I have been burned

My name is Kata X. Or, I think it is. I don't remember much from before, and all I remember from after is pain and fire and being trained like a dog to be another person's bitch. I got out, or they let out, a few weeks ago, left in the world with no idea what to do, or who to turn to. Except for the nagging feeling telling me exactly where I had to go; The Petrelli school for gifted individuals

[kata-x]

Faces in the Shadow || Kata & Charlie || V8 W1 Wednesday Afternoon

[psychicnavigation]

Charlie laughed at Kata. “Oh darling, you’re making it far too easy. How about, instead, I let you go. But of course, it’ll only be temporary. Until you learn control over that ability of yours. Until I…maybe…make your life a living hell just for fun. And then? When you’re in control and possibly try to use that ability on me, then I’ll kill you.”

It make take a while, seeing as how Kata was so fragile and needed to be built up, but with the right about of torment, Charlie had no doubts that Kata could be at least a little bit of a challenge. “Run along now, before I change my mind.”

[kata-x]

Kata held her hands close to her and tugged on her messy hair. This couldn’t be happening. If the woman wanted to kill her, why didn’t he just kill her? The thought occurred to her that maybe she could use her power on Charlie quickly, take the idea of killing her out of her mind completely. But how could she be sure it would work? How could she know that the people around them wouldn’t try to stop her, or arrest her, or anything like that? 

“Why?” She asked quietly. “Why, what did I do to you?”

[kata-x]

Faces in the Shadow || Kata & Charlie || V8 W1 Wednesday Afternoon

[psychicnavigation]

Charlie raised an eyebrow, amused the spectacle in front of her. “Send you back? Darling–why would I do that?” He canted his head to the side, an amused smirk crossing Charlie’s lips. “If anything, I would kill you. I figured you would know by now that your mother and I don’t exactly get along.” she mused.

“I was never a big fan of her work. Especially after having tried it out myself. You people are just troublesome and like to talk back. It’s more headache than I’m willing to put much more effort in to. The one pet I do have is probably going to die by the end of the months. At the latest.” Charlie smile at dangerously her. It was almost predatory. “If we weren’t in such a crowded place, I’d kill you now.”

[kata-x]

Holding her hands cose to her chest, Kata kept her eyes fixed firmly on the older woman. He was intimidating without even trying too hard. Fear kept her frozen, especially at the thought of dying now. After all this time, after finally feeling as though she was safe, and it wouldn’t even be her parents breaking that. 

“Please... kill me if you want, just don’t send me back, please.” She begged, not even daring to blink up at Charlie. 

[trans-am-catie]

The Ladies of Marvel

↪ Dichen Lachman as Jiaying

[kata-x]

Faces in the Shadow || Kata & Charlie || V8 W1 Wednesday Afternoon

[psychicnavigation]

It was a completely coincidence running into Kata, seeing her in the street and looking so happy…before they made eye contact. A deadly sneer curled across Charlie’s face as he took a few steps in the woman’s direction. Her ‘mother’ hadn’t been a very good hunter to begin with, and then after she’d tried to convince Charlie that using these specials was more beneficial than killing them, everything went down hill.

Though he wouldn’t admit it, Charlie could see her reasoning behind that, which is why she’d taken Daniel on, and soon to kidnap Lydia. As a sort of experiment. But that didn’t mean they weren’t going to die. Charlie still had plans to kill them eventually, though if this didn’t work out the way he hoped it would, then they’d just die sooner rather than later.

Approaching Kata, Charlie’s sneer turned more into a malicious smile. “Kata, dear. I see you’ve escaped your mother clutches. But–what to do with you now that I know. Hmm…so many options.”

[kata-x]

Why was he here? Was it on purpose? Had she been following her? Kata continued to stare, wide-eyed, like a deer in the headlights. As the man approached her, Kata practically shrunk into herself, holding her arms close to her sides and shifting on her feet. 

Daring a glance up at Charlie, Kata had to stop herself from cringing at the naming of her Mother. “Please, I... don’t send me back, please.” She begged.

[kata-x]

Spontaneous Meeting || Kata & Jon || V8 Tuesday Afternoon

[johnny-walkington-deactivated20]

Jonathan wondered how college dances even work, figuring that they couldn’t be that different from your stereotypical movie High School dances. He made a small ‘psh’ noise at her statement, “Maybe a normal kind of dance, but we’re looking at a dance where some people can read minds and other can make fire out of nothing. The way I see it, everyone there will be just as nervous as you. /Especially/ me.” 

He’d never thought that he’d be the reassuring one in a relationship, thinking that he’d be the one freaking out about going to a dance. Maybe coming here was already changing him more than he thought it was, even in small ways. He felt stronger, more resilient in both body and mind, “What could possibly go wrong?” Jonathan said confidently.

[kata-x]

[fade to black]

[faerestsnow-deactivated20140129]

Female Character Meme [x] A non-warrior female character

Priya Tsetsang / Sierra [Dollhouse]

[kata-x]

Spontaneous Meeting || Kata & Jon || V8 Tuesday Afternoon

[johnny-walkington-deactivated20]

“It’s fine, really.” Jon wondered if he should be so visibly disappointed with a choice Kata makes. Maybe it was just the prospect of not being able to help Kata out and appear as if he knew what he was doing, or at least appear as if he were a more capable person. Jonathan tried to imagine himself in her position and thought that he’d probably want to know everything he could, of course this was with the prospect that he currently has where there was lots of good in his life. Kata didn’t have that security.

His cheeks flushed at her thanks, “Well, knowing what I do now, I guess right now what you need to know is that not everyone is so bad and not everyone wants something from you. But I’m guessing now would probably be a bad time to ask if I can borrow a million dollars.”

[kata-x]

Kat couldn’t help but laugh at Jonathan’s request, burying her head in her hands and shaking it left to right. “You have horrible timing. You can have a million dollars when I can buy my own meals.” She laughed again, smiling up at him. Even though he knew the worst things about her, Jonathan was still making her smile. After everything, did she even deserve something like him? 

She didn’t want to thank him too many times, surely he knew how grateful she was just for his presence. How else could she show her gratitude though? It wasn’t as if she could give him anything. “So, this dance? It feels like a very.. normal thing to do. Almost... too normal for me.” She said with an amused expression, taking a bite of her pizza, glad she could openly embrace the oddness that was her life.

[kata-x]

Spontaneous Meeting || Kata & Jon || V8 Tuesday Afternoon

[johnny-walkington-deactivated20]

Jonathan had been expecting a different response and deflated a bit when she reacted the way that she did, he guessed that he understood where she was coming from but he’d never been good with situations in which everything wasn’t in a positive nature of sorts with the people that he was with. Otherwise he gets nervous, stuttering through his response, “Oh…I’m sorry, I just wanted to help you out. But, whatever, it’s your choice.”

Jon closed the notebook and slipped it back into his bag. He’d continue research into the field of memory recovery, for himself if he ever found himself without his memories, at least that was the excuse he chose, “But you know that I’m here if you ever need my help, as corny as it sounds.”

[kata-x]

“Sorry.” She frowned, seeing what she read as disappointment. "I appreciate it, really, I do, just... I don’t know if I can... Maybe one day, when I need to know.” Kata gave him a small smile, hoping that she hadn’t made him feel too bad. It still felt odd to have someone do something for her just because they were nice, though at the school, maybe she should be used to it. 

Looking back up at him, Kat tucked some hair behind her ear and nodded her head. A part of her hated coming across as so fragile, but at least she had people - or person - to go to. “Thank you, Jonathan. For this, and... just everything. You didn’t have to be so nice to me and.... thank you.” A strange girl came up to him with dirt in her hair and no shoes, and Jonathan had been nothing but kind - even more than that. 

[kata-x]

Spontaneous Meeting || Kata & Jon || V8 Tuesday Afternoon

[johnny-walkington-deactivated20]

Jon shot her an amused grin, “Oh? Well, then those years spent training my dancing abilities in the ancient mountains will finally be worth it.” He had to think about if he was any good at dancing even in those rare moments during his childhood. He didn’t remember being very good, but he also didn’t remember being especially bad at it. There wasn’t any real way to know without someone telling him upfront.

He would have asked what sort of steps she was taking to make a new life for herself, but that didn’t seem appropriate considering he’d already asked so much of her. Pulling his notebook from his bag, he quickly titled a page inside Ways to Fix Memory Loss (For Dummies), “Believe it or not I think there’s probably a way to get your memories back and I’ll be happy to look into it for you, I’m already teeming with how someone did it and how we could probably reverse it.” Bringing up the idea also made him feel bad in a way, because there was always that possibility that he’d never be able to deliver and help get her memories back.

[kata-x]

Kata watching his carefully, not entirely sure why he was writing, until he showed her it. Obviously he’d thought about it a lot in the past, especially since coming to the school, but it wasn’t something she’d really followed up on. Some doors aren’t meant to stay closed. 

“Jon, I..” Kat tried, not sure how to explain. Of couse she was grateful that he would even care enough to look into it, but she was far too afraid of what they’d find. “I don’t think I want to know. This is my life and... I’m not sure knowing what it was before will help me. If it was serene, then I prefer not knowing what I’m missing, and if it was hell, I’d rather not live with two versions in my head at once.” She gave him a weary smile, hoping that he could understand - it barely made sense to her, after all.

[kata-x]

Spontaneous Meeting || Kata & Jon || V8 Tuesday Afternoon

[johnny-walkington-deactivated20]

He stopped trying and simply took a bite from his pizza, “A big part of going to these types of dances is usually the idea that something really interesting will happen, and maybe the thought that you could have a part in that interesting thing.” Jon thought about if he should tell Kata about his own secret, the fact that it was basically his fault that his older brother was in a coma, but he decided against it. She didn’t need to know that. Nobody else needed to know besides the people who were already aware, all telling her would do is make him seem irresponsible, maybe even dramatic. 

“As for dancing, some people just can’t and then there’s the people who almost kill themselves trying. Then there’s the people who probably could, that’s me. Probably because I’ve never had to dance for anything since I was…” He gave a small breath, “Maybe 14? 

[kata-x]

“Something interesting?” Kat tilted her head to the side, not entirely sure what sort of things could go on at a simple school dance. Really, she wanted nothing to do with dramatic things, and was trying to keep to a no-surprises type life. But she didn’t know what’s what Jon meant, maybe there would be something nice and interesting. 

“I think your dancing will be the interesting thing.” She smiled coyly, taking another bite of her pizza.

[commanderanya-blog]

bun  (▰˘◡˘▰)

[kata-x]

Spontaneous Meeting || Kata & Jon || V8 Tuesday Afternoon

[johnny-walkington-deactivated20]

“Neither do I, and I can say for sure that at least half of the other people that’ll actually go there can’t dance either. Only problem I have is that I’m usually not too great in a room with more than a few people in it, but I’m pretty sure that my Superman-esk endurance will help me pull through in the end. I’ve fallen out of skies rougher than a room full of dancing college students.” The thought of it almost had him offering Kata the chance to fly with him again, only to quickly remember that he couldn’t fly anymore, something he never really got around to telling Kata.

“I’ll have to rent a suit or something, I don’t think it’ll be acceptable going in with my usual outfit. Except my converse, I wear those with everything.” He brought the pizza closer to his lips, then his eyes narrowed at the sight of it, as if in concentration. The tips of his fingers became invisible, but so did the points of the pizza that made contact with them. It wasn’t exactly far to come considering how long he’s had to master the ability, but it was definitely a start. He’d be sneaking kids into Rated R movies in no time.  

[kata-x]

He wasn’t treating her differently. Kata had assumed telling people about her past would alter how she was treated but, at least in Jonathan’s case, it was no different. Smiling to herself, Kat looked at Jon happily. “We could hide in the corner. No one can judge us for dancing then.”

She watched him holding onto the pizza and though again. “Or you could make us invisible. Then we could dance as badly as we like.” She grinned, finding that she was actually far more comfortable around Jon now that she didn’t feel as though she was keeping a secret.

[kata-x]

Spontaneous Meeting || Kata & Jon || V8 Tuesday Afternoon

[johnny-walkington-deactivated20]

Damn. Hearing that sort of made Jon feel like a wuss for being so depressed over something that was actually his fault, while Kata had no way of preventing what happened to her. He himself couldn’t imagine losing all of his memories and having to start from scratch, though when he stopped to think about what that’d be like he had to note that a version of him without his memories would have no idea that what they were missing out on.

Letting the full front of what she said sink in he wiped his mouth on a napkin. What was he supposed to say? What /could/ he say? He wanted to be sensitive but he didn’t want to seem like he didn’t care, “No wonder you don’t like to talk about it, that’s probably something that you’d want to keep as far from mind as possible.” She was more lost than him, possibly more so than most of the people that went to school with them. At least Jonathan had Cole and his Mom as a support system, Kata had nobody from the start and he couldn’t even imagine what that would be like. She of all people didn’t deserve to be alone, “Hey! You know there’s a dance next Friday…” He spoke quickly, trying to grin as if they’d never got onto the topic of her past, “I was never really much for dances in my High School days, but I’d be willing to make an exception if you want to go with me…”

[kata-x]

Glancing up at Jonathan, Kata smiled softly and crossed her arms. He didn’t seem as though he would pity her, and at least he didn’t sat sorry. For whatever reason, the idea of someone saying sorry didn’t sit right with her.

Kat wanted to say something to assure that she was okay, that she wasn’t too broken - even if it wouldn’t have been true. But instead, she stayed quiet and listened as Jon spoke again. “A dance?” The social implications of a dance were lost on her, but it still sounded very nice. An certainly a much nicer thought than what she’d been thinking about before. “I’d love to, though I’m not sure I know how to dance.”

[kata-x]

Spontaneous Meeting || Kata & Jon || V8 Tuesday Afternoon

[johnny-walkington-deactivated20]

She seemed genuinely hesitant, and it was only the fact that he was talking to Kata that helped him believe what she was saying, one of the only people he’s ever met that was new to sarcasm. It was also thanks to the fact that it would actually explain quite a lot. Her mannerisms, her lack of understanding for pop culture, even why she wasn’t wearing shoes when they met. So he chose to believe her unless she outright said she was just joking.

He nodded slowly, “Uh-huh…? 15 sounds a little young, where were you until you were as old as you are now?” 

[kata-x]

Kata saw it in his eyes that continuing would be okay, that maybe she could explain what she went through ... But did he need detail? She didn’t really want to tell him everything, for no other reason than she didn’t want to have to remember it all. 

“When I woke up-” She started, trying to stop herself from going back to that cold storage unit fully. “There were two people there. They took me in, taught me english, gave me shelter, taught me to use my power.” Kata tried to explain, without making those evil people sound too sympathetic. “They... started off very nice, but... aren’t anymore.” Mind wandering, Kata trailed off, thinking of the progression into hell that home went through. Snapping out of it, Kata gave Jon a weak sort of smile and shrugged before finishing off her story. “So, the first chance I saw, I got out. Left in quite a hurry. I had no money, or clothes, or shoes, but I was safer.” When she was done talking, Kat’s eyes fixed on her hands, only daring to glance up at Jon occasionally, just to see how he was reacting.

[kata-x]

Spontaneous Meeting || Kata & Jon || V8 Tuesday Afternoon

[johnny-walkington-deactivated20]

Jonathan felt closer than he’d ever had before, but he felt like if he rushed it too much, then she might pull away from him. So he played it cool, “I like boring, looking right at the king of boring right here. But, no really, I actually kind of want to hear it. Complicated is usually just modest talk for interesting.” He gave her a goofy grin and bit into his pizza.

He wasn’t too sure why he wanted to know about it so much, maybe it was just his human curiosity getting the better of him after months of not hearing too much about her past at all.

[kata-x]

Kata interlocked her fingers on the table and shifted in her seat. For months now, her past had been a secret, something she’d only hint at for fear of being  pitied, or worse, turned back to her family. But looking back up at Jonathan, she knew he meant her no harm, and though he’d probably pity her, she had a feeling, for whatever reason, that he’d understand. 

“I... don’t remember much.” She started, figuring that was good to get out the way quickly. “I was 15, I think... I woke up somewhere cold, I didn’t know my name, who I was, what language I was speaking... Anything really.” Kat looked back at Jonthan, nervously biting her lip, waiting to see if she should continue or not.

[sonokinetic]

Grinded Gears || Kata and Kat || Steampunk AU

@kata-x

Katherine hunched over the cuff, looking at the gears that could be malfunctioning. For what felt like, or may actually have been, she watched the gears move in unison to propel the dart- until it didn’t. Picking up the cuff and glasses with magnification lenses, Katherine stalked up the stairs, looking for Kata. “Kata? Will you look at this blasted thing? I’m not sure what’s going on, except I’m not going out without it repaired.”

[kata-x]

Whilst Katherine busied herself trying to fix her machine, Kata stood watching the world go by, idly polishing some silver-wear in order to sell on. Everyone looked so busy, like no one had the time to ever relax - sad in a way. 

Coming out of her day-dream, Kat turned to Katherine and nodded her head. “What’s it doing now? Or not doing, more accurately?”

[kata-x]

Spontaneous Meeting || Kata & Jon || V8 Tuesday Afternoon

[johnny-walkington-deactivated20]

This was really the first time Jon had any insight into Kata’s family, usually it was something that got brushed aside whenever he brought it up, “Real family? Were you adopted?” Jonathan had never met anyone who was adopted before, but he knew it wasn’t exactly the most complicated of concepts. It was love that made family, not blood. Maybe Kata’s family wasn’t the loving type.

Maybe it wasn’t any of his business, but he sort of wanted it to be. Kata seemed so lost when he found her, but during the last few months he felt like they had more in common than just being the new kids. On some level, neither of them knew what they needed, or where they wanted to go. 

[kata-x]

"No... Not exactly." She looked down at the table. Would it be better to tell him the whole story? How would take it afterwards? Perhaps it would be good to get it off her chest. Or maybe it would end with her alienating the only real friend she had.

"It's complicated." Kata decided to try and stick with that, glancing back up at Jon with an apologetic expression. "Very complicated. I... Wouldn't want to bore you..."