「 tough girl. 」

@irnlily mentioned you on a post “❝  signing with FOMO today !  pretty stoked ~   ❞”:

@fortuniis “ ahu and i could use a cool role model to look up to! “

the dog needs a role model ???  rebel hero scratches his head for a moment.

maybe she only suggested it to have a dependable third around. two can be a lonelier number than one. thinking that is inaccurate too with xinya popping in every day to see the dog wonder.

however, in her quest, the king falls &. now, this princess dons a knight's armour in the same way the queen donned her mourning attire - a love letter to love lost.

mister? the pinnacle of heroism quells the amusement, shown only by the lift of the corner of his mouth. ❝ i trust that you will because doing better is the only thing we can do, ❞ a coin dances between clever fingers, as x ponders thoughtfully, a silence blanketing itself amidst the cold of the night.

her amicable, sweet smile falters as the pit in her stomach stirs from dormancy. her hands come together, fingers overlapping while her eyes wander elsewhere. luo li notes the gentleness in his tone, and appreciates it. it soothes the hurt. a little, but it soothes nevertheless.

and then there was a hesitance as plain as day written all over her face. not a hesitance woven of malice or distrust, but one that was strained and worn by the anxieties that weighed on her mind. anxieties that could not help concern themselves with his safety   ──   laughable was it not? he knows. he already knows, or else the question would have never left his lips.

they were closer to the stars than any malicious ear. no one far below below could possibly catch wind of what she now answers:   “    yes. i have,   ”   she answers it with a heavy heart. she looks up at him, now meeting eye to eye.   “   i think i am close to a breakthrough; it isn't perfect yet, but i have no doubt it will happen.   ”

delicate    finger    tips    brush    against    the    ruined    skin    of    his    cheek,    scars    following    the    formation    of   cracked    porcelain.    the    touch    is    reverent,    almost    hesitant,    tracing.    once    perfect    visage    now    twisted,    a    cruel    parody    of    what    had    once    been    admired,    he    couldn't    stand    this    new    reflection,    the    way    it    stared    back    at    him    with    unfamiliar    eyes.    how    could    he    expect    someone    refined    like    mister    shang    to    .ᐣ    perfection    was    not    meant    to    fracture,    only    to    be    displayed.

❛❛    then    what    would    you    call    it—    ❜❜    the    question    sharpens    at    the    edges,    fraying    with    restrained    desperation.    finally    crystalline    pull    away    from    that    display,    like    a    moth    drawn    to    a    flame.    as    if    resistance    had    always    been    futile.    he    had    seen    people    compare    the    brunette    to    the    sun.    warm,    benevolent,    life-giving    —    metaphors    handed    out    carelessly    by    those    who    never    looked    too    closely.    a    beacon    of    light    couldn't    compare    to    the    unrivalled    brilliance    from    s p a c e,    that    was    a    simple    fact.    distant    stars    burned    hotter,    harsher,    indifferent    to    what    their    light    destroyed    along    the    way.    ❛❛    he    wore    my    face,    and    now    is    signed    under    the    same    contract    i    was . . .   how    could    there    be    a    bigger    picture  .ᐣ    ❜❜

she remembers a myriad of emotions overtook her that day. that moment when god eye successfully exposed lin ling's forced charade, when the supposed truth that nice had died came to light. she cannot recall it in detail, what she felt at that moment, it was violent without a doubt, but at the same time she found herself unable to look away.

“   but that did not stop him. he fought as hard as he could all for the sake of someone he loved. no one but him could help moon, and he took that to heart.   ”   obviously. luo li may have felt a little pity for the commoner, the way he was thrashed about and kept getting up fighting. until she did not feel pity. she began to feel shock. awe. hope. a sad smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she stood there reminiscing. the moment when being herself could not have been any more validated. she shivered, a shaky breath parted from her lips. luo li squeezed her eyes and furrowed her brows, head shaking softly.

“   he did not need people believing in him: he needed himself more than anything to save the one he loved.   ”   luo li turns to nice, looks him dead in the eyes.   “   nice, his trust value went back up because he believed in himself. think about it! people like you and me are weighed down by how others see us! we are burdened by it! but all this time, it was possible for us to dictate our own fates without having to be scared of anyone taking that away from us!    ”

     Precious time could be wasted in saving one being, not even a sentient human but a dog. There are likely those that would claim that he wasted time  &&  effort into putting the dog aside into safety instead of tackling the bad guy head on, but that's the thing, isn't it ?  Nine has always been the type of hero to fall outside of the stereotypical expectations, operating more like a vigilante that has chosen to pour out his bleeding heart onto his very own clothing    ⸻    bright, colorful, he shoots across the sky like a beam of hope for all those aspiring to be on the path of the unconventional.

     Close to the ground. Well, a downed bird shouldn't be too hard to spot, making it easier for him to hover above the street, flying at a quick pace that still made it easy for him to scan through smoke, debris.

     Bingo    ⸻    not unlike Nine's new friend behind, he's sporting a suit that looks like it should be far more accommodating to travel, yet he's taken off from the scene on foot.     ❝  Hey, asshole !  People were having a good time till you showed !   ❞     Light coalesces into solid form, warm to the touch for only a moment before being sent spiraling towards one of the villain's wings, nailing directly. Have to keep him down to make this easier for everyone, mostly himself. Not that he isn't able to take to the skies but there's less targets to see from a bird's eye.

     Maniacal laughter sounds downright cartoonish coming through the voice modifier equipped to the helmet. Bellowing something about how someone had everything the guy wanted before shooting a small missile towards him. Nine protects his space, keeps a modest distance  &&  fends off the projectile with a wave of congealed color.

     Being a step outside the system at large, what people aim for in their lifetimes even if they don't realize they want it, he has never felt an overwhelming urge to break through the ranks. The number does not define him, even if the name itself is but a number attributed to him. What labels are slapped upon can be hampering in their own right but nothing can take away the fact that he is his own person, a rebel that seeks to go to the nth degree to make a stand.     ❝  Look, I've got no idea what you're rambling about but right now ?  You're the baddie  &&  trust me, it's not a great look.  ❞

until the cracks begin to show. all it took was for FOMO's new shiny hero, a young genius inventor, to make them surface and fester. 'anyone can be a hero' began to sound less and less meaningless.

blinded by his own vitriol, the villain's legs were swiftly lassoed. he loses balance in an unflattering display, falling backwards as missiles haphazardly zoom all over. a guttural howling boomed from the helmet. the villain began to convulse, bending and twisting to frantically break his legs from the multicolored rope. he went as far as to grab the rope in an absolutely futile attempt to tear it with his plain human strength.

with what exposed skin there was, veins began to pop out in the villain's useless exertion to break free. veins that began to darken into an unnatural nearly black shade of purple. flecks of this dark matter oozed from the air around him as his modified voice became more feral, more distorted in an indecipherable onslaught of words.

“   lights out, bastard!   ”   from behind the villain, a giant, swift pink claw cut through all that manic noise. the punch knocked the dark plasma right out of him, neutralizing the material. ultimately rendering it into nothingness. the villain's body slumped into consciousness. sirens echoed and grew closer to the scene.

the authorities hulled the man, now stripped of his metallic suit and wings, away into the back of a fortified vehicle. luo li barely gave the arrest any of her attention, aside from a brief moment of pause. her arms were folded, and then they weren't when she swung over to the rebel who helped her.

deadly    elegance,    the    kind    that    deceives    with    beauty,    kicks    born    from    the    talents    of    a    lifelong    dancer    —    muscle    memory    etched    deep    into    bone    and    sinew    —    white    and    gold    smashing    into    the    girl's    robotic    mask    before    landing    on    the    ground    with    a    hollow    thud,    the    sound    ringing    sharp    through    the    room.    she's    fast,    recovering    in    record    time,    but    in    the    split    seconds,    a    realisation    dawns.    the    floor    here    is    thin    —    far    more    fragile    than    it    should    be    —    there's    a    chamber    below,    and    from    the    impact    their    fight    is    causing,    they'll    be    there    soon    enough,    gravity    patiently    waiting    to    claim    them    both.

projectile    caught    and    crushed,    metal    shrieking    in    protest    before    surrendering,    before    his    back    collides    with    one    of    the    many    small    structures    in    the    chamber    —    pain    quick    and    prevalent,    a    bright    flare    beneath    the    skin,    the    paragon's    grin    threatening    to    falter    as    his    skin    comes    into    contact    with    shards    of    white.    forcing    himself    up,    lungs    burning    as    resolve    outweighs    discomfort,    her    hiss    answered    with    the    slow    and    uneasy    raising    of    hands,    a    performance    carefully    curated.    mock    surrender,    the    illusion    of    compliance    painted    thin,    lowering    himself,    though    before    white    clothed    knees    hit    the    filthy    floor,    his    fist    collides    with    it    instead.    the    ground    below    robotic    feet    already    unstable    is    the    first    to    go,    collapsing    into    a    larger    room    below,    concrete    and    dust    cascading    like    a    violent    waterfall,    nice    is    quick    to    float    ensuring    he    doesn't    follow    suit,    hovering    just    above    the    chaos    he    created,    eyes    already    tracking    what    comes    next.

she wanted to break every bone in his body. rupture every artery and organ. smash that ridiculing smile and tear off the white wings she saw him unfit of. and she was close, so close   ──   !!! her heart racing, lungs still as bated breath hungered to have this violent carthasis!!!

ALERT ! ── NEW INCOMING THREAT !

mere centimeters away from touching him, the rocket bat came to a frighteningly abrupt halt. air pressure ricocheted, causing a powerful wind to blast past nice as the kinetic force of luo li's weapon was that madly potent in its destructive energy.

her cracked visor, it having been in the process of repairing itself with installed nanotech, flashed a pink '   !   ' in high urgency. luo li hovered backwards to give herself distance, and quickly scanned the lower level nice had landed her in.   “   don't move!   ” the command came in sharp. in that exact instance, a low drone echoed all around them. various monitors lit up with bright turquoise statics, void of anything remotely discernible. a low light, similarly colored, glowed ominously right below them. it pulses, like a thrumming heart, the intensity of the vibrancy pounding in and out.

metallic echoes blare all around the duo as a speaker talks in an alien language unknown. luo li chooses not to make an effort to translate; she can already tell what was going on. in the most utter contempt :   “   ... we triggered a security measure.   ”   just what she fucking needed.

her head cranes up, eyes darting for the hole her thrown body had crashed into. it was gone, replaced by turquoise gridlines   ──   top and down, gridlines that stem in an endless vast of glowing light that replaced whatever walls and boundaries that would assure them they were still in the ship.

her    brash    words    are    meet    with    a    beat    of    silence,    a    deliberate    pause    before    that    light    sparks,    erupting    into    something    blinding    —    with    all    shadows    casted    away    for    a    split    moment,    the    world    stripped    bare    and    colourless,    while    her    suit    adjusts,    mechanisms    whirring,    he    can    get    past    her    in    the    narrow    hall,    close    enough    to    almost    touch    her    tech,    leading    them    to    the    larger    cavern    she    had    just    stepped    out    of.

❛❛    leave .ᐣ    but    i    only    just    arrived    ❜❜    an    echoing    taunt    as    darkness    returns,    his    voice    curling    through    the    space    with    lazy    amusement,    leaving    only    a    dull    glow    where    perfection    personified    himself    stands,    confident    even    when    obscured.    there    it    is,    the    prize,    the    proof,    with    a    pink    marker    to    even    signify    the    little    scientist    herself    had    confirmed    it    —    a    pod    like    structure    with    shattered    glass,    the    stark    white    in    the    rusted    greys    and    greens    of    the    ruins,    unnaturally    vivid,    impossible    to    ignore.    she    was    on    his    tail,    only    seconds    behind,    boots    striking    stone    in    a    sharp,    nice    turns,    humming    all    the    while,    a    careless    tune    that    clashes    with    the    tension    curling    tight    in    the    air.   ❛❛    ghosts,    this    stuff,    y o u.    what    a    pain.    ❜❜

when the passage of time goes at neck break speed, the window between the incident and now was dangerously thin. in spite of that, there would be a clear stark difference: unlike the girl who fought frantically to defend the lives of her father and dear friend, this heroine was a strange in-between of calm and deadly. her precision was impeccable, her body and physical attacks nimble. mind sharp, wary of what the lethal paragon was capable of. were a hit to fail, luo li had another attack lined up from projectiles and to her fists   ──   punches and uppercuts manifesting massive paws to ramp up the shattering force of exchanged throws.

she did not take the hits lightly either. a breath sucked in for each blow dealt, a pained cry, a pained grunt, a pained gasp bite back and swallowed. she stood her ground refusing to let herself be hurled down and across. yes, there was a palpable difference. she did not fight like the budding sprout back then. she was all thorns, in near full metal bloom with roots buried firm as to not yield to her opponent.

     Whipping around like vines, long hoses that could be from that of a firetruck snaked their way to the scene, deployed at a slight angle that still managed to siphon the water pressure through. He might not be able to conjure water but he knew more or less how a fire hydrant worked. No time for pleasantries or introductions, he set to work helping with evacuation direction, making space for the other hero that got to the scene before him. Huh. Rebel hero does not like relying on official channels to make his appearances but he was typically quicker than those caught up in all the red tape  &&  film crew cues. Whoever this is, he does not think he's seen them before. Cool suit though.

     His ability to create had always worked in a pinch, provided even the smallest of tools he might need when fixing up some old rusty contraption. Far more familiar with what he could grasp in his hands, creating something that would protect the area from burning further  &&  as well as getting people out of the way had him trying to figure out the best course of action. Tarps for businesses, for stalls, then fly people out. That is easier on paper but it is the route he immediately takes. Bright colors flashing around to form solid shapes of familiar objects one might see on a construction sight. Hell, maybe he ought to create a firetruck while he's at it.

     ❝  Do you got it handled ?   ❞     Nine shouts to her in passing, carrying a couple of people in his arms  &&  shuttling back to to check for more stragglers that are frozen in shock or stuck under debris.     ❝  If you do, I'll take care of the baddie !   ❞

     Only belatedly does he notice the tiny thing beneath her, a shaken up animal who might've belonged to someone having a great time before it all went to shit. He hovers closer, whistling at it to get its attention to avoid sneaking up on it  &&  creating some other situation he would have been wholly unprepared for. Layers upon layers but he was always prone to scratches on his face that he did not want to add a whole entire line of teeth indentations to the list.     ❝  Here doggie, doggie. C'mere, let me get you somewhere safe.  ❞     He opens up his arms, hopping that the dog will run to him before he decides too much time has ticked by  &&  he needs to instead scoop it  &&  take his chances.

relief came to her in a passing voice.    “   whoa!?   ”    a surge of hope shoots through her. everything at once felt cooler and more open for ease of breath. the suit's system caught vital signs moving farther away from the disaster area. one kept coming back and forth at miraculous speed, and that is there she knew: another hero caught wind of the smoke, of the distress. someone came to help.

“    are you kidding me!? it's all fire here, no thunder at all!    ”    laughter rings from the suit. the pink expression on the visor switches to something happier. rankings were just as important to her as it was to almost anyone else. more so when she was on a mission to bare whatever she buried deep within her heart to the open. right where most eyes would be locked on. however, right here? right now? that was nothing compared to the sense of responsibility that takes precedence.    “    there's a flying metal birdman around here! can you go after him?! i will catch up to you as soon as i get rid of this hazard!    ”

it should not be too hard, she hoped. luo li was sure that bastard had to land at some point knowing well she nailed his transducer. just a matter of apprehending him before he gets back up.

or worse: before any chance of fear kicking in.    “    he should be close to ground! southeast!    ”

with a newfound second wind, her heels flare up for take off. a screech is left in her wake as she jetted away with the near flameless blimp in toll. following the blaring sirens of firetrucks, luo li succeeds in drawing their attention. leaving the blimp to the firemen at their rendezvous, luo li flies off as quickly as she landed. she scanned the surroundings below her for the violet haired hero.