Meet and Greet

[Orion]

((Olesya))

"Hmph. And here I was, hoping that I'd get a workout."

Orion's foot casually tapped against the body one man on the floor, unconscious, face beaten bloody. He was sitting on three more bodies, and scattered around him were easily another 7-10 more, all in various positions of pain and consciousness. Resting next to him, stabbed into the ground, was his halberd, which he had chosen to forsake for this fight. At least, that was the plan. But after about half of them had hit the ground with no reaction whatsoever from Orion, the rest had started pulling knives. Well, at least he didn't kill them. Just stabbed them, painfully, in tender areas.

He was currently looking over a map he had with him, marking the park he was at with a big red X. As he traveled, he decided to gauge people's reactions to the Experiments. Well, this apparently was a bad idea for your common ma- Experiment, rather.

"Hmmm.... where to next..."

Currently missing was Orion's usual blue cloak. He was currently standing (sitting) in all his Experimental glory, letting the glow from his body shine as a beacon. His blue hair he blew out of his face as his golden eyes scanned the map, noting the name of the place he was at.

"Ladera Heights... If I remember correctly, Tsubame isn't far from here. I haven't heard from her recently... then again, if rumors are true, then the Crows aren't that far either... and I do need to go meet them... decisions, decisions..."

[Your Mom~]

Olesya was out on one of her daily scavenging mission, a tattered backpack strapped to her back, a green bandana tied over her stark white hair. A few strands poked out, but not enough for her to be noticed from far away. That was the point, most of the time, not to be noticed. A couple years ago, she had been the exact opposite, going out of her way to cause mayhem and discord at any chance she got. In comparison, Olesya was living the quiet life.

Coming upon the park, mismatched eyes caught sight of the mayhem that had ensued just prior to her entrance. She turned her gaze back and forth over the scene, settling on the only conscious figure among the lot. He was focused on a map, seemingly unpeturbed by the destruction around him.

A small part of her was mildly impressed by the post-show, she could only imagine what it had looked like when it went down. The young woman sauntered up toward the boy, pausing a good twenty feet away. Again, she looked about before settling her eyes on him, her electric blue eye glinting in the sun while her hazel eyes looked exceedingly normal.

"Someone take your lunch money?"

She looped her thumb behind the strap of her backpack, fixing him with her uneven gaze.

[Orion]

"Someone take your lunch money?"

Orion paused in perusing his map and cast his eyes upwards, intending to glance briefly. And then he held his gaze for a moment.

"So... another Experiment I would guess? Because I can't see contact lenses, and there's no way in hell that that eye is natural. Or that hair color, really."

One eye electric blue, the other hazel. Stark white hair, and Orion just had this feeling that it was caused through... unusual means.

"In any case.... Not entirely. Just some biased people who felt like taking me on. The end result is this. I do far more damage when I'm in need of cash or fun and wander into a bar. Most bars don't know whether to hate me or love me, except the ones I work at as bouncers."

Orion rolled up his map, stuffing into a coat pocket. He jumped off the bodies, snagging his halberd and laying it easily across the back of his neck. He approached the girl, holding out his right hand, the left holding his weapon in a non-chalant, unready posture.

"Orion Smith. I serve as an ambassador of sorts for the Experiments in the North-East of California, as I'm the only experiment that interacts with "normal" people day-to-day and have been doing so for quite some time. A pleasure to meet you, miss..?"

[Your Mom~]

Olesya gleaned a boatload of information off of the boy in a matter of seconds. His posture was casual, he was comfortable in his skin and knew how to handle himself. He had an abundance of confidence. He also recognized her as an Experiment, a victim of Sean Barker's lunacy.

Her expression darkened at this. No one had used the term to her face in quite some time. It felt insulting.

What was more, he also used the term 'another,' meaning he either had met another Experiment along the way, or, judging by the glow the boy seemed to put off, was one himself. He verified this soon enough, entitling himself as an ambassador of sorts. It was like he was proud to have been messed up.

Other miscellanous information filled in but was set toward the backburner in comparison to the Experiment talk: He went to bars. He was a bouncer. He was trained in weaponry (at least the one he carried).

As he approached her, he put off a purposefully non-threatening air, which was good because Olesya was still off-set by the open Experiments talk in unsafe territory. Such talk was taboo, to be put lightly. You may as well draw a target on yourself. He didn't indicate which side he was associated with, either. She wasn't about to deposit herself into the hands of some Barker lackey. His confidence and ease of body posture woudl indicate that he wasn't under Barker's control, but then again Mathew Amtrum had been rather comfortable in his skin as well...too comfortable in fact.

She hesitated, showing her distrust before offering her hand to the boy.

"Jane."

...as in Jane Doe. If he was a Barker drone, he wouldn't know her actual name. If he wasn't, then she would apologize later when the truth came out. He would understand her need to keep anonymous to those who would cause her harm. Barker had single handedly destroyed her life, she wasn't about to offer Him anymore ammo, not when she had very little left.

She didn;t use her actual alias, Ophelia, the name she'd gone by for a solid three years. There was too much darkness involved with that name, and she'd rather keep it in the past where it belonged.

[Orion]

"Jane? Hmm... As uncomfortable as you seem, I suppose I shouldn't press it."

After shaking her hand, Orion turned back to the carnage he unleashed.

"Hmmm.... well, regardless, I shouldn't be staying here much longer. Barker sympathy is higher here for some odd reason, despite being near surrounded by other factions. I wonder if he has some people here... Perhaps I should- ah hell."

Orion was speaking to himself, turning back to 'Jane' and then noticing a number of people approaching behind her. Roughly.... 20 people. This could get ugly fast. He quickly stepped past her and brought his halberd off his neck, calmly gripping it with both hands now. He watched as the people approached, at least half of them armed with bats or pipes. If they were looking for a fight... then Orion might have a few issues. He raised his voice when he figured they would be close enough to hear him.

"Hello! Would you happen to know which way Crow territory is?"

At the very least bought time. The group of men stopped, and one approached closer. At this point, they were all in the park, and were starting to spread out. Possibly to hold the two in place if things got ugly? Mayhap...

"Crows? We don't know, or care, monster! The only ones of you guys should be safely with Barker! And your obviously not, as Barker doesn't let his men roam this far out, we know it! The fact that our friends are unconscious also goes against you. Barker may offer us rewards if you bring you in to him!"

Orion grimaced.

"Well, damn... Miss Jane, now would be a very good time for you to leave. I'd rather you not get caught in this fight."

Speaking to her under his breath, Orion switched his halberd so the axe end was on his left, the weapon divided into thirds by his hands. Time was running out if 'Jane' wanted to run, as the group was starting to come closer and close the circle to prevent escape.

[Your Mom~]

She could tell he didnt believe her, but she appreciated the fact that he respected her anonimity. Life as an Experiment was hard, especially now when there was practically a bounty on their heads. Unsurprising, it appeared the Orion's little show had drawn a crowd, Olesya counted about twenty of them. They had crude weapons, much like the goons that had ambushed Delilah and herself on their way into town.

...Crows? This boy was looking for the Crows? Again, she didn't know what his intentions were with her adopted territory, her new home of sorts, though she was sure Kiyoshi could straighten him out. But first things first.

When the boy told her that she should run, save herself, go get locked in a castle, Olesya simply laughed. The sound came from the depth of her gut, rumbling up her torso in a malicious sound. If there was one thing to know about Olesya, alias or not, it was that she was never...ever...

...ever a damsel in distress.

"I think I'll manage."

She picked up two planks of what had once been a park bench, twirling one in each hand rather deftly. Olesya wasn't the biggest fan of weapons, but some of these goons appeared to have some thick skulls that begged for extra pounding. The first one moved in on her right, a pipe in this right hand swinging toward her head. He was strong, but clumsy and sluggish in his movements.

As he swing for her head she ducked, ramming the end of her right plank into his stomach. Caught off guard, the goon stumbled, the breath aggressively forced from his lungs my the involuntary spasm of his diaphragm. She swung the left plank low, tripping up his feet and
knocking him back on his ass. She kicked the pipe from his hand, sending it skittering across the ground.

Quite visiably and understandably angered, the man lunged for her legs with his muscley hands. She jumped at him, bracing her hands on his cue all head and lifting her legs over her head, pivoting up from the waist like an acrobat. Then, with the aid of gravity and her own speed and strength, tucked in and pivoted downward, her feet kicking out at her hands like a jackknife.

Feet collided solidly with cranium, jetting her away from the now unconscious barbarian. Olesya rigged herself as she met the ground, right leg bent and left leg straight as her hands touched the dirt, looking very much like a runners pose if it weren't for the fact that she was sliding backwards, coming to a stop about ten feet away from her launching point.

Well, she hadn't been the varsity captain of PHS 259 for nothing...

[Orion]

Should have guessed. Kids with white hair are not common, and any of them would HAVE to be a public high schooler. At her level... a Pillar, maybe even a captain? Regardless... they ARE rather weak.

Orion back-stepped as the man made a clumsy swing at him. His eyes hardened, the blood-red splotches becoming more pronounced in his golden eyes. His glow seemed more intimidating, more of a malevolent presence then what it was two seconds ago.

"Game over. I stopped caring about human life once you stopped caring about me. And with these odds... I am forced to hold back absolutely nothing. Now... die."

The man had a rusty pipe. This was going to end badly. Orion spun his weapon to behind him, and brought it in an overhead swing. The man attempted to block with his crude weapon.

Bad move.

Orion's axe crashed through the rusty metal, coming down with even force to cut a quarter of a way through his skull. Orion brought his weapon over and back, even as the man began to let loose a disjointed scream. It was cut off as Orion stabbed forward and caught him in the throat. As the man began to fall, Orion could hear a battle-cry behind him as a man rushed him.

Amateur. There's two points on this weapon for a reason.

The battle-cry quickly turned into a scream of pain as Orion lanced his weapon backward, straight into the man's stomach. Orion brought his weapon away from the hole and spun, the tip of the opposite end catching the man in the throat and cutting it open. Enough, in any case, to bring him down.

4 people down in a matter of seconds. The remaining sixteen closed together, a bit unsure now. One person was monstrously strong, and the other, while strong, was more willing to kill them at this point.

"Come on then! The only people who should attempt to kill.... should be those prepared to be killed! Are you that certain in your cause? Will you die for a man you never met?!?"

Orion's roar was his last attempt at being diplomatic.

[Your Mom~]

Jesus...this boy was a living weapon. Every move he made was deadly, but then again that was the end-game for barker's experiments: to create the perfect soldier. They were faster, stronger, hardier, deadlier than any other human being on the planet. They were hardened by chemicals and a tough life, something that Olesya was far too familiar with. The life of a hardened killer was something she tried desperately to leave behind, but it kept rearing its ugly head. In a world like this, who could afford to be innocent anymore?

Right now, Olesya was content with simply incapacitating her opponents, trying hard to keep from snapping their necks or impaling them with the very crude weapons they brandished.

Still in her runners pose, she took off at her nest target, a large burly man with a crowbar hanging from his beefy fingers. He swung the crowbar at her midsection, Olesya dropped, home run sliding into his feet, knocking him forward to face plant on the ground. Just as that transpired, another goon came up with a two-by-four, and he aimed a swing at her head as if it were a nine iron and her head was a golf ball. She tuck and rolled, the swing coming down on at his cohorts head instead. The downed man howled, clutching his head and curling up defensively. Olesya dove, picking up the crowbar and spinning it like a baton. Mr. Two-By-Four growled in irritation, going after her once more.

He swung, she ducked, moving in and jabbing him with quick lightning strikes with the crowbar. Twice in the solar plexus, twice in the neck. She finished off my cracking him in the side of the head with the cold iron, and he was down for the count. A very...long count.

Mismatched eyes flashed over to her unlikely companion to see if he was okay. Another goon came up behind the young woman and grabbed her in a bear hug, pinning her arms to her sides. She struggled for a moment, caught off guard. This was one of those things that made or broke a fight. Most girls would simply struggle to no avail, losing right then and there at the mercy of their opponent. But not Olesya.

Olesya brought her head forward before bringing it back quickly, cracking him in the face with her skull. She bent her knees to giver herself leverage before throwing her whole upper body forward to throw him over her shoulders, breaking his grip on her. Once he hit the ground, she stomped on his face, breaking his nose and cheekbone.

[Orion]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoOIOBdBa5I&feature=related

As the men continued to attack, Orion sighed.

"So be it then. Don't blame me if you die today, ignorant fools!"

Orion side-stepped a 2x4 from behind, the man stupidly yelling a war cry. He spun, and his right hand, still gripping his halberd, struck the man's nose, sending him reeling back with a spray of blood. Orion stepped back, bring his hand back and adjusting his grip before stabbing his halberd into the man's gut, burying the spear point to the tip of the dual axes before drawing it out. As the man doubled over, Orion kicked him with his left leg, sending the man into a back flip of sorts as he was sent to lay on his back on the ground, 2 meters away.

Orion spun his weapon, taking a grip with both hands, before spinning himself, his weapon moving in a wide arc to force anyone behind him away. And there were three there, who immediately scrambled away as he swung, knowing now how deadly the weapon was. Halting himself as all three came into view, he brought his weapon back, settling himself, considering options. He could hear sounds of fighting behind him, and he guessed that would be Jane. He ignored it, as earlier she seemed on the level of a Pillar, possibly a Captain, so she would be fine. He sighed, seeing only one solution.

Picking the man on the right, Orion charged, bringing his weapon to bear. Orion had stopped holding back, using all of his power, and these folks were already pretty weak. When Orion had his Double Halberd, things got ugly, fast, for the other side, especially if his fellow Experiments were nearby. The man tried to back-pedal, and Orion, his arm already cocked, threw his weapon with full force as he, turning as the weapon left his grip, already knowing what would happen. The man he was charging let out a scream for about 2 milliseconds before it was cut with a bloody gurgle as the weapon caught him in the throat and he fell. The remaining two, who had been advancing hoping to catch Orion off guard, were caught off-guard themselves as Orion turned towards them.

Orion barreled into one, who had no weapon, foolishly, and quite calmly slammed his body into him. The man was sent back, breath exhaling rapidly due to the force as he hit the ground, hard. Temporarily ignoring him, Orion performed a right face and caught the pipe as it came down one-handed, not even looking surprised. The other man was, and then he registered fear as Orion's other hand caught him by the throat and lifted him.

"Please. If it were that simple, this would've been over long ago."

The man's grip slackened as he struggled to breathe, and Orion wrenched the pipe away. Dropping the man, he slammed a knee into his stomach, before stepping back and double-handing the pipe down onto his head. As the man crashed down, Orion's left hand released the pipe as he spun to the sound of an approaching war cry. The pipe was immediately used to parry the stab that came from his own weapon, the third man having the wit to grab up the deadliest weapon there. Orion chuckled.

"Oh how very intelligent, take the sharpest weapon here. Thing is, do you really think you can use it against me successfully?"

[Your Mom~]

They were dropping like flies. There were only a handful left, their resolve shaken at the way the two of them had handled the remaining thugs companions. A couple had turned tail and run, their cowardice and self-preservation keeping them from backing up what few bandits remained.

They wouldn't last long.

Two more men came at her, one with a chain dragging along the ground from his hand, the other with no visible weapon, but his hands were the size of spades. The chain man grabbed the chain with his other hand, pulling it taut from both ends about chest level. Olesya launched herself at him first, grabbing the chain and dropping to slide between his legs. The man was jerked downward at the added weight and momentum, tumbling ungracefully onto his back. She pulled the chain from his grasp, stomping on his face before turning to face the spade-man.

She ducked beneath his massive hands, circling around him quickly to get him offguard. The man circled as well, still facing her. Quickly, she changed direction, circling back the other way faster than he could stop and turn around. She leapt onto his back, wraping the chain around his neck and pulling tightly. Sapde man struggled, clawing at the chain and batting at her, but his muscles were so big that he couldn't reach behind him to dislodge her from his back.

Stumbling, the gargantuan man face planted as he lost consciousness from lack of oxygen. She let go of one end of the chain, pulling it from around his neck with a smooth motion. She looked around at the remaining handful of thugs, a couple of which had dared take Orion on. He wasn't as forgiving as she was, drawing blood without a flinch. Not that Olesya as any too forgiving, but she had enough blood on her hands as it was that she at least made an effort to prevent adding more to it.

"Give it up! Go home already."

She scowled, gripping the chain in her hand.