[hr][i][h1][color=plum]Trevor Obott[/color], [color=aqua]Jennifer Caspin[/color], [color=springgreen]Cindy Keagan[/color], [color=salmon]Haruka[/color] & [color=cornflowerblue]Shizuka[/color] [color=fa8072]T[/color][color=e78381]a[/color][color=d58591]k[/color][color=c288a0]a[/color][color=af8bb0]s[/color][color=9c8dbf]h[/color][color=8a90ce]i[/color][color=7792de]r[/color][color=6495ed]o[/color].[/h1]
[sub](Written in collaboration with [@tsukune])[/sub][/i]

[hr][hider=Armored Core OST - Ambiguity][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em_wcfxTS90[/youtube][/hider][hr]

Haruka knew he could trust his little brother not to do anything stupid - especially not with the hellscape going on outside - but he didn't like the idea of having to watch out for him all alone. He highly doubt he would be able to stop Shizuka if he did want to leave - all that guy needed to do was to walk right through him...[i]literally[/i].

The older twin let out a frustrated sigh. With their aunt gone, he began to think about the teenagers they had met so far in this city. He took out his mobile from the back pocket of his jeans and turned it on - Shizuka's ability was pretty useful but not without some...rather troublesome limits. He scrolled through the contact list - by normal standard it was quite pathetic, but to him it was the longest ever in his life.

By alphabetical order (according to their last names), Cindy's name was at the top, then followed by Trevor's. He tried to recall how they looked like, from their first (and last) meeting at the Candy Club when they first arrived at Verthaven, searching for their faces from the people around him---

It was easier than he had thought - there was no mistake about stark contrast between those two - and they were with a blond girl whom he was sure he had never met before. "Cindy! Trevor!" he called out to their acquaintances, dragging his brother along so that he wouldn't drift off with the sea of strangers around them.

"Huh?" Cindy was the first to notice them, she turned halfway, and saw the twins, and smiled. [i]Well, damn. Those two made it here in one piece.[/i] Cindy thought to herself, letting out a sigh of relief. "Hey!" Cindy shouted in response.

Being somewhat confused, Trevor raised his eyebrow as he turned his head over to where Cindy was looking. Aw shucks, it was the twins. He completely forgotten about them! Even though he was the one who introduce them to all these lovely people.

Jen was equally confused. Since she had no idea who these two kids were. It was clear that they were friends... damn, how much did she miss while she was locked up in that house of hers?

What Haruka didn't know was that his twin had been thinking along the same line - Shizuka had no intention of leaving his whiny ([i]and clumsy[/i], he had to add) brother on his own either. He seemed amused to hear Cindy's name, but frowned at the other one. "Tre-who?"

"Tre-[i]vor[/i]." Haruka shot an indignant look at him, then he shook his head. "Remember the pair of siblings we met at Chinatown - you know, the guy whose sister has a cool bike?"

Shizuka widened his eyes in mock recognition. "Oh, [i]him[/i]."

"Thank God, you two are alright." Cindy said to them, letting out a sigh of relief. She put her hand on her hip, and peered at them through her twin-framed glasses. "I'm just glad that so many of us actually made it here...." She shook her head.

"Howdy," Trevor greeted them. "We haven't been talkin' all that much lately, have we?"

Jen... still understandably confused, merely weakly waved her hand, quietly saying, "... [i]Hi.[/i]"

"Oh," Trevor said, shrugging. "Bet ya'll didn't meet Jen here yet?" Trevor asked, before he put a finger on his chin. "Think I told ya'll about her - yeah, when we first met."

"All I can recall..." Shizuka couldn't stop himself from snickering at the effeminate boy. "...Was you describing how delicious their asses are. Joking," he added quickly, catching the angry glare from his brother.

Upon hearing this, Jen and Cindy angrily looked at Trevor, who had no response other than to smile widely - showing all his teeth - shrugging. All while awkwardly laughing.

Haruka coughed. "No, I don't think we have met before," he said as he turned his attention to the blonde. "I'm Haruka, and this---" He slapped his twin's back unceremoniously. "---Is my stupid brother, Shizu. Nice...to meet you, I guess." [i]Especially when this city is about to fall apart any moment.[/i]

"Yeeeeeeah...." Jennifer awkwardly said, scratching the back of her neck. "The circumstances [i]could[/i] be better...." And that was the understatement of the decade. She didn't know these two kids - but she was certain that they wouldn't get the opportunity to get to know each other. After they leave here, everyone's probably certainly going to go their separate ways, and leave Jen here. She shouldn't worry about that. "But, yeah, I'm [i]Jennifer[/i].... Jennifer [i]Caspin.[/i]" She felt that adding her last name was redundant in hindsight.

"Hey, speaking of which," Trevor stood straight up, and rubbed his hands together. "Are any of you two hurt or anything? I can whip up a bit of my healing magic and have both of you in tip top shape in a second."

Haruka narrowed his eyes at Trevor. [i]Magic?[/i] If Metapowers like his brother's or the monster rampage that was going on outside this shelter weren't a nightmare but happening for real, maybe magic was possible too in this world. "Uh no, we're both fine. Just need some rest." From all the running around - he didn't have Shizuka's crazy stamina (or even the mental resilience to force his aching body to keep moving).

Shizuka, on the other hand, seemed interested at Trevor's suggestion. "We're not hurt on the outside, but the [i]inside[/i]. At least for my dumb brother." Ignoring his twin's glower, he continued, "He probably needs a spell to boost his nerves, I'd say."

Chuckling, Trevor quickly realized they took his little figure of speech a little too seriously. Not that he was going to put a halt to a little bit of fun in all this chaos. "Yup, let me just whip up a spell...." Just by saying that, he remembered that his power was a tad more grounded in science than one might expect. Eh. Trevor never really thought about the specifics, just that he has it. Trevor quickly produced the drug out of the tip of his finger.

"Hey!" Haruka stepped back, his anger turning into shock. "This isn't some video RPGs!"

Shizuka was finding it harder to keep a straight face. "See? You do need a good boost."

"I'm not your lab rat!"

"Shut up and just accept your 'blessing' already, idiot."

Cindy crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes up into her head. "...Hope you know what you're getting into." Cindy remembered Trevor's little power, and sure as hell didn't want to experience it again.

"Wait, Trev-" Jen tried to make sense out of all this - [i]Trevor's[/i] a Metahuman, too? The potential comedy that Jen could have gotten out of this scene was buried underneath all the questions she had.

Once Trevor got close, he extended one finger, and wiped it onto the back of Haruka's hand. The drugs were almost immediately absorbed into his body, and the boy would start feeling it's effects rather quickly. Psychedelic hallucinations, physical pleasure, sedation, and euphoria - were just some of the effects of the drug. "Alright, you should be feeling a little better now. Just relax and let it happen."

Shizuka watched as his brother froze suddenly and then he relaxed, turning to look at him... [i]Hold on.[/i] The younger twin was beginning to have a bad feeling about this - he wondered if he had taken the prank a little too far.. "Uh...Haru?" He raised a hand to reach for Haruka's shoulder, only to get his wrist locked in a strong grip by the elder twin, who seemed to be mumbling something under his breath, and there was a rising color on his cheeks. "Haruka, you okay?"

Haruka let go of his brother's hand and chuckled. "Sadly for you, of course I'm not dead yet." He then avoided Shizuka's questioning gaze, his eyelids were drooping down. "I feel sleepy..."

Shizuka narrowed his eyes - his brother was acting strangely, bolder than his usual wimpy self. "Who the hell are you?"

"H-Huh...?" Haruka slurred before he collapsed onto the ground...and he actually snored, even though it was soft, wearing some sort of affectionate - or maybe lustful? - grin on his face (Shizuka didn't like the chill he felt seeing that weird smile).

Shizuka turned to look at Trevor. "Is this what's supposed to happen?" [i]Well, now he looks dead. In some sort of dirty fantasy I really don't want to know about.[/i]

"Well, yeah." Trevor shrugged. "It calms the [i]nerves.[/i]" He said like some guru.

"Well, congratulations," Cindy shook her head with her hands on her hips. "You just drugged him. I bet your pervy ass is two seconds away from trying something." Cindy gave him a off look, and Trevor shrugged.

"Hey, hey..." Trevor put his hands up, before he pointed both fingers at Shizuka. "He asked for it."

Jen knelt down over him, confused about what just happened. She lightly slapped him on the cheek to try to wake him up or something. "Is he okay?" Jen asked.

"Glad you asked!" Trevor said. "Thanks to Dr. Obott's magic Panacea, by the time it wears off, he should be A-okay!" He put his thumb up at Jen. "Perfectly healed, and free of [i]any[/i] STDs that little fruitloop might have picked up! Ha!" Trevor started laughing as he put his hands on his gut.

"...People are dying, Trevor." Jen noted.

Shizuka could tell that whatever Trevor had done to his brother was definitely not 'magic' - he's someone  like himself and Cindy: a Metahuman. Instead of questioning him about it, the younger twin opted to continue the skit for now. "I think you gave him more than just a 'cure', [i]Dr. Obott[/i]. Looks like an overdose of love potion to me."

"Hey, overdose?" Trevor shrugged. "I only gave him a drop. Stop being so dramatic." Though, he looked at the unconscious boy on the ground. "Though.... I'd check the lil' bit's pulse. This shit can stop your heart."

"[i]Trevor![/i]" Jen shouted. This boy was being grossly irresponsible right now.

Shizuka was already on his knees, two fingers pressed against his brother's neck. "Thank goodness he's okay - otherwise I'd totally love to torture the hell out of you. [i]Nice and slow[/i]." And he wouldn't forgive himself for the stupidity - stopping the heart was definitely [i]not[/i] funny at all.

Trevor was pretty caught off guard by the whole torturing thing. Whoa. People who are right in the head don't say things like [i]that[/i] - from what Trevor recalls, only [i]sociopaths[/i] say things like that. He put his hands up. "Whoa, dial it back there, [i]Linkin' Park[/i]." He said.

[i]Linkin' Park?[/i] He shrugged off the (random) band reference and picked up Haruka in his arms, standing up to look for a better place to settle him down. At least this idiot would get the rest he so deserved - it had been a really long day. "Anyway, thanks for the 'Wonder Panacea', [i]Doc[/i]."

"Well, your welcome." Trevor said, giving him a sideways glance. It was clear that his demeanor was breaking down a bit. "'Preciate it if you'd leave out the [i]death threats[/i] next time." He noted.

Shizuka sighed to himself - his brother was (a million times) more precious to him than he would like to admit out loud. "Sorry bud - didn't want to lose my cool there, but...yeah. That's your Metapower or something, right?" He added the last line as an afterthought.

Cindy let out a sigh, and shook her head. Well, it's good that this solved itself before it started - but, Shizuka [i]did[/i] sign Haruka up for that hell-drug testing. Even after Cindy said it wasn't a good idea. She kept this to herself, of course. Though, she wondered what was going on in that loony boy's head. Cindy knew that there was [i]something[/i] wrong with him after that whole stint with the Purple-eyed things before - she thought that he was just one kooky bastard - but now, she felt like there was something else off about him. In the way that he has some emotional problems. Probably for the best if she keeps her guard up around him.

"Well, yeah." Trevor answered, scratching the back of his neck. He pointed both fingers at himself. "One hundred percent Metahuman. My lil' gift is to create this magical cure-all drug that can do wonders for your body... with a [i]few[/i] side effects." Trevor said. "Like, it can heal you if you ever get hurt. And numb the pain - Oh, and that reminds me, it's also in all my fluids and breath." Trevor just had to note - just so he can make [i]this[/i] joke. "And no, I haven't tried [i]that[/i]."

Cindy rolled her eyes up into her head. God damn this little white boy. She's wondering who the hell is going to kill her here - Trevor and his rampant sex drive, Shizuka being the looniest of the loons, or the Monsters.

At this point, Cindy's money was on her friends.

[i]This makes... more sense.[/i] Jen thought to herself as she hung her head. Trevor was so casual about his power that he was willing to talk about it like it was nothing? Where Jen was scared to talk about it for a second. It must mean that Trevor's either a fool, or realized that there are more important things here than keeping your head down.... Something that Jen should realize herself. From what she remembers, only Meifeng, Lihua, Anna, Alice and Trevor know that she's a Metahuman. A short list compared to most in this city. Jennifer shrugged.

Shizuka considered for a moment - well, aside from the fact that Trevor could squeeze out his drugs from all his fluids and breath (he shuddered a little at that part - along with a mental note to never want to try that out with that guy), it seemed like Cindy was the only one among them whose had any offensive abilities. Out of the corner of his eye he had noticed the the blond girl fidgeting when Trevor was explaining about his power. "What 'bout you then...Jen?"

"Um..." Jen said - she wasn't exactly super keen on discussing her super power - the gift of Regeneration - with a complete stranger, someone she's known for all of five minutes. [i]Especially[/i] not someone who just leveled a threat at someone. "I'm... just amazed at how many of my friends are Metahumans, now." Jennifer said - managing to catch herself. "It's... surprising. But, honestly, not the thing I should be worrying about right now." She looked outside the tent, and saw the pouring down rain.

By then Shizuka found a vacant spot near the far end of the tent - where there were fewer people around - and put his still knocked-out twin down. "Right. So, any plans? And I wonder what's going on outside now... We probably can't hide here forever."

"Well..." Jennifer said, scratching the back of her neck. The most obvious course of action for anyone in this situation would be to get far away from the danger as possible. "I think they're going to do an evacuation... at least, that's what I heard...." Jennifer trailed off.

"'Personally, I'd rather not be in the middle of this freakshow." Trevor said, shrugging. "Me, Scarlet, and Lucy, are headin' out of here. Prolly' gonna head on back to Texas, or Black Fall." Trevor shrugged.

Shizuka raised his eyebrows at Trevor. "I dunno about that - don't you find it strange that all the Metacops did was to set up a safe area, but nothing further about getting the survivors out of this city? Or any sign of reinforcements? Almost like they're going to opt for the easiest way: a complete wipeout. Not just the monsters, probably us included too."

"Yeah, and suffer the worst PR disaster this side of the west coast has ever faced." Cindy rolled her eyes up into her head... Shizuka... while a sweet kid, probably faced too much TV or whatever. "Look, things are hectic, err'body here was caught off guard by this... while I don't like NEST all that much, personally... I don't think things are bad enough that they'd do [i]that[/i]." Cindy shrugged.

"Yeah." Trevor agreed. "Stop watching so much TV. NEST ain't full of assholes... Well, 'cept for that guy who punched me in the dick, but that's a whole 'nother discussion." Trevor started off. "I think we should just give 'em a little bit of time to get things ready, then we're out of here." Trevor shrugged.

Jennifer scratched the back of her neck. Well, she couldn't pass judgement on either side - nor did she want to. Jen hasn't had enough experiences with NEST - other than the corrupt Agents that allowed her to get dragged into the Hands base. Jen's blue eyes looked over at the armed guard at the tent's entrance. But, who could be trusted in all this? That was the question [i]everyone[/i] should be asking in all of this. "Well... I kinda hope they don't destroy the city... I don't know where my family is - I hope they're... okay." Jennifer started shaking a little bit - before letting out a sigh.

"Heh, c'mon, Jen." Trevor said. "Lot of people made it here. You just gotta look - or they'll find you! Don't worry." Trevor was trying his best to be optimistic. Otherwise, he'd start running around in circles screaming his head off. Long as [i]they're[/i] not the ones fighting the Monster infestation, everything was going to be dandy.

Shizuka rubbed the back of his neck, still looking at Trevor with mild amusement. "I really have no idea if I should envy that crazy optimism of yours... Not to mention, a contagious one." Even though he still couldn't bring himself to like this pervy boy, at least he was a decent moodmaker.

"Hey," Trevor said, "A little optimism never hurt anyone, you should try the same." He shrugged. 

Cindy put her hands on her hips, and loudly sighed. A strange bunch of friends she has here. If someone told her that she'd befriend these oddballs five years ago, she'd punch that person square in the nose. Eh. At least these were the good people. "Yeah, we're going to need it." Cindy said to the group. She didn't want to sour the mood by mentioning that [i]her[/i] dad was missing, too - but her dad was easily the biggest, toughest, person that Cindy knew. She didn't know if it was denial or not, but she knew that the man probably wouldn't get himself killed like an idiot.

Jennifer smiled, for the first time she felt in ages. "Yeah... thank you." She said. She stood straight up, and looked around. "I... think I should go find Meifeng. I haven't talked to her in awhile..." [i]And it feels like the biggest mistake of my life.[/i] Jennifer thought to herself as she scratched the back of her neck. "Maybe... she knows what'll happen next. Lihua knows a lot about what happens in NEST." She shrugged. "It was... nice... meeting you two. I hope we can talk again.... maybe under different... [i]better[/i] circumstances?" She said.

"Yeah, you go do you, girl." Cindy said, giving Jen a half-smile. She threw her thumb over her shoulder. "I'm going to stay here and make sure that [i]these[/i] guys don't get themselves killed."

"Heey!" Trevor retorted. "But, yeah, see ya' later, sweetheart." He bid Jen farewell. Shizuka merely rolled his eyes at Cindy and gave the blond  a short wave.

Jen nodded her head, and turned away and walked out of the tent. Right into the freezing rain.

"... Heeeey, didn't I tell you she had a nice butt?" Trevor gave the twins a wry grin, and laughing. He just said this to get a rise out of Cindy. "I'd say hers is as good as Cindy's-"

"Not. Another. [i]Word.[/i]" Cindy turned around halfway, and looked directly at Trevor with the scariest death glare he's ever been given. "If you value those balls of yours, of course."

Shizuka smirked at their exchange - it would have been so much funnier if they weren't in the middle of a Slime Apocalypse. Haruka stirred and sat up slowly, but he still felt too groggy to make any sense of the conversation going on around him.

"Uh... So what did I miss?"