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Post by skyeknight on Jul 12, 2022 18:47:55 GMT
Ruby raced to a stop next to the pyro. She let out a shaky breath. That was taking more out of her than she anticipated. Still, she hefted Crescent Rose up and it shifted into it's scythe form. The ground cracked when she shoved the blade down into the ground. With a grunt of effort, she swung herself up and kicked the Cinderblock in the face when he tried to get up out of the fountain. Her scythe became dislodged from the ground. Twirling it over her back, she swung it full force across the Cinderblock. Despite all that they had tried thus far, he hadn't looked like he had taken too much damage.
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Post by zuyuri on Jul 12, 2022 19:35:12 GMT
Cinderblock's stony form grew dark as water seeped into its body. Between the heat from Zuko and Little Red's homemade oven trick to suddenly growing cooler from the fountain water, it was getting harder for the beast to move. All it could do was glare at the duo and garble incoherent words. Which was cut off by the scythe raking across its chest and send it back into fumbling, where more water leaking in from the cracks weighed it down.
"It'll be waterlogged by the time reinforcements get here. It can't do now anything except be mad at us," Zuko told Little Red. He stepped back and exhaled, releasing just a whisper of a flame that was still fueling. There was no more need for fire right now. As he looked over their fallen foe, he saw a red splotch on the ground. Oh no. That wasn't blood, was it? Here they worked so hard to get everyone to safety!
Zuko knelt by the blotch...and was greeted by the strong smell of garlic and other spices. Wait. That wasn't blood. That was marinara sauce!
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Post by skyeknight on Jul 13, 2022 2:16:43 GMT
Ruby jumped back and eyed the cement man. She half expected him to try to get back up, but she believed the pyro boy was right. He was down for the count and would remain down until the real superheroes showed up to cart him away to jail. She took a deep breath before moving Crescent Rose back into its gun shape and back into the holster behind her back.
"Hey, I don't think I would have been able to do this without you," she said. "I'm Ruby. What's your name?"
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Post by zuyuri on Jul 13, 2022 2:57:14 GMT
The splatter of tomato sauce was long gone. Zuko wasn't sure what to do at this point. People were slowly starting to come out from scattering, while others were keeping a relatively safe distance. Little Red had put away her scythe....somehow. That thing had been hard to miss. How exactly did he store it and make it easy to carry? He ran a hand through his hair. Of course he forgot his name tag when he threw off his apron from leaving work.
"Uh...I'm...Zuko," he stammered.
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Post by skyeknight on Jul 14, 2022 18:14:31 GMT
"Nice to meet you, Zuko!" Ruby enthused. "Wanna sit with me while we wait for the authorities?"
Her lunch had been interrupted after all. She was contemplating grabbing a new sandwich since hers had met an unfortunate end. Not at all phased by the fact that she and another had teamed up to take down a giant behemoth of stone. She removed her cape to wring out the excess water. It had been good while things were on fire, but she wasn't about to let herself get soaked. She would not miss classes because she caught a stupid cold along with the equally stupid bad guy.
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Post by zuyuri on Jul 14, 2022 18:59:58 GMT
Did he have time to sit that long? Did work need him to come back? No, he was done when that one worked came in. Cinder block over there was the reason he was stuck at work on his day off to begin with. Ruby brought up missing her lunch, and he looked at the red spot he found. “Did it happen to be bathed in marinara? I found a splotch over here.” He gestured to the big blotch on the fountain.
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Post by skyeknight on Jul 14, 2022 19:16:23 GMT
"Hmm? Marinara? Oh... Yeah! That thing smashed my meatball sub!" Ruby said.
She looked forlornly over the splotch that was her sandwich. The one victim they could not save. Alas, there were sacrifices to be made when being a hero. No one told her the costs would be this great. Still, it felt good to have made quick work of the guy. She certainly wouldn't have been able to do it on her own. Sure, she could have chipped away at the guy slowly, but who knew what sort of chaos would have happened if Zuko hadn't been there to help!
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Post by zuyuri on Jul 14, 2022 19:57:40 GMT
There was a sad look on Ruby’s face when Zuko brought up the sandwich. Or rather, the remains of the sandwich. What else could Zuko do or say? He had no expertise on this stuff. It came to everyone else so easily, and all he did was look from the ruined meatball sub to Ruby and spit out, “I’m sorry about your food. That’s…that’s rough.”
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Post by skyeknight on Jul 15, 2022 2:08:04 GMT
"I'll live. Sandwiches come and go after all," she shrugged. "What about you? You were pretty ready to start throwing fireballs. Is your day going okay? Wanna talk about it?"
He had been the first person to react the moment the behemoth started throwing things. Nothing wrong with quick reflexes. Might have saved some lives, but still, faster than simple reflex. Not that the bad guy hadn't deserved the fireball to the face. Ruby was curious as to why the guy decided to attack such a public place. Was it part of some bigger attack? What was to be gained from attacking here?
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Post by zuyuri on Jul 15, 2022 2:31:43 GMT
Zuko wanted to curl up under the rock and just wait there. He had been reckless with the fire. Had Ruby not been there, someone wuld have gotten hurt. His anger was his own problem, and he had just been lucky that the literal blockhead was his only target. All he had been thinking was releasing. It was how he burned the grass that one time. "You don't have to worry about me."
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Post by skyeknight on Jul 18, 2022 1:56:45 GMT
'You don't have to worry about me.'
That was a sign that she should - in fact - worry about him. Something was going on, that he didn't want to talk about. Rather than force the virtual stranger she met only half an hour ago, she offered him a smile. After all, he didn't owe it to her to spill his guts.
"So... are you going to the school here?" she asked him.
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Post by zuyuri on Jul 18, 2022 5:07:29 GMT
“Um…yes?” He hadn’t meant for it to be phrased like a question. Not everyone just walked down the streets throwing fireballs. It would have to be someone that went to Hero High. Or worked there. Ruby must have been a student, too. Someone who took pride in being a hero.
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Post by skyeknight on Jul 19, 2022 16:42:53 GMT
Not at all phased, Ruby nodded along.
"Cool! Me too!" she told him.
Then there was a blur of motion and rose petals. She was gone. Another moment later, she was back with two sandwiches in hand. She had paid for both and figured if her lunch was ruined, she could always improve it with new good company. She held one out to Zuko. She took a seat on a piece of rubble nearby. She debated sitting on Cinderblock. It was something her sister would have done to assert her dominance. Ruby decided against it as it seemed to be in poor taste.
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Post by zuyuri on Jul 19, 2022 18:22:26 GMT
Well, looks like he was right. Ruby was the personification of an aspiring hero. People would adore her if she came in to stop a bank heist or saving someone from getting hurt. She took off in a rush of rose petals, and Zuko was left befuddled. Especially when he felt something warm in his hand. Looking down, he was face to face with a meatball sandwich. Ruby was sitting in front of him with her own sandwich. He looked at it, then at her. “Um…if you want it extra toasted, I could do that.”
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Post by skyeknight on Jul 19, 2022 19:57:00 GMT
"I mean, I wouldn't complain! But eat up!" she said, "Don't worry! I did pay for them!"
She smiled brightly at him. Her feet kicked out as she shimmied on her seat a bit. Not many people would have been this relaxed about being in a destroyed plaza. She certainly didn't envy the repair team. Or the city council. Because how did these guys make it this far into the city without the properly trained heroes noticing? She would have to ask her sister what she thought about the whole thing. Gleam some insight off her.
"Guess we just wait here with this big guy until someone comes along to collect him!" she said.
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