Serenity [Open]

[kiya]

Silence, peaceful and serene the perfect atmosphere for when you wished to think, except Kiya didn’t do much thinking these days, her mind was not fully in tacked there were pieces missing, strewn across her consciousness in places she could not reach, and did not dare to tread. It had all started with the death of her grandmother, she remembered being distraught, and she remembered her father, a man she had not seen since she was a baby trying to take her away...she’d hurt him she could remember that much, but she didn’t know what she had done, that part was hazy. Delicate fingers brushed through her golden tresses as she walked through the grass barefoot, she enjoyed the park, and this early in the morning there were no people around to scare her, or taunt her, just the trees to sing and the grass to dance with.

Kiya began to hum quietly as she spun around, her long side split skirt whirling around her as she did so, a smile evident on her pale lips, she had a deep love for nature, but no one knew just how deep. She could hear everything that the trees said, even the tiniest whisper she could pick up on, they had such wonderful stories to tell, a history of the world all in one place because the trees lived so long, but whilst she could gain happiness from their stories, she could also feel their pain. The agonising pain that shot through her body every time a tree was defaced by some youth with a penknife carving his name into its trunk with little thought of its feelings, the death...she had felt their deaths a hundred times as they were forcibly ripped from the earth to be used as firewood or make a chair, she could feel everything, and no one would ever know how much.

“Sing to me, tell me this city’s past, I will always listen” she whispered as she sat on the grass, running her hands through the blades gently, each one was unique, each one had a life all its own, and to think a simple thing like a lawnmower could cut their life force short....humans really were cruel creatures.

[Tripp]

The morning gloom was fading fast, and Tripp realised he would need to work fast. With only a few hours until the sun’s light reached it’s peak luminance for the morning, it would become a hazardous inconvenience, and even more so should he have to retreat to the gutters and report a failure.
Such an idea made Tripp cringe, his fingers gripping the wooden shaft of the large shovel he dragged behind him.
No. Failure would not be an option.

It took nearly all night searching round the d**ned city for a hardware store to rip off, nothing too fancy, just an easy mom an pops style hole in the wall store. And all for a d**ned shovel, the thought did cross his mind to use his own hands and claws to dig through the earth, but he had no idea how deep he had to go.

“Dig.” Was his order given to him on his cellphone. “Park.” Was his second order. “I will guide.”

Strolling down the gravel path, Tripp could already feel the first few rays of sunlight sting his eyes. He was wearing a thick Parka raincoat with the hood concealing much of his face, but it wouldn’t shield him for too long.

“Over there.” He whispered to himself as his gaze settled upon a gazebo next to a large flower patch, decoratively arranged into a patterned mosaic.

With the shovel in his clawed hand, Tripp walked purposefully over to the bed of flora and instinctively stopped in his chosen spot. Kicking aside some brightly coloured petunia’s and stabbing the blade of the spade into the soil, unearthing a mush of black dirt, torn roots and crushed petals.

With the park empty at this time of the morning, the boss should have what he needs within the hour.

[kiya]

Tripp’s presence had not gone unnoticed, the message had been passed from tree to tree and eventually Kiya heard it, so there was someone else besides her in the park, well it was a public place so that bit of information bothered her very little. She sat down on the grass for a moment playing with the hem of her mint green skirt, a playful smile on her lips, even if there was another person around she could still enjoy herself, it wasn’t as though it were thousands of school children on a field trip, she remembered the last one she had been on, they had gone to a chocolate factory, she could still smell the heavenly aroma of melted chocolate and could still imagine it pouring into the various moulds to be solidified for eating, that had certainly been an enjoyable day.

“Sweet and sickly” she said remembering the taste as she lay down now, staring at the sky that was beginning to gain streaks of pink as the sun was beginning to rise, she loved sunrise, even with her limited metal capabilities she could still appreciate some things, though her hatred for others seemed to be growing. Other people for instance, whilst she shied away mostly because of her fear of taunts and cruelty, she was becoming increasingly violent to anyone who crossed her path, not that she could truly be blamed for it, she just didn’t understand, she could not process her own emotions anymore and having someone like that running around was definitely dangerous.

Suddenly she felt sharp pains searing through her body and she sat up clutching her head, hearing screams, violent ones, plants were being crushed, killed, mangled, by one hand, the strangers hand. Tears started to drip down Kiya’s cheeks as she stood slowly fighting the pain within as she began to walk in the direction of the screams, whoever was killing would pay. “You....you should not be there...you’re killing my friends” she said approaching Tripp, her hands at her sides for now.

[Tripp]

Tripp’s ears twitched as he heard footsteps approach from far behind him, listening carefully as they padded across the blades of grass getting closer. Tripp didn’t cease digging as he listened, he did not turn to acknowledge this curious visitor, or show any inclination that he was aware as it got steadily closer.
Great, now who could this stupid interruption be. A Park Keeper? Some nosey, stuffy human? Someone with a death wish? He decided it would be the latter, whether it claimed to be otherwise or not.

A delay just would not do. No it would not! He was so close now, whatever it was he was searching for, he could feel it’s presence. Like approaching a warm fire on a cold night, he could start to feel it come closer, exposed to the world once more, and ready to be taken into Tripp’s tender embrace.
And with it would come a chance to be free for the coming days ahead, to do as he pleased instead of being at the beck and call of a monster. And to Tripp, that was all that mattered.
He would serve, until he wasn’t needed, and the bastard turned his tortuous gaze onto someone else.

“You....you should not be there...you’re killing my friends” A distraught feminine voice commented behind him and brought him out of his musings.

”I’ll kill a lot more than just your friends if you don’t get out of here.” Tripp snarled threateningly, taking a quick moment to glance over his shoulder and make eye contact before returning his attention back to digging.
Though a quick flash of bared rows of fangs and a glare from uncaring pitch black eyes served as an additional warning as he spoke to her.

Should his warning fail to work, Tripp’s hands grasped the haft of the shovel tightly as he continued to dig deeper, bracing himself just in case, to swing the heavy spade around in a murderous arc and cease the unwanted attentions for good.

[kiya]

Kiya merely stared at him as he spoke, any normal person would have been scared by the flash of teeth and violent gaze, but of course Kiya was not normal and she did not even flinch she just stood there her eyes moving to look at the plants strewn on the ground. No longer attached to the earth, Kiya could not tell if they were dead or not whether it would be possible to replant them, but she was unsure how to go about such a task, all she knew was that this man was killing plants unjustly and he had to be stopped. “I said, you are killing my friends” she said again her hair falling over her shoulders as she leaned forward a little, it seemed her words were not going to get through to him, even resorting to begging would not work with this one it seemed, fine then she would have to do things the hard way.

A delicate hand raised above her head and a vine shot out of the ground next to Tripp entangling the shovel in a vice like grip, Kiya’s eyes were now white, glazed over as she concentrated on her powers, she remembered them being easier to control when she could think, when she could see more than she did now. “Will you stop now please” she said her voice soft and gentle, she didn’t get angry anymore, that was one emotion she could no longer possess, but anger mattered little when sadness could cause you to demolish an entire city if you so wished, she had already caused a lot of trouble at the mall, she had little problem in causing trouble here if it was needed.

[Tripp]

Tripp took a careful step back, letting the shovel drop out of his reach as a sinewy vine erupted from the ground and entwined itself around the haft and handle, sealing it within a steely tight bind.

“Will you stop now please” He heard the words ask again softy.

Anger boiled in the mutant’s brain at the audacity of the situation. From step one the entire task was a major annoyance filled with yet another set-back. And now this girly set-back is becoming one major thorn in his side.
But maybe she knows what lies under there? Maybe she’s keeping it secret, locked away. Or maybe even keeping it for herself? The sudden thought made Tripp’s blood run cold with worry and unease, this could turn out to be either a major boon or something very terrible indeed. At least, something detrimental to Tripp’s well being.
He didn’t care what the boss planned on doing with the buried secrets, just so long as the boss’s attention was focused elsewhere.

Slowly, trying to keep his anger in check, Tripp turned to face the girl, black eyes staring into pale white ones, his own gaze glaring angrily from beneath the shaded cowl of the fur lined hood.

“This is a public place sweetie. I don’t see what your getting so bent out of shape about.” Tripp spoke spitefully to the irritating girl, while he shoved his hands into his pockets, fingers carefully sliding across a the metal grip of a pistol, getting it into a comfortable position to shoot.

”Why don’t you turn around and leave, things could get out of hand real bad… Maybe more of your friends might get hurt. Hmmmm? You don’t want that do you?” The mutant finished his callous statement with an evil look towards the near by tree line. But as his gaze settled upon the lush vegetation, he could see the sun rising higher against the horizon. Time was crucial.

[kiya]

Kiya lowered her arm, no longer needing to keep a hold of the shovel since she had managed to get his attention, and after all that was what she was trying to do, grab his attention, to make him stop digging up the innocent flowers. She was innocent herself, her body frail and her mind weak and confused, but she also had strengths like so many people, strengths that could not be seen, or called upon easily, strength of the heart. “You kill the plants, they are innocent, do you so enjoy killing innocent things?” she asked her eyes returning to normal now as she tilted her head to one side examining him as closely as she could, what with his jacket covering him. She could sense that he was feeling anger towards her, and perhaps it was somewhat just, but at the same time he seemed to hold some uncertainty within him.

Kiya giggled and ran her hands through her hair before kneeling on the grass, placing her hands palm down in front of her. “Threatening, simple things to do and not do, empty promises made and forgotten, what will yours be little tree?” she said rhyming in her usual manner, if he hadn’t guessed that she wasn’t all there by now he never would. She wasn’t usually confrontational, she was normally very sweet natured, but when it came to people acting the way he did, well she couldn’t help but react in a negative way, the only way she could think how, and whilst violence may never have been the answer to all life’s problems, it seemed it was the right one for this situation. She clenched her fingers in the grass tugging at it slightly, she was ready, ready to summon more vines and roots to hold this man if it came to it, and she wasn’t shy about using her powers, the people at the mall could confirm that.

[Tripp]

“You kill the plants, they are innocent, do you so enjoy killing innocent things?”

Tripp grinned at the words. Was that why she was so uptight? I had been killing her precious posies? Though it was impossible to tell without seeing the non existent whites of his eyes, his sight flitted down to the flower bed’s he had been digging up, examining the crude handiwork. So what? They were just plants, and she thought her tree hugging BS was going to stop him when he was so close?

His attention was snapped back to the girl as he heard a giggle escape her lips. What the hell was she laughing about? “Threatening, simple things to do and not do, empty promises made and forgotten, what will yours be little tree?”
And those psychiatric hacks at Arkham thought he was insane… Hah! The nerve of some people. Precious seconds were slipping away, the sun was rising ever higher and Tripp could feel it’s excessive warmth heating his skin underneath the heavy winter coat.

He could not leave, orders were orders, failure was a price worse than even death itself. And Tripp above many things, feared death, not because of it being the “Last great unknown.” He knew what lay in store for him upon crossing over… That would not be an option.


Tripp inhaled deeply and took a breath to calm himself, cleanse his body with cool air to regain his composure and wash away his imminent anxiety, watching the girl run her hand through the green sea of grass that covered the park floor.

“Okay little angel.” He puffed out with a defeated tone to his sentiment.
“Time to go back to heaven.” Tripp finished with a snarl as he swung his boot at the kneeling girl’s head.

[kiya]

Kiya saw his leg move and reacted quickly rolling out of the way of his boot her hair falling over her eyes, she landed back in her kneeling position, her hands once again pressed firmly into the grass, she had expected a volatile reaction from him, he was the type to act first and think later, you didn’t have to be mentally competent to figure that one out. “Bad puppy” she said as her eyes turned white again as she stared at the ground, it began to shake and within seconds vines had sprouted from the soil, they writhed about like snakes awaiting their summoner’s next command.

“If you want to play puppy, I will play too, but you’d better be good or no treats for you” she said with a giggle as she stood up her hands coming to rest by her side, but her fists were clenched tightly, let him try and make a move, he’d be sorry he had, whilst he would likely be fairly fast from the look of him, it was unlikely that he could dodge every vine she threw at him, and that was what she was counting on, she hoped to subdue him with sheer numbers. “Lets play!” she shouted throwing her arms forward and grasping at the air, the vines moved sharply clutching at Tripp, attempting to bind him if only for a short time.

[Tripp]

Tripp’s swing missed the insolent girl, though only closely. He underestimated her ability to move so quickly or suddenly, he would not make that mistake again, he couldn’t afford to make the same mistakes twice. His hands were still tucked into his pockets, his right hand firmly holding the hammer back on his pistol to fire, but suddenly he paused from a sudden instinctive reaction to defend himself as several vines shot out of the ground and homed in on his body.

Pulling the weapon free from it’s concealment, the mutant dived sharply away from one vine and ducked under another, but one of the snake-like roots snagged his ankle and threw him off balance towards the ground. Spitting with malice at the insufferable vine.
Taking quick aim at the freakishly large floral tentacle and letting off a shot from the weapon, splitting the appendage in two and releasing it’s grip, while the stinging scent of gun smoke filled the air.

“Is that your best?” Tripp cackled with mocking laughter at the girl. Taking aim at her this time with the loaded gun and opening fire with a shot in her direction.
He never intended to hit the girl, just buy a second to gain his balance once more and take the fight to her. Hand to hand was never his style, too risky. But this girl seemed to be letting her vines do most of the work. Easy pickings for someone who learned to kill his first piece of fresh meat with nothing more than the claws on his murderous hands.

[kiya]

Kiya felt the vines pain and a single tear rolled down her cheek, she hated having to do this, hated having to rely on her ‘friends’ to help her teach him that killing was wrong in any form, regardless of what it was. There would be deaths today, and all of them it seemed would be plants, but the battle would be worth it if she could subdue him for long enough, long enough to stop him from digging where he should not be. The nursery beds, where young plants lay like so many small children, would he kill a human child in such an uncaring manner? Were their lives as unimportant to him as the nature around him? Perhaps they were, he seemed cold and callous and quite frankly he was a jerk, but that wasn’t the word she wanted to use right now, no, she was thinking far worse ones.

“Best or worst, last or first, does it matter in the end puppy? Does anything matter?” she said her voice still soft, almost heavenly, if it were not for the fact that she were human, Kiya could almost be an angel what with her long blonde hair and pale features, but right now she was not the kind sweet angels of books and legends, she was an avenging one, and her sweetness had just about run out. As he fired the shot, Kiya lost her concentration for a moment, her eyes returning to their normal blue hue, it didn’t hit her thankfully but the sound of it whizzing past her head was enough to panic her. “The sky falls! You and the fire stick make it fall” she shouted before giggling insanely, however normal people dealt with a situation like this, it seemed Kiya was going to react differently.

[Tripp]

Tripp hadn’t noticed the tear on her features. Such fine details were becoming blurred distorted with the growing light of this new dawn today, just as they always did. If it were pitch black, he might have noticed it, but it was doubted he would have even thought to care. Personal priorities demanded his attention more than the needs of others, he could admit the girl had needs, maybe even admirable ones, a lust for life.

When you live in a world where death and killing is your meat and wine, you tend to appreciate the lives of those who matter most to you. This girl could be such a person. And when such lives were threatened, the gloves came off and you leap into the fight. That was Tripp’s immediate situation. The life in trouble was his own, and no one else’s, but it was something he had to fight for. And to kill for.
And no matter their past crimes, no matter their degree of innocence or worth to society, if they were a threat to Tripp they had to be removed one way, or another way.

This hippie nut job would be removed.

“The sky falls! You and the fire stick make it fall” The girl giggled with insane glee Tripp thinking her mind was wandering into it’s own little world.

As if practiced a hundred times fold or more, the mutant darted forward, covering a direct path towards the girl as she laughed, feet clambering across the blades of grass, his blackened eyes fixated upon her throat, his left hand poised as if it were a blade itself. A sudden flash lethal claws lunged forward at the babbling girl’s fragile flesh.

[kiya]

Kiya continued to laugh for the moment, but her laughter was becoming softer, more gently as she calmed down, it hadn’t even been funny so why was she laughing? Then again who knew what went on in the mind of a mentally disturbed human being? Not that every one of them was as bad as her, no most of them didn’t have powers to cause actually damage with, sure pushing someone over or pulling their hair, or just stabbing them with a fork or something was pretty bad, but when you could attack someone with great force if you wished…well it was a wonder that Kiya hadn’t been locked up years ago. She remembered her grandmother telling her, that true power came from within, and that like the plants she needed help to grow and flourish, but there was no one to help her, and like the plants in the woods she was growing wild and out of control.

Though her concentration had seemed to waver, Kiya moved back sharply, his claws grazing against her skin, drawing blood but not enough to kill her thankfully, she was glad of her sharp reflexes, there were some interesting side effects to her madness, she was faster for one, but more because she did not think, did not have time to ponder a situation, a normal person might have just got themselves killed but thankfully she wasn’t normal. She placed her hand on her throat wiping away blood before licking it off of her hand in the manner of an animal that had wounded itself, disgusting enough perhaps, but not as bad as some things. She wiped the remainder of the blood down her left cheek, staring at Tripp for a long moment. “Naughty children will have their toys taken away” she said summoning a long vine to reach up out of the ground, snatching at Tripp’s ankles.

[Tripp]

Tripp’s momentum proved to be his undoing and his legs were snatched out from under him, stumbling to the ground with a grimace and a curse escaping his lips, thrashing his legs violently to break off their hold, he fired one more shot from his weapon into one of the vines and kicked his foot free from it’s mangled vestiges, his free hand rabidly clawed at the other but he froze suddenly as he realised something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

The sun had risen. There was now less than an hour to get what he needed and retreat to safety all at once. This was not good, not good at all. The boss would not be pleased if he failed, he might even dispose of him like the… others. Trapped in their own private hell, eternally playing out their endless demise as time slipped… NO! He couldn’t go on like that, nothing living or dead could exist like that. Even oblivion would be preferable.

”Okay, sweetie I’ll speak slowly so you can understand this.” Tripp muttered angrily as he stood, pulling the hood of his jacket lower to cover more of his features from the sun’s light.

”If I don’t get what I want...” He started with the best condescending tone he could muster.

”Others will come to get what I’m after, lots of others. And they will not stop until this park. Every plant, every tree, every pathetic blade of grass and everything else is turned to ASH!”

”Everything here will die. ALL of it. Can your tree hugging brain comprehend that nature girl? All that blood on your hands? I haven‘t got a problem with it, but I‘ll bet your…” Tripp paused a moment to look at the trees of the park. ”…friends here, wouldn’t forgive you for that, now would they? You being responsible for ALL of their deaths. All that suffering in your name.”

”Now I’m going to get my shovel, and I’m going to dig. You can stop me and kill all of your friends, or you can let me do my work and I’ll leave before the sun even touches that flower patch.”

The mutant’s nose twitched in irritation as he eyed the girl. She would probably not even comprehend his words, she probably wouldn’t even comprehend the wrath that would visit her and her private world of delirium. Either way, he turned his back on her and yanked his leg free of the vine’s crippled bonds retracing his steps back to the mound of unearthed flowers and weeds he left unfinished.

[kiya]

Kiya listened to what he was saying carefully, her head inclined to the side as she tried to understand everything, to take it all in, the only part she really understood was the part about the plants being killed, why would anyone wish to kill them all? What harm had they done to deserve such harsh treatment, like an unfair sentence for an innocent man, killed for someone else’s actions, they would be killed for her? She lowered her hands her eyes now blue again, and tears fell down her cheeks onto the grass, she did not want any deaths on her hands, even a humans death would be regrettable, but she still could not understand why anyone should wish to demolish a park for some trinket, what was it he was looking for anyway?

As he turned around Kiya activated her powers again, but this time in a more gentle manner, a vine reached up and tapped him on the shoulder as Kiya drew near, she stared up at him as she walked in front, her hair moving over her eyes. “If puppy had asked nicely, mummy might have given him a bone” she said running her hand over the arm of his coat curiously, she could sense there was something different about him, but she wasn’t really sure what. “You dig to get your them back, could help if...if I knew where”. She moved away from him, walking over to the place he had been digging, using her powers to move the shovel out of the way, there were other ways to retrieve things from the earth.