Setting the Hooks (Finished)

[Leann Lacey]

Late night on the eastern docks usually made for a peaceful, if not uninteresting, setting. They were the commercial fishing docks - larger, sturdier in make and placed in deeper water compared to the southern public docks, but not as cosmopolitan as the western cargo shipping docks. As such, the watercraft anchored on the east were of the medium-to-large size, forming a floating, uneven and asymmetrical wall that caused the eastern docks, when all ships were at rest, to appear as a kind of makeshift fortress. Although specifically dependent on the season, the schedule of activity for the eastern docks was quite clockwork in nature, with the only exception being the bi-weekly Saturday/Sunday "fisherman's market" where the nearby sand became the go-to place to snag the exceptionally fresh catch. Seeing as it was Wednesday, no such activity was expected. In fact, were it not for strange circumstances, there would not have been a soul on the docks at this hour.

But there was a soul. A few, in fact. And only fifteen minutes ago, there had been at least one more than those currently presented at the far end of the dock. It was an unusual meeting, and unfortunate, at least in the mind of the pink-haired girl that stood as the center of attention at the end of the dock. The initial message beckoning her to this place had been left in her mother's hospital room; the reminder had been nailed to her front door. The contents of the message were nearly unbelievable and, if Leann was thankful for anything, it was that no "normal" person had been allowed to see them. Of course, the meticulous timing and placement of the messages had ensured that was the case, because the minor threat inducing Leann's cooperation was the public ousting of her electric abnormality.

Still, was such a threat an absolute worry? Lee wasn't sure. On base, it simply sounded too fantastical to be true. A "public ousting" had not been what she had been avoiding in her self-induced exile. Though it was, perhaps, unclear thinking, Lee's priority had been to avoid the danger of personal discovery - keep all individuals distant, for the risk of damage - or worse - in an intimate exposure was, in her mind, the true terror. Unfortunately, saving "public disgrace", as it were, was going to require the individual exposure she had been trying to avoid. And there was nothing she could do about it.

Why? The hooks that were set in the pink-and-green electric fish were of familial consequence. She was still standing in non-electrical shock from the proclamation, the brevity of the time in which she had been forced to comprehend and process it, and the hasty agreement that she had no choice but to make. It did not make sense, but on the subject of her mother's survival, Lee simply couldn't gamble. To "save the Queen", she'd become a "pawn"; a piece in a game of exploitation and underground savagery-termed-entertainment.

"Oy, Sparky! You gonna stand there all night or'r we gonna do this?"

The annoying voice came from behind her, its source one of the quartet of armed thugs left behind to "try her out" in "preparation" for the "future spectacle." The voice spoke with forced confidence, for the nature of their quarry had been made plain to them by "the boss." But Leann could not move or respond yet. She was still putting the pieces together in her mind.

How had she been discovered? There had been no eyewitnesses left to report on her "awakening." There were victims - her mother included - but their injuries had been caused by water, not by direct exposure to her power. There was the question of the half-vaporized yacht, but to this date it had not been dredged up from its murky resting place. The news coverage had been sensational, but her own injuries and her subsequent hermit-like existence had generally kept her out of the camera's eye. All other incidents had been small in scale, though, no doubt, some manner of suspicion and speculation came from the arrival of various individuals bearing electrical wounds to the hospital.

Still, the messages were signed "MV" and the man - Miguel Vasquez, as he introduced himself, or "Mr. Big" or simply "the Boss" to his cronies - had stated that he had "eyes and ears everywhere." Who was he? Leann didn't know - she had no knowledge or appreciation for the criminal element of Endonia. But if dress and method of travel were any indication, the large man - no less than 6'10" and a muscular 290 lbs. - was better than "well off." The ritzy boat that had pulled up at the end of the docks 2 and a half minutes prior to the appointed meeting time certainly brought the echo of extravagance with it. It seemed to have been decked out for a small, high class party - though it was empty save for the boss himself and a select few of his underlings on arrival. Silver ice buckets with expensive champagne still resting in them dotted the deck of the boat. Even the handful of chairs and tables that had not been hastily pushed aside seemed of silver make. The streamers were of golden foil, the candles designer brand and their holders polished gold. Whatever the party had been, it was not when it was presented to Lee, but the man himself remained in his party livery. The tuxedo seemed almost inadequate in its expectedness. The cuff links were large karat diamonds, and his earrings had been their perfect match. His head was immaculately shaved, his goatee precisely trimmed, and his shoes spit-polished to a blinding sheen. The cummerbund was not simply of leopard print, rather, it was of leopard skin. The final pieces marking the man as over-the-top were the white fur long coat and the decorative black cane (also topped by a diamond.) And, naturally, the man wore sunglasses at night.

He had been altogether intimidating. The explanation of the situation and what was required of her had been short, harsh, and to the point. The cell phone that had been tossed to her - the method by which she would be summoned when needed - probably cost more than everything she owned.

She had accepted the terms without question.

"Goddamnit, we ain't waitin' no more..."

And, already, the "games" had begun.

"Boss wants a show, boys. One at a time. Take 'er out an' tha pleasure's all yers, hahaha!"

Lee closed her eyes... and her right hand began to crackle with her green-tinged curse.

[Navvi]

"So what is it doing?"

"It reported that it was going to investigate some suspicious activity that might pertain a Non-Human individual. That was about it."

"Did it receive any orders to do so?"

"We told it to observe the area and gather information. So this might be just a natural progression of that order. I mean, it's within expected parameters.

".... Alright. But keep an eye on it. We don't want lose our investment here.

==========

Navvi took note of any and all cameras that it came across while it walked through the night down the docks. Its head barely moved as it passed by their electronic gazes, opting not to care very much about whether or not it was caught on tape for anyone to see. Navvi could easily just change its appearance, either now or later depending on the circumstances. Anyone watching on the cameras would notice Navvi as they notice any other person, except Navvi walked in a strangely straight and unerring path toward an unknown destination.

Straight up ahead, far ahead, was what Narye's eye were mostly locked on. While most living things knew of their destination and planned their path only a short distance ahead, Navvi walked an exacting and already-known path to a predetermined spot on the ground far up ahead on the docks. That spot was a few yards away from an ostentacious-looking yacht, cloaked in shadow in a simple attempt at stealth. Though Navvi made no attempt to crouch behind anything or act innocent. It simply stood in the shadow of a building, looking up at the yacht.

From where it stood, it zeroed-in on the sounds of people talking. For a machine, it was easy enough to hear people talking outside of the normal range of most Humans. Even at a distance, it could clearly make out the words that were being said, and could even estimate their physical positions.

From down below, it could see some movement on the deck of the yacht, but only a little bit due to the angle. Nearby was a gangplank that lead onto the vessel, and was probably Navvi's means of entrance if so chose to get closer. Judging by the unusual electromagnetic interference that had spontaneously manifested on the yacht, Navvi would have to appear soon.

[Leann Lacey]

Hesitation.

It was, ironically, a mutual feeling shared between predator(s) and prey - though the distinction between the former and the latter had, at least temporarily, become suddenly blurred. Confidence in size and numbers had certainly been held by the four "playthings" left behind on the docks, but the appearance of writhing green electricity, curling and coiling around the hand of the pink-haired young woman, had planted the terrible seed of doubt. It was one thing to be told that the teenager they were being paid to assault could control electricity; to bear witness to it was another thing entirely.

"H-h-hey, hold up, man. That shit for real?"

"Fuck, dude! The fuck am I gonna do with a metal pipe?!"

For Leann, her own hesitation was made of the same stuff it had always been made of. Fear of herself. Fear of having been discovered. Fear of the damage that could result if she dared turn around. But the hesitation of her opposition allowed her to catch her breath and reassess. The gambit had already been played, hadn't it? Self-preservation had been a major component in her practice of hiding before tonight's meeting; now, self-preservation was forced to take a secondary, though coupled, role to the preservation of another. Such circumstances had a way of steeling her resolve.

"Y'all could just run away, ya know," she breathed, not yet turning around. She pushed a little more effort into her electrical display, and a few stray strands jumped out to dance atop the metal nails in the dock. "Right? I mean... it's a li'l scary otherwise... And... and what... what if I totally lose it, huh? That, ah... wouldn't be much fun, would it?"

A beat passed.

"She's full o' shit, boys."

"Yeah, like she's scarier than the boss... haha, no way."

Two seemed determined. The one that had been armed with a metal pipe... threw his weapon into the water, his morale obviously shaken. The fourth...

"Fuck it! We all gotta fry sometime!"

....charged.

[Navvi]

Despite Navvi's remedial attempts at stealth, it remained hidden in the shadows of the dock warehouses, seemingly invisible to the four thugs and the one girl. Of course the four men, whom could easily be surmised as hirelings of the tycoon that owned the yacht, were of zero concern to Navvi. The girl with the shocking pink hair and crackling with electricity was Navvi's primary focus, obviously. It didn't take a suite of advanced sensors to figure out that she was the source of the electromagnetic disturbance.

This was one of Navvi's first encounters with a Non-Human in the field, and it was definitely something that it would have reported to its operators immediately, or very soon. However it was doing none of those things, and the operators back at the DNCS or whatever temporary control center they had set up were unaware of most of Navvi's actions, movements, and surroundings.

Now conventional wisdom would say that Navvi's operators were seeing and hearing everything that Navvi was seeing and hearing over a wireless connection, possibly through a bank of glowing monitors. Navvi was a special case though. Its programming was too advanced and self-sufficient to allow access to any kind of connection with any other kind of computer, encrypted or not. So Navvi had to report back to its operators in a fashion similar to any regular person, except its transmitter was grafted into its head. They thought this would be enough, but they did not count on Navvi voluntarily holding back information. They would be shocked otherwise...

As the first move in the confrontation was made, Navvi casually stepped out of the shadows. Well, as casually as it could manage. It said nothing and continued to stare directly at the girl, but it did take up position only a few feet behind the remaining three men, watching.

[Leann Lacey]

When it came to battlefield tactics, one generally couldn't put much stock in the quality of those practiced by the common street thug. After all, the greater majority tended to come from a less than stellar educational pedigree, and, in the case of those selected for cannon fodder-style hirelings, conditions tended to select for the less intelligent, more compliant, and lack of leadership variety. These four fellows were a perfect fit for the described mold, and the individual that had chosen to charge at the electricity-wielder, was a pristine example. The positives of the situation, when looking at it from the underling's perspective were as such: narrow corridor-like space surrounded by either watercraft or water itself, numerical advantage, and size advantage. While these factors were all well and good, the result of a headlong charge towards the end of a dock, with one's target being well-acquainted and practiced in the art and sports of gymnastics and cheerleading would prove somewhat laughable.

"What the ffffff---!!!"

SPLASH~![/i][/u][/color]

The charge had not been a particularly stealthy choice, and with "tackle the girl" having been the thug's objective, a simple leaping, toe-touch split made for an easy evasion. The thug was made of forward momentum, and when the object meant to absorb that momentum was absent, straight ahead and off of the dock he went. It was less than graceful and, to Leann's pleasant surprise, the combat had begun with a distinct lack of physicality. If the appearance of her power had stunted the thugs' morale, the comical reduction in their numerical advantage had truly taken a slice out of it. Feeling that, perhaps, the cards were - albeit late - falling in her favor this night, Leann decided to press her advantage. She turned, doing her best to wear a confident expression, and faced her remaining opposition. She brought her electrified hand up in front of her chest, her hand straightening to form a knife edge.

"Well then," she said simply, chopping the air in front of her. This took her hand down and across her body and swinging towards her back. Once there, her fingers extended and the night behind her was split by the flash and crackle of a brilliantly green bolt of electricity. She wasn't aiming, and she did her best not to care if the blast actually struck the criminal that had taken the plunge (though, secretly, she hoped that it did not.) The end of the dock was suddenly awash in the aroma of ozone. "Which one's next?"

The response? Stunned silence from two of the thugs. The third - who had previously disarmed himself - let out an unintelligible cry of fear and turned tail to run. Run, he did... for about five steps. Five lunging steps was all the space available to the terrified cretin. Instead of fleeing to freedom, the fool had turned and fled headlong towards a "man" made of metal. Lee's mind went tipsy-turvy; her growing confidence aided by a glimpse of victory had suddenly been snatched to the side, for as the thug made to run, Lee's eyes also fell on the "newcomer." When she brought her hand back to her chest, the electricity was momentarily gone, and her stance had become intensely defensive... but she didn't say a word.

[Navvi]

Navvi absolutely no effort to sidestep the fleeing man's charge or dodge out of the way or even acknowledge that it was even aware of the man's presence and movement. When the man did collide with Navvi, he was fortunate in that Navvi had not done any matter absorbtion lately and so it weighed only slightly more than a Human of similar height and build. So Navvi stumbled back a few steps before quickly regaining its board-straight standing posture. The man also stumbled backwards a few steps in rebound from the collision.

He looked at Navvi for a moment, stunned that anyone was standing behind him in the first place. Navvi continued to look back at the girl, past the thug. In a move that signaled the thugs new fate, Navvi actually shifted its gaze to look directly at the man.

The man took a few steps toward Navvi and, before he could say or do anything, Navvi raised one leg and delivered a swift front kick to the man, square in the chest, without really moving the rest of its own body. This simple attack sent the man flying through the air, whizzing past the girl, and into the water to join his compatriot.

Navvi stood awkwardly on one leg, still unmoving, then retook its usual standing position. Its eyes realigned with its head once again, staring at the girl.

"This one requests to speak with the female privately."

Its voice was low and very much a monotone. It seemed to be talking to the two remaining thugs but the way it spoke and its general demeanor did not seem to indicate any specific audience. If anything, Navvi just sounded like it was just making a general announcement to whomever was in earshot.

[Leann Lacey]

Nothing was going according to "plan." In fact, the snowball's roll into absolute failure avalanche had begun the moment the criminals had hopped off of their boss's yacht. It was supposed to be a simple job - beat the crap out of some pink-haired girl that could "throw sparks" (an understatement, perhaps), do whatever they wanted with her once she was unconscious, drag her back to to the holding pens underground, and get paid an easy $250 bucks per head. But the prophesied quick, easy night had become a confusing nightmare. The girl could fly (a complete overstatement of her jumping dodge of the first attacking thug), had plasma cannons in her fingertips (the second exaggeration, which would probably become far worse once the story of failure had been retold a few times), and[/b] she allegedly had a bodyguard with a jackhammer leg that had teleported out from the shadows to ambush them (the final exaggeration... although the part about the "jackhammer leg" might not have been too far off point.) Naturally, the more alcohol that was consumed during lamentation story time, the more outrageous the story would become. Exaggerations aside, the night was not over yet.[/color]

"W-who the fuck are you?!"

The thug closest to Navvi addressed the robot, the confusion on his face utterly apparent (at least, it was to Lee.) He shook his baseball bat in Navvi's direction, but did not quite seem to know what he was doing with it. He also didn't directly respond to Navvi's statement of purpose. The other thug, on the other hand, had re-focused his attention on the pink-haired girl. He thrust an accusatory finger at her.

"Bitch! That's cheatin'! Nobody told us you had friends! You're..." He faltered for a moment.

"I'm?"

To Lee's credit, surprised as she was to have a form of momentary mysterious backup and despite the fact that it was creepily looking-but-not-looking at her most of the time, managed to sound mostly in control. Her repetition of the thug's question, though from her perspective instead of his, sounded quite innocently inquisitive. The thug was not amused.

"You're gonna fuckin' pay for this!"

"Uhh..."

SPLASH~!

"Oh... kay...?"

The third criminal had met a watery end to the night. The only difference was that, unlike the previous two, his exit was a voluntary one. Further confused by the developing situation, Lee returned her attention to the hard-kicking newcomer and the final member of the failed wrecking crew. The thug, having missed that his only remaining backup had exited the scene, was still huffing and puffing and brandishing his bat at the DNCS android. Suspecting that the only solution to the situation at hand would present itself momentarily without any input of her own, Lee decided the safest choice was to just stay back and watch.

[Navvi]

Did the man seriously expect Navvi to answer his F-Bomb dropping question? So far the newcomer had silently walked up behind them seeming without intent of starting a fight, quietly kicked a comrade into the water without so much as blinking, and asked a question that did not seem to be directed at anyone in particular except for the air itself. Obviously, the dead-eyed man was not the talkative type, nor was it the type to be intimidated by any form of physical threat, which included recreational sport equipment.

Another motionless and wordless moment passed before Navvi responded. Its hand snapped up and grabbed the bat around its thickest portion. In the same second, it flicked its arm and smacked the man in the head with his own weapon while they both held onto it. The man was out after one hard hit and flopped the ground, leaving the Navvi holding the bat. All the while it did not take its eyes off of the girl.

Still not breaking its gaze, Navvi grabbed the body of the man by the ankle and dragged him effortlessly along while it approached the girl. When it was on the dock proper, it flicked the body into the water to complete the collection and stopped about a yard away from the girl.

"This one requests your name, a description of your abilities, and..."

Navvi lifted a hand to point at the yacht next to them.

"... an explanation of the presence of this vessel."

[Leann Lacey]

What had been four, now was none. The tables had turned in an instant, and although the resolution of this event could not change the flavor of her not-quite-immediate future, the victory, however small, very much improved her mood. In Lee's mind, it was a victory that she had not imagined possible - that is, she had not had to actually strike any of her assailants with her power. The single, water-vaporizing display at the beginning of the fight was it. Not only that, she, herself, hadn't had to lay so much as a finger on any of the thugs. The newcomer had done all of that.

And that lead to the situation at hand - dealing with the "mysterious stranger" that had, intentionally or not, come to her rescue. On one hand, Leann was inclined to attempt a cordial interaction with the strange-eyed "man." His appearance and assistance had made her night much easier. On the other hand, there were many unknowns and a handful of more disturbing aspects of the scenario for her to consider. Where had he come from? Why was he there? His questions seemed to imply that he was of a more "neutral" inclination than the other two parties involved in this "party on the docks", but was that true? Or was it all an act? The "man's" obvious combat prowess had been displayed in such a way as to show complete disregard for the thugs as a whole. Was this due to the fact that they were attacking her, and that was viewed as "distasteful" by him? Or did he simply not care? Or, a more worrisome thought, was he the "real" test for her, as choreographed by Mr. Big?

While she wanted to grab on to the coattails of the thought of the man as an "altruistic assistant", her creeping self-fear and his reminder of how alarming her display of power could be made her think twice. Navvi hadn't advanced on her, instead asking about her name, her power, and the extravagant boat, but that didn't offer the pink-haired girl any real solace. She was still trapped at the end of a dock and, not knowing what to do, she stalled for time by taking a few steps backwards, stopping only when her heels touched the dock's edge.

"U-um..."

She made as if to address Navvi's questions, but before she could even really begin, the yacht-in-question sprung to life. As if automated (for no figures could be seen on board doing any work), the ropes tying the boat to the dock snapped off and out, falling lifelessly to the dock's surface. The engine roared to life and the boat made a sudden lurching turn, sending a heavy wake under the dock. As one might expect, this disturbed the dock and the other boats tethered to it, sending the surface lurching like a California suspension bridge in an earthquake.

"Ah!"

Lee managed on a small cry of surprise as the shifting and sloshing of the dock robbed her of her balance. An individual with less agility would have found themselves falling into the dark waters below, but she was able to improvise and catch on to one of the light poles at the dock's end. Her momentum forced her into a pole-dancer's spin, but she did manage not to go for a swim.

Meanwhile, the yacht was quickly departing the scene. Up above on the lamp posts, one by one, the cameras that had been placed began to hiss and crack, short-circuiting by way of remote detonation. Each one gave a little pop as it exploded, useless pieces of metal, circuitry, and plastic raining down over Lee and Navvi like some steampunk rain shower. As the yacht gained distance, the voice of the boss came bursting towards them from a loud speaker:

"Mind your manners, little girl," he said, the words over-enunciated and very proper despite his accent. "The time is always ticking away. Be mindful of your fate if you fail to cooperate, Miss Lacey. We shall be in touch."

All Leann could do was hold on to the light pole and stare at the retreating boat. The words spoken had sapped her of even the energy required to respond, and her mind went to the expensive cell phone stowed away in her little backpack. Caught in the sudden depression of a return to her reality, Leann waited out the lurching of the dock in silence. As soon as things were mostly settled, though, her gaze returned to Navvi.

"U-uh... you, uh... you had some questions? ...Right? Er..." Her hesitation was two parts worry, and one part "unnerved by the robot's dead expression." "Um... why... why ya wanna know those things, anyway, huh? I mean... thanks for the assist, but... but... I don't think, er... I mean, I really wouldn't recommend... wait, that... that doesn't make sense, you already acted." She paused a moment, and sighed. "I'm no one, okay?" she said, with some finality to it. "If you ain't read any newspapers or, like, watched any tv or anything, then that's really your bad, ain't it? You'd know who I was if you had... and... and... you saw the electricity, so... so, like, you already know that. A-a-and... and it's just... it's just bad people! You shoulda... you shoulda just stayed away! It's... safer... that way..."

Having said her peace, she managed to retake her footing on the dock. Now, instead of holding on to the light pole, she put her back against it. Her shoulders slumped slightly.

"I don't want anyone hurt cuz o' me, mister. That means you, too. Y-you oughta just leave me alone."

[Navvi]

Navvi quietly, unerringly listened to the girl's stuttering answer. Even when the dock lurched in reaction to the yacht disembarking, and the electronic debris rained down on them, Navvi failed to do anything or react. Its body only moved slightly back and forth, but its feet seemed nailed to the dock. Bits of metal and eletronic components stuck in Navvi's hair, and it didn't bother to brush them out.

At no point did it seem like any of her words were reaching Navvi's ears, based on the utter lack of any reaction. Hell, it didn't even look like Navvi was blinking the entire time the girl was talking or spinning on the light pole. But it was listening, filtering out what it thought were superfluous words and phrases. Most of the first half of her explanation was just ignored by Navvi.

"Correction: You don't have to worry about this one being hurt."

Navvi raised an arm, palm out in a grasping gesture, toward the girl.

"One moment."

It moved its arm to the side slightly, pointing past the girl and to... the yacht as it pulled away. With no warning other than Navvi asking for a moment, its lengthed and traveled at high speeds to the yacht. As its arm "stretched", its other arm retracted into its body, sleeve and all. Navvi couldn't absorb the dock beneath its feet because of its frail nature, and the fact that it didn't provide enough matter, so it instead repurposed the matter of its unused arm.

The flying hand crashed into the hull, punching a hole in it. Out of sight, the hand found a solid structure to grasp and it melded with it. Navvi lurched forward slightly as it stopped the retreat of the yacht entire, and stood back up straight as it reeled the vessel back towards the dock slowly.

"Please answer this one's questions. This one is an impartial third party interested in your abilities. Your perceived threat level is of no concern for now."

[Leann Lacey]

There was a touch of irony in stating that the one that wielded electricity was utterly shocked by the events of the strange-speaking, expressionless "man" that stood before her. By the time Navvi returned his attention to her, claiming to be an "impartial third party", Lee's eyes were the size of saucers. Not only that, but the display had critically heightened her sense of alarm, and she was so statically charged that the cascade of pink that normally flowed down her back was straight and pointed, like the fur on the back of a cornered cat. She'd clasped her hands together in front of her breast, and, for a few moments after Navvi finished speaking, remained completely silent. She just didn't know what to do.

But a distraction snapped her out of her stunned state. Navvi may have re-captured the yacht (and given it a nasty black eye, or worse), but the VIP on board was not to be stalled in his escape. The sound of a secondary engine on the yacht itself began the distraction, as the larger boat sought to fight against Navvi's "reeling it in like a fisherman" act. Meanwhile, on the far side out of view, Miguel Vasquez and his four remaining henchmen, had promptly activated the lifeboat fail safe escape mechanism. Naturally, the boss wasn't going to allow himself to be caught and, in usual villain fashion, as soon as the lifeboat was ready, he hopped on board and sped off, leaving his hirelings aboard the sinking yacht.

Regardless of activities on the other side, once the new engine noises were established, Lee shook herself out of her staring off into the distance and returned her attention to the... strange person in front of her. Although she would have liked to back pedal some more, she was already at the end of her proverbial rope. So, she clasped her hands behind her back, trying to smooth out her hair in the process, and nervously toed the ground.

"Uh... you're, ah... scary, alright? And maybe you don't think I'm a threat, but... that-" And a slight tilting of her head indicated the display involving the yacht. "-makes me think if I don't cooperate, yer gonna, like, pummel me, or somethin', so... so, I'll play along, 'kay? I-I'm Leann. I have a stupid middle name. I've got this... trick... where... I can generate electricity. I don't know how. Lightning also, ya know durin' storms, seems to chase me... and it sucks. A-and... that boat and the guy that owns it? They- he... well." She shook her head. "Basically, if... I don't do what he says, my mama dies, okay?"

She finished by closing her eyes, a distinct frown on her face.

[Navvi]

Navvi listened quietly to Leann's answer and explanation, gradually pulling the yacht closer and closer to the dock while those aboard apparently jumped ship, literally. The sight must have been quite surreal. There was this gray-eyed and very odd man standing on the dock "talking" to this young girl, while one of his arms retracted very cleanly into its body so the other could hook an expensive yacht at a distance. There wasn't much that could have been added to make the scene any weirder. Maybe a talking animal with a funny accent.

For the first time, Navvi actually gave some kind of response to the girl's words by gently nodding when she finished.

"Don't worry, Leann. This one has no intention of hurting you, with the lone caveat being self-defense."

Seeing as how the main reason that Navvi even lashed-out at the yacht, the head man aboard, was now speeding out of its practical range, Navvi decided to simply not bother with it anymore. Its hand was returned back to its original form and the arm was retracted back to its former size and shape. Meanwhile, Navvi's other arm grew back, including its sleeve, and was back in no time.

With its body free to move about again, Navvi nonchalantly closed the last bit of distance between it and Leann. The dock creaked slightly as it approached the girl. It would seem that Navvi's weight had inexplicably increased after punching that hole in the yacht, apparently having abosrbed some of its matter into its own body.

"This one has another request of you... Demonstrate these electrical abilities on this one. It finds your abilities intriguing."

[Leann Lacey]

"W-what?!"

Leann was taken aback by Navvi's new request as there seemed a potential contradiction and risk inherent in it. He had said that she was not currently "perceived as a threat", but he'd also straight-forwardly mentioned that "self-defense" was an option definitely on the table. With his ease in dispatching the thugs, and the display of seriously damaging the yacht with crazy, video game-like super stretchy-ness, Lee was quite hesitant in acting, even if her mouth was quick to spout out her question of concern. Still, the "man" - now in her immediate proximity - had made the request almost in cool confidence... and it wasn't like she had a viable escape route.

"Y-y-you're... serious? I... but..." In her nervousness, she'd pulled the police cap off of her head. If she had nails (which she didn't, because she was still in the habit of trimming them regularly for the sports clubs she no longer attended), they would have been tearing deep into the fabric of the hat. Instead, she just clutched it tightly. Her bangs, now free, fell forward, curtaining her face. "You're not gonna... I mean, I don't have a choice, do I? So... Oh, God, fine! B-but if it hurts, it's not my fault!"

Abruptly shoving the cap back on her head, Lee leaned back. One hand went to cover her face, her fingers splitting so that she could see, with one eye, where her other hand was going. The free hand, suddenly bursting to life with a small crackle of green-tinged electricity, slowly and shakily reached out. Eventually, her fingertips came into contact with Navvi's chest, and the crackle-zap of electric release split the air.

"Aieee!"

But Leann didn't wait to see what the physical results might be. Cornered and quite certain that her jolt was going to burn a scar across her "rescuer's" chest, she did the first thing that came to mind - recoil and prepare for whatever return attack was on her immediate horizon. As such, she immediately crouched, cupping her hands over her head.

"Ohm'God, ohm'God, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! D-don't hurt me!"

So... she was a coward. But could ya really blame her?

[Navvi]

"Yes. This one is quite serious."

Navvi and Leann were quite a contrast to each other. As far as Navvi had seen, Leann was an excitable and energetic girl prone to small bouts of stuttering and tripping over her words. Navvi, on the other hand, was anything but energetic and chose its word selection very carefully and spoke in a consistently even tone, albeit without any emotion or inflection. If the situation wasn't so grim and serious between them, they could have easily made some kind of buddy cop duo.

"You don't have to worry about damage to this one."

That said, Navvi moved even closer to Leann when she raised her own hand to aim at Navvi, until her fingers were pressing against its own chest. A crackle, a zap, and a flash of green light later, Leann had performed exactly what Navvi was looking for.

Two things happened. One, Navvi's head was tilted uncomfortably to one side, seemingly as an effect of her electrical demonstration. Two, the front of Navvi's shirt had burned away somewhat, revealing the electrical burn across its chest. The first thing to be fixed was Navvi's head position, so it could look down at its chest at the results. After a moment of observation, Navvi's shirt began to reknit itself until it closed, and it looked back up, or down, at Leann.

Instead of waiting for her to get up, Navvi tried one thing first. Without a word, it began to slowly snap its fingers on one hand, looking at it like some kind of reaction was expected. After a few tries, Navvi gave one last big snap and a small arc of electricity was generated between its thumb and forefinger. The arc was sustained for a few seconds before it flickered out. Seemingly pleased with the result, Navvi crouched down to Leann's level.

"This one's previous statement stands. You will not be harmed."

It reached out to touch her chin and bring her gaze up to its face which, shockingly, showed that Navvi was smiling. A very tiny smile though. A pleased one.

"You performed admirably, Leann. This one has what it wants for now. Is there possibly anyway this one can reciprocate?"

[Leann Lacey]

A "gentle touch" was not what she was expecting. Lee was so preoccupied with what she thought would be a counter-assault that Navvi's actions and words following her shocking demonstration were nearly as surprising as... well, everything else she'd thus far experienced involving the android. She stared at his smile, stared at his words, and stared at... the complete lack of damage she'd apparently caused (for she had not been paying attention when Navvi was regenerating.) The secondary shock - the one produced by Navvi in mimicry of her abilities - was also not definitively noticed; she'd "heard" it, but not seen it, and was not completely sure that it had happened at all. As it appeared to the pink-haired girl... the "man" was exceptionally astute at keeping his emotions in check, extremely powerful in an obviously abnormal physical sort of way, and... was, apparently, utterly resistant to the only trump card she possessed, assuming she was ever "perceived as a threat."

All of this, of course, was unsettling.

And...

...none of it immediately mattered. Proximity was too strong of a factor, and Navvi's words of praise and inquiry of reciprocation were downright baffling.

"I... performed... admirably? Um... and... re... reciprocation?" She was slow to respond and too stunned to completely react to Navvi's touch. Had she been "fully aware" she probably would have recoiled on instinct, but as it stood, she was stuck like a kitten having its chin scratched. "It... it didn't even phase you, did it? You're... are you... like... me? I mean, like... whatever it is I am? Er, I mean, other than weird, cuz... wait! NO! I didn't mean to say you were weird! Oh, crap... S-sorry. It's... different. Yes, different, that's what I meant! Not like "normal" humans!"

In chibi anime form, the sweatdrop that had formed on the back of Leann's head would have rivaled the size of the yacht Navvi had crippled.

"Er, and... whaddya mean... reciprocation? Like, you took out those guys and... then I... totally blasted you, so... Don't I, like... owe you, instead?"