into the ladies room and removed them. A shiver went down her spine. The room was cold, the floor beneath her bare feet seeming to suck the heat from her warm body.

Wincing she shifted form. Yes, she should have just switched earlier but there was still that shy, fearful side. This form was still as private as she could keep it for now.

It was only moments before she was out into the hallway and down the hall. Stealthy, stalking.  She wanted to use her mind's abilities but Kelly had said their were mentalists among the bunch that had attacked them in their home. For now she had to rely on instinct and instinct alone.

Her breathing was quiet as she came to the first room. There were voices. She judged them to be within a few feet inside the open door. Two. Two people. There was no way she could do this without her powers! Back against the wall she took time to think. And then she almost laughed. It might work.

Taking a moment to touch her necklace and mouth a "thank you', she removed a small wooden object from the wall. A plaque.  Crouching low she moved as close to the door as possible and then, holding the item about a foot of the ground, she dropped it. The thud was instantaneous. And so was the reaction of those inside.

A wiry man, mid-thirties strode out looking both ways. His hand was on the gun in the holster on his hip when he looked down. Before he could utter a sound, Blue's hand struck out and her claws punctured his jugular while at the same time grabbing a hold of him and pulling him towards her. His hands came up to his throat, trying to pull free and she brought him down to the ground. Her legs wrapped around his, holding him still while the blood and life drained out of him.  It was as he was taking his last breath that the second person stepped through the door.

And she hesitated.

Just a boy. A young man. She saw the fear in his eyes at seeing her, at seeing what she'd done. Yet preservation of life overrode. No mental powers...

In a split second, before he could scream she had pounced, pinning him to the floor. Her claws went to his throat and her eyes flashed with the drive to live and to do what she came to do.

Her voice was firm, a growl coming through as she snarled above him. "I don't want to kill you. I don't. But I will if I have to. They aren't worth protecting in there. They aren't." She pressed the claws in enough to draw blood. Inside her heart was bound. This was the combination. This was her and that side combining- merciful. "Please. Move against the wall and stay there. Don't move, don't speak until I come back. Do you understand?"

The boy, who could be no more than seventeen or eighteen, nodded. She could smell that he'd wet himself. Standing she watched as he did as he was told and then, trusting him, she moved farther into the building- leaving a quivering, sobbing boy, a dead man and bloody track as evidence that she'd passed by.

...A meeting room. No ordinary meeting room. And it was full. Full of men and women.

There were too many. She should have brought help.

Crouched low around the corner she could hear them clearly. They were discussing the next attack, then next items they would need for their rituals and rites.

A low growl began to issue from her. She'd seen the results of their attack on the house she'd found for Kelly and the rest.

Six girls. Girls she'd been teaching to dance. Jasmine she'd been teaching to read. Gabby she'd been teaching sign language and all of them had been learning to cook.

Blue had come to the door at her regular time. Just in time to see people leaping and flying away out the top story. She'd hurried inside but had been to late to save Jessy. Dead. The twenty-year old girl with a desire to be a singer and a passion for stuffed animals was stuck to the wall, hanging by three poles. One pole in each arm and the other in her neck.

The other girls had all been injured, a few close to dying. She'd run to each and tagged them and then, her heart breaking as she did her best to follow where they'd gone. Sonya had managed to tell her just before she was tagged that they were Krane's. And Blue new instantly who she meant.

Kevin Krane owned a business in Nerva. He'd also been rumored to have occult ties though no one bothered to concern themselves with keeping it in check as long as it didn't come to their doorstep. But now.. it'd come to Blue's.

Back at the edge of the Meeting Room Blue knew she had to use her mental abilities. There was no other choice. She'd just have to hope that those mentalists in attendance would be caught up and taken down quickly enough for her to not get herself killed.

Taking a deep breath she stood, back to the wall and counted to three. Then she turned the corner and sent out a mental blast to weaken those in her range, followed by a flick of her wrist to send half of them into the air- immobilized and unable to fight back.

Immediately she felt the ice in her mind. She'd missed a mentalist.

Gritting her teeth she continued her assault. Two rushed her. She lifted one up with her mind, slamming him to the ceiling and back down where he lay still. The next managed to cut her shoulder but with a snarl she turned and slashed at his face. He screamed but she couldn't hear it. Her mind assaulted she felt herself thrown and then skidding along the floor.

Looking up her eyes flared- her growl drowning out even the mental attacks in her own mind. Through gritted teeth she mumbled, "I'm stronger" and sent out mental blast after mental blast. She used her claws when they drew close enough. Eventually it came down to her and one other still standing. The rest lay scattered, injured or dead. Backing into the hallway she turned and ran. The woman had managed to find a gun and one bullet hit Blue's leg just as she turned a corner, bringing her down.

Panting, she waited the few second till the woman came around the corner and then sent a mental blast her way. It was weak. Blue's mind was blurry and disoriented. She'd lost quite a bit of blood and it was beginning to take it's toll. Yet it was enough to knock the woman off her feet, losing the gun in the process. It was obvious that woman hadn't been used to using that particular weapon.

Gathering the last of her strength she moved as quick as she could and covered the woman's body with her own. She bit and bit hard into the sensitive neck, using her own weight and the force of her jaws to hold her still while she struggled for breath. Yet Blue held firm, tasting the blood but finding no satisfaction, no desire to eat. She merely wanted the woman dead so she could stop- so she could rest.

She did. The woman's body shuddered and stopped squirming and she was gone.

And Blue?

Blue lay there, spent. She shifted forms without thought and curled up, eyes closing. Not sleep. Her mind still fought to stay active- the last of her strength keeping her conscious enough to not lose mental control.

The boy found her there. He'd moved. He hadn't stayed where she'd told him to.

In his hand he carried a gun and pointed it at her, finger on the trigger. Yet he didn't shoot. Instead he looked around and cried. He cried because all he'd wanted was a job so he could earn enough money to go to Paragon, to attend PCU, to become an architect. Bending down he saw she was awake.

"What can I do to help you?" He looked towards the room where those still living, only injured, were. They were stirring and would be here soon.

"Silvermoon Pub. Call Giovanni. Please."

That was her only words. She couldn't say anymore.

Scooping the now naked woman up, still surprised she'd been a shapeshifter he took off running. He had no special powers but he knew where to go. He got her there, sat her on the couch and called the only Giovanni he'd ever heard about.