trans_9 | Purifying a Miasma... Maybe.

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Purifying a Miasma... Maybe.

It was a long, thoughtful walk to the Shrine. The odd, high-pitched whine of something Wrong had faded just as soon as she'd entered Religion Row, and Miku spent the rest of her time rubbing her ears to remove the tickle. It was hard to explain to other people the exact feelings that came with her ability.

But Cargn... understood. To a point, she supposed (considering, of course, that he didn't have eyes and hers were still very much attached). But even that point was much more than someone who had never experienced that plummet of heart and stomach, the loss of color from the world, or the shrill, lingering whine of getting closer and closer to something that shouldn't have been there in the first place. Miku sighed as she entered the Shrine of the Aquila and started looking for her sensei, and his little, strange helper.

"Viginti-san? Cargn-sensei? I'm here," Miku called, and her voice echoed oddly in the Shrine. No, she was never going to get used to how creepy that was.

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You know what? Whatever floats your boat, tiny girl.

"I'm not really sure right now's a time to take some snapshots, but if you think that'll help..."

To the Hub they go!

She said she'd be in the Hub. She said she'd be in the Hub. She said she'd be in the Hub.

SHE SAID SHE'D BE IN THE HUB.

Steve was already in the Hub by the time they even got close, holding Miku's ornate old camera (what the hell did she want the camera for, anyway? It didn't sound like she was in any kind of state for photo opportunities!) There was no sign of her. Steve was having a mild heart attack.

"Miku! Miku, where are you?" he was yelling into his commring. "Come on, Miku, please be okay!"

"It's for the ghost!" Miku said and pushed her hair out of her face.

She couldn't stop trembling, though. Her head felt like it was going to float off her body, and where Big Zero had touched hurt so much. The sooner they got to the Hub, she thought the better.

So one could imagine her relief when she saw Steve waiting for them, with the Camera Obscura in hand. "...Oh, thank goodness, there's Steve."

"I didn't know you can take down ghosts with a touching Kodak moment."

Superboy swooped in for a landing and gently placed her on the ground.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's that really buff Kon guy, shirtless and carrying Miku around!

What?

Steve rushed up to them as soon as they'd landed, still breathless from running with his face turning red. "What's going on? Are you okay?" he instantly asked Miku, shoving the camera into her hands. And why is that Junior Bodybuilder Guy not wearing a shirt? went unspoken.

"I'll... be okay." She thought. She wasn't really sure and her expression reflected that. "It's more important the the both of you go now. I... don't want you to get hurt." Because really, how were they going to fight something they couldn't see?

"You didn't look in the viewfinder, did you?" Miku asked as her fingers flew over the little clips on the old camera, opening it up and adjusting the lenses.

"Yeah, sure, we'll just leave you here to face whatever ghosty thing it is, by yourself, with no backup."

Eyeroll.

"I'll stay back, but I'm not just ditching you here with...whatever."

Some kind of ghost that could hurt people? Could it suck out their life force or something? Was it a ghost-pire?

Edited 2010-12-04 08:43 (UTC)

"I didn't look in the viewfinder," Steve replied. Now he'd answered her question while she conveniently avoided answering most of his. Kon helped him on one count, though. "You're telling me it's a ghost? A ghost is attacking you?"

That pissed him off more than some half naked guy carrying her around.

"I'm not going anywhere until I know you're safe!"

Girls were tricky like that, Steve.

"Well, it... I..." Miku looked down at the filament on the camera to make sure it wasn't a soft, dim red yet. "It's a ghost, yes. Of that woman. The one that was Punished. Since I have the Camera, I'll be just fine but you won't be. How are you supposed to keep me safe from something you can't see?" She looked between the two men, with a worried frown.

Well, gentlemen?

"If you're in trouble, I can fly you out. Either way, I can spot protective boyfriend vibes from a mild away, so I can tell he's not going anywhere until it's done and you're safe, and I'm not going anywhere until you're both safe."

So there. Do your thing, but he ain't leaving.

Yeah, damn skippy "protective boyfriend vibes," Mister Six Pack. Once the camera was out of his hands, Steve reached down to his hip and pulled out one of his machineguns.

Yeah, they probably didn't work on ghosts, but it was better than standing there like an idiot. "I'll get out of the way and let you do your thing but I'm not going anywhere!" he argued. Especially not if so and so here was going to save the day.

So... stubborn! You are going to get an earful about this later, Steve, but now isn't the time. Miku sighed and looked through the viewfinder of her camera.

"Fine then, but if I tell you to move, please do so." Polite to the end, even in her nightie. "And do it quickly. Ghosts don't get tired."

That they didn't. Big Zero had just found them and if you thought she was pissed before some alien snatched her prey right out of her grasp, she was enraged now. The temperature in the normally humid, smothering meatship started dropping, at least if you were sensitive enough to the paranormal.

Kon was utterly insensate when it came to the paranormal, and also didn't feel cold that well, so he didn't even notice anything was different.

Neither did Steve, what with the permafever and all. What he did notice was an vaguely unpleasant creepy sensation trickling down his spine.

"Miku?"

Miku looked at the filament. It was a soft red, but the light was intensifying quickly. "She's coming," Miku said quietly, and moved her camera around searching for the exact angle of BZ's attack.

The boys were lucky; the chill seeped into Miku's skin and settled in her bones, raising goosebumps on her skin. She moved away from them both, though, so they'd at least have a better chance to not be hurt.

"I really regret not filling this with type-37," she murmured. If there was a next time, she'd have a whole box of it on standby.

"SHE'S RIGHT FUCKING HERE!" Big Zero screamed. Even in death, no one could accuse her of being very bright.

Miku flinched with a little squeak of surprise, jarred by the scream. Japanese ghosts usually moaned the same thing over and over, but apparently American ghosts were just as vocal as their living counterparts.

The ring around the camera's lens started gather up energy, the small characters around it chimed as each one lit. Just before BZ ran her over, Miku pressed down on the shutter. A bright blast from the camera's flash mechanism briefly illuminated BZ's ghost for the others. She hoped it was enough to push back the ghost and give her a little extra charging time.

Steve was watching breathlessly as Miku stared down the empty hallway-- even if he could slightly feel the presence of something off. Was it because he had once been a ghost himself, so to speak, or was he just lucky that way too?

It wasn't until the silhouette of a woman appeared in the flash of Miku's camera that he really panicked.

"Oh holy shit!" he yelled, taking a huge step back and out of the way. How could Miku just stand there so calmly?

Kon's reaction was slightly more restrained, but then he was slightly more used to supernatural weirdness, just like he was slightly more used to talking gorillas and jet-pack Nazis.

Still, his eyebrows were raised until they nearly met his hairline, and he took to the air again, hovering over the ground, ready to grab them both and book it at a moment's notice if he needed to.

"Yeah, that's a ghost."

Thank you for your input, Obviousman. By the way, what are you doing out here without your trusty sidekick, Understatement Lad?

That little-

"BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU LIKE HE KILLED ME!" She may have reeled back momentarily but Big Zero lunged forward again. Her anger fueled her and she'd all ready had a taste of Miku's soul. She would not be denied the rest.

"I told you!" she said. Empowered by the drain of spirit from BZ, Miku's Camera Obscura ate it up readily and again the charge ring lit up on the camera.

Stupid ghosts, always moved so fast... Miku switched a lens into place and she fired again. It wouldn't stop BZ, of course, but it would slow her down as the next shots came one after the other. Her camera made a high pitched noise as the flash went off.

"Just stay out of her way!" Wow, was that Steve, repeating reasonable advice that he intended to follow himself? Well, as tempted as he was to fire bullets into the blank space in front of Miku, even he recognized it would probably be stupidly dangerous, and he managed to resist.

She'd been awful close that last shot. Damn close.

"You might wanna move baaaack," Kon said, voice hitching in alarm, fists clenched, ready to grab both her and Steve if need be, to put distance between them and the ghost again.

A good thing too, because the silhouette of Big Zero was coming closer, despite the flashes. At least she wasn't rushing at them the way she was before.

"Enough with the fucking camera. I'M STILL GONNA KILL YOU!"

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