I stand with a groan, brushing the dust from my hair and pulling my jacket off me, then folding and throwing it to the side. Rolling my neck and stretching, working out my kinks, I lean down and pick up a broken bit of brick. Testing its weight and infusing it, I track the positions of the two outside, waiting for an opening. Finally, feeling the darker, fluctuating Chi focusing away from me, facing the brighter Chi, I wind my arm back and build strength, then fling it.
Shield up, I charge out as a shout of pain reaches me, the dark Chi lessening somewhat, finding Mister Negative clutching his face. Stepping on and leaping off an upturned sofa as he turns to me, I rear my shield back and slam it into his face, sending him stumbling. Landing, I grab him by the front of his suit and pull him towards me, tripping him up and throwing him on his back, then raise Jian. Suddenly, his Chi ripples, warning me of his attack, causing me to hide behind my shield.
The beam of energy hits me like a train, launching me into the ceiling at speed, the surface cracking from the force. The Darkforce begins to leech round the edge and touch upon my arm, a feeling of coldness running through it, before I channel my Chi, its tendrils flinching back. The beam falters and I start to fall, seeing Spider-Man kicking him away, a foot to his face. Landing next to him, my knees bent to absorb the force, I straighten and look down at him as he starts to speak, his words coming out in a rush,
"Are you okay, Ma'am? You have a shield, that's so cool! I have a friend- well, not a friend, more a colleague- or a boss? Anyway-" Smiling at him, I interrupt, focusing him back on the fight,
"Spider-Man; fighting, yes?" He flicks his head back to a recovering Mister Negative, who's leaning against a wall with one hand, a gathering of energy in the other, "If you can distract and restrain him, I can kill him, good? Good."
Peter starts to nod as I rush off to the side, "Okay, I can- Wait, what? Ma'am!" Ignoring him, I flank Mister Negative, forcing him to split his attention as Peter shoots a web at his resting hand, to no effect, the Darkforce disintegrating it. Grabbing a broken table chair as I move, I whip it at him, but he ducks, the chair breaking on the wall. Sliding under a lobbed spear of Darkforce, I kick the centre table at him, smashing it into his knees. He flings a hand out to me as he screams, a dark blade slicing towards me.
Rolling to the side, I dodge in time, the blade whizzing past me and cutting into the floor, the shattering of the glass-wall windows behind ringing out. I see as Spider-Man finally make his move, thwiping himself at Mister Negative, crushing him against the wall and kicking him through it. Standing, I go to follow, when Spider-Man comes flying out, a squirming mass of Darkforce attached to his chest as he's thrown from the building. Trusting in his ability to survive, I continue on, when Mister Negative emerges through the dust, his eyes ablaze with power as stares at me.
He starts to thrown out an attack, but I dodge, spinning out of the way and nearing the wall as he shouts, "Who are you to challenge me?!" Batting a particularly powerful bolt away with my shield as my back hits the wall, I glimpse the energy cleave through the walls, destroying a section of the building and creating a large opening as it soars off into the sky. As I push off the wall, movement from the corner of my eye gets my attention, the crawling form of Spider-Man re-entering and climbing across the ceiling.
To keep Mister Negative from catching sight of Peter, I advance on him slowly while he pants, glaring from behind my shield, then shout and taunt him in his native tongue, "I'm going to eat your fucking heart, Martin!"
He whips his head up, fury on his face as he starts to glow, building power, when Spider-Man slingshots into him with force, causing the two of them to smash through the floor under them, the room shaking. I jump down after them, when a second dome of energy explodes from Mister Negative, impacting and throwing me away, sending me crashing through another wall. The fighting continues outside as I stand with a sigh and start to exit, when a weird Chi to my side gets my attention; both paradoxically full of life, while at the same time almost dead.
Turning in its direction, I find a white wall, a painting of a sailboat on choppy seas donning it, the Chi signature a couple meters behind it. Leaving Mister Negative to Peter for now, I stab Jian into the wall and start to cut, creating a hole big enough for me to step through. Pulling my sword back, I give the wall a push, causing it tip over and shatter; revealing a small, closed off, windowless room with a single bed, a woman laying on her side atop it.
I enter the dim room, a bedside lamp the only source of light, and approach the woman; or, I should say, as I get a better look at her, the girl. Brushing aside the blonde hair that covers her face, I stare at her features, barely out of her teens, in recognition. Looking into her essence, feeling the gold of my eyes deepen, her data comes to me,
[Revelation
Name – Tandy Bowen (Dagger)
Vital Status – Alive (Unconscious)
Species – Human (Mutate)
Powers – [Lightforce Generation & Manipulation (Sealed)],[Light Manipulation (Sealed)],[Superhuman Reflexes],[Immortality]
Weaknesses –[Lightforce Build-up], [Darkforce], [Mortal Physicality]
History – Born to Melissa Carlisle and Nathan Tyler, Tandy grew up…]
Skipping along her history, I focus on the information I need,
[After leaving New Orleans with her partner Cloak, she moved from state to state, sleeping rough and earning what she could through strictly legal means. Arriving in New York, she decided to settle down and look for a job, finding a posting in a newspaper for a waitress in Chinatown.
Separating from Cloak for the day, she took a bus with the last of her money and made her way to the restaurant, when her power perceived the fading light of a dying person. Rushing to see if she could save them, she instead encountered a couple of Inner Demons standing over a young woman, her head cracked open. In anger, engaged them, quickly defeating them and starting to heal the woman, but was discovered by their nearby boss, Mister Negative, who sensed her Lightforce and wanted to absorb it.
Knocking her unconscious and transporting her to his penthouse, he used his power to seal her Light and stop her from retaliating. As he was about to begin his attempt on her power, he was interrupted by the arrival of Spider-Man, saving her from an uncertain fate.]
I skim over how she ended up in this position, my mind instead focused on one of her abilities, getting my undivided attention. A deep desire rises from my soul as I push Revelation, hoping for more details, my eyes beginning to sting as I look deeper, before its info finally reveals itself,
[Powers –
Immortality – As the Avatar of Life, Tandy Bowen possess a form of pseudo-immortality. Should she die before her natural lifespan ends, she will atomise into pure light and unconsciously seek out her soulmate, Cloak. Her essence will then gather inside his body, being granted shelter until she can regenerate her physical form.]
I frown, not knowing what an Avatar of Life is, but understanding it's something unrelated to me, before sighing and trying not to let my inability to learn this power get to me. Channelling my Chi to my hand, I lay it upon her face to try and perceive the structure of the seal, when her eyes suddenly snap open, her irises glowing bright white. A mark in the shape of a white crescent moon appears around her left eye as I stare in curiosity, before it starts to expand and reach out to where I'm touching her.
Confident in the power of my healing, I keep my hand in place as it reaches my fingers, then gasping in surprise as the Lightforce starts to gradually flow into me, climbing up my arm inch by inch. A shiver of pure pleasure runs up my spine as I suppress a moan, arousal flooding me as my Chi absorbs what it can of the Light. I feel as the depth and quality of my Chi increases rapidly, before it starts to revolve at pace, my skin beginning to glow, running over me in mesmerising patterns.
The Light bleeds through my meridians, branching out and splitting into three, going to each of my Dantian's, the metaphysical regions in my body that store my supernatural energy. They revolve around them, touching upon their corresponding centres, the lower branch passing into my Lower Dantian, attempting to mix with my Chi. The green of the Seedbed overcomes it, taking it into itself and subsuming it, before starting to shine and flow back out, reaching out to the Middle and offering a greeting as it swims right in.
My heart beats vigorously in my chest as my Middle Dantian alights with power, a momentary golden flash emanating from it, a sensation as if I'm one with the world confusing my senses, before I close my eyes and centre myself. My Chi touches under and sliding through my skin, pushing and reaching, the air of the world passing through and connecting with me, moving in time with the pulsing of my Chi. Opening my eyes, I smile in delight as the room is lit in the green light of my Chi, swirling around my body.
Without any input from me, the golden runes appear, my eyes widening as I read them,
[Internal Alchemy – Qi Stage (Expert): While trapped in an alternate world, you finally switched focus to your talent in Taoism, putting magic to the side, for now. During your search for a font of Lightforce, which you hoped would add to your power and aid you in your cultivation, you intervened in a fight between two enhanced individuals. This led you to... discover that which you sought; Tandy Bowen, the Avatar of Life.
Upon laying your hand on her, her Light sensed the unmatched purity of your life-force and wished to join with and aid you. Unfortunately for it, and for you, in the cosmic pecking order, the Seedbed vastly outmatches it, causing its attempt at awakening the light of your soul to fail.
Its try was not without its own rewards, thankfully, as the concepts that it represents and embodies became wound to your Chi, imprinting through it. This has made it so that you'll have an easier time of comprehending the Daos of Light, Life, and Healing, and their divergent, relating Daos.
You have successfully opened up your Middle Dantian, the birthplace of Shen, moderately enhancing your physical abilities and vitality. Now, you can emit your Chi from your body, projecting and manipulating it, while also able to slightly control the ambient Chi of the world.
The awakening of this Dantian has also released the Cosmic Energy left to you by the Celestial, Arishem the Judge, as thanks for your aid in sealing the Mahd Wy'ry of the Eternal, Thena. This gift grants you the power to shape your Chi into various forms, though it will require experimentation on your part; so give it a go when you have the time.
Congratulations, Sarah; you're one step closer.]
A deep, fulfilling sense of life fills me as I finish, a new level of understanding regarding my Chi coming over me, making me check my character panel,
[Character]
Name – Sarah Worthington
Species – Human
Life – 34/148
Cultivation – Qi Stage (Expert)
Relief washes over me as I look upon my increased lifespan, an additional thirty years added to my previously cultivated one-eighteen. Placing my attention back on the sleeping girl, I bow deeply to her, expressing my thanks, then raise Jian and stab her in the head, sending her on her way. I have no assurances that I'll be able to defeat Mister Negative, and I don't want to leave her at the mercy of either him or the police, so this is for the best.
I watch in fascination as she starts to dissolve from her wound, becoming a mass of glowing particles that float up and light the room in white. They flash, the sensation that I'm being watched reaching me, before they abruptly vanish, the dark of the room returning. A shout of anger reaches me in the little room as she disappears, a column of powerful dark energy appearing in my senses, clear as day. Stepping to the side, I dodge it with precision as it melts through the walls, passing by me and out beyond the building.
Taking a page out of his book and wanting to test my new abilities, I raise a hand, two fingers extended, and condense a ball of Chi at the tips. Aiming with assistance from my Detection, I fire it; a thin, green beam of Chi sliding through the wall and hitting him. I sense with surprise as the Darkforce in him retreats at the point of impact, leaving his arm and reinforcing the rest of his body. Wanting to lay eyes on him, I rush out the room out into the larger area, finding it wrecked beyond repair; all of the glass walls destroyed, opening up the space for future residents.
Satisfaction wells from my heart as I look upon Mister Negative, the inverted colours granted to him by his powers absent in his left arm, revealing his black-suit sleeve and normal skin. The form of Spider-Man is crouched on the ceiling, his head whipping between us, when his confused voice sounds out, "Whoa! Er-, What was that?- Can you do that again? It looks like its helping!" Giving him an exasperated look as the sounds of sirens echo from the street below, I sprint at Mister Negative, a look of anger on his face.
His preferred attack, an energy beam, meets me as I move, but I lean out the way and stomp on the floor, sending out a pulse of Chi that travels through the floor. It races to him, rushing under his feet and exploding, the force throwing him into the air, where he's kicked back down by Peter. Darting to him, I stab down with Jian, intending on ending him, when line of web attaches to the blade and pulls it aside, piercing it down beside his head.
Grip on Jian, I follow the web back to its source, the extended arm of the standing Spider-Man, a distance away from me, his body radiating his concern, "You can't just kill him! The police will be here soon, let them take him." Knowing this isn't worth getting into with him, not ignoring the fact that I'm uncertain I can beat him, I pull Jian from the floor and sheathe it, then punch Mister Negative in the face as he tries to rise, knocking him unconscious. Rolling my eyes at Peter, I reply, a cautioning tone in my voice,
"You know he's just going to break out of wherever he's sent, then go on to kill a lot of people, right? Can your conscience carry the weight of all those lives?" I stare through his masked eyes, my Dao of Divination allowing me to see beyond, his disguise not hiding his frown from me, a flicker of something across face, before he answers,
"It's not up to me to decide his punishment, that's the purpose of the law, Ma'am!" Letting out a sigh, I slowly crouch down, keeping my arms visible, and stare at the clear face of Martin Li, his powers receding now that he's downed. Waving a hand at Peter, I nod to it, then place it on the chest of Martin, flooding his system with my Chi. Guiding it around and along the surface of his body, I slowly move it inwards, forcing his Darkforce into a point in his heart.
Condensing my Chi as much as I can, I wrap it around the point, intending to seal it, keeping Martin from being corrupted by it again. A shift in my spirit signals to me that I've done something, so I pull my hand back and look to Peter, telling him with severity, "If that's what you want, then on your head be it; don't come crying to me when he murders someone you care about." Standing, I look up at the hole in the ceiling and continue, "I've sealed his power for now, though I don't know how long it'll last, so be sure to warn whoever comes to take him."
Bending my knees, I jump through up into the hole and look back down at Spider-Man, who stays where he is, head down. Deactivating my shield, I go and find my jacket, brushing and throwing it on, then start to search the penthouse for anything of use to me. I move about the room, opening up dressers and looking under beds, before finding what I'm looking for in a walk-in closet. Gripping the backpack, I carry it back into the living room, then attempt a new technique with my Chi.
Closing my eyes, I focus on my Detection, then tap a foot to the floor, imbuing it with my Chi. A second tap sees it travelling over the surface, my senses following it as it flows through the structures, colliding with the scattered objects. My eyes open and I look to the side as I feel it connect with something square in the wall, shaped like a box. Walking over to where I sensed it, I rear my hand back and punch into the wall, my fist impacting metal, then tear away at the hole and widen it, exposing a hidden, digital safe, its front donned by a keypad.
Grabbing at its sides, I enhance my strength and start to pull, the safe slowly coming loose and falling into my hold. Placing it on the ground carefully, I look it over for a weak point, then infuse Jian with my new, more powerful Chi, and start to cut around its door. It takes a minute, but I manage to open it, the contents coming spilling out; bundles of US currency, a few documents, and a pistol. Eyes shining, I sheathe Jian and begin to pack everything away in the bag, when I hear a rush of heavy bootsteps approaching my position.
Sliding the now full backpack on, I move to take cover near the entrance, shield activated, when armoured men storm the room, equipped with black helmets and body protection, bulky, white weapons of some kind in their hands, "Damage Control! On your knees!" They shout, their guns, with their octagon muzzles, pointed at me.
These fucking guys? I blink in surprise as I lay eyes on them; it's not the response force I was expecting, but I can deal. Ducking behind my shield, limiting my exposure, I ask of them as I watch them spread out, "Shouldn't you guys be dealing with the crime lord downstairs? Why have you come for little old me?" Slowly, I manoeuvre back towards the hole, eyeing their positions the entire time, looking for any indication they plan on firing. The one in front continues to bark orders, his voice hoarse,
"Drop your weapons! Now!" Paying no mind to his demands, I feel as my heel touches the edge of the hole. Lifting my face above my shield, I give them a smile, my eyes curving up, as I tilt my head to them, saying,
"Bye-bye." The presumed leader before me reacts first, my enhanced senses catching as he begins to depress his trigger, the front of the gun starting to light up. Hopping back, a rippling beam of sound passes over head as I fall, barely missing me. I land below, the lower room empty of government agents, and wave to the surprised form of Spider-Man, who's busy webbing up the unconscious Mister Negative. "I wouldn't stay around if I were you, the filth are here."
"Wha-" He starts to speak, when a man drops down behind me, gun raised. Reaching back, but keeping my eyes on Peter, I grip the head of the man and send a jolt of Chi into his system, disrupting his own Chi and knocking him out. "Hey!" Peter protests, a hand pointing at the man.
"See?" Dropping him, I make my over to the entrance, speaking as I go, "You're gonna be okay on your own, yeah? Seeing as you can swing away, unlike us earthbound mortals." Placing my ear to the door, I focus, hearing the agents making their way down, their footfalls echoing in the nearby stairwell. Drawing Jian, I open the door and step out, before looking back, leaving behind some final words, "I was nice to meet you, Peter. We should do this again some time." I see his entire body twitch as I drop his name, then close the door with a click.
Following the corridor, I make my way to the lift, intending to take it down, when a door further down the hall slams open, the agents emerging at speed and catching sight of me. With helplessness, I hold my shield up and infuse it, then charge at them as they shout out demands. An impact to the front my shield by one of their sonic weapons make my ears ring slighty and almost causes me to stagger, but I keep pace, reaching them in seconds.
I slam into the man at the front with a burst of Chi, projecting it from the shield and washing it over the group, making them stumble. Reaching out, I grab the closest man and pull him to me, holding him before me as I pass by the group and into the stairwell to the side. As they begin to recover, a little manipulation of the energy around the door, cast with a flick of my fingers, sees it close.
Taking the weapon from my captive and throwing it down the stairwell, I lightly push him into the wall, then reach out and hold the door shut with my superior strength, preventing them from opening it too quickly. As his back hits the concrete bricks, the men outside starting to pull on the door, trying to open it, I begin to question him, curious, "Hey? So why are you lot so focused on me?"
"Fuck you, English bitch!" The man squares up and takes a stance, then punches out at me. He's giving it best, but the difference in our physiques is not so easily overcome, so I simply reach out and catch his fist with ease, then give him a quick jab to his face. A grunt leaves him as he raises a hand and clutches his nose, a small line of blood running from it.
The force on the door stops as barked orders are issued, the sound of the steps moving away. Knowing I haven't got a lot of time, I press on, "I'm gonna hit you again if you don't answer, so if you wouldn't mind?" He glares at me, his eyes watering as the tries to hide the pain he's in, but answers through gritted teeth,
"Because you beheaded all those people, you fucking psycho!" I stare at him in confusion, before understanding comes to me, causing me to furrow my brow at him and reply,
"...So?"
He looked at me in stupefaction, his eyes widening, before letting out scream and charging at me. Stepping to the side, I grab him by the back of his flak jacket and stop him from running head-first into the wall, then pull and thrown him onto his back. He stares up at me in rage as he lands, his helmet protecting his head, when I crouch and pull down his lower-face mask.
Placing a finger on his stubbled cheek, I say to him as I channel my Chi, "Your anger is commendable, but misplaced." Pushing it into his body, I finish, "We won't be seeing each other after this, so don't spend too much of your energy hunting me down; you'll just damage your body, okay?" He glares at me in hate as he tries to stay awake, my Chi disrupting his system, before his eyes flutter shut. Pulling his mask back up, I stand and start to work my way downstairs, a funny thought coming to me,
'Did I just become someone's archnemesis?'