The girls made a good point. Taylor looked around at the crowds around her. Some had camera phones and were probably waiting to put the fight on Instagram or other social media outlets. The city was in enough shit already with the Fiend attacks, and now they were drawing more attention to an already-frenzied crowd. She sighed and, closing her eyes, dropped her defenses. The floating icicles hit the ground and shattered, and the ice shards retreated. There was a collective "awwwwww" from the crowd as she walked away, like they were disappointed that they hadn't been able to watch a homicide. As she turned away, she looked over her shoulder at Aiden.
"Don't give me another reason to get angry at you," she snarled. Then she walked over to get her things from the bench, her beach session ruined. She pulled the cover-up on, put her hat back on, and slid her flip flops back onto her feet. The ice, she left behind. It would melt eventually, and perhaps it was slippery enough to stop the freak from following her. She could feel a couple of other eyes on her, and she felt her skin crawl. She picked up her bag and walked away towards Jen and Meifeng. Before she walked past Imani, she stopped and looked at her.
"Thanks," she said.
"I can't believe we're letting that asshole go," she said, arriving at where Jen, Ratchet, and Meifeng were standing. "But I guess it's better this way. I wouldn't want to get arrested." Then she looked up as if she remembered something.
"By the way," she said "I know this is a little impromptu, but I'm having a party tonight at my place in Knightdale Rows. You should come."
Aiden gave a semi-feral grin at the people he was about to fight, very much unafraid by Taylor's attempt at intimidation. However, before he could say anything, he heard something behind him. He turned just in time to see a bike hurtling towards him. While the impact didn't hurt that much, Aiden did suddenly become a lot more afraid of the sharp piece of ice pointed at his neck as he lost his balance. However, the ice shard had dispersed by then, leaving Aiden to fall on his ass with a bike on top of him. A little embarrassing, but much preferable to getting his throat skewered.
As he saw the two girls leave, he simply shrugged, his dragon side feeling satisfied that they had apparently surrendered. Now that his head was a bit cleared up, he felt like he'd dodged a bullet with this one, as the fact that so many people were around meant this could've turned really ugly, really fast. With that in mind, Aiden gets off the floor and leaves the scene quickly before NEST showed up.
*This character is going to be benched until further notice so don't interact with him*
Aleksander Volkov
"How are they, by the way? Your daughters, I mean? Could they possibly be in need of some new jewelry or other such items, cause I'd be more than happy to offer my services. Maybe you could use something to brighten up your wardrobe as well, while we're at it, something to make people more easily see the greatness that is Lihua Vuhong. I'm thinking Gold necklace with a custom designed pendant with rubies, maybe Amethyst, maybe even my specialty scarlet diamonds." Alek asked, only half-serious about the whole thing. Lihua didn't seem like the type to buy into his sales pitch, but you never know unless you try.
As they stepped into the restruant, Alek could help but take a big inhale of the delicious smells the permeated the air. It sure made his appetite flare up, that's for sure. When they were directed to their tables and asked what they wanted, Alek took a moment to think on it, then decided to leave his meal up to chance. "Surprise me, I don't know how any of this food tastes, so better to leave the decision to the one making it." After the waitress took their orders and left, Alek turned to address Lihua. "So, aside from the city going to hell, anything new happening with you?"
Ratchet followed Meifeng and Jen on foot; she made a mental note to return to where she parked her aunt's moped. She glanced back at the beach and scratched her head. "Man," she remarked, "are all west-coast Meta-humans this confrontational? Or is it just the heat and the thing that happened yesterday?"
Ratchet rolled her eyes as Taylor walked up, upon mention of Aiden's little stunt. "If the cops want to snap him up, let 'em," she declared. "I just hope I don't have to see his Garchomp-ass again."
Kate texted Ratchet. Who won?
Ratchet typed back. No fight.
Awwww. Lame :(
Ratchet then turned her attention back to Taylor. "So... a party?"
To be honest, Ratchet thought it somewhat odd to ask about a party right after a near scrape with THA FUZZ, but she decided to humor Taylor anyway. "Where do you live?" she asked, pulling up the Notes app on her iPhone. "I'll have to ask my dad if we're doing anything tonight. My brother brought his laptop with him, so I know that he'll be occupied with League..."
Ratchet wondered if Kate also wanted to watch Inside Out with her tonight, or if not tonight, definitely tomorrow. (Most certainly not the day after due to the bore-fest—I mean, wedding, that day. Though she gets to meet her other cousins that day, as well, so that's a plus.)
“Lets try and not lose our asses over this but otherwise good, I don’t intend on asking for your help and ignoring your advice. Now I think there is a hefty curry with my name on it.” Martin threw Lynn his phone. He needed plenty catching up and this would take some time.
"Well..." Jennifer trailed off as she tried to find a proper answer to Ratchet's question (When there really wasn't one - Jen hasn't spent enough time around them to really tell). She scratched the back of her neck, and calmly looked away. Before she turned back to Ratchet, shrugged, and just said, "... I guess this is the city's usual brand of craziness." Calling back to what she said during the Fiend's assault on the fair.
"... That ugly motherfucker lucky." Meifeng hissed. "I'd bust his ugly ass yap if we fought for real." She rolled her eyes. Well, she guessed what's done is done. She'll head over to the Eastover Woods later and break up a tree or something. Ugh. Though, Taylor quickly distracted her from the thought of Aiden (And how his ass will go unkicked). "... Party you saaaay?" Meifeng grinned widely enough to bare her white teeth. "I'm down for a party, giiiiirl!" Meifeng said, loudly and very excitedly. "This is exactly what we need. After that bullshit at Downtown, I could go for a real party." Meifeng said, gleefully. "Just tell me the time and place, and I'll be there..." Meifeng quickly peered over to Jen. "... Jen will be there, too."
"Wait, what?!" Jennifer asked no one in particular... but she knew exactly that she wasn't interested in a party. They were messy, and pull of booze and boys. She'd probably find herself in an alleyway, unconscious, and with a bruised bum. "Oh, no, no, no, I-"
Jen was aptly cut off by Meifeng wrapping her arm around Jennifer's neck, pulling her closer. While Jennifer struggled, Meifeng just laughed. "C'mon girl, you need to get out more, and this is perfect! You're invited to a party by a rich girl." Meifeng released Jen - before she half-smiled, as she yet again closed her eyes and shrugged. "Who in their right mind would resist an offer like that?"
"Well, I..." Jennifer rubbed the side of her head.
"C'mon, it'll be awesome!" Meifeng said. "I promise you won't have a bad time."
"I... Alright," Jennifer started off, nodding her head. "I'll go." She said with the most confidence she could muster.
"Knew you'd reconsider." Meifeng put her hands on her hips, and winked at Jennifer. She quickly got out of that pose as she walked over to her best friend and grabbed by the wrist. "Now let's get out of here, we need to head back to the Priscilla so we can pick outfits."
Jennifer allowed herself to be carried off. It was about time that they left the Isabella Isle. It was fun - nearly spoiled by a psychopath, but undoubtedly fun. She wanted some time to rest before this party popped off. "I'll see you at the party, Ratchet." She said goodbye to Ratchet first. "Bye, guys."
"Later ladies!" Meifeng shouted as the two girls disappeared.
Lihua gave Alek a look. One eyebrow raised. "I would appreciate that, Agent Vol- Alek." She quickly said, trying to contain her laughter. "It's quite flattering that you'd consider getting that for me." She was fine with everything else Volkov was saying - about Lijuan and Meifeng, and getting them jewelry - but it was clear that he was trying to flatter her - even flirt with her. What? Was he trying to get with the great and powerful Lihua Vuhong? She chuckled a bit underneath her breath. Maybe. Lihua didn't dash the idea away... at the same time, she decided that two daughters is enough. "Oh? They're doing fine. Lijuan is twelve months old now - but I've left her in the hands of babysitters while I'm on duty... I would leave her to Meifeng, but she's always out and about. Causing trouble for me to solve later." Lihua started laughing for a few moments. "I tell you, she's constantly saying that she wants to be a NEST Agent some day, when she really wants to find herself." She shrugged before continuing. "I'm certain that Meifeng will appreciate the jems... Lijuan is simply too young... but maybe for once she gets older." Lihua smirked.
Alek was clearly at a loss as to what to order once they sat down. Lihua had to contain her laughter. "... Just get him the house special fried rice." She leaned in, and said to the Waitress. She nodded her head, wrote down their orders on a notepad, only to turn around and walk away. "Me? There's nothing really worth talking about. I'm just a simple woman that takes her job very seriously." Or else I'd be living on the streets.
And I refuse to let that happen.
8:23 PM
The day passed by quickly, and eventually, it was simply nighttime. Verthaven really came to life at this hour. At day, Verthaven was a vacation hotspot for people of all ages, genders, and ethnicity. At night... that's when it truly becomes a bloody paradise. Criminal, and their lawful counterparts, are roaming the street. Waiting for the right moments to do battle.
Time to see what it means to really live in Verthaven.
After the Fiends had wrecked downtown and the National Guard had decided to put the downtown area in lockdown, Taylor and Carole decided that they would rent a place in Knightdale Rows, the safest area of the city. They found a luxury double beach house on the boardwalk and decided that they would stay there until the downtown area was reopened. It was a nice house, three stories and poshly decorated on the inside, with white leather furniture and a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling above the parlor. On the roof was a jacuzzi and a fairly large swimming pool, as well as many tropical plants to set the mood It was much more spacious than the penthouse they had been absolutely languishing in before, so they rented it out of pocket and moved right in. To break the new place in, the two of them decided to have a party.
So right after Taylor left the boardwalk and pulled Carole off of her new boytoy, the two of them went to work to get the house ready. Decorations were put up, music was chosen, and one of Carole's servants went to a nearby liquor store and bought plenty of liquor. Wine, vodka, whiskey, all of it was brought in for the night's celebrations. It happened that a good deal of people came to the party, some friends from Academy Twelve and Academy 218, and others the rich and overprivileged of the west coast who decided to fly their private jets to come and drink someone else's booze. Carole sat on the couch in the sitting room, resting on Brayden's shoulder while he draped his arm around her like they had been dating for a long time. Taylor stood at the door in a white cocktail dress with an over-the-top boa wrapped around her neck. A champagne flute rested in her left hand. She greeted each guest with a hug and french kisses and spoke to them for a few moments before moving on. The house filled up quickly with meta who Taylor had befriended at school: Neal, a psychic creator who built sculptures: Claire, a punk girl with electrokinesis: Ryan, a rich member of the Corvo family who was a telepath: Jasmine Chang, who Taylor explicitly did not remember inviting: Johnny Valos, son of a millionaire nightclub owner and Taylor's ex-boyfriend, along with his younger brother Jake, who was Carole's ex-boyfriend: Gabe, Jake's twin sister, who was off to the side, hitting up some girls: Sylvia, Johnny's half sister (not related to Jake or Gabe by blood), who was sitting on the couch, playing on a guitar: Abe, a professional meta boxer with earth manipulation: Eli, a priest-in-training with healing abilities: and Drake FUCKING Blackmore, who was dancing with a lampshade over his head, with bottles of vodka in each hand.
As the sun began to go down, Taylor began to wonder if her new friends from in town were ever going to arrive. She finally walked back into the living room to socialize, leaving the door closed. A servant waited to open it up for any newcomers. She sat down on a chaise and sipped at a fruity alcoholic beverage which she did not know the contents of as the others shared their experiences since school ended. It was nice to get back in touch with her old friends.
"Hey, don't tell me you're not excited, girl?"
Meifeng's voice was enough to "wake up" Jen. She raised her head, and turned it over and saw Meifeng looking at her with that usual wide smile that wouldn't be out of place on a child. She shrugged, trying to come up with a good answer. "I'm pretty excited... just that I'm very nervous about this." She had to be honest with Meifeng (and herself) when she said that. She's been invited to a party by some rich people she didn't know. This was part exciting, and part terrifying. Because Jennifer didn't know what to expect next. "I... get the feeling that these kids are just going to be a bunch of rich assholes that'd tear into us for not being rich enough - Or! They invited us so they can prank us." Jennifer quickly voiced her concerns.
Almost instantly, Meifeng stopped, and burst into laughter, kneeling over as she wrapped her hands around her gut. Making Jen look at her with wide eyes. She stood straight up, and faced Jen. "C'mon, Jen, you watch waaaay too many movies for your own good, no one does that anymore!" Meifeng said after the laughter subsided. "Don't you know you live in a world of superhumans? If they even think about hurting you, I'll go Carrie all over those rich fucks." She stepped over to Jen and put her hand on her shoulder. "For you, of course."
Having Meifeng say that really... improved her mood about the party, and all of this. She brushed her bangs out of the way, and looked at Meifeng with her blue eyes. It was really reassuring, honestly. She felt glad she has a friend like Meifeng. "Thank you... I, uh, needed that." She nodded her head. They began walking again.
"... But, really, though, can we stop to talk about this outfit of yours?" Meifeng stopped again, and pointed at Jennifer's attire. "We're going to some high class party, and you decide go hipster?" She reached over, and flicked Jennifer's shirt. Her eyes quickly drifted down to the jean shorts she wore, and the (quite frankly, good) black boots she was wearing. On top of that, Jen just had to wear a black artist beret.
"Oh, come on, this is my style." Jennifer grabbed the ends of her shirt and pulled it down.
"But look at me, who do you think they're gonna make fun of, Jenny?" Meifeng did a pose, showing off the black dress she was wearing. Usually she dresses much more masculine, but, in this case, she's more than willing to make an exception. This was a dress Lihua bought her for special occasions. Well, rising the social ladder is special enough. And Meifeng wore black boots to go with it. "Me, or you?"
"They're going to make fun of you for being a tryhard." Jenny laughed.
"Yeah, yeah, look who's talking." Meifeng pointed at Jennifer, with narrow eyes.
Banter out of the way, they quickly made their way to the party's address. They quickly found a luxury beach house... Nice, nice. Looked like a real place where you'd throw a party if you're rich and famous. Meifeng noticed that there as a pool on top. Nice! This is gonna be real good.
The excitement overtook Meifeng as she quickly grabbed Jen by the wrist and pulled her towards the beach house. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"
"Hey!" Jenny shouted.
As Meifeng and Jen walked into the living room, Taylor rose to greet them. She was on her second delicious-yet-mysterious fruity alcoholic beverage, and it was beginning to show just a tad as she walked to greet them.
"Ah, mon amis," she said. "How are you? Welcome to the party!"
"Heeeeeeeeeeeey!" Meifeng loudly shouted, raising her arms into the air, while she quickly ran over to Taylor. "This party off the chain! She flopped down on the seat next to Taylor, and grinned widely. "Just tell me where the drinks are, I told Jen that we're not leaving this party sober."
Calmly stepping over to Taylor and Meifeng, Jennifer sat down next to Meifeng. Crossing her legs, so no one gets the impression that she's unlady-like. "Hey." Jenny quietly said, looking around. She was amazed that she was invited to this party in the first place. No one around here really paid her any mind, honestly. And now, she's partying among the best. Maybe her newfound popularity has to do with the fact that her power awakened.... and that reminded her. While she's partying, Penny is still out there, cold and alone. No, no... like Meifeng said, think positive. "I... don't really intend on drinking a lot, but give me something." She said, just to appease Meifeng. .
"You heard the girl, she wanna get wasted!" Meifeng shouted. Taylor laughed.
"Oh, don't worry," Taylor said. "You don't leave one of my parties remembering how you got there! Make yourself at home, and I'll get you something good." Taylor walked away into the kitchen to get the bartender (because of course every party had to have a bar). She returned a few moments later with two glasses of a pink-colored liquid. She handed both Meifeng and Jen a glass and then sat back down with one of her own.
"So is Ratchet coming?" Taylor asked.
"I... think so." Jennifer asked - her attention was still on the cup that was presented before her. She... didn't know what it'd do to her. She looked it up on a few Metahuman forums, and most people noted that alcohol wouldn't do anything to a higher-tier regenerator. Which, by all means, Jennifer fit to a T. So, maybe she'll give this a shot (Get it?). Jennifer quickly grabbed the drink, and immediately downed it, feeling the drink travel down her throat... She liked the taste of it. Yet, it didn't give her any buzz. She looked around, though, and saw both girls staring in astonishment.
Okay, maybe I overdid it.
"Daaamn, girl. For all that shy quirkiness, you sure love your liquor." Meifeng laughed - because it takes a special someone to down a drink the second you get it. Hell, Meifeng hasn't even touched hers. Though, that was because of a nervousness about getting caught by her mother. Maybe she'll just distract herself by putting all the attention on Jen. "Yo, give the alchy another one!" She quickly shoved her drink into Jen's hands.
Aw, crap, another one? Jennifer groaned, and her eyes widened. Okay, okay, you can do this, Jennifer. She thought to herself, as she quickly put the cup to her lips, and let it pour into her mouth.
"Mon dieu!" Taylor said. "That was fast! I didn't know you were such a serious drinker!" Taylor drank from her own cup and laid her head back. Then she realized something.
"We need some music," she said. Johnny stood up from his chair, his fluffy white pimp coat trailing behind him as he walked to the music player.
"I've got a song for you, babe!" Johhny said, taking an iPhone from one of his pockets. He asjusted his star-shaped sunglasses and set up a bluetooth sync with the music player, a fancy-looking wood-paneled Bose on a shelf next to the gigantic flatscreen. He hit a button and the music began to play.
Taylor wasn't a huge hip-hop fan, but she couldn't help but bob her head to the song. A few moments later, Carole stumbled back into the room, a bottle of Fireball in her hand and one of the straps of her red dress pulled down.
"Jesus," Taylor said. "What the hell happened to you?"
"None a yur buziness," Carole mumbled. She looked around for a few moments, and then turned back around to leave the room, undoubtedly to go play with her boytoy more.
"That was my friend Carole," Taylor said. "Ever since she got offered to be a Playboy model, she's been acting this way. You'd think being a millionaire would already be enough for her, but no, she has to show her tits to millions of alcoholics and prepubescant boys."
"Oh, have fun!" Meifeng waved goodbye to Carole, as she walked off, to go continue doing... whatever it is she's doing (Meifeng don't judge). Taylor went on to describe the girl as Carole, being a playboy girl. Hey, if she wanted to do that, then that's fine. "She seems like a nice girl, you know." Meifeng shrugged, with a everpresent grin on her face. "But, hey, she's actually doing a service. You know how many sexually repressed men, angry lesbians, and prepubescent boys she's helping daily?" She shrugged, laughing a bit. "I just hope she can live with the fact that most of her photos will end up really sticky. Ha! "
"Personally, I find it ridiculously sluttish," Taylor said, finishing her drink "I mean, it's not like she needs the money. She just wants to do it for...fame, or something. She wants to be the next Kim Kardashian and be all over magazines. Not sure exactly why..." Some of the other partygoers were beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol. Claire, who had brought her own beer, ran upstairs with some boy with spiky blonde hair with a beer bong like a frat boy, and Neal was telling a few girls about his art show.
"Tian naaa..." Meifeng muttered to herself in Chinese. Well, in her eyes, if you have it, flaunt it. If you don't, then, well, it'll make them want to see them even more! This might be because Meifeng kinda found Carole (And Taylor) pretty hot, but she doubt they swung that way (Then that'd be great). "Sometimes you gotta go with the flow. Let her figure this stuff out for herself."
This topic made Jennifer looked around a bit. It made her a little uncomfortable. Talking about how she's showing her skin for the world to see. "Well..." Jen made one attempt to butt into the conversation. Before shaking her head, and wondering what she should say. I'm terrible at giving advice - or talking in general. She thought to herself, briefly.
"... What Jen is trying to say is, she wants some more drinks!" Meifeng loudly shouted, trying to get Jen drunk as possible.
"Then let's load her up!" Taylor shouted, raising her glass in the air. The room cheered. Taylor got up and came back with a bottle of vodka. As she handed it to Jen, the room echoed with shouts of "CHUG IT! CHUG IT!" Taylor was fairly certain that this was a terrible idea, but the drink in her system told her otherwise. She noticed Jasmine and her old roommate (whose name she couldn't remember) leaning against one of the walls with their arms crossed, simply observing the rest of the party. God, that girl is weird, Taylor thought.
Oh hell no. Jennifer thought to herself, as she started chewing on her fingernails. She was practically shaking. She didn't feel a thing from the alcohol. She was wondering if she should just quit while she's ahead and give up. Yet, the crowds cheering her on made her. Damn it, Meifeng. She cursed her friend. "I-I-I-I..." Her teeth were chattering, as she looked around. Frantically biting her nails. Until she just came out and said it, "I don't know!" Taylor slid down and put her arm around her. She felt like this was going to end very badly, but she couldn't help herself.
"Just try it, ma cherie," Taylor said. "Come on, it'll be fun! Maybe when you're done I can introduce you to a few of my friends." She winked at her. Taylor noticed a very large Russian man with an eyepatch enter the room with a glass of whiskey and a pretty girl at his side. Good ol' Valery.
Okay... maybe.... Taylor was mighty persuasive. Having her hold her... she didn't know. She quickly let out an exhale, and then grabbed the bottle of vodka. "Alright, I'll do it!" Jennifer shouted at the very top of her lungs - putting a bit TOO much energy into it. Everyone shouted, and cheered her on as she turned the top off, and put the bottle between her lips. "... Oh God, this is gonna end badly...." The thoughts rushed through her head as the alcoholic rush of liqour flowed into her mouth. She kept the bottle to her lips as it flowed in, and quickly reached the bottom. And good God it tasted awful. It burned her lips, and virtually every part of her throat. And every part of Jen was saying "put that toxic shit down, girl" but she had to be cool. She also started this. Eventually, the bottle of vodka reached the bottom (which felt like years), and she slammed it into the table.
And the crowd went wild.
"Ooooooooooooooh, shit! You are one freaky nerd-girl!" Meifeng congradulated Jennifer as she slapped her hand onto her best Friend's back.
Veronica and her child had packed up what little there was in the hideout. A few small bags of food, some crates of sealed jars of sludge, and some blankets all wrapped and stuffed into various sacks, which Red had slung over his shoulder. Veronica walked behind him, wrapped in her old wool robe, head lowered. Her dirtied feet pressed on every little puddle of filth on the sewer floor, and the flowing of the putrid waters eased her some. After the intrusion of those five Fiends, she decided her last hideout wasn’t safe. She feared they’d come back for her.
So they moved.
The sewers of Verthaven were such a maze. It was as if the architects were geokinetics with eyes for design. Dim, but with lights strung above to guide the way for service workers. Something somber, and peaceful about it. But it still drew all the nasty types.
The two walked through an open chamber. Support columns running up and down, runoff tunnels dotting interior, drains on the floors… a place so wrought with filth, yet it seemed so eerily pleasant to reside within. It wouldn’t make for much of a suitable haven but, passing through was nice. Veronica and Red continued weaving through the chamber… but they stopped as a sound emanated from the distance. Like a…
Laughing hyena?
Red grit his teeth, but Veronica backed away towards a column away from the central isle. Red followed her, and they ducked inside one of the runoff tunnels. Veronica peeked her head out to see a group of Fiends entering the chamber. One of them was holding a chain leash attached to a… she wasn’t sure what to call the thing other than a meta-human. Some kind of… man-dog? It was humanoid, but its legs were long and slender, like a dog’s. It had a wild head of dark brown hair, unwashed and pulled back over its canine face, with a flat nose, a jaw hanging down and lips peeled back. It had a pair of red goggles strung over its eyes, and it was wearing makeshift pads of armor wrapped in tattered cloth rags. And its arms… the right was gangly and fitted with sharp nails, and the left was just a stump above the non-existent elbow. A metal collar was fitted around its neck, and the skin underneath was red and flaky.
The man-dog looked as if it was attempting to pull away from its leash. But the brutish Fiend holding the chain, with a submachine gun in his other hand, seemed intent on keeping him close. “Dog!” He yelled out, tugging the chain. The beast yelped before turning and barking at the Fiend angrily. Another tug, with the Fiend yelling more angrily, “DOG.” The Fiends behind him were keeping a bit of distance, though some looked to be goading their leader into further berating the man-dog. He tugged the chain, pulling the beast closer and smacking his snout with his own helmeted head. The beast reared back, whining a bit. The rest of the Fiends whooped and cheered a bit. The leader turned towards his subordinates, calling out, “SHUT IT.” They all piped down as he continued, “Spread out. Mark points. Kill anythi-”
The man-dog lunged at the Fiend, kicking him down, knocking the gun out of his hands. In a matter of seconds, it picked up the SMG, raised it up, aimed at the leader still on the floor, and fired a volley of bullets upon him. The other Fiends reared back and watched as the beast began cackling before raising the gun at them. It didn’t fire, but it was certainly threatening to. It turned the gun on the chain and fired a few bullets, severing the link. It looked at the Fiends once more and barked, turning and waving the gun towards his direction, beckoning them to follow him.
Taking the role of the alpha male, as it were.
It took a few moments to register but, the Fiends started to follow him. Some of them even began to imitate its barks, not even minding the outright murder of their leader. One of them called out in an almost celebratory manner, “Broken Hyena!” Some of the rest said the same, waving their weapons about happily. These Fiends, they were all man-dogs.
The group exited the chamber through one of the runoff tunnels. Veronica sat and waited, keeping her cool, while Red knelt down and remained as still as he could.
The Broken Hyena. One more hunter in the sewers. And he had a posse.
Several hours and several cartons of Chinese takeaway later Martin was feeling much better acquainted with the lay of the land. “Right, so these five follow Khan who’s the lynch pin of the fiends. Hmmm. If this Khan has been dodging NEST all this time then she’s probably above our pay grade. Her ell tees seem like the filth to shoot for. We can get to the other gangs as opportunities present themselves.” Martin looked particularly authoritative lounging on the couch like a particularly gangly dog, empty carton sitting on his chest.
Martin considered what lynn had said before. Seemed it was her intention to get stuck in with the main business at hand. Its not what he had planned but he couldn’t deny he needed all the firepower he could get. Problem was if the girl didn’t hold up under fire she’d get herself hurt or worse.
She didn’t seem soft but he doubted she’d faced enemy guns the way a battlefield forces on a soldier. Was it right to show her? Perhaps he was just being a hypocrite. He’d lived it himself barely older than her. There was certainly more money in skills like these than whatever she was doing if you could stomach the life.
If she was serious he’d have to put her though the wringer. Training is the difference between life and death in the field. Well that and he didn’t want one of those pistols he’d given her shooting him in the ass if he could help it.
She’d said something about an associate too. He wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or concerned. Always back too needing help but what was he trying to do? Put together a team? Build a gang? He hadn’t planned for any of this, figuring he’d go it alone and damn the consequences.
He got up to put his rifle back in its compartment. A few moments passed before he spoke again. “So how about you fill me in on the burning constitution you have goin on?” Martin looked at her wondering if he'd crossed some unspoken line.
"I don't give a shit if you need more time, you said you'd be ready to go by now." Jin scratched at his bare chest as he growled into his phone's mouthpiece. His flip-flops stung his heels as they slapped him again and again, during his walk off the beach and onto the boardwalk. His skin stung beneath the gaze of the sun, making his frustration just that much easier to bubble up and over as he held the phone to his ear. The voice on the other end was stoic, attempting to placate him with its deep rumbling of, "Yeah yeah, I know. I know, but getting in contact with the right people isn't exactly easy as you'd think." He had to lift his sunglasses and rub at the bridge of his nose after that one, scrunching his nose up as he furrowed his brow. You ask someone to do one little thing, just get in touch with one small-time crime operation, but no. If you want something done you have to do it yourself, and THAT was something that Jin was never a fan of.
"Yeah. Alright. Hang on, dude." Jin interjected, crouching down to remove his shirt from his backpack and don it. A simple white shirt, mostly likely designer. At this point he didn't take notice, as he brought the phone back to his ear. "Alright, since you're being such a little bitch about it, tell whoever it is, whenever you grab them, that I'll meet them in person. We'll discuss division of labor with the rest of the crew at the next meet-up." The other end of the call sighed at him, in disappointment or resignation, he couldn't tell. It made Jin grind his teeth. That is until he witnessed the commotion on the boardwalk. Over before it had even started, bike on the floor and the air growing a bit colder around him, Jin could only lower his shades and look on as the perpetrators dispersed. His eyes strained in the sun as he felt his head beginning to pain him once more.
It almost distracted him from the voice still on the other side of the line. "Alright. I'll get in touch with someone. Get us a job. Something." The voice said, sounding equal parts tired and ashamed. Jin grinned as he scratched at his bald dome of a head beneath his hat. "Good. This could be the beginning of something great, man. You never know." The corners of Jin's mouth crawled up into a sly smirk as he went to pick up his backpack once more. "You handle that for now. As for me, I've got a little engagement with an open bar and a live band. Maybe some smokin' mamasitas with margheritas, if y'know what I'm sayin'. Peace." The voice rumbled to confirm, still sounding none too amused by his compatriots antics, but all the same he complied. "Yeah. You have fun, J. Peace."
Jin was already hanging up, too engrossed in getting a move on before NEST arrived on the sandy shores of the Isabella Isle to ruin everyone's vibe. With a swipe on his phone, he brought up the bar's location and set out, flip-flops still slapping upon his heels as he strolled.
Jin picked himself up from the gutter with a groan, trying to scrape his phone from the asphalt of the road. Laughter was bubbling up from his stomach in small bursts, echoing down the slowly emptying street. Pedestrians have him unsure gazes as he stepped forward with unsure steps, one foot in-front of the other and each slightly further to one side. Each step grew wider and wilder, before he had to stop and set himself of the correct path once more, giggling the entire time. He briefly wondered if drinking all of those free fruity drinks was the best decision, but the thought passed as he adjusted his hat to find his head wasn't sore, but swimming. Where were his shades? His hand rubbed the side of his face where the bruise was rising on his cheek. He struggled to remember how he got it, was it against some furniture or did he start mouthing off again?
It didn't matter, his head was about to start hurting in a whole new way. Under the streetlight, just a few yards ahead of him, was stood his company for the remainder of the night. Naomi, in all her full-cheeked, scowling glory. The grinding of her teeth was almost audibly as she picked out Jin from the shadows and made a quick advance. Her jacket looked nice, grey denim and black leather sleeves. Or was that pleather? Fuck, it looked nice. Gotta get one of those. Like, maybe order one online or something, who knows.
"J, where the fuck have you been? You got any idea what time it is?" She snapped at him. It took a moment for her speech to register for him. He was too distracted by the jacket.
"Wuh? Nohms! Oh, Iwasatafunction. Y'know, live music 'n' shit. Shit wus tight." He wiped at his jaw and flipped out his phone. The light of the screen burned at his vision slightly, and the numbers waved before him. Someone had messaged him.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? I've been out here for ages, freezing my ass off!" She paused a moment to sniff around him, grabbing onto his shirt to inspect closer. She quickly pushed him away with a look of disgust. "Have you seriously been drinking? Its Sunday!" She poked at his shoulder with her talon-like finger and went on to berate him further. "You left me standing here for like an hour because you wanted to get one last shot in? ¡Qué putada! I can't believe you! I said 7! That means on the dot!" Naomi drove the statement home by pounding her fist into her open palm. Boy was she steaming tonight.
Jin, however, was still looking at his phone. He had been listening, partially, and he showed that with his interjection of, "Bro, itslikenotevencold." The words tumbled out of his mouth in a heap as he leaned against the front window of the clinic. Giggling as he slid down the glass and sat on the sidewalk, attempting to read the message he had just received. Shit, its too blurry. Too wavy. Jin flipped the case of his phone closed defeatedly. The message might have been super funny too. With a lazy turn of his head, he stared half-lidded at the cross-armed, fuming female standing beside him. She raised one of her hands into an angry flourish as she spoke again. "You know what. Uggghh. I'm lucky shit is quiet tonight. I'll be mad at you later. Can you just whisk me home like you said?"
"Yeahofcourseman. Just," He stopped for a moment to burp, waving it away as he continued, "Just help me up 'nd we're off."
She complied, but not without rolling her eyes. Her grip was firm but soft. A lot like her personality. Jin made light of this and received a quick jab to the shoulder in reply. Up and ready, Naomi tapped her foot as he attempted to get his bearings once again. Fuck, everything was spinning and his body felt really warm. Almost stiflingly so. He looked to Naomi for a moment, silently regarding her with a lazy smile. She flailed for a moment. "Well? Are you gonna fuckin' do the thing?"
Jin shook his head and furrowed his brow, confused. "The thing?" He continued to shake his head as he shrugged. "I don't-"
She made a wavy gesture and hissed at him. "The zoop-zoomin' freaky shit!"
"How... how far is y'place?" He slurred, walking over to lean on the streetlight slightly. "Uh. Like over in Knightdale, you know that." Naomi said with an incredulous expression. Jin was already shaking his head by the time she spoke up. That was too far. Way too far. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her softly, taking note of how nice her jacket was again. His head was getting heavy, and his stomach felt like there was a stone in it. Disgusting. Where were his shoes? He knew he had shoes before meeting up with Naomi. That didn't matter right now.
"Dudetha'swaytoofar. We're walkin'." His words were a jumble as he waved her over, despite her being right next to him. "Comeonletsgo. We walk."
Naomi huffed and began to protest, but gave up. There was no point when he was like this. Together they began to amble down the street, one straight and stiff, the other wobbling to and fro. Both too occupied with their respective worries to notice the shadowy pair of individuals encroaching on them from the dark of a nearby alleyway. Jin threw an arm around Naomi's shoulders, smiling wide as he pinched at her clothing in a distinctively Xzhibit-like fashion. "Yo. Yo yo yo, man. Where'dyougetthisjacket? Shis's nice."
Naomi picked his arm off of her shoulder with a sigh, elbowing him in the ribs with the other arm. "You bought it for me, dickwad."
"Oh. F'real? Shit, why'd I give it to yo-" Was all that Jin managed to get out, as he felt the sharp, quick blow to the back of his head and fell to the sidewalk. Naomi's screams lasted but a second before they too were silenced. A hypodermic delivery of tranquilizer darkened her day very quickly, and a few minutes of struggle passed before she went limp in the arms of her captor. The figures took little time in picking up the girl and beginning to slink back into shadows with her in tow. With a series of grunts, they stopped short of the light and one gestured toward's Jin's prone form. The voice was heavily vocoded as they spoke, "What about that one?"
The other shadow shook its head, pulling Naomi's limp form on into the dark. "Nah. Just some drunk. Leave him for the cops."
Ratchet said her goodbyes (or rather, her see-y'all-laters) and turned back towards the Crystal Shores. Retrieving the moped, Ratchet motored her way back to her aunt's.
Upon returning, Ratchet leaned the moped on its kickstand and unlocked the door.
She looked at the phone number and address that Taylor had given her. "It isn't too far away," she mused. "Though it is a rich-folks party, and they tend to be the snobbish, judgmental sort..."
Ratchet debated on whether she ought to go; she was no introvert, of course, but she was admittedly a little nervous at the sort of fare that rich folks hung around. She probably had oil stains from the companies that these rich kids' tycoon fathers owned.
"So, how was the beach?" Kate asked, bouncing down the stairs.
"Um, met one of Jennifer's friends, who proceeded to wipe my face in the dirt at volleyball," Ratchet replied casually. "I told you about the fight that didn't happen," she added, "and then I got invited to a party tonight."
"Will there be beer?" asked Kate.
"What the heck, Kate? Where'd that question come from?!"
"In the movies, all the grown-ups at parties stand around and drink and stuff."
"Don't worry, Kate," Ratchet replied. "Alcohol shall not pass these lips."
She then smirked. "I'll use a straw."
They both giggled a bit at that. "No, but seriously, I've got no intention of drinking tonight. Or any night," Ratchet continued.
"What about peer pressure?" asked Kate.
"Kate, I'm 5'10" and I'm part machine. I'm not the type to easily get pressured into doing dumb things," Ratchet replied with a raised eyebrow.
Kate laughed. "Whatever you say, un-nee," she replied.
Ratchet rolled her eyes with a smile.
--
Honestly, this was the most amount of preparation that Ratchet would ever do for an event like this.
She had bothered to put on a clean, white collared shirt with (relatively) few oil stains, and even checked the buttons ("Always, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, never," Ratchet muttered as she redid her buttons). She rolled up her sleeves. She let her hair down and brushed it into some semblance of looking sorta-okay (she managed to get the snags and tangles out; that's a plus), and didn't bother with the makeup (f**k that, she thought).
There were no such things as dress overalls, but Ratchet really wanted the pocket. Upon asking her father if he'd seen her cleanest pair, Ratchet sighed as her father said that the overalls were no way to show up at a party, so Ratchet instead wore black dress pants and wrapped her tool belt around her waist. (The belt is a necessity. You never know when you'll need a wrench.)
Ratchet finished her ensemble with a newsboy cap and, as usual, her mismatched pair of socks and her black Converse. "I look like I jumped out of a steampunk comic," Ratchet remarked, looking at herself in the mirror. "All I need are the pilot goggles."
Ratchet walked out of the room, and Kate immediately said, "You're going to a party looking like Rosie the Riveter?"
"Rosie doesn't have a fake arm or a Newsies cap," Ratchet replied.
"True, true," Kate replied.
"Hey, just out of curiosity, you want to watch Inside Out tomorrow?" Ratchet asked.
"Sure! I'll ask Winston, too!"
"Hopefully old Winnie's not gonna be too busy PUNCHING SOMEONE ELSE'S CRYSTAL TO DEATH."
"I heard that!" protested Winston.
"I know!"
Ratchet and Kate snickered.
--
Ratchet had asked to borrow the Volt for the night. Showing up at the party, Ratchet parked on the curb and strode properly up to the door, giving three quick raps on the door. Almost immediately, the doorman admitted her into the party.
Ratchet first noticed the noise. Whooping, yelling, bottles and glasses clinking... Ratchet estimated that about 65% of these people were at least a little tipsy.
She just followed the noise. Hearing a loud cheer, Ratchet walked into the room where all the action was... and just as she walked in, the room erupted into applause as Jen banged the bottle of vodka on the bar.
"That can NOT be in ANY way good for your liver," Ratchet remarked.
You were expected to be all pretty and proper to everyone and thing. Everyone else would always expect you to be entitled. They weren't wrong either. Judging by the sight of a good portion of the adults here. She could see it in the way people carried themselves. How their eyes moved and how they walked. Shifting their weight from their foot up their leg and downward again in a way that was unlike the other social classes.
So she, in a way, disowned that part of her past. She didn't like dresses- she like leather jackets. She didn't like heels- she wore steel toed boots. She looked the person she wanted to be. Hard and in charge. The seemingly limitless credit card was a nice touch though.
When she found out about this party from a few of her more high class friends, she had decided to show up. Casual wear was her thing, even when it wasn't appropriate. Judging by the man dancing with the lampshade in his hand, she had dressed for the occasion. It was a big mansion. The person who owned it was a fairly typical person from their social class. Everything looked unnecessarily expensive. She had always dislike that. Why buy an expensive version when buying a cheaper one worked better and lasted longer? The expensive cars outside put her Honda Accord to shame in looks, but hell she'd payed less for it than it would be for any of them to get an appointment for their brakes and it would still last five times as long as theirs.
Her first stop in the building was the snack bar. Cheap beer wasn't her thing, but bite-sized Cuban sandwiches? Yes. Ohhhhh yes... She ended up wolfing down three before moving to a different room to people watch. She wasn't as much as a partier as some of these people were. She preferred to remain mostly sober, so she'd know when to get her phone to start recording for blackmail later. Drunk people were fun.
She wiped off her hands to clear any crumbs and sat down on the first thing that looked comfortable. That thinb being a couch. She took the small silver whiskey canteen out of her jacket's inside pocket and took a small swig of it. Out of the corner of her hazel eyes she caught a young blonde girl with an over-the-top white cocktail dress sitting on one of those chair-couch things. Chaise, was it? She got up and left to go greet her friends, but she walked differently than the others. She was more comfortable here than the sober people, and too well placed to be drunk. Her weight shifted from her heel, up her leg, through her hips and down her other leg in that special way the overtly rich do. Reagan was willing to bet she lived here.
She stood up and followed. Staying several feet behind her and using other groups of people to traverse the house. Her dress was too bright to lose anyways. She made it... almost too easy. Reagan was glad she followed though. Because when she moved in, there was a small drinking game doing on. Some woman was chugging a bottle of something or another and others were egging her on. She eventually did, however, finish the bottle. The crowd erupted and the only thing Reagan could think about was how drunk the girl was and how bad the poor girl's hangover would be. But then the one girl who had been with the white-dressed owner departed to address the victor over the bottle. An opportunity, to go in for the kill.
She walked up to white-dressed-girl's side, watching the crowed laugh and cheer.
"Quite the crowd you've got here. What's the occasion?"
The table collectively turned towards the man who called Carl’s raise. Carl himself looked at the man and asked, “You gonna try it, Donny?”
“I have watched you come in here and win so many hands with that static face of yours.” Donny replied, “Not gonna get me this time. Call.” He put his money forward and glared at Carl, who glared in return, even if such wasn’t visible. It was no contest in terms of who had the best poker face here, but it looked like Donovan the mechanic was going for the gold. “Alright.” Carl said, seeming a little enthusiastic. “Check.”
“Check.”
Hudson, acting as the dealer, put down the last card. Seven of diamonds, alongside a six of clubs, four of spades, four of diamonds, and queen of hearts. Carl turned over his hand; a queen of diamonds, and a seven of spades. Donny turned over his; a five of diamonds and an eight of hearts. Straight beats the two pair.
“Fuckin’…” Carl called out, amidst the expressions of surprise from the rest of the table and Donny’s audible smile as he hauled in the pot. Carl eased himself and sighed. “Okay Donny, that one’s yours. We were playin’ Omaha I would’ve gotten you though.”
“We did Omaha last time Carl. And Hector won that one.”
The others seated at the table were a construction worker named Hector, another NEST officer named Charles, and biker-looking fellow named Patrick. Hector was often called for collateral jobs that were caused by meta-humans fighting, Charles was just some Nesty who’d been suffering from a run of bad luck on the job, and Patrick… Patrick used to be a Highway Star but, he wasn’t involved with them anymore. Old story about making a deal with some other folks to get out safely, he didn’t enjoy bringing it up.
It was always these five, every week, playing poker in this bar, with their own little stores of pocket money to bet with.
Just five friends, on a night out, having a good time.
Some other girl took Taylor's attention, while Ratchet caught Meifeng and Jennifer's.
Now, Jennifer was still contemplating if what she did was, well, a good idea. She just downed enough alcohol to kill three teenage girls. Plus, she's a scrawny, one-hundred and twenty pound girl. Someone's definitely going to get suspicious... then she realized that everyone here is probably here is so drunk that they're going to be vomitting for the next twenty mornings. So, she could act casually as she wants! Except, she doesn't recall Meifeng ever taking a drink...
"That can NOT be in ANY way good for your liver,"
Ratchet came in, and Jennifer's eyes practically widened like in a cartoon. She wasn't drunk, and saw the whole thing. So she couldn't rely on the "they're drunk, they won't notice!" fallback. She quickly looked around, as she tried to come up with a good way to pass this off. Until it came to her. Her eyes became unfocused, and she was subtly falling to the side. "... Wha'chu talkin' about, girl? My liver is... in... indestructible." She feigned falling over onto Meifeng, who pushed her back up into an upright position with her arms. "Think I'm some lightweight!? I bet... I bet I'm part-Russian!"
Meifeng was just loudly laughing. Putting her hands onto her belly, and throwing her head back. "You should have seen it! Jen here downed three cups of alcohol before you even got here! I didn't even drink anything, I gave mine to her!"
"Yeah... yeah... And I wan' some more, gimme!" Jennifer crawled over Meifeng, and reached for a drink that wasn't even there.
"Hey, hey, hold up!" Meifeng said, grabbing Jen and putting her back into an upright sitting position. "You don't want to end up on some embarrassing youtube video, now do you?"
"Ehh... shut up, I'll do what I want with my life." Jennifer slurred, nearly falling over again. "If I want to become a pornstar, then I'll do it!"
"Tian na... I bet I'll be watching you for the rest of the party, huh?" Meifeng said with a smirk.
Written in collaboration with @SepticGentleman... 8:02 AM... The car ride was hot, and sweaty.
No necessarily to him- he was fairly comfortable, but if it's one thing he'd become accustomed to that wasn't the heat it was complaints ABOUT the heat.
But most of the complaints, and other issues with the car itself were forgotten fairly quickly as the car they were riding in finally came to a stop. They were home. Or at least, five out of the six were. He had never been stationed in Verthaven for a long period of time though. He didn't have much of a home.
When the doors were opened the first thing he noticed was that it was warm, it wasn't obscenely hot like it hat been. It was low eighties, at most. Comfortable California weather. He scanned the group of operators with careful eyes, looking for the one he'd had for a very long time. When his eyes fell upon HIS computer monkey, he smiled, grabbed his huge bag of personal items, and trudged over to the nerd. Caucasian, lean build, green eyes, thick glasses, stubble, and brown hair styled into a ridiculous faux hawk. Look never changed.
"There's my Godzilla." He said, walking over to Henry.
"Long time, no see Eli. How've you been?"
"Eh-heh..." Eli replied with a bit of a smirk, "Keeping tabs on you and all your uh, "side projects"? Been great."
"Fuck off. How's the girlfriend?"
"Molly's... okay, I guess. Still over in fuck-knows-where handling fuck-knows-what. She asked me to stop interrupting her work with the calls. Sensitive business or, something, whatever."
"I'm sorry. Bitches man... Have you got any places set up for me to stay before I go back to Black Fall in a few months?"
"Oh, yeah, I got you in a nice apartment in Chinatown. Plenty of tall buildings for you to knock over with your fat ass during your off-time."
"Oh, hardry-har-har." Henry said, rolling his eyes. "I'm actually not going to take a break like the others. I'm... gonna keep at it a little while longer. So I'm still open to any jobs you shoot my way."
"Had a feeling that'd be the case." He turned his head, seeing the rest of the agents and operators heading into the Headquarters. Eli waved his hand and began walking in the same direction. "C'mon, we'll talk inside."
As they walked inside the building, the first thing Henry noticed was the distinct feeling of air conditioning. Something he had not experienced in years now. Several of the other metas were ecstatic to feel it again. Namely Alexandria, who kissed her hand and placed it against the wall a few times. Henry himself didn't exactly care that much, but climate control was always nice.
"Any issues going on around Verthaven that I should expect to be assigned to?"
"Well if you didn't catch it on the way in, there's the whole Fiend nonsense. Probably going to call in all agents when and if riots start breaking out all over the city but, that's probably a ways away. There are agent parties slated to handle some raids in their territory tomorrow."
"God damn, so the Fiends have grown? Great. All we need is another gang of Tyrants. What about smaller jobs?"
"Well... nothing really outside of the issue to bother with. But uh... there is a smaller lead of sorts that you could act on."
"Shoot."
Eli pulled out a PDA from his pocket and fiddled with it for a moment, then turned it, showing a map of Verthaven's underground subsystems to Henry. "Verthaven's sewers have been kicking up in reported activity as of late. No one's really investigating but, I'm fairly certain the Fiends are using them to get around. I mean, there's not a lot of better options. You... if you're interested, that is, could probably have an easier time on your own down there, planting surveillance equipment. We can monitor whatever happens, maybe prevent the Fiends from launching some attacks in the process."
Henry nodded, putting his huge hand on Eli's back. " 'read my mind my friend!" He commented. On the PDA, he noticed a few sewer lines wee higher activity than others on a scale of green, yellow, and red. Simple enough- assuming it worked like traffic lights. Red was little, yellow was some, and green was all-systems-go.
"So you're up for downgrading from Godzilla to Killer Croc?" Eli asked, once again with that awful smirk.
Henry snorted, " 'course I am. When you look this ugly you cant go any lower." he said, a stupid grin on his face. He pointed to one of the areas on the PDA that was an outlier on the other areas. The activity was yellow in a few systems between Isabella and Estella isles, when the other areas were shades of red. And it didn't seem like there were any entry points around it either.
"What's this one?" He said, motioning to the area of his interest.
"That's underneath the Bazaar Riviera." Eli replied, zooming in on the section a bit. "Seems to be more commotion there than most other places on the western half of the city. Crossing point from Fiend territory into the homeland."
"Alright. Could you gather about fifteen or twenty petty officers for me, and organize an assignment to move through the city and plant some cameras around? Everyone's gotta have a buddy with 'em at all. I'll investigate that area myself. It might be a meeting point for the Fiends then. Who knows. But activity surrounded by none at all is fishy to me."
"I'll get started right away then."
"Make sure the cameras all link up to one device and to keep it incog. Be it monitored by you or me. I don't want any of the Fiends figuring out that they're being watched and doing it back or learning how to track said device down. I made that mistake a few years ago. Lost a few good guys."
"I'll keep the central console here with me. If you plan on going down there, it'd be best."
"Works for me. I'm gonna head down to my apartment and get settled. I'll head out to Bazaar Riviera tonight. Probably sometime at eight. I'll be in contact. That work for you?"
"Absolutely." Eli responded, pocketing his PDA. "Sure you wanna head down so soon though? Look like you wanna eat a cow."
"I always want to eat a cow. Have you ever been to Japan though? It's customary to give your neighbor their first meal as a housewarming. I'll be fine."
"If you say so. I'll be here then."
8:23 PM. Current Time...
"Eli, do you read?"
"Uh-huh. What's up?"
"I don't know if you can hear the background noise or not- but this really sucks."
"Oh I hear it. Can practically smell it through the comm too."
Henry sneezed. "Dont remind me."
The sewers were dark and smelly and in general gross and Henry was very regretful of taking this job. But it was easy money, and easy enough. Despite all the high activity areas there had been no incidents thus far. His height made it easier too. He could reach the ceiling easy enough because of it and his long arms. He got the best angles with the camera-gun. He could put it right in the corner, just about every time without risking camera integrity. Made life a little easier. He finished shooting one into the moist concrete and stepped back and waved. The cameras were nightvision-thermal. He knew Eli could see him.
"Hey, hey. Do the Shia LeBeouf thing."
Henry stepped back, and then to the side, his arms falling to his groin arms as if he were doing half a squat, and he breathed it. His eyes unblinking at the camera. He stood up straight again and stalked back and forth.
"Yesterday, you said tomorrow. So just... DO IT." he just about yelled. He pointed at the camera. "YES YOU CAN." he said, turning to the side and stalking again. He stopped and looked at the camera. "Dont let you dreams be dreams. So just..." he said, stopping and doing a weird grabbing motion with his hands. "DO IT."
He could hear Eli having a fit of laughter over the comm.
"Brought to you in part by: Godzilla."
There was a moment of obvious recuperation, and probably reeling from some disappointed looks in the HQ, as Eli stifled his own laughter and continued. "Fucking... ahhhh, man. That was-"
He was cut off by a sound from further down the tunnel. Some kind of laughing.
"Eli, there are no officers in my area, right?"
"No?"
"See anything on any of the cameras? It sounded like it was to the east of my area."
"Checking the feeds..." There was a pause before Eli called out, "OH, holy shit. Okay uh... two figures just ran by the camera to your left and down."
"Get everyone out of the sewers ASAP. Everyone. The last thing we need is someone knowing NEST's here. Are they coming towards me?"
"They're about to pass by the next camera past your current tunnel."
"I've put up like sixty cameras today is that towards me or not?"
"To your LEFT, Henry!"
Henry whipped around to his left just as a huge figure ran past the end of the tunnel, with a smaller cackling figure running after it. "Shit!" Henry cursed, heaving and moving as quickly as his huge body could move down to the end of the tunnel. It took him about thirty seconds, but he made it. By this time however, the two figures were long gone. He would've been on their tails in an instant had this been two years ago before his appearance changed, but now...
"Fucking hell, there's no way I'll catch 'em. I'm not fast enough anymore." Henry said, his frustration showing. "I need you to watch my back. We know they're down here now but they don't know I am by the looks of it. Tell me if anyone's coming my way so I can be ready."
"I'll track them on the cams, but uh... there's a group of Fiends heading up that tunnel. Right now."
Red was holding Veronica in his arms as he ran through the sewers as fast as he was capable of doing. The Broken Hyena was seconds from catching up. Bullet marks covered his back, cracking his skin and slowing him down some.
Before it came to this, Veronica and Red had attempted to move past the chamber where they encountered the man-dog and his new posse, but the Fiends had begun to split up shortly afterwards, in all directions. It didn’t take long for one of them to stumble upon the hulking Red, getting the call out right before he smashed the Fiend’s head against the wall. The Broken Hyena was on their trail in minutes, beating his underlings and leaving them far behind. It was a wonder why he even recruited them.
Red was coming up on a grated cistern, but before he could make his way through to one of the two runoff tunnels, the Broken Hyena lunged at him. Nails dug into his back, Red stumbled forward and let go of Veronica. She tumbled across the grated floor for a bit before recollecting herself. She stood up and watched as the Broken Hyena stared her down, stepping off of Red. He slowly stepped towards, cackling softly.
Red fidgeted a bit before shooting his hand out and grabbing the Broken Hyena’s leg. He turned his head and barked madly before whining a bit, attempting to pull away. He raised his SMG and attempted to fire, forgetting he’d run out the magazine during the chase. He growled and threw the empty gun down at Red’s head, then began to thrash about, still trying to break free. Veronica began backing away as the Broken Hyena finally managed to get loose, kicking Red’s head repeatedly. He turned and made a quicker pace towards Veronica, but Red was still refusing to surrender. He jumped up and tackled the Broken Hyena, slamming him against the cistern’s grating. He attempted to hold the punches back with his one good arm, but it wasn’t working.
After a few more potential concussions, the Broken Hyena bent his legs and pushed Red back, scrambling to get up. Red moved towards Veronica, acting as the wall between her and the man-dog. But it was evident he was weak, hunched over and riddled with cracks and marks. The two stared at each other, and the Broken Hyena looked as though he was going to make another attempt at Red, even though he was heavily bruised himself. He cackled some more, pacing weakly.
Suddenly, a roar. A loud, piercing, inhuman roar. Much more intense than Red’s. It emanated from the tunnel the three had emerged from. Veronica winced at it, and the Broken Hyena crouched and whined a bit. He turned to look down the tunnel, back to Red, back down the tunnel, back to Red… and whatever he saw heading for the scene, he was obviously not interested in further conflict. It knew when to quit. He turned his head and darted down one of the other runoff tunnels, kicking up sewage water as he made his escape.
Red watched for a moment before turning towards Veronica, stumbling towards her, clutching a wound the Broken Hyena had made with his kicking. His legs gave out, and he keeled over onto the grating. Veronica rushed forward, attempting to focus and get Red back on his feet, but he was just too weak from the damage. Cracks and marks, aching joints, exhaustion… it took its toll. Veronica winced a bit before looking down the tunnel the roar came from. People were coming, two figures, both much bigger than her. Red wasn’t getting up and they were getting closer.
“Hey!”
Veronica didn’t listen. She gave Red one last glance before turning and running down the third runoff tunnel. Red just stayed there, breathing heavily for a moment, before slumping onto the grating. As the two figures approached him, he gave a final few breaths, and then he was still. Moments more, and he began to disintegrate, red skin and bones melting off his body and falling through the grating into the cistern below.
@Mr Allen J Ratchet rolled her eyes. "Um, yeah. I'm surprised that she didn't, like, explode after downing three shots and a bottle of vodka," she said to Meifeng. She looked around; there was a guy holding two bottles of liquor, dancing on a table with a lampshade on his head. She kind of expected a little bit more properness and mannerism from the wealthy; coming in here wearing Converse and a tool belt without a hitch is one thing, but she certainly didn't expect some oil tycoon or corporate owner to have a kid that would do... well, most of what's going on in this room.
Ratchet sat on the barstool on Jen's other side. "Nothing for me," she said, casually waving the bartender away. "I don't drink."
Ratchet thought that something sounded a bit off with Jen's behavior. It seemed a bit... abrupt, even for a drunk person. But Ratchet didn't think too much of it; after all, it was a party.
Ratchet took off her driver's cap and smoothed out her hair. "So... have you done anything other than get irreparably drunk?" Ratchet asked, lightly slugging Jen in the arm with her wheel. "I'm sure that rich folks have more to do in their homes than go into an alcohol-induced stupor."
Ratchet looked around and thought she looked a bit out-of-place. She had parked the Volt between a Rolls and a Ferrari. She looked like a half-dressed Newsie sitting amongst the ranks of J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller. She absently rolled her wheel on the bar. "Jen, are you sure you're alright? You're falling over on Meifeng," Ratchet remarked. She then glanced over at Meifeng. "Did you put her up to this?" she asked.
The Diamond Sands Fitness Center of Crystal Shores catered to high-class society. One third of the sprawling, two-story complex was dedicated to spas and showers. The chefs on staff were all nutritionist and had every member's preferences and allergies memorized. The olympic-sized indoor pools had lavish furnishings and left little more to be desired. The gym itself boasted state-of-the-art gear, machines, and trainers. Yoga is hands down the most popular with two-hour sessions scheduled three times daily. The whole building has a modest ultra-modern feel to it. Everything looked and smelled expensive, even if it wasn't.
Working as life-guard here wasn't hard. The job requirements were steep, which belied how little work Anna actually needed to do. Some days she could sit by, watch, and not lift a finger. But, today was bit different. Towards the end of her shift, the owner, Filíp, introduced her to his friend's son, Jake Valos, and asked her, in an strange, overly polite manner, to give him a tour. Jake's family apparently had full access, but he himself had never been. With no reason to refuse her boss--more importantly her father's boss--she acquiesced.
Boys had flirted with her in the past, many nice, some handsome, a few both, but none had really made a lasting impression and could be brushed off without a second thought. Jake was different. In the half hour it took to travel the hallways and get acquainted with the many common areas, he was genial and warm in everything he did and said. Almost too perfect. Sweet words and Devilish looks: Anna never thought she would be swayed by that particular combo again, but Jake Valos had proven her wrong. She could feel the heat filling her cheeks and cursed herself for it.
Midway through the tour, their conversation became more casual. The questions started out innocent enough: Do you like working here? What are some of the best spots in this place? If it meant keeping the owner's precious VIP preoccupied, Anna didn't mind answering them at all. And while she'd never admit it, Jake had caught her interest. And within a few minutes, the steady procession of their conversation felt comfortable, seamlessly flowing back and forth between them. Somehow it all culminated into Jake saying "Hey, we should hang out some time!" and the two exchanging numbers.
Shortly after, Filíp came to collect Jake, who's family was leaving and he with them. The interruption was so abrupt, Anna barely had time to stammer out a confused good-bye.
It happened so fast, she didn't really think about it until much later. Between that disarming smile and those "pretty boy" eyes, Anna suspected she was being played and hoped she was wrong. Usually people get swept into Anna's pace, not the other way around.
Later that evening, as she was locking the store closet and getting ready to leave, she heard the distinct sound of her textbooks vibrating. Anna reached into her cheap drawstring bag and retrieved her phone. "1 Missed Call!"
She was about to call the number back when she realized it was Jake's. She hesitated for a long moment, uncertain of what she would even say. Before she could even press hit auto-dial, the phone vibrated again with a "New Message" pop-up alert.
Hey, its Jake! We're going to a party at my friend's house in Kingsdale Row. You should come hang out with us. I'll send you the address.
She was typing in a reply, when another message appeared from her friend Marina.
U goin to Taylor's party in Kingsdale?
Taylor? Taylor who? Then Anna connected the dots. Oh...
Apparently. Who all is going to be there?
Alot of big wigs, heirs and heiresses, people frm University Row, and plenty of metas. U n?
Wait. Wait! Metas? All in one place? Terrible idea...
I'll be there! ;D
Her phone flashed "Message Sent!" before she could second-guess the decision. With an exasperated sigh, she copied it and sent the message to Jake as well. The potent mix of wanting to meet Jake again and overwhelming apprehension of being around that many metas made her stomach lurch and flip, but Anna gathered her composure and finished cleaning up.
--At home.
Among Anna's entire wardrobe, only one outfit stood out as being appropriate for a Kingsdale party. Her mother bought it for her a year ago, knowing full well something like this might happen. She was very encouraging and did everything but outright say "Take this and go have fun".
It was a black silk, designer tank top. Between the deep V neckline, the hollowed back with a criss-cross of elegant lace embroidery, and the split thigh mini skirt, it was a stylish combination which followed the curves of her body. With her favorite turquoise necklace resting at the center of her chest, it completed the ensemble. At a glance, you could mistake it for a fitted cocktail dress.
Make-up, hair, shoes, she fretted over them incessantly for half an hour before she gave up and resigned herself to a simple style: A quick shower to kill the chlorine smell from the pool, just enough make-up for accents, nothing special with the hair -- it was too long and she had too little time to really do anything spectacular with it. A good brushing would suffice -- and a pair of black heels to match the dress was all she needed.
A long look in the mirror told her she wouldnt be the most beautiful girl there, but between these clothes, her sun-kissed olive skin, and the sculpted features she inherited from her mum, she could definitely pull off striking.
Her cell rang. "We're waiting on you, Princess. You're holding up traffic, so get out here!" Marina is not a patient person. Anna didn't rush. She knew there was no traffic to hold up on a two-lane residential beach road, at night. All the same she was outside in a couple minutes. Marina was sitting her father's Mercedes. How she had gotten permission to drive it was a mystery unto itself. On second thought, she probably just took it. Best not to think about it too much.
--At Kingsdale.
The two drove up to the Crystal shores beach house, Marina's favorite Electro-pop still blasting the speakers. Anna's house was nice, but modest. In front this monstrosity of extravagance, she felt quite small, and out of place. That didn't deter her though; she walked the steps, arms linked with Marina. They were greeted at the door, and both took in the sights and sounds, the upbeat music and scent of alcohol. Marina peeled away after seeing a few of her other friends from school.
"Yes please, go have fun all on your own, Miss No-Attention-Span-Whatsoever." Marina was flaky at best, but Anna had never truly held it against her. She knew Marina would come find her again later, but for now Anna was left to look for Jake on her own.
Much to her own surprise though, she didn't have to wander far to find someone interesting. Mei Feng, who at the moment was being used as a kickstand for Jennifer, seemed to be enjoying herself. Anna opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She wanted to approach, she wanted to greet her friends, but the laughter around the table made the whole fair seem shady.
Looks like Ratchet is fooled... or doesn't suspect much. Jen really wished she didn't have to make a fool out of herself like this (Especially since Meifeng will rip on her about this for ages), but she'd rather keep her power (Or any hints) as secret as possible. Not even to her closest friends. Just... she didn't think this through, really. Everyone was shouting at her, and cheering her on, and, and.... It was peer pressure! She felt so compelled to do it that she didn't just think about just walking away. Now she has to deal with the consequences and act like a drunken idiot so no one suspects her. Jen rolled her eyes. Best keep playing along. "Well... I walked here... then I saw some liquor." Jennifer answered Ratchet's question.
It's good, good. Jen's having a blast! Meifeng was having fun. She didn't know these rich fucks were into Rap, but hey. They have tastes too. Ratchet came up, and she didn't seem to be all that happy with Jennifer's legendary feat. Hold up, Meifeng could just see it in her eyes. She didn't like her friend being all drunk. She leaned back in her chair, and wrapped her fingers together over her belly. "Well, if you put it like that, that makes me sound like an asshole." Meifeng bluntly stated, looking at Ratchet. "Yeah, I did. Because I told her that neither of us are going home sober!"
Anna was never one for tension, and there was definitely an undercurrent of it running between Meifeng and Ratchet. Seeing Jennifer, she knew something was off, even if she could put her finger on it. For now, though her first concern was to direct some of the pressure away from Jen, who was doing a wonderful job at hiding how nervous she was. Anna had been there before, she knew the look. A glimpse of the long bar gave her an idea. In all honesty, it was terrible idea, but maybe it would level the playing field. Bars weren't unfamiliar territory to Anna. Hawaii had plenty of them. She took down a liter bottle of Tequila and filled over a dozen chilled shot glasses. The silver tray she carried over was loaded with shots, limes and a bottle of pineapple juice she found in the mini-fridge.
"Fresh round, incoming!" She shouted, not wanting to navigate a sea of people and risk bumping elbows. The crowd parted as she slipped in with the tray balanced on her arm. "Plenty of shots and chasers for everyone!" As she set the tray down, a few at the table were already grabbing shots, Anna picked up two glasses and held out one for Meifeng. "Looks like your falling behind." She whispered playfully as everyone prepared to down the shots in unison "Here's your chance to catch up~" A mischievous grin played on Anna lips as she glanced at Jennifer and offered a soft, discrete wink. Her expression seemed to say I'll play along.
They were simpler times. Eight farmers stood in a circle, their families surrounding them, and talked amongst themselves about the drought that had ravaged their crops. Luckily the last few harvest had been kind to them and the farmers in the region had been able to prepare, but stock were beginning to run thin. They had banded together now resources were few and far between in order to keep their farms but it seemed they were losing the fight. If the drought didn’t break soon their farms would be repossessed and they’d be made destitute. The men would have to find new work, the women would have to learn to balance a household budget that was paper thin, and the children would have to go hungry.
“It’s no good,” one farmer muttered. “The land’s barren.”
From their number walked an elderly man with greying dirty blonde hair, his face dotted with freckles. He strode by the farmers and knelt in the field silently for a few moments. None amongst them recognised him but there was something about him that was calming, that soothed the fears despite his being a stranger in their presence. The men watched on as the man rubbed his hands on the Earth, grabbed whole handfuls of dirt between his fingers, and began to mutter to it as if it were a living, breathing person. None amongst them could make out what the man was saying but as he spoke all felt a brisk wind appear as if from nowhere that whistled as it past them. It was almost as if the Earth was talking back to the man.
Suddenly as if by the man’s command the Heavens opened and the rain began to fall on the crops beneath them. The farmers gasped in shock, some called it a miracle, but all knew who was responsible for their stroke of good fortune. It was him, the man they had heard whispers of and considered an urban legend.
He was James Handler.
*****
Ferris Square
“James?”
Stood less than ten feet from James Bishop was Roger Camus, site manager for the apartment block that James had been tasked with building this week. He was a heavy man with a gut that sagged past his waistband but seemed a good-humoured sort from the little that James had spoken to him. He was one of the first site managers James had encountered since he’d started in the trade that wasn’t intimidated by his abilities. He appreciated that.
“James?”
Roger called out to him again and James stood, coffee in hand, staring into the distance thinking about what had happened the previous night. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since it had happened. He could have stopped that man dead in his tracks, flung the gun out of his hand, even redirected the bullet straight through his forehead. But he chose control over self-indulgence. That was right, wasn’t it? There was no need for anyone to lose their lives over a purse that could be replaced in an afternoon.
“Are you okay?”
Camus placed a hand on Bishop’s shoulder and it stirred him from his day-dreaming.
“Sorry,” James said with a sigh. “My head’s all over the place at the moment.”
That was only half of the story.
“I can tell,” Camus said with a nod. “What’s wrong?”
Where would he begin? With the fact that though he’d managed to suppress it, though reason had won out in the heat of the moment, he’d felt a simmering rage underneath him ever since that resented James for not killing the man? That he’d pictured it and how he would have done it endlessly since? It was these thoughts, the darkness at the back of his mind, that had made it so important he not give into it. The venom that veiled itself as righteous fury.
“Iris and I were attacked on our way back from my grandparent’s house last night. Nobody got hurt but I guess I’m a little more shaken up about it than I thought.”
Camus shook his head at the news.
“Take some time if you need it. Better you’re off site for a day and we have to get by how we used to get by before you came along than somebody gets hurt because you’re distracted.”
James didn’t need it. It would take them an entire day to do what James could do in five minutes with the help of his powers. It had never occurred to him growing up that his control over magnetism would make working in architecture such a natural choice for him. Most of his colleagues despised getting their hands dirty and working on the ground but it was the construction side of things that interested him most. He liked the feel the space, be there, take everything in he could. But one day away from it couldn’t help, especially when he was fighting back thoughts like this. He’d go home, regroup, and come back tomorrow more focused.
“Thanks.”
*****
Knightdale Rows
James made his way towards his apartment slowly and stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed the door was slightly open. His thoughts went back to last night and the contents of Iris’ purse likely containing the keys to the apartment and some form of identification. It wasn’t outside of the realm of possibilities for the man that stole the purse to have found his way here in search of more worth stealing. James reached into his pocket for his cell phone as he stared at the open door and considered dialing VPD for a few moments, before sliding it back into his pocket.
Iris was out. That much he knew, they’d spoken only half an hour earlier, so it couldn’t have been her that left the door open. Whoever was inside was in for a nasty surprise, especially if it was the man from last night. The mercy that James had afforded him wouldn’t be so readily afforded to him now he’d broken into his home too.
“Speak to me,” James muttered under his breath. “What’s going on in there?”
He shut his eyes softly and twiddled his fingers as if navigating his way through his apartment, drifting from metal to metal, until it settled on a piece of steel that had no place being there. It was long, sharp, and pointed, a knife no doubt. Whoever was inside had broken in fully aware that they might be encountering company, or even worse expecting it.
So be it.
James threw the door open with a wave of his hand and charged in towards where he’d sensed the foreign metal lingering. There was a man facing away from him, his hands resting against a sculpture that James had made many years before, who spun instinctively to face James.
With another wave of his hand Bishop lifted the intruder clean from his feet by the belt buckle around his waist and let the man hang in the air for a few moments before he caught a glimpse of his face.
“Ellis?” James said with a sigh. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Ellis fell from the air and landed on the ground with a heavy thud. He groaned loudly as the impact had clearly knocked the wind out of him and then climbed to his feet, brushing himself down of the dust his fall had covered him in.
“Come on,” Ellis smiled. “Is that any way to talk to your brother?”
