Jeffery ran by a Starbucks and into an ally. The police were right on his tail. He hoped that his backup would help him, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get away. He ran into an alley and climbed down a manhole, sliding the cover back into place. Once down the ladder, he ran down a seemingly random series of turns. In reality, however, he was merely taking the long way to his hideout.

---

Janet stood up from her window seat at Starbucks. Jeffery had just run by, though the other patrons hadn't seen him. The Police were close behind, but she focused on one of them, making him see Jeffery run in a different direction. "This way!," the cop said, "I saw him run this way." They ran after the Phantom, away from the real assassin.

She walked out, sipping her Latte and went over to the manhole cover. Sure, it might not matter, but she touched it, making it appear as if it was just solid concrete there. Her enchantment would only last two hours, tops, but it should let the trail get nice and cold before anyone tracked him to it.

After that, she started her walk to the nearest bus stop. Her brother was getting his new legs today, and she had to be sure she was there when he woke up.

Alec sat in the Dine in, he sat chest close to long table he sent to on his arrival. He had barley eaten anything and he was the last one in the place as it had closed. He looked around at the empty tables and out the window as the rain fell. it was an early close, still only in late afternoon the sun slightly blocking the sun that made the Seattle streets look dim. He rubbed his face and pushed the glass away from him and sighed.
Alec personally didn't like public restaurants but he didn't have anything to eat in his apartment and didn't want to make a trip to the store. He decided to turn on the T.V. when the unmistakable sounds of screams and explosions rang on the T.V. speakers, he watched and his eyes widened as he learned of the presidents murder.
"Why would you.." He was cut off with chilling footage of the explosions and the moments leading the the gun shot, of course not showing the shot on television reports.
He moved quickly out the door and into the street.
He was off to DC.

Two Weeks Ago
An apartment block

The area was abuzz with noise as police began blockading off the area around the entrance of the apartment block. A couple of wannabe super villains had taken a family hostage far up the building, and rigged it with explosives just in case their plan should fail. Inside the building the situation wasn't much better. The 'villains' were nervous and jumpy, they were far from ready for a situation like this.

The chief of police was getting ready to call in the SWAT. No hero had arrived on scene yet and it was far too risky to allow this to go on, even if his actions risked the life of one or two of the family members. Just then, a call rang out, someone had spotted a red light moving and gliding in the dark high above them. A spotlight quickly moved to track it. Hal was scoping out the building, finding the exact point to enter at for maximum success.

As quickly as he was spotted he was missing again. He leaped at the building and gripped onto a ledge, peering over and into the room at the situation. He grabbed his silenced pistol with his weaker arm and shot out the light before quickly ducking back down.
"The fuck just happened?!" Shouted one of the villains.
"They cut the power you idiot" replied another, moving to the window to look down at the crowd. Perfect, exactly as, Hal had planned. He reached up and gripped the villain by his shirt before tossing him out of the building and far to the ground below. He quickly hopped into the building soon after, skulking about in the shadows before quickly subduing a second hostage taker with a quick punch. Unfortunately, the final villain had now turned on a lamp in the corner of the room.

The villain held the mother of the family at gunpoint, threatening to blow her brains out if, Hal didn't leave. Hal grinned, his knee began moving and locking behind itself until he was fully ready for the next part of his plan. A shot rung out within the apartment as a bullet flew from the gun hidden in Hal's knee and into the hand of the villain, flying through it and getting stuck in his shoulder. Hal quickly sprinted up, gripping him by the neck before dragging him out of the room and into the hallway. The next part was not for children. He felt the AI slowly begin seeping into his brain as he jammed his hands under the teeth of the villain. He slowly began prying his jaw and head away from each other until finally the screaming stopped and he snapped the jaw off. He left the corpse there, escaping out into the night as he had done time and time again.

Present day

Hal sat in a seedy bar he was known for appearing in. He was rocking back in his chair, his mechanical leg gripping onto the table in front of him to keep him stable. The TV was playing the news quietly, the president had just been murdered on live television. A small grin grew on Hal's face. As sadistic as it sounded, this meant that he actually had someone who posed a challenge to fight.

He made his way out of the bar, the city was practically deserted, everyone was inside watching the news. He looked out into the distance, the cops were chasing seemingly nothing. He made his way in their direction, spotting a rather strange woman touching the floor. He thought nothing of it, strange people were more common in this town than the normal ones. He did get a slight jolt of shock when he heard a 'thunk' as he stepped over the area where she had touched. But thought nothing of it and moved on. Time to wait for the bounty to come in.

((Collab between Letter Bee and Trevor1001))

Mikhail Peacemaker and Augusta E. Feather, a young boy and an old woman who looked ordinary in every way, walked through the streets of Washington DC, not betraying any urgency. They had just seen the President's murder through their iPads, and knew that a witch-hunt for every person with powers would follow, and all the atrocities that would occur in such a witch-hunt. So, they had to escape the capital and go back to Seattle; it was too dangerous for them right now.

Both of them had powers that can be useful in a pinch; Augusta can manipulate probability, while Mikhail can sense hope as well as materialize it, allowing them to navigate the people of DC safely. Then, suddenly, Mikhail would notice another kid, one marked by his lack of hope, hiding out in an alleyway. He would also sense several bright spots of hope moving towards the other boy, and said spots moved in military lockstep. Probably police or army...

"Should we?" Mikhail asked his now-adoptive mother, who replied with a nod. Mikhail then went inside the alleyway, then spoke to the person inside:

"Police are coming; you might want to accompany us - strength in numbers."

Jordan was busy scrounging around looking for anything that could be used. Jasmine and Blake were off on their own looking for food where they could find it. Jordan was thinking how lucky they were cause anysmall animal was considered food to them. Just then he heard someone call out to him. Looking up he saw some kid calling out to him. Turning his head to the side he caught a glimpse of the cops heading purposely right at him.

Without a second thought he started making his way quickly over to the old woman and kid. He already had enough problems with his the cops because of his lifestyle of stealing to get by. "Let's go." He said when he reached them. Jordan picked up the pace while he started "broadcasting" for the others to start moving towards him.

As the other boy and began to accompany the two, Mikhail would create a small hope construct in the shape of Jordan in order to throw off the police, before noticing that two figures were moving towards the group, making him more wary. Nevertheless, with the cops diverted, the boy would say to the older kid:

"Hi, my name is Mikhail Peacemaker; what's yours?"

Jordan looked at him for a few seconds. He helped warn him of the cops but that didn't mean he trusted him. "My name is Jordan and thanks for the warning." Soon Jasmine and Blake were near by following them while staying somewhat hidden. While a fox might not turn too many heads if seen Blake would probably cause a panic if someone saw him. "Why did you warn me? It's not like we know each other?"

"I had a hunch that you had powers, like I do," Mikhail said in a whisper. "Otherwise, why would the Police go after you during this time?" He leaned in conspiratorially.

"You may not know this, but the President is dead; killed by someone with powers." Mikhail was using a subtle force-field to hide the sound of their voices. "They're going to be hunting us down right now, and so we need to escape this city. After that...who knows?" Mikhail already had an idea on what to plan and what to do, but he wasn't about to reveal it to Jordan yet.

"I and Ms. Feather know a way to escape; not forcing ya to come with us, but, well, we have a warm bath and shower, as well as food."

"So think about it?" Mikahil's eyes were eager.

"That seems like quite the hunch. I thought it was weird they might be after me even when I haven't stolen anything yet." Jordans eyes went wide when he heard the President was killed. "I might of been lucky they didn't just shoot me when they saw me." He started thinking what his next move might be. With everything going on he would have to lay low for a bit and he was already low on supplies. It might just be for the best if he left and here was someone offering him a place to go.

"I'll join you but I'm not leaving without my family." He didn't like making a choice without asking the others first but sometimes he doesn't work out like that. "I have to warn you my family is odd." He gave a nod over to where Blake and Jasmine were. If Mikhail looked he would see a fox and a Yig following them.

Mikhail nodded, trying to hide his fascination, before he and Augusta went inside a building, where a few unnamed civilians guided them towards a tunnel which contained a car.

"This is our escape out," said the boy. "With the car, we're getting out of the city, then to an estate on the outskirts, which has an airstrip and airplane. There you and your family can eat and bathe." He then looked at Jordan.

"Fair warning, though, once you go in the car, you'll have committed yourself to us. Will you take the risk?"

As they entered the building Jordan signaled for the others to follow him. After hearing they would be committing and leaving on an airplane he wasn't so sure about it. "Committed? What would I be committed too?" Just then Blake and Jasmine entered and everyone moved away from them as they walked up to Jordan.

"Peace." Mikhail said. "Peace where Powered and Non-Powered can live together in harmony." He then smiled, his own hope flagging.

"But if you think that's too big a dream, well, that's fine too; the people here will take care of ya for now."

The thought of harmony was very enticing to Jordan but before he could make a decision he hand to talk to his family. He turned around and had a low voiced meeting with the two animals behind him. After talking for a bit and a bunch of odd stares from everyone else he stood back up and face Mikhail. "We will join you."

"Thanks," said the young boy, before opening the door and letting the three in...

Blake got in the car first followed by Jordan and Jasmine. Blake took the back middle seat with Jordan to his right and Jasmine on his lap. He waited for Mikhail then as they were driving stared out the window as the city was in a panic. "So...where is the airplane going to be taking us?" Suddenly Mikhail had 2 pairs of eyes on him as Jordan waited for his answer as he looked out the window.

"We're going to Seattle," said Mikhail to Jordan. "There, we're going to call as many Supers as we could to begin to discuss plans to catch or kill the murderer of the President, as well as said murderer's cronies. Not that we expect you to be on the front lines - if you don't want to fight, you can just be a scout, or suggest ideas. At the very least, though, I would like someone new in the house; the other kids there are people I like and are friends with, and I'd give my life for them, but, well, someone new couldn't hurt."

The car then drew up to a nearby estate, with a private airstrip and a plane docked there.

"And, of course," Mikhail continued, "I'd like to exchange backstories with you; you seem like you've been through a lot." He faced Jordan, finally allowing his mask to slip. "I don't want your life to be worse than it was already; I know what that was like."

@Trevor1001

Jordan was surprised to hear they would be going so far away and turned to look at Mikhail. "I'm not sure what role I would be best in. I might be best as a scout. I can move about and not draw much attention to myself." As the estate and plane came into view Jordan couldn't help but be amazed at them. He has never seen a house so big before and the thought of flying in a airplane was exciting and a little terrifying at the same time.

Jordan's attention was pulled back to Mikhail when he said he wanted to know about his past. He wasn't sure how to respond to any of that so he went with the first thing that popped into his head. "Um..maybe. I'll think about it." As soon as the car stopped Jordan and his family got out to stretch and get a better look at the airplane.

Mikhail nodded as he allowed Jordan and his family to stretch their legs, before he looked around at the small jet. Finally, however, Augusta opened the door, and, surprisingly, took the Pilot's seat after changing to the appropriate gear. Mikhai; and Jordan, as well as the latter's companions, would be in a cabin stocked high with food and drink, including pork cutlets, beef steak, turkey, and chicken, as well as a few vegetarian dishes. There would also be a shower at the back, as well as a set of new clothes.

Should Jordan eat first, Mikhail would begin a discussion. Should Jordan bathe first, Mikhail would wait, then begin a discussion after Jordan came back.

"So, anything you'd like to ask about, well, all this?" he gestured to the surroundings.

@Trevor1001

Jordan looked around and grabbed a bag of chips. Without any care for how unclean he was opened and stated eating them. "I guess my only question would be why all this?" Jordan sits down and eats a few more chips. "I'm just some random person you don't know and now I'm on the first airplane ride of my life." As he was talking Blake laid down under the table and Jasmine found a spot on the counter.

@Letter Bee

"Because, well, people with powers should stick together," said Mikhail; "I know what it was like to be abused and used because I had powers, and I don't want to see it happen to you. Plus..." he looked away, "you were so cute."

"Yeah, I like boys, as well as girls. Is that okay with you?" Hope flared, then flagged, in Mikhail's heart. What if he said something wrong? What if Jordan didn't like him anymore after this?

@Trevor1001

Whitewave was waiting in washington. The agency he was with had a set of super siblings, one could speak with computers and the other could sense other supers. One would find a name then the other would dig up all the data and an agent would be sent to intercept to assess threat. It wasn't presidential detail, but it was the groundwork for something new. A very rich person had been pinged with power of probability so he was sent to Seattle to be selected.

He got work at a local pound to put his power and skill set to use while waiting to be 'found' by this new cell. It got him a little extra money while in a government leased one bedroom trailer, leftover from a pre-paid operation left over from early completion. You would be amazed how many homes are left empty on the market because the pencil pushers paid for a place that never got used in the first place.

All the same he was on a coffee break watching the rain fall for the sixth day running as he talked to dog leashed to a pole. It was a pit in a fishermans slicker looking utterly ridiculous but training was training as he tried to evolve his skill from domination to communication.

~who are you?~ "I'm cold." ~What is your name?~ "I'm wet."~Not helping.~ "I'm sorry."

This one sided conversation ended when the owner came and collected her furbaby to keep on with the rest of her day. It was at this moment that someone sat at the table across from him. {open for character insert here}