Post by Firelizard on Aug 13, 2024 4:52:20 GMT
The sand vibrated. It had always done that back home, and it was all the same here. Shatterbird could feel the movement of the entire city, face sneering from beneath her glass constructed mask. She floated down to the ground, a thin patch of grass cushioning even that minute impact. All manner of sin and sinful activity stretched for as far as the eye could see. Glittering lights beckoned welcome to all passerby, flashing bulbs of gluttony and greed echoing into the desert. Shatterbird looked around, stretching out her power as she adjusted the handgun holster on her hip. Bits of broken glass vibrated and pulsed, marching like an army of ants to their silicakinetic queen. A massive sign beckoned from above, though the city’s inhabitants may have wished it hadn’t been so inviting to this particular tourist.
“Oh how I wish I could shred this city to bits. In due time, perhaps. For now, though, a lighter touch is needed. A bit of diplomacy is needed every once in a while…”
Billboards and desiccated palm trees lined the Las Vegas streets. Both could have done well with a bit of water, it seemed. Shatterbird looked away from starving desert trees and gambling addiction ads, scanning the streets around her. Cars flew by, some honking as they saw a colorfully dressed woman adorned in all manner of brightly colored cathedral glass. For all they knew it was but one more colorfully dressed resident or tourist. Someone to gawk at, a fresh sight in a place where no sight was ever quite the same or replayed. Little did they know that they were passing by one of the most dangerous parahuman entities on the western seaboard, if not the entire country.
“Hey baby! You’ve got a nice a-”
A bright red coupe drove past Shatterbird, its operator looking down through the top of his shades as he tried to catcall the newest arrival to the city. An instant later every single glass covered meter and window in his car exploded. The sleazy man yelped in surprise, his car lurching left and careening with a traffic stopping, bright yellow column. Smoke started spilling from the front of the car, just as blood dripped down the steering wheel in the vehicle’s interior. The exploded glass leapt from the road, inside the car, and even from the face of the catcaller. They coalesced into a giant ball floating above Shatterbird’s head, reflecting the lights of the city. Erratic screaming and constant honking took over the soundwaves, though a far more dangerous series of notes played just below the surface.
“There are limits to such diplomacy, of course…”
“Oh how I wish I could shred this city to bits. In due time, perhaps. For now, though, a lighter touch is needed. A bit of diplomacy is needed every once in a while…”
Billboards and desiccated palm trees lined the Las Vegas streets. Both could have done well with a bit of water, it seemed. Shatterbird looked away from starving desert trees and gambling addiction ads, scanning the streets around her. Cars flew by, some honking as they saw a colorfully dressed woman adorned in all manner of brightly colored cathedral glass. For all they knew it was but one more colorfully dressed resident or tourist. Someone to gawk at, a fresh sight in a place where no sight was ever quite the same or replayed. Little did they know that they were passing by one of the most dangerous parahuman entities on the western seaboard, if not the entire country.
“Hey baby! You’ve got a nice a-”
A bright red coupe drove past Shatterbird, its operator looking down through the top of his shades as he tried to catcall the newest arrival to the city. An instant later every single glass covered meter and window in his car exploded. The sleazy man yelped in surprise, his car lurching left and careening with a traffic stopping, bright yellow column. Smoke started spilling from the front of the car, just as blood dripped down the steering wheel in the vehicle’s interior. The exploded glass leapt from the road, inside the car, and even from the face of the catcaller. They coalesced into a giant ball floating above Shatterbird’s head, reflecting the lights of the city. Erratic screaming and constant honking took over the soundwaves, though a far more dangerous series of notes played just below the surface.
“There are limits to such diplomacy, of course…”
