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If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 10, 2017 12:37 am
by Narrator
Darkness. Cold. A lack of light and sound.
And then, space around the area in front of Nailah's home seemed to...stretch and snap and distort, like a mirage coming off the road.
And then, with a BANG and a SNAP, Nailah materialized in front of her house, a little shaken and stirred, but otherwise none the worse for wear.
A quick check would indicate that yes, all of Nailah's limbs seemed to be more or less intact, though there was some frost on the tip of her tail from the transport.
A second, more involved check would note that everything around her was far, far too big. Like, a good ten times larger than it should have been.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 10, 2017 2:54 am
by Nailah Weaver
Nailah would like to say she just braced the darkness with stoic bravery. Yet when she manifests she's screaming loudly, or quietly, considering her adjusted size. Once she realizes reality has returned she slowly calms down, although the door with the symbol sprayed on it towering in front of her quickly makes her realize something went wrong. But at least not horrifically wrong, she asses after doing a quick count of body-parts. Arms, legs, wings, tail. Everything where it should be. She flaps her wings and shoots up into the air to fly around the house and peer into the windows.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 10, 2017 3:27 pm
by Narrator
Everything seemed fine; no signs of a struggle, holiday decorations were still hung with usual care, Christmas music was on the stereo, and not a creature was stirring. This was until she saw her parents sitting in the living room, facing away from the windows and toward the Christmas tree. At her current size, it was a little easier to make out the grey corner of the duct tape binding her father to his chair.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 10, 2017 5:03 pm
by Nailah Weaver
Nailah frowns and clenches her fists but forces herself to finish doing a full circle around the house. Just in case and also to see if she can find an open window she could slip through.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:16 pm
by Narrator
A kitchen window was open. Huzzah! Unfortunately, there was an unfamiliar tabby cat lounging there. Not huzzah!
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:36 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"Dangit... Shoo! What are you doing here? Get out!" Nailah whispers harshly at the cat as she flaps in the air a couple inches away from the window.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:49 pm
by Narrator
The cat opened its bright green eyes to regard her with surprise before springing into the kitchen.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:56 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"Or inside. Whatever..." Nailah mumbles as she flies through the open window and up towards the ceiling before carefully making her way to the living room, keeping an eye out for any signs of Hazard.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Wed Oct 11, 2017 12:01 am
by Narrator
The only people in the living room were her terrified parents. The cat followed and sat to watch from the doorway behind her.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Thu Oct 12, 2017 6:03 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"Mom, dad!" Nailah shouts, although with her current size it's not all that loud. She flies over to them to see if they're hurt in any way. "Are you guys okay? What happened?"
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Thu Oct 12, 2017 7:04 pm
by Narrator
With mouths taped shut, they answered with muffled noises and fearful looks toward the kitchen.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Fri Oct 13, 2017 5:15 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"Don't worry, I came through there. Nobody was in there except for... somebody's... cat...." she trails off before suddenly spinning around to look for the cat.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Fri Oct 13, 2017 7:31 pm
by Hazard
That was the exact moment the cat leaped at her. "Supurrise!" cried Hazard the cat.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Fri Oct 13, 2017 8:01 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"Gah!" Startled, Nailah tries to flap her wings and get out of the way of the pouncing cat.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Fri Oct 13, 2017 8:12 pm
by Hazard
His feline grin widened unnaturally as he snapped at her with a maw full of what seemed to be too many teeth, narrowly missing her tail. As she spun in her maneuver, she caught sight of another cat descending the stairs and even more approaching the house from the backyard. They were different breeds but all possessed the same malicious green eyes.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Sun Oct 15, 2017 7:22 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"What the fudge..." At her current size even just one cat would be a challenge and she couldn't circle underneath the ceiling forever. But they are just cats, even if they're controlled by Hazard or whatever was going on here. Flying in a tight curve she whips around and goes for a dive, aiming right for the tape tieing her father to the chair, trying to land on it and tear at it with her claws. A regular sized human wouldn't have too much trouble with a couple cats, right?
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Mon Oct 16, 2017 12:44 am
by Hazard
She was able to make it there and begin making headway. However, the orange cat was already jumping onto her dad's lap and the second black cat wasn't far behind. Tearing at the heavy duty tape with shrunken claws was going to take more time than she had.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Mon Oct 16, 2017 6:06 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"Dangit!" she mutters under her breath and let's go of the tape, wings snapping open as she flies in a tight curve around, grabbing the cat by the scruff and letting her momentum help her in pulling the dang thing off her Dad's lap. It works pretty well too until everything suddenly seems to collapse in around her as the oversized living room around her shrinks back down to normal size. Or rather, Nailah suddenly snaps back to regular size, sending her and the cat she's holding on to crashing into the coffee table.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:20 pm
by Hazard
The coffee table snapped in half from the sudden impact, sending pieces of an unfinished jigsaw puzzle flying in every direction. The turmoil of the crash freed the cat but it was as dazed as she was. However, the second cat rushed in to continue the attack by leaping onto Nailah and sinking its tiny, sharp teeth into her.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 17, 2017 3:08 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"Get... off!" For a moment she struggles to get up and also handle the ball of fur and claws, earning herself a bunch of painful scrapes before she gets a good grip on the cat and tries to tear it away from herself and hurl it across the room.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 17, 2017 7:26 pm
by Hazard
The black cat crashed into the crouching orange cat and the two rolled in a tangle of limbs to the patio doors. It was hard to tell where one ended and the other began, but that was probably just because they were literally melding into a mewling blob of twitching cat parts. Perhaps more distressingly, so were the cats outside the door.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Wed Oct 18, 2017 7:57 pm
by Nailah Weaver
Nailah shudders at the sight, but quickly focuses on her parents again and limps over to tear away tape over their mouths before moving on to the one tieing them to the chairs.
"You gotta get out of here, okay? Just get in the car and drive!" she says and spins back around to face the two cat-blobs, dropping into a fighting stance.
"Nailah, hun, what is going on? How did you get here? And you're not going to fight that... thing, are you?" her mom asks, befuddled by everything that's going on.
"Mom, just go! I'll explain later, okay?"
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:44 am
by Hazard
The fur of the blob outside receded and was replaced by coal-black flesh. Slowly, the mass rose and began to take a humanoid shape. A few remaining eyes watched as all but the ones migrating to his leonine head disappeared one by one into the forming creature. His arms and legs gained definition, claws slipping out as Hazard flexed his new digits. Lastly, a third eye blossomed off-center on his beastly forehead.
The other blob remained unformed, blindly wriggling like a nightmare worm as the demonic man-cat opened the door. He stopped to give the extra piece an irritated look before picking it up and attaching it to his side where it became a malformed third arm.
"Yes. Run run run mommy and daddy," he cackled madly in a mocking voice that was at least half growl, "Round two might be... Hazardous..."
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:37 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"Just go! Go!" she says as she recklessly tears away the duct tape from her dad's hands before pushing him away towards the door. When she's somewhat convinced they're actually going she spins around and grabs the next best thing she has for a weapon, the chair her dad was tied to, and puts it up between herself and Hazard.
"What do you want, you maniac?"
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Fri Oct 20, 2017 12:05 am
by Hazard
"Chaos, fear, laughter, attention, the slow death of the cruel and heartless tyrant you call fate, aaand... a pony, why not?" he answered as he circled her, feinting an occasional lunge in her direction.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Fri Oct 20, 2017 12:46 am
by Nailah Weaver
"Well you can't have any of those!" Nailah frowns and swings the chair at him full-force.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Fri Oct 20, 2017 1:22 am
by Hazard
The chair splintered against a blocking forearm and left it bent at an unnatural angle. He roared and pantomimed agony, gripping the injury before unleashing a purring chuckle as it slowly began to heal itself.
"Nice hit Lah Lah! My turn!" he grinned, using his good arm to backhand her with tremendous strength into the home's central hallway. "Man I love this powerset!"
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Fri Oct 20, 2017 3:15 am
by Nailah Weaver
Nailah goes flying (and not in the intentional way) and skids through the hallway until she hits a wall, knocking the air from her lungs for a moment before she pulls herself up. Hazard might have tried to mock her and the injury may have begun to regenerate, but most importantly, she did hurt him. Claws scrambling on the wooden floor for a moment she makes a break for the kitchen.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Fri Oct 20, 2017 7:08 pm
by Hazard
"Yes yes, be a good Final Girl and grab a knife. I'll just be in the front yard watching my plan unfold!" he called to her before she heard the front door open.
"I know I did it right this time!"
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Sat Oct 21, 2017 7:42 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"Oh no... Mom! Dad!" Nailah rushes for the knife block and grabs the first one she can get her hand on. Without stopping or thinking much she keeps running and jumps at the kitchen window, arms raised in front of her head as she smashes through the pane in a shower of glass, landing in a roll on the front lawn with a bunch of cuts on her forearms.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Sun Oct 22, 2017 12:16 am
by Hazard
Hazard was expectantly watching her parents' car accelerate away.
"You're just in time! Consider what's about to happen a reminder that your choices have consequences," he said, merry amusement morphing into a warning tone. Just after the final word, the car skidded to a halt and her parents scrambled out. A massive ball of fire erupted from the vehicle, blowing out the windows and sending her fleeing parents sprawling onto opposing lawns.
"Stab me or help them. Your call," he said, looking back at her with a victorious smirk and making no effort to defend himself.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Sun Oct 22, 2017 4:14 am
by Nailah Weaver
Nailah stares at the car as it drives away, only vaguely hearing what Hazard is saying until the explosion suddenly yanks her back into reality. For a moment all she can think is 'Both. Show me how to do both!' but her power continues to elude her. On some level she realizes that in a twisted way stabbing him is what he wants her to do and still she can't help but want to. He invaded her home. Threatened and hurt her parents. He deserves to be punished. She wants to punish him. She's angry that she couldn't do anything to stop this. She looks down at the knife, catching a glimpse of her own reflection in the blade and for a moment the fog lifts. The eyes staring back at her are older, hard; and she can see the path that leads to them. Two steps forward, sweep the leg, pivot around, bring her arm down just as such, blade sinking into Hazard's chest before he even hits the ground, twist it just right, the handle breaks as the blade gets stuck between his ribs, impaling his heart, can't pull it out, can't regenerate. Dead. Like her parents. She's staring down into a hole in the dirt with nothing but anger in her eyes, anger that ripples back in time to this very moment.
The knife hits the driveway with a metallic clang and she runs. Leaving Hazard standing there she flies down the road, her feet only touching the ground every couple meters as her wings propel her forward faster than she could sprint. Towards the burning wreckage of the car and the shape of her dad on the nearby lawn.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:21 pm
by Narrator
Her father appeared to still be breathing, though he was unconscious. And aside from the small bits of glass shrapnel peppering his back, he had no obvious injuries. Checking on her mother revealed much the same; a probable concussion and only minor visible injuries. However, her vision suggested time was still of the essence and waiting on the ambulance the neighbors would call for help would likely end in tragedy.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Mon Oct 23, 2017 3:50 pm
by Nailah Weaver
There was no way she could carry both of them and the car was obviously ruined. Which leaves her with only one choice. Running for one of the neighbors who has come out to look at what happened she shouts. "I need you car! Now! Hurry!" Without really waiting for a response gives the man a shove. "Gimme your keys!"
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:27 pm
by Narrator
"Nailah? Why are you... was that an..." the older man she knew as Mr. Blair asked confusedly before he saw the unconscious Weavers near the unidentifiable vehicle. "Oh dear sweet Jesus..." he said in shocked horror.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:43 pm
by Nailah Weaver
"I don't have time for this. I'm sorry!" she says and runs past him and through the front door. After a bit of frantic searching she finally finds the car keys in a little bureau near the door. Running back out she jumps in Mr. Blair's car and awkwardly back up across his front lawn. She'd never gotten around to actually getting her driver's license, but she manages to get the car over near her parents and she jumps out again to drag them, one after the other, over to the car and into the back seat, muttering to herself as she does. "Please be okay, please be okay. You'll be fine, it'll all be fine..." Finally, after making sure they're buckled in she climbs into the driver's seat again and floors the gas pedal, the car skidding for a moment before it barrels down the sub-urban road.
Re: If Only In My Dreams
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Posted:
Tue Oct 24, 2017 7:47 pm
by Narrator
With the aid of her powers, she is able to easily find the most efficient route possible to the hospital. Take that, Map Quest.
The Emergency Room is unusually busy due to incoming patients from a bus crash on a road she had avoided, but the staff admit her parents quickly. After many heartwrenching hours and police questions about the incident, the doctor declares that, after a few close calls, they are going to be fine.
It was a very good thing her powers to contact X-Corp, as her claims of teleportation to explain her lack of identification only received incredulous looks and her parents were still unconscious. In the end; identities were verified, her parents woke up, U.S. authorities had a sketch and fingerprints of the unidentified powered individual known as Hazard, and a mysterious and brief rash of localized stray cat attacks was explained.