Closed RP A Kidnapping in Pittsburgh

This RP is currently closed.

Sam smiled a little and raised an eyebrow, thin and delicate. Her gold eyes flashed as she started to take small steps forward. But she froze, mouth open to give a witty retort, when she heard her partner and soulmate speak up. Rhodonite? She paused for a full second before she shook her head. She let the confident smile take back over her face, but the assassin would have seen the moment of genuine shock.

“Sorry, mommy, but no can do. Our associates can handle each other, but you and I have some business to handle now.” And with that, she darted forward, swinging out to drive her hand into Flora’s stomach. She didn’t want to genuinely hurt the woman, despite her still damp clothes, but debilitating her wouldn't hurt.​


Rhody laughed as she continued her onslaught. She went in harder, her body loosening up and starting to flow into an almost dance as she moved. Weaving, feinting, striking. Weaving, feinting, striking. She kept herself unpredictable by changing her motions and her direction and her intent like water flowing downstream. Always in motion, always moving, always flowing. She would catch him off guard in one of her random movements.

Just to break up the fury of her blades, she spun, arching her leg high enough to knock him upside the head and maybe take him down. She did it in an almost ballet-style pirouette, keeping her body on her toes. Then, she pulled back sharply, straightening out to her full height and swaying slightly. She pointed one of her blades at him while she flipped the other one over in her offhand.

“Obsidian didn’t send me. Though I’m surprised you know who I am by name. Do you have plans to kill us all, or do you just do your research into the people who want to kill you?” Her voice carried a faint accent on its soft and low tones. Something midwestern.

She stopped swaying and brought her hands together in front of her, slowly lowering them from her face to her stomach as she breathed out. Her eyes flashed toward the crates that blocked her view of his partner and the assassin that Rhody had hired to lure Cryptid here. But, for just half a second, she was sure she’d seen a swing of red curls, more orange than scarlet.

Then she heard a muffled voice, the voice of the assassin she'd hired, Flora. Did she- did she say Walsh? A soft and feminine voice responded and she flicked her eyes back to Cryptid. No. No, there was no way. Walsh wasn't an uncommon last name, and surely the hair she had seen was dyed that color.​
 
Flora didn’t move. It was almost too easy. The second she saw Sam move she let her atoms disassociate and the woman’s fist went right through her, sinking through nothingness. A good ability to have in this line of work.

She kicked at Sam, to force her back, and teleported a safe distance away. There had been a temporary moment of panic on Sam’s face, and from what Flora had seen of her powers, and now with Cryptids involvement, it was quite time to leave.

She gave Ms. Walsh a smile from underneath her gaiter, still horribly annoyed, but she knew it would drive the canary insane. “Sorry baby girl. Maybe you should go take care of Daddy before it’s too late.”

and Flora vanished.
 
His lips twitched just a little as he overheard the scraps of conversation behind the crates, but he had no space for distraction. Rhody came at him hard in a flurry of steel that even with his speed, he couldn’t completely evade. It caught twice on the edges of his coat. He couldn’t afford to back down, however. There was too much on the line. Sam was on the line, as was his identity. Even if Sulphur knew it, he couldn’t rely on the rest of their mercy.

“I think it’s in my rights to take some preventative measures.”

He had to think fast. If they struck up banter, the truth was going to come out. And he’d seen her eyes flash to the crates. Without her costume, there was no way Rhody wouldn’t notice the signature red hair. He had to keep her distracted.

Distracted himself, he was just a little too slow when she switched to the kick, catching the side of her foot on the side of his head. It didn’t knock him down, but it did stagger him enough to slide back and instinctively fall on his boxing stance. His dark eyes narrowed under the mask, but his balance was back almost as soon as the hit fell away.

He remembered the first time he’d met Obsidian. When he’d been bent on scaring Slate out of Pittsburgh before they could send anyone to recruit him. Obsidian had wanted a monster then, he’d been sure of it. He’d fallen back on the behavior of a monster to emphasize the point. It hadn’t stuck then – but predatory mimicry was all about meeting expectations.

Under the mask, he grinned. Something in his throat caught as he let the predator start to bleed into his movements, as he loosened from the boxing stance and started to circle around as Rhody moved to center herself. Or something. He didn’t do yoga.

“I’ll admit it helps the problem keeps dropping itself on my lap,” he added, and as Sam disappeared from his view, he let a purr enter his voice. Like he’d been putting on a show just for her. “I have been wondering how long the rest of you would hold up. I had to take three of Jasper’s fingers to get him to peep a word about all of you, and there’s still so much I don’t know.”

He shoved thoughts of the hunt out of his mind. He focused, instead, on Sam, on the sound of her behind the crates, her breaths and voice and movements. He focused his eyes on Rhodonite, on the blades, on the smooth movement of her body, still desperately trying to piece together what she did before she could hit him again.
 

Rhody scoffed out a laugh. He was trying to get under her skin, and it was partially working. But it also raised questions. Why provoke someone who was already trying to kill you? What did he think he was going to get out of this? And why was he trying to get on her bad side? It genuinely didn’t make any sense to go out of your way to further piss off someone who had come at you in a whirlwind of fury to begin with. So why?

Was he faking it?

That would make sense. But what was the reason behind faking it? What purpose did it serve? Was he just protecting whoever his partner was, this Walsh person? Or was it more than that? What had Todd actually told them about him? He ate people, he shapeshifted, he was enhanced in order to better hunt people–

He shapeshifted.

What if there was only one cannibal?

What if it was just Todd?

Rhody tensed up as the realization hit her. This was, of course, Todd. This was, of course, the only cannibal. This was, of course, the only answer. She opened her mouth to comment on this, to call out his name in a burst of anger, when the woman from behind the crates finally dashed out. She stumbled a bit, her arm out, like she had swung and missed. She cursed and went to look behind her, then stopped. They made eye contact.

Gold eyes.

Gold eyes and fiery orange curls. A soft freckled and heart-shaped face. A slender, underweight build that was clear through her thin turtleneck and fitted jeans. And a fire radiating in her eyes that looked like it contained the fires of hell themselves, until that fire turned to confusion.

“Samantha Walsh?”​


“Rhodonite?”

Sam looked on at the scene with a dumbfounded expression. Cryptid was circling Rhodonite with that predatory stalking that she loved to watch. Right then, her eyes couldn’t leave the woman in the middle of his circling. The woman wore a black jumpsuit with a grey cardigan over it. She didn’t look ready for a fight, but she was armed. The blades in her hands glinted deadly in the low light.

She didn’t know exactly how she knew it was Rhodonite. The description she’d had of her was vague at best. Mid-height, Pacific Asian, dark hair usually kept up, and grey-brown eyes. But she heard the name “Obsidian”. She heard the name “Jasper”. She didn’t know a Jasper, but then there were Slate operatives all across the Midwest and East Coast.

Something about the way the woman was carrying herself just matched what she had held in her head for Rhodonite. And with the way the woman blinked in surprise, Sam was right. She looked between her and Cryptid. She hadn’t heard everything they said, so she had no idea why Slate was after him, but she couldn’t stay any longer. Now they would know she was here and he was associated with her.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

Sam turned on her heels and ran for the door, without another word.​
 
It was working. For a second, it was working. He saw it in her eyes, caught the fury in her scent, in the undertones of her laugh. He was getting under her skin, alright. For a second, he was absolutely sure he had her attention. She went tense, her mouth opening to bite back some kind of comment.

And then her eyes flashed to the side, to Sam.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

In that moment, they recognized each other. Everything Ethan had said about not letting any of his family near them – not that Ethan had any idea any of this was happening, given she was clearly here to kill Cryptid. Todd felt a rock form in the pit of his abdomen as he looked up to see if Sam was going to pounce, to see if she would –

She ran. Todd’s breath caught a little, as he watched her disappear out the doors. Rhody didn’t chase her, and there was no way to express that relief. His borrowed sharp eyes turned back to her, as his mind kicked back online.

He needed to keep her attention on him. He didn’t want to actually hurt her – and he really didn’t want to pull her into actually hurting him, given the circumstances – but he couldn’t let her chase Sammy. What could he do? Any insult that was coming to mind right now was too specific, too personal, too Todd.

God, if she traced him to Sam, she was going to figure out the truth about Todd. And that was going to cause so many more problems than he had time or energy for.

Fight now. Problems later.

“Hey!” The sound was sharp in his own ears, but he started to move again, the prowl that’d cut her off from Sam’s exit, keep her here for a little longer. The kidnapper had to be gone for Sam to have made a full escape, so that left Todd with just one opponent. One he… didn’t know what to do with, now that he kinda had her cornered.

Unsure what else to do, he projected the confident predator again, and spread his hands again. “We doing this, or what?”
 

There was a moment where she could do nothing other than watch in shocked silence as the small woman disappeared out the door. It was the small side door, not the large one that was on the opposite wall. That was the door Rhody had come in from, and now had to make her way back out to. The motorcycle she had ridden here was just beyond the door, and she could easily hop on and get the fuck out if she could just make it out of Todd’s range.

She really didn’t want to fight Todd.

So the simple answer was she wouldn’t.

She put her hands together, blades pointed down. With a smile on her face, she very cheerfully announced, “No! I don’t think so. You win! I give up. I’ll just leave now, if that’s alright. Don’t worry, I won’t go after your… partner. I’ll just go home. I think this was a mistake. You’re not who I thought you were.”

She leaned down and placed her blades in her tall, flat-heeled boots. There was no need for him to know yet that she knew. Not unless he pushed her. But this was something she needed to talk to Ethan about before she took any kind of action. She straightened back out. The sheaths in her boots helped to hold the blades in place, so they wouldn’t budge despite the fake she was most likely going to have to make a mad dash to get out of this situation. Or maybe he would just let her go. Who could possibly say? Definitely not Rhody.​
 
Todd hesitated as Rhody just…gave up. He blinked at her, borrowed black eyes betraying his confusion. Why…what? With Sam out of the way, she should be able to fight him freely, and expect him to fight back. Or try to run. Rhody was smart, he knew that much. She knew that she wouldn’t get a second shot at taking care of Cryptid, so why was she –

She knows.

He hadn’t recognized the signs when Sulphur noticed. But Todd was adaptable. He learned from experience, most of the time. The confusion gave way to a second of panic, a quick glance around as he tried to figure out what to do.

The assassin was gone. Sam was gone, probably back home to wait for him. She was probably worried sick. He didn’t let the thought that maybe she’d be relieved if Rhody took care of him first linger for more than a second. Sulphur, when he’d figured it out, had asked. He’d confronted him. If Rhody left now, assuming that he had no idea Todd knew, she’d probably tell everyone. Ethan and Sulphur might already know, but Lapis and Hematite had no clue. Not based on what Rhody was doing here tonight.

“Rhody.”

He took the risk, letting his throat relax back into his own voice. The alarmed eyes brightened to his cold blue. He paused again, sifting through the things he could say. Finally, he exhaled, his shoulders slumping, the fight leaving his posture. He met her eyes uncertainly, but wearing his worry openly.

Honesty, his gut said. Just like with Sulphur.

“Please don’t tell the others. About – especially about Sam, but– about this. I can explain, if you want, but I can’t– I just can’t. I don’t know what they’ll do. Please.”
 

There was a brief moment of silence following Todd’s request. For a moment, Rhody’s face was blank, and she offered no insight to what she was thinking. She offered no words and stood perfectly still, in that way that made her seem calm and not tense. And in truth, she was calm. It wasn’t an act, but a moment of reflection and soft decision.

Then, when it seemed like she might not answer at all, Rhody strode forward toward Todd. She reached out… and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, a small smile gracing her face. She patted his shoulder, keeping the same light touch.

“I have no intention of telling anyone. I have questions, though. Many questions. And I think the most pressing one is does Ethan know?” Her soft smile faded with the question, replaced instead by a steady intensity that’s unsettlingness was clearly unintended. It just looked wrong on her face. Her face, that was made for soft smiles and gentle concern. It brought out a sharpness that contrasted with her round face and soft features, and it emphasized the clarity that always shone in her eyes.

Her hand dropped from his shoulder after she asked her question, to make it’s way into her cardigan’s pocket. She didn’t back up, however, and stayed close enough that he would have to tilt his head down in order to look at her. Rhody was by no means short, but she was by no means as tall as Todd or Sulphur. Despite it all, her body remained at ease. There was no tension in her shoulders or in her spine, no obvious signs that she would move on him.​
 
His gut had been right. He knew, looking into her eyes, into the calm under the intensity, that he wasn’t in danger from her – not as long as he told the truth. No more games, no more hiding. And, to be honest, he was relieved. Even under her gaze, he felt relief that he didn’t have to hide from her anymore.

He took a deep breath, and exhaled an unspoken apology to Ethan for doing this a second time.

“He said not to tell anyone,” he answered, quietly. He looked down to meet her eyes without difficulty; he was more than used to it with Sam. He debated leaving it at that, and then decided to add: “Sulphur knows, too. He had to find out the same way. Hematite and Lapis…don’t.”

And he knew that asking her to keep it from Hematite was a lot. In fact, he seriously doubted she’d be able to. Hemie wasn’t the one he was worried about. The little he’d seen of Lapis, the flashes of insight he’d gotten from her body language, the way she handled herself – he wasn’t worried she could hurt him, even if he didn’t know her powers; but he was concerned about what would happen if she pushed him to hurt her.
 

With a brief pause, Rhody nodded her head sharply. A sigh as she ran her hand over her hair. She felt the bumps of her twin braids that she had pinned around her head like a crown as she did so. Tilting her head from one side to the other, she finally looked up with a clear look in her eyes.

That clear look was anger.

Rhody wasn’t one to rise to anger. Not like this. She knew that anger was usually a result of some other emotion that was being suppressed or overwhelmed. She knew that underneath the fire in her stomach, she probably felt betrayal. She probably felt disappointment. She probably felt irritation. But right then, she let the anger boil up and take the main place in her heart.

“I see. They both know. And you’re still alive, which tells me all I need to know.” She paused, then met his eyes directly. “I can’t forget this, Todd. Not ever. But I can try to forgive it, in time. You killed the man who saved my life. You killed the man who brought me back to life. And that’s going to take a long time to forgive. But I like you, Todd, so I’m going to try.”

In truth, she had no idea if she could forgive him for this. Malachite was objectively her favorite of the Brightheart Boys, as they had become known within upper management and core Slate. He’d been the one who brought her back to religion, who had introduced her to Hematite before Hematite was an official Pack member. He’d changed her life for the better in every way. Everything he touched had been good and pure.

The pain in her heart would never truly heal, she knew. But maybe trying for forgiveness was a start.

With that, she stepped back a few steps, smiling softly again. “I’m going back to the Diamond. I’ll see you for dinner on Friday, okay? We’ll talk sometime soon. I have a lot of questions that only you can answer.”

Without waiting for an answer, Rhody turned away and walked out the closest door, letting it close behind her.​
 
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