trans_9 | Wide Open Spaces [Open]

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Wide Open Spaces [Open]

Owen smiled as he surveyed the park in the city. A little bit of terrain and obstructions here and there, but for the most part, plenty of open space. The perfect place for a good workout. He knew he could get the sensorium to take care of this, but right now, he wanted to get a little more of this place mapped out.

He shed his jacket and hung it over a bench, pulling just a standard run of the mill boomerang from a clip. He gave it a lazy toss, letting it arc and come back to his hand at the same spot with a satisfying 'slap' against his skin. He then started up a gentle jog around place, still hurling and catching it. He could feel his muscles start to twitch, but he kept his speed normal. He still hadn't quite managed to always make the superspeed happen, but he could pretty well keep it normal when he wanted to. Hard for running to be good exercise when it's effortless.

He grunted as he made a hurl straight ahead a bit stronger, then broke into a run to try to catch it before it would reach all the way back to where he threw it. This was good and relaxing, but still needed a bit of focus. The perfect level of activity for when you didn't want to think about other things.

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"Haven't we all?" He shrugged. He trotted over and sat down in the grass with her. "What's up?"

Katara chuckled a little. "Yeah, you have a point. I'm going to have to stop acting like I'm the only one that has problems here. But I guess that's something i'm still working on."

She sighed, and looked down. "I found out Aang is here, but not like we are. He's on another part of the ship, away from everyone else. I didn't want to think it was possible, but we were at the statuary and...all the Avatar's eyes glowed. It's HIM, Owen. But They're creeping him for their own reasons, I don't know why, and other than a few people, I can't really trust anyone else to know."

Owen blinked. "...Aang? Who's that? And who's 'they' in this case?"

Katara looked a little surprised. "I guess I never mentioned the Avatar in my world? That's Aang, a person that's my friend...and more, when you get down to it. I would never have said this before, but you're lucky. At least you KNOW you're girlfriend is here, alive. Aang I just know is here...and I don't KNOW who 'they' are either."

Katara looked down, obviously frustrated. "It's just one more thing they didn't tell me here."

"More and more ackward..." Owen grimaced. "You need to talk about it?" He gave her a sympathetic gaze.

Katara looked at him for a full minute, then shook her head. "No...not really. I think I know what I have to do now. It's pretty simple when I get down to it."

"Not going to do anything to put yourself in harm's way, I hope? The ship's probably gonna do that to us in it's own sweet time anyway." Owen furrowed his brow.

Katara laughed a little, but it didn't sound like her usual pleasant one. "I hope not, but if so it can't be helped. I have to do what I have to do. It isn't as if I could shrug away what I am from my world and be normal here."

"Anything can be helped." Owen said, shrugging. "You've just gotta be willing to look for how."

Katara finally did give him a genuine smile. "No, I actually agree with you there. Anything can be helped. And some of us have to look at all the options you have.

"And take one you didn't expect."

"Anything you can accept help with?" Owen raised an eyebrow. "Can't go losing my number one supporter for getting me back with my girl."

Katara looked back. "Yeah. To be honest, I could use friends right now. It's probably the reason that life isn't so bad on this ship. Learning about all of you and what we talk about makes things a little easier. Though I'm pretty sure you won't lose me!"

"Hope not. So... what can I help you with?" He propped his head up on one hand.

Katara smiled. "Tell me a little about your world? I want to knwo what I can."

What she was thinking about she didn't want to discuss with Owen- she thought she had an idea what he and probably many others on the ship thought. So for now, she wanted the safety of being just another "kid" on the ship.

"Well... there's a lot to say, but I'll try to give you the highlights." Owen gathers his thoughts, and gives her the outline of some of the major internationally recognized heroes and villains, taking some particular time on the Justice League and the Keystone Rogues. He does his best to bridge the cultural gaps and references.

"Anything in particular you needed to figure out?"

Katara was a little astounded, but listened intently. She wanted to hear a little more about what certain superheroes did when they were faced with an enemy that was deadly, that wrecked havoc on others and would do more if left unfettered.

"I have something I'm already figuring out, so I could use a little advice. Have you ever faced someone you knew you had to kill?"

Owen looked at her with concern. "'Tara... what's a sweet girl like you doing asking something like that?" His expression turned a little stern, but he continued anyway.

"I've fought plenty of guys who deserved to die, but none that I thought I had to kill. One person doesn't get the right to decide who lives or dies, and don't ask me how many people it takes to decide, because that's a whole debate I don't even want to get into."

Katara shook her head. "It doesn't matter how sweet I am, Owen, you know that. My world isn't sweet, and neither is this one. I can act like its not something I need to think about, but we both know its a lie."

And at that, Katara sighed. "That's the problem. We leave it up to someone else, Owen. That decision could cost other people their lives if you come across the wrong bad guy. I'd like to think you and I have been lucky, because we never had to make that decision. But what if we do, soon? What then?"

Owen grew quiet, then spoke in serious tones. "If you know for a fact that someone needs to die, and it's the choice between you or them? Then you kill them. You do not hesitate, but you do get to regret." He gave her the best smile he could manage.

"Not wanting to kill doesn't mean you let someone kill you."

Funny. That wasn't what she expected to hear. Truthfully, if she heard what she thought she was going to hear, it wouldn't have mattered. What was more meaningful was that she saw herself in Owen's words. She still let out a sigh. She really didn't like that this was happening.

"Regret, yes. There's no real way of escaping that though. And in my case, its not just for me. Not ever again, really."

"Sorry...?" Owen winced as he saw something in Katara's face that made him feel like he'd let her down.

"I'm not saying you should look for a reason to kill someone.. or let it consume your life if that's what you end up doing. What I mean is that regret over killing someone is what separates you from wanting to kill people."

"Just a memory I have of a while ago. An unpleasant one. There was a time I wanted to kill for revenge. I ignored everyone around me, and was focused only on my hate. It was a pretty dark time I was going through, and I don't like to think about it much, but it happened. I have to make sure if there's ever a death over me, it has to be for the right reasons."

Katara looked over at Owen. "I know. I know now that I'll have a regret at any time it has to happen. I don't know...maybe I just wish I had more time to doubt myself. Maybe I'm just looking for an easy answer so I can put it off awhile longer."

Owen cringed. "Girl.. I did the same thing when my father died. Fell in with people that wanted me to make all the same bad decisions they did, and I paid for it. It's not evil to kill in self defense to keep living, but there's not much else of a 'right' reason to kill."

He looked at her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Katara... what is it you're going to do? If it's something that one person can't avoid having to kill with.. maybe two people could make a difference?"

"I don't disagree with you Owen. I've been there and I'm not proud of the situation I put myself in. But this one is new, and its for entirely different reasons. I'm not doing this so I can redeem myself, or because I want to get back at somebody. I'm doing it because I'm scared there might be a threat to us and I'm not going to ignore it."

Katara shrugged, but felt reassured. "You've heard about the Yeerk at all?"

"What's a Yeerk?" Owen blinked.

Wide Open Spaces [Open]

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