A pause, Chance and the man stayed still as Chance's hand slowly reached out to the case in front of him. "Starboy, you're always smart. You got somethin'?" The Boon pointed toward a cup on the counter, a symbol of a star plastered onto it. Starboy snapped its fingers, the cup flying towards the man, the cup being partly melted as it almost made contact with his body, curling up into a ball instinctively in response.
The cup slammed into him, causing him to stumble back as Chance fired his pistol into them a couple more times, causing a few more scrapes and bruises across their body. "Damn! Stop that! You're facing a child of God!"
Chance had already hidden the case in a nearby bag, throwing it over his shoulders, gun pointed at the man in front of him. He slowly began stepping toward the entrance of the bar, the hostile man in front of him making a break for the door as well. Chance beelined for the door in reaction to the man's pursuit to cut Chance off, rushing to the exit, both hoping that they get to it first.
The man's collar is pulled back by an invisible force, and a star-shaped sticker is plastered across it. Starboy still stood behind them, a snap of their fingers and a well-timed placement of the hand causing this man to fly back into the ground, right where Starboy's feet would be. Starboy stepped back as they collided against the floor before Chance yelled for them, "Bouncer!"
Starboy reconvened with Chance as they booked it out of the underground bar. Chance's only goal was to head back home as quickly as he could.
Why the hell did the box appear here!? It doesn't make sense! He made a break for it, sprinting through the LA streets, attempting to get back home as quickly as he could.
"You will not leave!" The man screamed out from behind him, breaking into a full sprint in an attempt to catch up with him, and people were getting caught in the crossfire in the process.
This fuckin' guy, can he not control his shit!? He watched as people began receiving what looked to be chemical burns almost instantaneously when getting within only a few feet of the man. The sticker is still on him. Cars pass, the expressions they made gave away their fear; the only reconciliation they had was the safety of their cars.
Starboy launched itself forward over to one of the larger cars, specifically a van, which quickly attempted to speed its way out of the area of the incident.
Starboy slapped a sticker onto the vehicle as it sped away, sprinting straight back over to Chance. The sticker pulled the man straight into the vehicle, causing it to swerve into a nearby building, careening through the lobby of a nearby tech shop.
Chance cringed at the destruction, but kept going on his way, hoping that he had either killed the man or would delay the inevitable somehow.
"What did you do with the case!?" The perpetrator of the now melted-through door, now standing face to face with Narcissa.
"I didn't do shit, I don't know what the hell's happening!"
The woman was of exceptional size, wearing what looked to be a military uniform. They were Hispanic, their stern gaze slightly obscured by their bangs. Her hair was a complete mess, a tattoo put in place of a burn scar around her forearm in the form of teeth.
"You need to tell me where that fuckin' case is!"
"You don't wanna play with me-- what do you call it... Chica?"
A Boon, the size of that girl appeared from behind her, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, an almost robot face sat right from under it, an opening where the mouth is revealing bared teeth, sporting a bright orange shade, seemingly wearing what looked to be priestly garb. The heat in the room increased significantly. "Mercury... that's what it's called, my Boon."
Narcissa was shocked at the sight, eyes widening. "Wh-What the hell is that?"
"You seem out of the loop, huh, chica? Let's raise the heat a little, huh? I'll introduce myself all proper-like since... well, y'know... I might have to kill ya."
Narcissa backed up, attempting to make way toward the window of her apartment.
"Gladys Camilla Garra... It's only right you tell me your name in turn, no?"
"I ain't doin' that."
"Fair enough." Gladys got closer, the heat being hot enough to start boiling Narcissa just from her presence alone.
Narcissa stopped at the wall, pressed straight up against it, sweating like a dog. "W-What, what are... what the hell is this!? Why is it so hot!?"
"It's cause I'm hot, baby~! And you're in the way of my better life. My family's better life."
"I don't know where your fuckin' case is!"
"Where the fuck did it go!?"
Narcissa kicked Gladys away, causing her to curse under her breath. Narcissa winced at the heat as it slightly burned her ankle. After putting some distance between her and Gladys, she made a break for the kitchen, stumbling inside. Gladys watched casually, jaw tight.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Narcissa had gone quite, keeping as much distance as she could from Gladys.
"Where is it!?" Gladys screamed out, walking closer and closer to Narcissa, but suddenly, her movements slowly became progressively more rigid, as if something was pulling on her. Gladys's eyes widened, arms pulled toward her stomach as her emotions escalated more and more, anger and fear being her undoing. It was then that she realized that there was a sticker where Narcissa had kicked her, a heart sticker to be exact. "W-What the hell!?"
Narcissa blinked and then looked up, a shadow cast over her. The shadow was her own Boon, the top half of its body being humanoid, whilst the bottom half was comprised of a spider's body.
Red hearts were sparsely placed onto its stark white body, looking down at the two people in the room.
Gladys gritted her teeth, nervously taking glances at the Boon that towered above them both. "Shit."
CRASH!
Chance stormed into the apartment, the case in hand. "I wasn't far, so-- anyway, how did the ca-" He froze when he saw Gladys restrained, giving a stare down to his sister. "What's goin' on?"
Narcissa sighed. "This girl knows about the case. What happened? How do you have the case?"
"I don't know, it appeared in front of me at the bar-- who is this anyhow? You want the case?" Chance smirked, holding it up to Gladys, who looked resigned to her fate. "You got a Boon?"
"Yeah." Gladys nodded.
"Hm~?"
Narcissa chimed in. "It's called Mercury, I believe."
Chance looked back at his sister. "Some guy, back at the bar, they were looking for the case as well. Crazy fucker, thought he was blessed by God, you with him?" He pointed to Gladys.
Gladys shook her head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just want the money so my sister and I can live comfortably, alright?"
"Guess we're similar in some way."
Gladys shared a pinched expression with Narcissa. "Look, my sister is blind, I just want us to be out of this shitty apartment complex and be done with it, okay?"
"I concur with the sentiment, girl-- What's your name?"
"Gladys, Gladys Camilla Garra."
"Chance Amilaar Caccia, greetings. You like, military or something?"
Narcissa looked aghast. "Why are you making friends with her, huh!? What the hell are you doing, Chance!?"
"I'm just curious, not like she can move much anyway." Chance snapped his fingers. "We need more bodies-- hear me out, sis!"
"She was gonna kill me!"
"If she was gonna kill you, I think things would've been way worse, no?"
Gladys looked away with a sheepish expression on her face. "I... I just wanted to scare her. Also, I was in boot camp, never the actual military."
"You look strong, know how to fight? Also, is it hot in here?"
"I've been trying my hardest to burn off the webbing, that's why."
"Sick, you know how to fight?"
"Yes, they taught us how to fight during boot camp-- to use weapons, guns, and stuff, never used it on anything though."
"Sounds like a harsh boot camp. Like, unreasonably-- they had you shootin' guns?"
"Hunting, mostly. It was good enough to get me in the bounty huntin' business."
"To me, it sounds like you'd be a real fun ally!"
Narcissa groaned. "Jesus, Chance, you can't be serious."
"We can just split it, it's like, hella money, it should be fine!" Chance shrugged. "We'll need more allies than we have, and I don't think the psycho that I met earlier is exactly someone we should be looking for." Chance looked at the heart sticker on Gladys, ripping it off and releasing her from her restraints. She blinked, free from what seemed to be more of a cocoon than anything. "So... you couldn't burn it off...?"
"I didn't want to burn myself alive, thank you."
"Oh, so you could burn it."
Narcissa sighed. "So... you're just gonna accept her, just like that?"
"If you did end up dead, I wouldn't, okay?"
"Whatever."
Gladys looked over to Chance, rubbing her wrists. "So... you want us to be allies? You're going to split the pot?"
"I have no reason not to, plus... how the hell are we gonna use all that cash on our own? Spreadin' it a little ain't gonna hurt us none."
Gladys's confident demeanor from earlier had deflated significantly. "I-I don't think my sis will be safe... I... shit, I'm just realizing, I didn't think that far."
"What do you mean?"
"Well... if I get involved in all this, that puts my sis in danger, no? Can't bring her either cause she's blind."
"I would argue that leaving her behind is more dangerous than taking her, blind or not!"
"You would let me bring her?"
Narcissa just watched the exchange, a bit confused about how they even got to this point. Why did she fold so easily?
"I already got my sister inadvertently involved by doing this, so..." Gladys looked back at the two. "I'll bring her up so you guys can meet her."
Gladys left the siblings alone for now, and just as she left, Narcissa remembered something. "That case!"
Chance cocked a brow, "What about it?"
"I... I accidentally opened it-- but that isn't the problem! I... something hurt me... I don't get it, and I have this Boon... I knew you've always had one, but... how come I can... see everything now, I don't get it?"
"Why'd you open the case?"
"I... I... I dunno, I wanted to see what was inside... I never expected something like this to happen. Look, I'm sorry but... I..."
"Well, it's whatever, everything turned out alright in the end, so..." He shrugged. Chance began rubbing his chin. "Did you start seeing Boons after you opened the case?"
"Yeah?"
"I might do something ballsy." Chance smirked, waiting for Gladys to return.
The man from before, with labored breath, stared down at the excited Gladys as she escorted her sister. "I will be sanctified through those who come near me, and before all people, I will be glorified..." He swallowed hard, his eyes glaring at the two women.
Gladys, who towered over her smaller sister a blind girl with light brown hair draped over her shoulders. Gladys gently guided her sister, whispering. "Go, find the second floor, head to a room labelled 'five', okay?"
Her sister nodded, "What's going on?"
"Just go, please."
The man spoke once more. "You don't have to send her off... my... divine radiance will free her..."
Glady's expression became pinched, pushing her sister forward. "I think I do... sorry... your divine radiance isn't for everyone." This guy...
The man was partially injured, with glass jutting from his shoulder blade, his entire body banged up and bruised, but standing there, still alive and kicking, a trail of blood made in his wake.
This might be a stretch, but... he's the fuckin' one that one kid mentioned, isn't he? "Hey, man... I'm not exactly in the mood... alright?"
"Where is it...?"
"Where is what?"
"Where is my right...? My right as one blessed by God..."
"God... this day has been confusing... dumb... bullshit, out of order. What the hell are you even talkin' about, man?"
"My... God given right... where... is... the case...?"
"What the hell are you talkin' about, what case?"
"Then... you're useless to me." He took multiple controlled steps forward, closer and closer to Gladys, who watched hesitantly, backing away in turn.
"Back up..."
"No... you're like me, aren't you...? Blessed?"
Shit... Gladys summoned Mercury, and what could be seen behind the man could only be described as the grotesque form of a dried corpse without a face, wrapped up in chains, dragged slowly behind him. His Boon was horrific; Atomic Vomit.
Back in the siblings' room, a small knock on the side of the doorway before stumbling inside, confused by the lack of a door. Chance noticed. "Are you... What was her name?" He snapped his fingers, turning to his sister.
The blind girl spoke up. "Gladys...?"
"Yeah! Yeah her! Hey-- so you're her sister, right?"
"Yes, her... younger sister, is-is everything alright? She was panicking earlier..."
"Yeah! Just do me a favor~!"