R E B I R T H [Complete]

[benbernanke]

Characters: Parano, open to anyone who wishes to drop in
Content: Parano wakes up in Manhattan, throws up, and proceeds to have a temper tantrum.
Location: Alley way in the Soho neighborhood
Time of day: Late morning, a little before noon.
Warnings: PUKE.

Comments

[benbernanke]

His voice cracked into a surprised squeak as his body was violently flung away from the wall and into the hard ground which he greeted with a pained grunt. All this slamming into things was becoming physically exhausting. But he was not down for long. He jumped to his feet and turned himself around, eyes now locked onto the woman before him, teeth bared. He did not strike out immediately though. Something was preventing him from charging her. Instead he found them staring one another down. Hateful eyes boring holes into the other. They stood there, unmoving for what felt like hours. In reality, only seconds had passed before the girl sharply exhaled, breaking the silence and causing Parano to recoil slightly. The tension in her body vanished and she shifted to a more relaxed position, to which he responded by stepping forward and attempting to make himself appear as more of a threat than she currently saw him as. Weapons or not, he could still throttle her with his bare hands if he really had to despite having already been completely overpowered by her a few minutes ago. If he struck now while she wasn’t prepared for an attack, he might be able to take her…
But the sound of his name escaping her lips made him freeze up right there before he could take any sort of action.
How
Did
She
Know?
He stared at her questioningly for a few moments, tilting his head to the side slightly. And then it clicked. Oh how could he forget any of Mother’s delightful little abominations? He and ASH had witnessed each and every one of the family program’s births. He remembered them each very well, despite it being so long ago.

“Long time no see, 02” he said in a suddenly very, very excited tone, mouth twisting into a huge, toothy grin. “SIRIUS FAMILY… 02 RITA RX negative chromosome abnormal.”
A terrible fit of giggles started up. “But whatever are you doing here? Hardly appropriate for something that’s dead.”

[igneus_laqueum]

Rita considered Parano's words for a moment. Her smirk dropped. "If I am dead, and here, then one could come to the conclusion that you are dead too."

She waved her hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. What matters is whether or not mother is dead." Now she took a step closer to Parano...although not in a way which might immediately appear to be threatening.

The fact that he's even conscious and active should be enough indication that mother is no more. Although, I could be wrong. His answer will confirm my suspicions...

Rita drew in a slow breath, her chest heaving steadily as she raised her chin in a subtle movement and stared down at the boy, readying herself for his answer.

[benbernanke]

He contemplated his options for a moment. While it could be quite a bit of fun to drag this out a while longer, he knew full well that in his current state Rita could easily take him down if aggravated further. A troubling realization indeed. But no fun really came of beating one with their fists anyway. A little bit of bruising and maybe a ruptured something or other, but nothing really beyond that. No, without the right tools this encounter wouldn’t hold much satisfaction for him at all. And honestly he didn’t feel like being thrown into any more walls or hard surfaces today or for a good long while. So, time to just get right on down to the business.

He scooted a few steps back, remaining in a defensive position and keeping his eyes locked on Rita. The distance may be needed. And now that he’d managed to position himself so his back was facing the alley’s entrance, a quick get away would be possible. Maybe. Depending on how fast Rita was.
“Not dead. Only sleeping.” He hissed through sharp, smiling teeth. “And she’ll be sleeping for a good, long time now.”

[igneus_laqueum]

Rita tilted her head downward just slightly, glaring at Parano menacingly from under her brow. As he stepped back, she advanced. And as she advanced, several jagged pieces of rubble floated silently into the air around Parano. "Don't...toy with me, fish bait," Rita threatened in a low tone, the corners of her lips still hinting a smile..which only made her seem more insane.

Rita turned her head a few degrees aside, still watching Parano, still walking forward slowly, deliberately. The rubble orbited the young man, threatening to bludgeon him at any moment. "I can't...feel mother any longer, you see. That..." Rita's eyes widened slightly, but her brow creased even harder, "...worries me."

The rubble began to orbit faster, kicking up a small breeze around Parano. "Because, if mother isn't here to give me orders, then that makes me a loose cannon." She stopped walking. The rubble was whirling furiously around Parano now, the trajectories tightening so that bits of rubble just brushed past him. "I've been known to be unpredictable," Rita explained, unblinking, staring straight at him again, her eyes blank and unreadable.

"I get the feeling there's a lot that you can tell me about the recent past. If not about mother, then...at least tell me where I can find my brother. Or..." she paused...didn't smile, but her lips remained parted on a moment as if hanging on the next words, "Rion Steiner and Lilia Pascalle."

[benbernanke]

This

had become quite the predicament.

His chances of escape were reduced to zero now with Rita confining him to such a small space. Even the slightest movement could result in one of the bits of rubble colliding into him. And he’d had quite his fill of injury today. Anything more might cause permanent damage. That was the last thing he needed or wanted right now.

He hissed sharply and glared at Rita with the most irascible look he could muster. But what was the point? It wouldn’t falter her or faze her in the least. Nothing would. Fighting her would have no benefit. Not for him, at least. What else could he do though?

The mention of ‘Rion’ caused his expression to change very drastically. The glare disappeared immediately and shifted into a curious, perhaps even slightly excited, stare.

He decided to cooperate. To some degree.

“Rion Steiner…” he began with a hissed chuckle, “is the one who got rid of Mother.”
He paused for a moment to take in whatever reaction that got out of her before continuing.
“But unfortunately, I do not know of his whereabouts either, 02.”
A small, sharp smile.
“A shame, really. I’d just love to see him again, you know.”
Smile stretching just a little too far.
“Things to catch up on. Business to take care of.”
“Dr. Pascalle too.”
The smile wavered just a bit.
“After all, she’s the one who revived him.”

For a few seconds he stopped as if going over that last statement in his mind a few more times. A once maniacal grin had shrunk into a very tiny smirk. He looked almost uncomfortable.

“Now what else do you absolutely, positively need to know. I told you about Mother and I don’t know where Rion or Pascalle are.”

[igneus_laqueum]

As Parano spoke, something seemed to occur to Rita. The gears were turning in her mind, and she was considering several things.

"Rion...he killed you as well, didn't he... And now you are here with me." She didn't seem to be directing her thoughts towards Parano, but rather merely speaking out loud. Rita was distracted, by thoughts of her greatest adversary. The one who had ended her life.

Some rubble began to orbit faster than the rest, some slower.

Among the streams of rubble, a large butcher knife from a fallen apartment kitchen spun lazily, end-over-end...

Rita didn't seem to notice the weapon at this moment. She was looking aside, continuing to make the rubble fly around Parano in the back of her mind while she weighed her options.

[benbernanke]

He eyed her closely, watching her attention slowly shift to something different, pushing him into the back of her mind. But still she managed to keep the debris orbiting around him, trapping and confining him. Some of the rubble had slowed, however. Slight movements became a possibility. Impact would still hurt quite a bit, but at least now it wouldn’t tear skin and break bone. Eyes strayed from Rita and went to examine the barrier around their owner. He wouldn’t be able to force his entire body through without being seriously hurt, but he could potentially reach a limb through the areas where the bits and pieces now spun lazily.

Something glinted in the light above at that moment and eyes darted up to meet it. A kitchen knife floated amongst the rubble not too far out of reach. He quickly glanced back down to Rita. The look on her face of being somewhere far, far off was all he needed. Focusing his attention back to the knife, he slowly and carefully brought his right hand upward. A couple rocks hit his elbow on the way up. Not hard enough to crack or tear, but still enough to cause Parano to flinch. He managed to keep silent still and continued raising his hand up toward the knife overhead. Gloved fingertips brushed against the handle, knocking the blade off its unseen course and out of orbit. It fell a short distance before being seized by the very hand that brought it back down to the earth. Slowly, he brought it down to eye level. Now this part would require quite a bit of skill and perfect timing. He stared straight ahead at Rita. Rubble spun around before him, each obscuring the view for tiny fractions of a second. There wasn’t a very large space of time between the fragments. Half a second at most.

He turned the knife so he had the tip of the blade pinched between his fingers. He had to do this soon. Rita couldn’t stay distracted forever. But this had to be timed right. Sending the blade forth a moment too soon or too late would destroy his only chance of getting out of here. Breathing became shallow and fast. Muscles tightened as he steadied his body and brought the hand holding the blade back slightly.

Ready…

And…

NOW.

With that he launched the blade and sent it spinning forward, clearing the barrier and flying at Rita.

[igneus_laqueum]

Rita hadn't seen it coming at all. With her mind churning on thoughts of Rion, Lilia, and their whereabouts, she had all but forgotten about Parano. When the knife came at her, she barely managed to throw herself out of its path in surprise.

As she hit the ground, her concentration broke. All of the rubble circling Parano fell to the street, freeing him...

[benbernanke]

Parano wasted no time in turning and bolting down the alley way as fast as his legs could carry him. He nearly tripped over one of the fallen rocks but managed to save himself, only to trip over his own feet a few moments later and face plant onto the cold hard ground. Ignoring the scratches and bits of gravel now stuck to his face, the boy scrambled back to his feet or at least tried to. He couldn’t quite get himself up right away. But that didn’t stop him from rushing on all fours until he managed to push his body upright.

Turning his back on Rita was a terrible idea. But better judgment had left him for the time being. All his mind could focus on was getting out of there and fast. Unarmed, he was no match for her. He wasn’t sure if he’d even be a match with weapons. Without psychokinetic abilities, he had been vastly weakened. And it looked as if Rita still had hers.

She was dangerous. She could severely injure him. She could probably even kill him. Staying far away from her would be the best course of action to take, at least for now.

[igneus_laqueum]

By the time Rita was on her feet again, Parano was just disappearing around the corner.

DAMN but he's fast...

She took one step towards the direction he'd vanished, clenching her fists...but thought better of pursuing him. Her resources were limited. She couldn't afford to use up any more of her power than was necessary. Parano had escaped, because of her mistake.

As she stood there, Rita re-evaluated the situation. This person was an enemy of Rion's. Which meant that he would likely be searching for Rion and Lilia, as she was. It could be to her advantage...if she was careful.

After a few moments more, Rita sneered once again at the alleyway and then turned and walked off.