---

---

The sun was shining in this city, as there was a celebration taking place that was known nationwide. The Day Of The Rivière Festival! The celebration of the city being founded. From several different quarters of the Inner-Ring, a parade was going through the streets of the city. And where the parade wasn't, the streets were closed off as several stands and whatnot were being placed. The streets were full of families from all over, observing the scenery, dancing, and eating. The place was full of fun. There was also a heavy NEST presence within the celebration, along with police presence. Just to preserve order in the event. However, once the neon lights come on, the celebration will take a whole new light.

---

---

---

"... I will remember you, your silhouette will charge the view!"

Jessica sung along with the song as she was driving through the tall hills that lead to New Rivière City. Well, at least according to this thingamajig GPS! They were no more than half an hour away from the city. Fortunately, Texas wasn't that big of a distance from Louisiana. The pain in the ass was getting up to Ohio. Thank God Jess' Daddy was understanding about their little quest - and allowed her to borrow the RV. Or else they'd be in trouble. Though, this whole road trip was awfully gloomy. No one was talking or saying anything!

While driving, Jessica quickly turned her head back and got a glance at her two "travel buddies." Wendy, of course, was sitting at the table, reading a book. Jessica couldn't get a good eye as to what she was reading, but the youngest of their group (And potentially the most powerful) was all set reading her book. Diana was sitting at the sofa (which was next to the window)... Smoking a cigarette, and blowing the smoke out the window into the street.

"Hey, Diane!" Jessica was quick to shout at her. "What did I say about smokin' in my Daddy's RV!?" She said, her Texan accent was thicker than usual.

The short-haired blonde rolled her eyes up into her head. "Puh-lease," Diana started off. "You refuse to stop at a rest stop, and it's been hours since the last time I had a light, so gimme a break for crying out loud." Diana was quick to complain.

"She's right, you know." Wendy said - for the first time in hours. Actually putting her book down - which was less of her reading for fun, and more about her gathering information on their destination - to speak. "We're going to get cancer from all this second hand smoke at this rate."

"What?" Diana scoffed, "You takin' her side now?"

"No," Wendy answered. "I'm just tired of smelling cigarette smoke while I read."

"Well, that's hard since you're always reading..."

"... And you're always smoking."

"Hey, ladies, ladies, ladies," Jessica was quick to chime in on their "conversation" (I.E bickering) just so she doesn't have to hear their back and fourth all the way there. "I thought you girls would be more excited about our little trip to New Rivière... Especially since we're super close, and today's gonna have that festival where the girls flash their titties! Whasit' called...?"

"First; ew." Wendy was the first to chime in - utterly repulsed by the idea of women flashing their breasts. "Two; it's the Day Of The Rivière Festival. Where people celebrate the day this city was discovered."

"Yeah that!" Jessica said.

"By drinkin' and fuckin' each other nonstop." Diana sarcastically added, a wry grin formed on her face. "I doubt that kind of place is appropriate for a kid like you, Wen...." She spoke a little more seriously there as she spun the cigarette in between her fingers.

"Um, no." Wendy corrected her, the sarcasm going over her head. "That's only the tourists - the slutty ones - it's actually all about the parades, food, and costumes. People only flash each other at night...." Wendy shrugged. She reached off to the side, grabbing her satchel which contained her camera. She pulled it out for a moment and examined. While they were only coming here for business, Wendy was looking forward to taking some shots with her camera.

After looking at Wendy, Diana felt the need to remind the group of why they're here. "Girls... don't forget why we're here..." Diana was quick to note. "We ain't here to fool around in some stupid circus - we came to find Liv and stop her before she does something stupid."

"Yeah, I know, I know...." Jessica shrugged. "But who's to say that we can't enjoy the city for a bit?"

"Remember, if my sources are correct, that psycho-crazy bitch is there, too - and we don't want nothing to do with that." Diana explained, and the two other girls were quick to explain. "The whole Academy was fighting her goons last time. Even with Liv, there's only four of us, against them. Now that sound like a fight we can win...?"

"Sounds pretty fun, though." Jessica was quick to say, following it with hearty laughter.

"Yeah, I agree with Diana.... For once." Wendy said. "Leave her to NEST, or whoever else she pissed off."

The last person any of them wanted to fight was Amethyst. She was powerful as she was vicious.

"We'll just ask around until we find Liv, get out of here and let Amethyst do whatever the hell she wants to, and then we can maybe have this super-duper-fun Roadtrip you were talking about, Jess." Diana added.

"Alright, alright..." Jessica once again shrugged. "We're here anyway."

They were too busy conversing to realize that they had entered New Rivere. The Outer Ring, in fact. It sure as hell didn't look too inviting to tourists. Because they had entered the ghetto.

"Soooooooooo...." Jessica said. "Our best bet in finding Liv is asking around, yes?"

"Yeah. If she's asking around, then we'll ask around, someone must of seen her." Diana said. "And there ain't no way in hell that she can beat the three of us - 'specially not you, Jess." Diana added.

"...So why don't we head to the festival?! It's where Liv would have gone!" Jessica triumphantly said.

Diana sighed. "Alright, then. Let's have some fun at the festival for a bit... Liv wouldn't have passed up the chance to go there." Maybe they can find some crooks who Olivia asked. Though, she was getting a little excited for this whole festival event.

After thirty more minutes of driving, the group found themselves in the thick of the festival. The worst part was finding a parking spot that'd fit an entire RV - But, they found everything they needed, and found a parking spot on the outskirts of the festival. The trio got out of the RV - Wendy being the first off, and snapping a picture of the area. Making Diana roll her eyes as Jessica simply got off the RV and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay!" Jessica said. "This place looks fine and dandy - but as Diana said, we gotta look for Liv."

"We'll cover more ground if we split up," Diana was the first to say. "Me and Wen will go one way, Jess, you go another."

"That's fine and dandy - I'll be draggin' Liv back." Jessica said as she tipped her hat.

The girls went their separate ways.

---

---

---

This was a stupid idea...

It started out a stupid idea...

...and it's sure as hell going to end that way.

Olivia's motorcycle raged as she drove closer and closer to her destination: New Rivière City. She heard it was a nice place - if only she could have visited this place under better circumstances. Right now, she was on a mission. She knew exactly where she was going to go - but she'll have to be quick, and quiet. There's some people on her tail (Particularly NEST), and she'll need to think about how she was going to stay out of their way. Like hell she was going to let the bitch who killed her boyfriend off freely like that. Since it appears that no one else gives a shit, then it's up to Olivia to pick up the slack.

A few sources she had told her that her target was here in the city. Which meant that Olivia was going to do all in her power to stop the bitch before she hurts anyone else. Though, New Rivière was a big City, which had plenty of people. Though, Amethyst was most likely not the one who'd keep herself hidden for long. Especially with the criminal underworld keeping an eye out on everything of note (Metahumans especially).

Hitting a bump, Olivia bounced upwards, before she started smoothly riding her way through this new and unfamiliar city of hers. For starters, she would need to find someone who has their ear to the criminal underworld. Someone who can at least point her in the right direction.... which was going to be much harder than it sounds. Olivia picked up speed. For now, she was going to enjoy this city, and everything it has to offer, just for one day. Allowing herself to subtly gather information on the city before she acts on her target.

Hey, sounds like that NEST Agent daddy of hers is starting to rub off.

There was this big festival going on downtown. She heard all about it from TV. It was going to have all sorts of food and people. Hey... she always wanted to go here, but her father never allowed her, calling it a "day of debauchery" that no girl that respects herself should go to. That seems like the perfect place to start - if Amethyst isn't already there. Olivia picked up speed as she crossed the bridge into the Inner-Ring. Having little idea of the layout of the city, Olivia had to rely on asking for instructions, and found the festival. It was easy finding a parking space... on the outskirts.

Nothing like a good walk to warm her up.

---

---

With Garrett, life was just about making the best of whatever you have. It was unfair to everyone, one way or another, so he often had little use for complains. However, at times like these, he just couldn’t help it.

It was on a Monday, a little past twelve. The sun was merciless. While all wise men and their dogs sought shelter, awaiting the joyous festivities that was due to commence that evening, he was stuck out here in the street, wrangling steel beams and banners under the midday sun. Admittedly, the pay was good, but now that he thought about it, eating ramen for another week might not seem like such a bad idea. Another sigh threatened to escape, but Garrett bit his lips and moved on, eager to get all this over with. He needed the money now more than ever, considering that he had just moved. It was a nice place, just close enough to work so that he could walk and far enough so that people wouldn’t make any assumption. Also, corpses weren’t as likely to turn up at your doorstep, so he supposed it was all worth it. Hopefully.

Two hours later, and Garrett finally finished with making the stall look decent. After a quick dash back to his apartment for shower and early dinner, he returned and promptly opened the hotdog stall. Working on a holiday was usually the worst kind of torture you could inflict upon yourself, but in his case, Garrett didn’t feel that horrible. After all, he doubted he would be able to fully enjoy the festivities anyway, considering the sheer number of NEST agents prowling the streets. As a hotdog vendor, they wouldn’t even give him a second look, so at least that was nice. He even donned the horrible baseball cap with the poorly made hotdog embroidery.

So far, it was fairly quiet. The lights would come on soon enough, but until then, the city would hold its breath in anticipation. Garrett was content to just flip hotdogs on the grill and enjoy the scenery. This were one of those few occasions when he showed his face in the Inner-Ring, and to be honest, he thought he would like a life here. It was a kaleidoscope of sounds and sights, and it reminded him of Highroller Heights so much. He probably couldn’t settle here though, given his status as an unregistered metahuman. But what was keeping him from getting registered? Granddad’s paranoia rubbed off on him? Possibly. That and the fact that he didn’t like people keeping tabs on him like some rabid dogs, especially with the sorts of business he was involved in. It wasn’t anything major, he just kept track of the hotel’s occupants and provided the information to an interested party. And by interested party, he meant Seraphine Campbell. The woman had her fingers in lots of pies in this city, so there were bound to be some occupational hazard working for her, but she paid well and was less likely to cross you.

His train of thoughts came to a sudden stop as another customer walked up for a hotdog. Garrett quickly responded to the order, and after handing over the hotdog, he noticed the streets were crowding up. He half-smiled, wondering what the evening would have in store for him. Hopefully something exciting. He did enjoy some surprises now and then.

"The place is going to be crawling with NEST agents, so no starting fights or anything," Salvador's glare was directed towards Max.

"I'm not that stupid," the nineteen year old retorted, rolling her eyes. The group of three was moving relatively quickly through the outer ring of the city towards were the festival was taking place. They managed to get about undisturbed by other people who lived there, mostly due to Sal having a slightly intimidating look to him. Max too, really. Rori was the only one that looked at all harmless.

"I was just making sure you're both aware."

Rori was aware, of course. There was a reason that they were wearing a hoody even in this weather. The soft feathers that ran down their arms were a big give away to the fact that they had features that weren't quite human. The feathers also added to the fact that they were already overheating. They could only hope that nobody decided to look up close.

"I don't see why we're going to this festival anyway. As much as I'm looking forward to the more scandalous side of it," Max grinned slightly at the thought of that, "the rest is all just a bit... lame. I don't exactly have money to spend on things." Though Max certainly wasn't going to complain if anyone came onto her, no matter which gender.

"Almost everyone from the city participates in the city. There is always the chance we will find people that we can... get along with. And if not, people don't notice if things go missing when it's so busy and they're so distracted," Sal lowered his voice as he spoke and they got into the area were there were more people bustling in the streets. It certainly was busy.

"But there are also NEST agents everywhere and I hate being careful," Max huffed, before a frown formed on her lips. "What if I brush up against a, y'know, metahuman."

"You are expecting to have skin to skin contact with others?"

"Hmm, well when you put it that way... yes."

"I would prefer if you keep any escapades to yourself," Sal looked just slightly irritated, but also amused, at his younger sister. "And carry any consequences of that."

"Well fine- wait," Max paused, narrowing her dark eyes. "Where did Rori go?" As they'd gotten more into the crowd and festival their overly cheerful had disappeared somewhere into the mass of people. "I swear they were here just a minute ago."

"They'll be fine," Sal shook his head slightly at Max's concern. It was hardly like Rori couldn't hold their own. "I'm not worried about them starting fights. You, on the other hand," he glanced over at her, tone turning slightly teasing.

"That is an unfair accusation," Max snapped, looking slightly annoyed. "They may be able to, but I'd rather we find them!"

"Fine, you lead the way."

"I will!" After hesitating for a moment Max turned slightly and headed in the direction she hoped her cousin had gone.

---

_{@Mr Allen J}

Rori was lost. Though they weren't particularly bothered about that. They could easily enough find Salvador and Max if they really needed to and found a quiet street. Being able to turn into a bird sometimes had its perks.

Being small also had its perks like being able to move through the crowds quite easily. And wow were the stalls amazing! Rori hadn't seen anything like it in their life. There were so many people. It was pretty overwhelming but Rori was enjoying it all. They hadn't been around so many people for a while and they did like people. Maybe they would meet some people to talk to that weren't their cousins!

Rori was too busy looking directly at the stalls, unable to really notice where she was walking due to the whole bird eye thing, that she walked straight into some blonde girl. And she was shorter than them! Rori wasn't used to people being shorter than them.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't looking where I was walking," Rori managed to cheep out, surprisingly cheerful even though the girl she had just walked into looked a bit... intimidating. The other girl with her didn't though. Maybe she would be friendly!

Rori just hoped this didn't start any trouble.

New Rivière City was alive, each street a vein, each boulevard an artery. Life flowed along each of these highways, spilling out into the parks and into and out of buildings. The sun still spilled across the great sweating carcass of the city, bathing the crowds in its fierce glare but doing little to discourage the revelry. Even the setting of the sun would have no effect, this Seraphine knew, she had lived in New Rivière for the last twelve years, and every year she had looked out over this same festival. Well, not every year, some years she had walked among it herself, on the arm of a man wealthy and connected enough to afford her. Not this year, not for the last six. She had left that part of her life a long way behind, although now she was the one who approved clients, who made sure that the girls were well cared for and happy, and of course, that all of the client’s desires were satiated.

‘The Night House’ was the city’s most exclusive, and expensive underground brothel. Not literally of course, but brothels were illegal in Louisiana, albeit extremely lucrative, and they offered so many delightful opportunities for gathering information. Seraphine was good to her girls, kept them happy, gave them somewhere safe to stay, fed them well, and ensured they got an education, but they were expected to work for all of those benefits. How much they worked, and how popular they were, controlled how much went into their pockets. A handful of girls acted only as bar tenders and waitresses. They made enough to get by. Most girls did a little more, acting as high class escorts, and the more popular could fetch thousands of dollars a night, one girl even fetched that without any sexual favours. And then there were the boys, ‘The Night House’ catered to every appetite, no matter how exotic. And Seraphine spun her web ever wider, thriving on the pillow talk that swiftly made its way back to her ears. It’s often said that a woman is the power behind the throne, and if so the person who holds that woman’s contract is powerful indeed.

She turned away from the window, letting the sun’s rays outline her starkly against the city skyline. She moved back to her desk and sat, glancing over to the young man lounging in the corner of the room, laughing and joking with the two girls who had just been reporting to her. They were the favourite of the married, father of three Deputy Police Commissioner, two girls, one blonde, one brunette, with petite, albeit gifted bodies. She raised an eyebrow, needing little else to bring their conversation to a close before she nodded at the girls. “Thank you ladies, you can expect a little something extra in your packets this month. Now go on, the Deputy Commissioner will be here in a few hours, take some time to yourselves.”

They smiled and thanked her before taking their leave, leaving Seraphine and the young man in the room by themselves. She glared exasperatedly at his rumpled shirt.

“Would it kill you to iron that thing? Or have one of the maids do it. It hurts to see a two hundred dollar shirt treated so poorly.”

Eli shrugged, “it’s going to end up creased or worse anyway, I don’t see any point in pretending otherwise.”

She sighed and tapped a few keys on the computer. “Take tonight off, but don’t stray too far, I doubt anyone is stupid enough to cause trouble with the police and NEST out in force, but I prefer to take out my own insurance.”

---



New Rivière City was a new breath of air, something different, New York was an entirely different sort of place, much more business like, much more by the numbers. New Rivière just seemed that little bit more alive, at least right now it did. This festival was amazing, on a whole other level from the consumerist parades of New York, with their massive, inflated cartoon characters and expensive advertising campaigns. She still missed Manhattan a little though, she’d known the place so well that it had almost become a part of her. And thank the Lord she had known it so well or she wouldn’t be here now. Her hand strayed to the vicious scar at her neck, it still looked raw, despite being nearly four years old now.

There was a brief buzz, then the phone at her hip began to ring, she frowned, and extracted it from the heavy Kevlar phone holster beside the slightly more traditional Sig P226 paddle holster. Her jacket swung back into place to cover up the gun, and she glared around at the patrons of the coffee shop, daring them to comment. Nobody had even glanced in her direction. The place was nearly empty anyway, most people in the more active areas, enjoying the festival. Alice glanced at the name displayed on the screen of the phone and scowled, declining the call before it could ring a third time.

She turned back to the counter where the staff were finishing packing up a baker’s dozen of assorted donuts and pouring two large coffees. They didn’t look particularly happy to be stuck in here while everyone else was out enjoying the festival, but they’d likely be enjoying it with everyone else before the night was out. Everyone but the bars closed early tonight.

Gathering the box into her arms and slapping down a handful of dollar bills, she collected the coffees and turned back to the exit. Using her butt, or at least what butt she had, she pushed open the door to step into the searing sun. She smirked, glanced towards the black sedan across the street and moved as though collapsing onto a low chair, then vanished with a faint pop.

There was a dull thump inside the car as Alice landed in the seat. Somehow she had already flipped open the donut box and was cramming a jelly donut into her mouth. She offered one of the coffees to her companion, the tall, almost Amazonian NEST agent she had been partnered with for tonight. Lynette Dominguez had remained in the car while Alice made a snack run. Having apparently inhaled the entire donut in about three seconds, she paused before eating another, “one coffee, one glazed donut. Oh shit, you want cream? Sugar?”

---



Eli stepped out of ‘The Night House’, stretching expansively. His stretch pulled his jacket away from his sides, revealing that for once he had foregone carrying a weapon. He would likely be drinking tonight, and carrying a gun would just make people paranoid. Dressed in a shirt that cost more than a days meals, and jeans with a brand most people would never have heard of, he wandered off down the street. He wasn’t too sure what he wanted out of tonight, good fun really, and that was it. So he headed in the direction of a few bars that would be open early, and well populated by women, even at this hour.

He worked for Seraphine Campbell, so he never wanted for women, though he was good looking enough, and charming enough that they were legitimately earned, and not just perks of the job. Still, it was nice every once in a while to just pick up a girl in a bar, like every other guy his age would be trying to do. Maybe he’d play a few games of cards. ‘The Night House’ had its own high stakes casino, but he didn’t really like playing with most of her clients. Didn’t really like her clients, but she didn’t pay him for that, she paid him to deal with problems they might cause if they became disgruntled. And Eli was very good at dealing with problems.

He sauntered down the street in search of wine, women, and perhaps a little fun too…

Another busy shift.

It was a busy time at The Cracked Window, one of the city's most popular tourist restaurants. There was a fair going on nearby and that meant lots of hungry people who didn't want to shell out their money for corn dogs and funnel cakes. Heather was busy tending the bar this time, keeping an eye on her guests while she mixed drinks for the other servers. It wasn't a big restaurant, it probably had only 50 tables, not including the outside tables that most liked to sit at on a beautiful day like today.

Though she had her own headaches to deal with. For starters, she had to tell the woman at her countertop that, for the last time, they didn't have sushi here, it wasn't a Japanese restaurant. The pervy man at Table 2 had to be told that no, her breasts were not on the menu. The family at Table 6 had an annoying child who kept screaming, even though his parents continued to make googly eyes at each other. Heather was tempted to pick the child up and fling him across the room, but that would be bad for business.

She almost never used her gifts at work. There were times she had to reach for something on the top shelf and used her telekinesis to get it down. Other times she served her own brand of justice to irritable guests, but never would she ever do it in public. It wasn't easy, any amount of anger she showed could be costly and she didn't want to find out just how powerful she is when she's mad.

So she continued to make drinks and server burgers and fries to the hungry patrons. She was making a killing, at least, and she had the next day off to be able to enjoy the fair.

---

_@FernStone

---

Wendy was making the best of this trip. The much taller girl was taking pictures of anything of note.

With a small grin on her face as she realized she was enjoying herself.

Diana rolled her eyes up into her head. Eh. Might as well let Wendy do her thing - since she's probably more likely to spot Olivia than any of them. Well, if she's even here. Diana shrugged as she reached into her breast pocket and pulled out another cigarette. She placed it in her mouth, and gently held it in place with her teeth. She used her other hand to shield it from the wind as she reached for her lighter. Jess can't complain if she smokes here....

Some broad with terrible vision just bumped right into her.

It didn't hit Diana particularly hard - but she dropped her lighter and the cigarette. That made Diana grit her teeth a little. "Hey, watch it!" Diana hissed as she reached down for her lighter (The cigarette was done). After she grabbed her lighter... she realized what this broad could be up to. She reached checked her pockets, and saw that nothing was taken. Diana sighed.

"Oh!" Wendy said - she knew that it was up to her to quickly defuse the situation. "It's okay! It was just an accident, right?"

"... Well, that's one cigarette that I'm not getting back." Diana groaned. As she looked at the girl... funny, the two girls were pretty much the same height (Even though Diana was clearly older). She had this stupid ass blue hair. Like did the hair-dye seep into her brain and ruin her vision? Though, Diana didn't harbor any ill will towards the girl. It seemed to be an accident... and Diana wasn't stupid enough to start a fight here of all places. She merely shrugged. "Eh, it's cool. Accidents happen."

Wendy sighed in relief. Seems like Diana's using that head of hers for once. Though... she wasn't sure if she should say anything, or walk away (Like she kinda wanted to do). "So..." Wendy said. "Are you, uh, visiting this city? We're here..."

The two Lucker girls exchanged looks.

"... Looking to enjoy the festival, yeah." Wendy nodded her head.

---

_@RedDusk

---

Well, walking was a tad hard.

Though, with all these parades and people dancing about, it was hard to get bored. Jessica honestly wanted to start dancing with them! A country gal in a big party - it was almost like those parties she saw in the movies! Jess was hoping that she could find Olivia, but she has to go have a good time. Because what's the point of doing anything if you're not having a good time? It was hard to focus though - all Jess could smell was all the great food.

All this food was making her hungry, though.

Problem was that she didn't that much money with her (Only enough to afford some gas in case they needed it - and Daddy would certainly give her some money). She had a couple waddled up dollars in her pocket. While she was walking, she saw a hotdog stand! That sounds like food you'd get in a city... not in a place like New Rivière (Where she was expecting nothing but seafood, and gumbo!). But, it was at least something she knew.

There wasn't much of a line, so Jessica was able to walk her way over to the vendor and reached into her pocket and placed the jammed up wads of cash on the stand. "Hey, you got those fancy hotdogs with the chili cheese and stuff on it?" Jessica asked. "That'd be great!"

It took Jess a few moments to look up at the dude and realize that he looks like one of those types that never touched a girl before! While it was a tad dishonest, maybe she can use a little bit of her country girl charms to get herself a discount.

Jessica leaned forward a bit, and gave him a friendly grin, "How you take a dollar or two off? You know... give me that pretty country gal discount?" She winked at him.

---

---

Lynette was a tad unfamiliar with all of this.

It was only yesterday when she was in training... now she's standing guard in one of the biggest events of the year. She felt honored... it was more of a intimidation factor. If anyone causes any trouble, they'd have to be stupid. And it wasn't like Lynette was the best agent. Though, the problem with the heavy NEST/police presence here was basically saying "Attack somewhere else!" Maybe she was just being cynical, or whatever.

Lynette was simply waiting in the black NEST sedan that had tinted windows, and the NEST emblem on the side. She could be out there being an "active presence," but she preferred staying in this car. It was hot outside, and it'd start to heat up the metal of her limbs if she's just standing around outside.... Oh yes. The metal that she has compensated for her missing limbs. She could feel the cold of the metal pressing against her. She willed it and her hand pressed up on the dashboard. It still felt strange missing her limbs like this. Regardless of what she uses to replace it, it still feels odd. She just had to remind herself sometimes.

... What interrupted her reverie was her "partner" Alice teleporting into the car.

Lynette was never going to get used to that.

"... You know there's a door." Lynette snarked at Alice as the surprise wore off. She realized how awkward her "body language" looked when she wasn't using her metal arms. Lynette put her hand up. Alice was an eccentric NEST Agent - and she's certainly seen some oddballs while working with NEST. Alice asked her about coffee... not that Lynette was really a coffee person - but she can afford some just once. "Uhh... I'd like cream in my coffee... you don't have to teleport, I'll go get it."

She glanced outside for a moment, and noticed that some of the other NEST Agents were enjoying themselves outside. Though, all Lynette could think about was work. If she slacks now, disaster will strike.

"So, how's the situation looking out there?" Lynette asked.

The evening was beginning to wear on him. Garrett was no stranger to working 12 straight. Hell, he had even done worse during those first months in Riviere. The city was ruthless, even more so to foolish wanderers without a past. Still, that didn’t make his current gig any bearable. Between the heat of the grill and the strain of standing for hours on ends, he was sweating like a pig, not to mention the endless stream of customers pouring in when the festival started to pick up. Regardless, he maintained the perfect façade; he greeted each customer with a smile and put up with their small talks gracefully. After all, his training at the Blood Lotus had become so ingrained it was almost second nature.

Eventually, the crowd thinned. It could be that the parade was starting, so folks went off to search for a good spot to gawk. He had never been a fan of the parade. Too crowded. Wading through a sea of sweaty bodies and meowling kids, to what end? Just to catch a brief look at some people in flashy outfits. Sure, some people might enjoy that, but he didn’t. He would prefer to hit one of the local clubs and kick back a bit, though at this rate, he probably wouldn’t make it. The hotdog stand would have to stay open for another couple of hours, then he would have to clean up everything and take the stall back to its owner. It was going to be a very, very long night.

Then a young woman approached. Garrett was on a quick break, taking off his hat and noting briefly that the hotdog slightly resembled a certain part of the human male anatomy, when she walked up. Immediately, he stood straighter and put on his ‘how can I help you’ receptionist smile. Much to his surprise though, the girl tried to get a discount out of him using her looks, if the winking and leaning was any indication. It was then he looked at her, really looked rather than just glancing as if she were another passer-by. And admittedly, she wasn’t hard on the eyes; a redhead, green eyes, striking features and quite endowed in other aspects as well. Garrett would be lying if he claimed his eyes didn’t drift southward for a few seconds. In the end though, he was planning to deny her that discount. Politely, of course. However, glancing at the none-existence line behind her, he figured, what the hell, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Maybe if he gave her a hotdog she would stay for a brief chat. He could use some company.

“One chili cheese dog, ma’am.”- He half-smiled as he handed over the hotdog, while his other hand slid the cash wad back toward the young woman– “Consider it a welcome, from New Riviere.”

After a short pause, he continued while absentmindedly tidying up the work surface of his stall – “So how do you enjoy the festival? Everything’s to your liking?”

_{@Mr Allen J}

Rori, much to their own surprise, didn't even jump back when the girl they had bumped into hissed at them. Yeah certainly not the right person to get onto the wrong side of. Of course they had to be the one to bump into someone dangerous. Ah well! The girl hadn't murdered Rori yet.

"I'm really sorry about it, I have bad peripheral vision y'see, so I didn't see where I was going! But yeah, an accident." Rori responded, feeling slightly nervous for a moment. They hoped the other two didn't decide to take a close look at their eyes. If the eyes were watched long enough it became obvious they weren't entirely human. And Salvador would have Rori's skin if he found out that someone had discovered they were a metahuman. Thankfully neither of the two seemed interested in that.

"Oh, you're here for the festival, that's cool!" Rori grinned, quickly falling out of the nervousness and back into their normal cheery self. Too cheerful for some people. "I've never been to the festival, but it seems really cool... Though I'm not sure I want to be around later, supposedly it get's inappropriate. My cousin, Max, is looking forward to that... Oh, sorry, I didn't answer your question!" They had begun rambling, and surprisingly noticed that they were doing so. "I'm not actually visiting. I live here, sorta, with my cousins. Haven't been here long though," they ran a hand through their blue hair as they spoke. "I was hoping to meet people who lived here. Oh, oh, I'm Rori by the way. Rori Aherne. Just in case you wanted to know or something." They shrug. "How about you two. What are your names?"

They had spoken a bit longer than they had meant to. Rori had a tendency to just go off from one topic to the next and continue talking until someone stopped them. It often drove their cousins up the walls. Sal found it especially annoying. Rori was often quite oblivious to just how annoying they were as well. They liked being friendly.

They were also quite glad that these two hadn't just walked off. They liked talking to new people! Especially if they were from other places. "Where did you come from? If you don't mind saying. I've moved around a bit, but it's always interesting to hear about other cities!"

---

_@FantasyChic

"I'm hungry," Max was complaining only a few minutes into searching for Rori. Sal was hardly surprised. His sister was something of a fickle creature. He had expected her complaining quite a while ago. That or her starting a fight, or flirting with someone. They were all very much possibilities. Sal really should have just let Max look for Rori alone. Then again that would end up with her in a prison cell. He didn't want to deal with that. She was useful sometimes. He was good enough as a leader to know that (at least he liked to think so, not that he had much to lead anymore).

"Then we'll get some food," Sal restrained himself from sighing. "That place looks nice enough." The Cracked Window. Weird name for a restaurant.

"Are you feeling okay, Sal, you just offered to take me to a restaurant," Max looked at her brother suspiciously as the two walked in. He tended to be really quite stingy with money. Maybe he was just worried she'd get annoyed and draw attention. She was quite happy to use her slightly anger issues as leverage to get things like this. Maybe she should do it more often... Not that she chose when she got angry. It just happened.

"I'm feeling perfectly fine," Sal snapped, before politely talking to one of the waitresses inside. It was quite busy but she managed to find the two of them a table near to the bar. Max sat down facing it, quickly looking over the menu before cautiously glancing around at her surroundings.

"That waitress is really hot," she whispered to her brother a lot louder than she meant to, trying not to stare too much at the waitress tending the bar. There wasn't exactly anything that stood out incredibly about her but she was... very good looking. She had blonde hair. Max liked blonde hair. What was she even thinking? Now was certainly not the time to get attracted to random bartenders or waitresses or whatever.

"Max, you're staring." Sal didn't looked particularly impressed.

"Oh fuck, yeah, thanks," Max muttered (surprising even her brother with her thanks), glancing back down at her menu. As much as she gave her cousin shit for being completely socially unaware Max wasn't much better. It was just in a different way.

"I really shouldn't bring you out places."

"Shut up, asshole," Max snapped with a glare, frowning down at the food options. "I just hope someone comes over and takes our orders cause I really need food." And maybe it would help her forget that she was here with her asshole of a brother...

---

_@RedDusk

---

Not only did she get a "discount," but the dude gave Jess the hotdogs for free!

"Sweet!" Jessica said as she jammed the money back into her pocket with a wide grin on her face. "You know how to make a country gal feel welcome! Thanks!" She said, cheerful as ever.

With her hands free, she grabbed the chili dog and took a bite. Pretty good, too. Looks like this guy knows his hotdogs! But! She has to get down to business! Jessica looked around as she was chewing the hotdog, and there wasn't a line to be seen. Which meant she had all the time in the world to chat up her new best friend. Now, she remembered that she mentioned that she wasn't from New Riviere. She didn't know how much about a hotdog vendor would know, but she had to start somewhere.

"Yeah, this festival's great." Jessica said. "Always hear about this festival in those commercials, y'know... what were they called? Oh, yeah, Girls Gone Wild!" She started laughing. A little joke to lighten the mood. She casually leaned over to the hot dog stand, placing one hand down on it for support, and looked at the Vendor (She should catch his name). "Despite a suspicious lack of ta-tas, this place is incredible. People are dancing, the foods smells incredible... and I'm standing here eating a hotdog. No offense." She chuckled a little more.

"Should go explore it some more - but, I'm actually on a mission," Jessica said. "I'm looking for a friend... that's going to do something really, really, dumb. Have you by chance seen a brown haired chick with a scarf built like a MMA fighter?" Jessica asked. "Doubt she'd swing around here - not being a fan of squirrels, raccoons, and possums rolled up into a wiener... No offense... but it's hard as hell to miss her."

Eyes were scanning the area. Being observant was never Jess' strong suit, but hell. Jessica was hoping that they get a lead on Olivia... after the festival. She intended on staying here from dusk to dawn (Or until they kick everyone out).

"Oh," Jessica almost forgot. "Where are my manners? I'm Jessica."

---

_@FernStone

---

Thank God that Wendy had subdued the situation a bit.

Not that there was a situation in the first place, but still. Diana was a feisty one... and when she meets another of her kind; things tend not to end well. Last thing Wendy needed was NEST. So, the way things played out were for the best. The tall girl sighed. Then scratched the back of her neck - pushing some hair out of the way - while awkwardly smiling for a second. When she realized Diana was looking at her oddly.

"... Maybe you should get some glasses." Diana muttered under her breath with a devious grin on her face. Right when she got the last word out of her mouth, Wendy had nailed her in the side with her elbow. "Hey... hey... Chill." Diana lightly grazed the "wound" that Wendy gave her. She rolled her eyes, and just chose to sit back in this interaction and let Wendy take the scene. The kid needs it, and Diana didn't feel like talkin' to no kid.

Just like Diana expected, it was a conversation between Wendy and this strange girl. Wendy had been observing her... checking her body language mostly. That's when this girl started chatting up a storm, and Wendy reluctantly looked over to Diana as if she was silently asking for help. Only for the blonde to cross her arms. Wendy would have elbowed her again, but she decided to focus on Rori. Though, she was able to glean a little bit out of her (Such as who's this "Cousin Max," that apparently into inappropriate things).

More importantly, she's a local... sort of. She says that she's new here. Which means that she won't know as much as a local of this city. Which also means it's, at best, unlikely that she'll know anything about Olivia.

Diana would have just politely said, "That's nice," and walked away, but not Wendy. She was planning on going the whole nine yards.

"Wendy," She simply stated her name. She peered over to Diana, who wasn't chatting. "And this is Diana... my big sister."

The two exchanged confused looks.

"... My older sister I mean." Wendy quickly answered. "We're from Stadium City in Ohio. Yeah I know it's pretty far away... We're here on a little mission - but that isn't important right now." Wendy realized she was talking a tad too much. She awkwardly looked at Rori, and shrugged. "It's... nice. It's not as dangerous as people think it is."

"Heh..." Diana chimed in. "It's "safe" because every small time crook is scared pissless of the Tyrants... it's the NEST bastards that's the problems. They keep trying to fix something that ain't broken in the name of saving face." Diana noted...

... And quickly got a sharp elbow from Wendy.

"But, yeah..." Wendy trailed off, thinking of something to do. Since she was running out of steam for this conversation. She saw all these food vendors, and got an idea. "... How about we get something to eat? Don't worry, it's on me."

Bold words for Wendy.

But she was aiming to gather information.

The tantalizing smell of street food danced through the air, rich aromas of fresh pastries intermingling with the oily fragrance of fried anything. Music and mayhem collided in the streets until each voice and song evolved into an amalgamated chorus. The sun glared down at the crowd of celebrators, but that did little to somber the mood. If anything, it gave the people a good excuse to drink beer and revel deeper in the chaos of blissful partying. The spirit of celebration was thick in the air as Lewis strolled through the busy streets. You could almost smell the scent of joy and excitement in the wind. Well, that or alcohol.

Lewis breathed in deeply as he took in the sights and sounds, a light smile decorating his face. On normal circumstances, he would have avoided the Inner-city like the plague. He had no business to attend to there. The people weren't as gullible, his presence would be less than welcomed, and thqt wasn't even mentioning how monitored the place was. Still, the festival was not an event to be missed. It was host to the good memories he had of New Revière, however little there were.

It wasn't until the sun beat down like the devil in heels that Lewis began to slow. His skin glistened with sweat from heat and his stomach growled like an otherworldly beast. Perhaps he should have eaten more than just a pack of crackers he found in the fridge. Like two packs of crackers. Better than being hot and hungry like he was now. Lewis ducked into an alleyway, sighing as the shadows brought relief from the shade. His eyes scanned the crowd, automatically going into 'sneaky mode'. Perhaps he could nab a wallet off a guy, or snatch a goodie or two from a stand, or maybe...

Lewis smiled mischievously as he spotted a well-dressed man heading for the bar area of town. Maybe he'd have to charm his way into a meal already paid. And, he decided as an afterthought, a 'borrowed' wallet for dessert. Lewis flanced around, wary of anyone warching him, but the crowd's attention seemed to be fixed on the ongoing parade. Perfect. He ducked deeper into the alley, but not far enough to lose sight of the man. A tingling sensation raced all over his body, one not so much as painful as just extremely odd. His hair grow longer, his legs grew longer, and his chest became more...noticeable, and in a few moments a woman fit to be a model was standing where Lewis once was. He grinned in satisfaction at his new form. Oh yeah, this was definitely going to work. The joy was cut short as his stomach growled louder in protest. He grimaced at the growing cramp in his gut and searched the crowd for the man once more. Soon, he soothed quietly, giving his stomach a pat. Hopefully this wouldn't take long. Lewis could already feel his energy fading from his current disguise. Spotting the man, Lewis donned his most charming smile before stepping back out and following behind.

Eli could feel the eyes on the back of his head. Not literally of course, but when you grew up in the Outer Circle you learned to recognise when you were being followed. It was a feeling, an instinct, a raw sense lurking in the back of his skull that didn’t quite respond to the intelligence at the front of it. It also helped that he’d been working for Seraphine for some time, and in that line of work you learned to spot the people who lurked in the shadows, or followed you in broad daylight.

It only took two changes of course to confirm that he was being followed. It was a woman, and a good looking one at that. He’d had to resist the urge to check her out properly, it would have given away the fact that he’d noticed her, though he wondered why she was following him. Perhaps she had seen him leave ‘The Night House’ and was looking for employment? Though that thought was something of a turn off, Seraphine was very clear about him using the fact of his employment in order to take advantage of women. After all, he had no control over her employees, and she preferred to keep him honest. Within reason.

Eventually he stopped outside a bar, not quite a dive, it had chairs out on the pavement, but cheap and dirty enough that it was there for one purpose and one purpose only. That purpose was parlaying booze between genders, or at least that’s what it was judging by the crowd that was spilling out onto the street. He paused at the bar, and, acting as though he had just noticed her, looked her up and down, taking the opportunity to finally admire her figure, there was certainly plenty there to be admired about it.

He sounded relaxed, casual, and just a little flirtatious. “Hey, buy you a drink?”

---

---

Lynette, though older than Alice, was a rookie, she’d been in training only yesterday. Not that Alice was exactly a veteran. She’d been a member of NEST for the last three years, but her previous job as a cop had seen her fast-tracked through most of the training process, spending extra time on mastering her ability rather than learning the basics of policing metahumans. Most of her skills were transferable, it simply took a refresher to update her instincts and training to that more adapted to dealing with metas rather than normal humans.

Not that the few years of experience made Alice that much of a veteran, she still had the instincts that Lynette had yet to learn about policing, because that was really all that NEST was a police force for metahumans. Sure there were other responsibilities, they had to assist with training, and with adapting people with amazing powers and inhuman responsibilities to their lives as normal people, or at least as much as they could.

Lynette seemed ok though, a little uptight, which was a lot coming from a strict Roman Catholic, but then Alice was fairly relaxed outside of her religious views. Lynette just seemed uncomfortable, out of her element. Alice mulled it over as she chewed her way through her third donut.

“You sure? I gotta burn off these calories somehow.”

"Yeah..." Lynette said, reassuring the younger NEST Agent. "I need to get out of this car anyway... I've been sitting in here for ages now."

Alice nodded in acquiesence, and somehow managed to avoid spraying crumbs everywhere as she spoke, though only with the ease born of three years of practice. At least the muffling effect dulled the damage done to her vocal cords those three and a half years ago. She’d had to relearn how to speak thanks to the injury to her throat, the cut had been so vicious, even now when she spoke her voice sounded perpetually hoarse, and she was unable to raise her voice properly.

She glanced out of the window again, shrugging, "honestly... it looks ok, for now anyway."

Lynette did her best impression of a shrug in response to that. "Good. We should keep it that way." She was quick to answer.

Another donut somehow disappeared into Alice's petite frame, "probably get hairy once the booze starts flowing, but we've got no one registered in this area."

Funny... Given all the NEST training, their biggest threat right now was a drunken Metahuman spraying fire all over the place. Lynette grinned. NEST was on top of it, but she couldn't shrug off the feeling that the real threats are moving somewhere else. Lynette merely nodded her head.

Metahumans weren't common in New Rivière, well, not compared to Blackfall or Verthaven, but there were enough that a NEST presence was needed on the streets for this festival of celebration and booze. Mostly booze, if what Alice had heard about the night to come was true. She was disappointed that she was on duty, but alcohol and superhuman abilities didn't mix well. There would be fights aplenty before the night was out, it was their job to make sure that those fights didn't involve any metahumans.

"Probably a good idea to start moving on, I got fuel enough for a while, want to head in the direction of the nearest Meta?"

"Sure." Lynette said. "Maybe something to keep us occupied."

Alice leaned forwards to tap on the screen of what looked like a large tablet. A pop up menu hovered on the surface of the device and she selected an option before it disappeared, revealing a detailed map of New Rivière City. Scattered across it were a number of points of interest, each one marked clearly and with a small pop-up containing pertinent information should they be selected. Alice did so, jabbing her finger out at random.

Lynette leaned in, and looked at the device... She was glad that Alice was using it, because the last time she used one of these thingamabobs; she broke the screen (Same with the other several times - up until she was politely asked not to handle electronics anymore). There were a few areas in particular that were of interest... and Alice just picked one at random. Nice. Despite that, Lynette was going to go along with it. Other NEST Agents should be .

"That look good?"

"Yeah." Lynette said, shrugging. "Let's get a move on... these Metas won't police themselves, you know?"

---

---

When a man walked out the club, Veronica merely raised an eyebrow.

She was leaning up against a street post across the street, with her foot up against it. With her arms crossed (Well, one arm was being used to browse the internet, to keep suspicion off herself). Instead of dressing nicely, she chose to dress up like a tourist (Which, in a way, was true). She had no interest in dancing with these nasty peasants. She was after something else. Veronica was staking out the place. According to her sources, someone very influential is currently here. The kind of person Veronica will want to talk to.

Only problem was this club was rather... exclusive. And to them, Veronica was nothing but a stranger. It was better than them knowing that she was a Changeling, but it means they won't exactly to receptive to her walking right on in.

Veronica herself would be hard to spot unless someone had unreal amounts of observation. In all the crowds... she just took the appearance of someone waiting. Waiting for what? To an outsider, she could be waiting for a friend to arrive so she could enjoy the real party, or any number of other possibilities that weren't linked to the criminal underworld. Veronica, of course, took advantage of this to watch.

For a moment, Veronica thought about using her "charms" to get the man to let her in, but she didn't know who he was exactly (He certainly wasn't the bouncer type). Plus, she didn't want to give herself away.

So, time to do the next best thing, and slip herself inside. Veronica fliped the phone closed, putting on the facade of someone who got tired of waiting by shaking her head and rolling her eyes, then walking off in a random direction. Though, that direction wasn't that random. Veronica slipped down an alleyway - the one behind the Night House. Those morons were dumb enough to leave their back door unguarded. They're just begging for trouble. Veronica walked up to the metal handle, and focused.

She channeled her electromagnetic field around herself. It was invisible to everyone but Veronica - who had a limited ability to see inside the electromagnetic spectrum herself - and looked like a field of electricity. Except far thinner, and far more pure. She merely put one finger on the handle, and it was surrounded with electricity. The locking mechanism was manipulated until it was unlocked. Veronica promptly dropped the field, and opened it slowly.

Like she suspected, it was unguarded. Veronica quickly closed the door behind her so no one would notice (Locking it back). This was probably the way they go to throw trash out. Hmph. They should learn to check all their exits.

The Changeling started walking through the halls, making as little noise as possible-

Two people were walking by, and Veronica quickly dipped into another room before they disappeared.

She'd have to be careful. If anyone spots her... they're going to throw her out. Veronica looked down. Maybe she should have wore the fancy clothes so she'd blend into here. She didn't know what sort of people came into this place - but if they were like that scrawny fuck, maybe she wouldn't be too out of place.

Veronica stepped up... and saw an elevator at the end of the hallway. Using those eyes of hers she scanned each possible hallway, and saw that nobody was in the area. This was a brothel after all. Everyone's too busy having sex with each other. She pressed the button, then stepped off to the side. Veronica had no idea what was going to be on the other side of those doors when they opened. Fortunately, it was empty. Veronica stepped in, and pressed the bottom for the topmost floor. She leaned up against the wall, then sighed as this slow ass elevator transported her to the top.

When it stopped, Veronica got off - but when the doors opened, it revealed a burly guard.

"Hey, who the hell are-" He didn't even finish getting the words out before Veronica closed the distance, grabbing him with both hands, and transferring a nonlethal amount of electricity into his system. She had covered his mouth to mask the screaming... but she couldn't mask the crackling of the electricity. The man passed out, and hit the ground...

... Which meant Veronica has to hide a body.

"Ugh, this is going to be a pain in the ass...." She muttered to herself. Veronica knelt down, then grabbed the guard by the foot, and dragged him with all of her strength to the supply closet. Why couldn't the bastard be made of metal or something? Even when she dragged him into the closet, his head was still sticking out. Kicking the poor bastard in the head, and closing the door on it... Veronica had nothing in the way of her goal.

She had expected some resistence... which is why she preemptively deployed her electromagnetic field. The door unlocked itself, and Veronica sighed. She focused a bit and activated her shield. In case she's waiting to see a wall of mooks on the other side, she'll be prepared to hit them right back with it. Veronica opened the door... and was - surprisingly - not met with gunfire. Or even a firing squad.

Must be my lucky day.

Seraphine heard the thump outside the door, she looked up sharply. There was no other noise, no sound from the guard who was stationed there. Her eyes narrowed and her hand went for the phone, hitting the first number on speed dial. She didn't move from the chair however, if she was to die then it was already too late. She wondered who was stupid enough to try and kill her. She held no political office, wielded no political power, but her death would see a political scandal the likes of which this city had never seen. She had systems put in place, insurance that made sure people were invested in her survival. It had taken a long time, but she was more untouchable than anyone else in the city, through guile and entrapment and blackmail she would survive, or that was she had planned.

The woman who walked through the door however, did not seem to be the hired killer she had feared, although looks could be deceiving. Seraphine couldn't help but evaluate her looks as she would any of the girls under her roof, she was after all, a Madame, for want of a better word. Somehow though, judging by the manner of the girl's entrace, and that's what she was, a girl, it seemed unlikely that she was here to ask for a job. She affected the air that this was nothing out of the ordinary, that this girl was simply a brief interruption.

"Can I help you?"

The woman fit the description of just who she's looking for. Veronica stepped into the room, and closed the door behind her. Calm and professional above all else, Veronica like that. She dropped her shield (Because it was such a pain in the ass to keep up), but she remained on guard. She didn't know how fast Seraphine's hand was, she'd have to rely on her own reflexes.

"Sorry for the intrusion, but I didn't know of any other way to get ahold of you." Veronica said as she took a few steps forward. "I'm not here to kill you, nor do I want a fight... but I can certainly use some help finding some people if you're interested. I'm willing to pay."

Veronica put her hands on her hips as she stared down the woman.

Seraphine raised an eyebrow, "that is nice to know, you know, most people just ask for an appointment."

She didn't ask about the guard, he'd been caught out, and though this woman was clearly a meta Seraphine didn't have a great deal of sympathy for people who failed in their duties.

"Oh I'm always interested in people, miss..?"

She let the sentence hang, waiting for the young woman to fill in her name. It would be a useful piece of information, even a fake one would give away some fragments of information about it's bearer. If she gave Seraphine her true name then she was either very stupid, or powerful enough and clever enough that it really didn't matter.

"Davis," Veronica answered. She wasn't giving her real name... now that she's a Changeling, she can't afford to let people know who she really is. Especially if she gets exposed. "Veronica Davis." She took steps forward.

Seraphine didn't seem like she was going out of her way to antagonize Veronica.... or she was just buying time for her goons to show up. She was tempted to lock the door behind her, but that'd betray the whole "not here to kill you" message she told her earlier. She should be friendly. Friendly, friendly, friendly.

"I heard this is your city. Well, there are two persons of interest I've heard entered, and on behalf of my employer...." Veronica said as she walked over to the desk and leaned on it. "... I'd like to have a word with them, and you sound like the person who'd point me in the right direction."

"I wouldn't say it was my city, I merely play the game."

It was true, mostly, Seraphine didn't exactly own New Rivière City, though it was true that those in power would hesitate before carrying out any action that might inconvenience her. There were some who were making their own plays though, and perhaps this newcomer could prove to be useful in her own way.

She let the words hang in the air. Veronica was closely observing Seraphine's body language. Then she quickly raised a finger up into the air.

"First... I heard that the criminal known as Amethyst is in New Rivière City... you may have heard of her as being the one who attacked an Academy a little while back." Veronica first mentioned her. "... My boss is interested in her."

Seraphine didn't give anything away, she was good at concealing her reactions to surprising, or unsurprising information. Knowledge was power, and something as small as surprise could give away more power than you could possibly imagine.

Then, she had to explain her other target. "The other man is someone known as the Black Hound... you might not have heard of him, because he's the real secretive type. Here's a picture I have,"

She reached into her shirt, and presented a picture of her target. It was the picture of a strange man in black armor with his back to the picture taker. He was tall, and wore an outfit - a leather longcoat that looked like a cape, gloves, large heavy boots, and a smooth, fierce looking, helmet that had two red lights that were apparently his eyes, all black - that concealed his entire appearance.

"I'm not entirely sure who he is... but my boss has a feeling he's up to something." Veronica narrowed her eyes. "Which is why he sent me."

"A feeling?"

The elegant woman seated behind the desk held out a hand expectantly, clearly for the photograph. This...Veronica had been smart enough to work out that she was the one you came to when you needed somebody found, there was no point in concealing that now.

"I hope you are aware that information, particularly information such as this, is not cheap."

Veronica stood there for a moment, staring at Seraphine.

"... I am aware, and I have plenty to compensate for your help." Veronica was quick to answer. "But, I'll only pay half up front, and if your information is correct; then I'll pay the other half."

As Veronica examined Seraphine, so Seraphine examined Veronica. Except Seraphine was better at it, she had ten years of experience in some of the most cut-throat politics in the world, and she had the reading of people down to a fine art. What remained now was to test the waters of this business relationship. She didn't like being caught off-guard, and this woman would have to learn who she was messing with.

"Twenty-five for Amethyst, you aren't the only one who is interested in her, and you understand that inquiries like this will put a target on my chest."

She inspected the image again. "Fifteen for this one."

Hmph, I don't care who gets the target put on them - long as it isn't me. Veronica thought to herself as she had to resist the urge to sneer at her. It was a hefty price, per-se. It almost made Veronica want to torture the answers out this broad instead - but who knows what contacts she has. It'll make her time here in the city very difficult... though, Veronica knew that the long term reward would be much, much, better than the short term set back. Especially when it was Luis on the line.

She made a note on the expensive notepaper upon the desk. "Paid in used twenties, I'll make arrangements for the collection. How can I contact you?"

The last thing that Veronica wanted to do was make it easy for Seraphine to track her. She was with the Changeling Unit... and now that they're exposed to the world (Along with their Hands of Science buddies), that means there's a big target on her head. Hell, anyone who's pissed their baby got stolen would just love to take it out on her. That wouldn't be constructive if Veronica goes out of her way to hide herself, though. Seraphine will likely figure something out about Veronica. She rather not it be the fact she's with the Changeling Unit.

Veronica reached into her pockets, then pulled out a yellow sticky paper with a number written on it (She came prepared). "This is my number." Veronica said. It was actually the number to a prepaid phone. "I'll arrange for my boss to get you the money... call me when you're ready."

The number was added alongside the note, though Seraphine was no fool, if this girl was smart enough to come with the number already, then it had to be for a burn phone, to be used a handful of times then thrown away. Virtually untraceable.

She added.

"... And sorry about the guard." Veronica pointed outside. "I hope he doesn't have a weak heart."

"He'll wish he did. He really shouldn't allow just anyone to wander in off the street."

Seraphine tapped a button on the phone on her desk, and a minute later a young woman, about Veronica's age, walked into the room. She was dressed smartly, in a pencil skirt and a well-fitted blouse, she was extremely pretty, and the outfit left precisely everything to the imagination, which was perhaps more inflammatory than leaving nothing.

Seraphine smiled brusquely at her, then looked back to her new client.

"I'll be in touch in a few days, now, Jasmine will show you out."

"Glad to hear that," Veronica said, crossing her arms. "I'll be leaving now."

She nodded her head at the woman.

Loud trumpeting horns sounded out of the speakers of the radio and was the signal for the start of James' show.

"At easy my fellow crusaders, this is the Politically Incorrect Party and today we're going to talk about why America is the greatest nation on earth. You people make the show, I just make the money and try to give the nation my honest opinion. Okay first caller" he said into his mic and a caller came in.

"Hello, I just want to say that I am sick of how careless this nation is with its responsibilities and ridiculous overspending of resources" the man said.

"I know isn't it just fantastic? That's the American dream right there, freedom from thought and responsibility. The best thing about being an american is true freedom. Freedom to do whatever you want and be as reckless and selfish as you want. The PC culture we live in is trying to limit our freedom and we have to embrace the idea that collectivist ideology is a threat to American life, okay next caller" James replied.

"Hello James, I just want to say that I am sick of having to change my values for someone else's feelings"

"And you totally have a right to be sicken by the liberal agenda. Changing your values in the name of feelings is about as anti freedom as it gets and the American people need to understand that. Freedom is not something that always suits your feelings and needs, freedom is being allowed to have whatever values and opinions you fucking want. Only Nazis have a problem with opposing values and opinions. Okay we're going to a little break and when we come back we're going to into the failures of American politics. Keep your radio on for more of the Politically Incorrect Party" James spoke and then switched to the radio ads.

"Another good start to the show and more honest politically incorrect opinions to come" he said to himself as he took a sip of coffee.

---

---

@Mr Allen J

People reveal more about themselves in their appearance, rather than their words. This, Garrett had known for a long time. So as she talked, he watched. The girl probably didn’t lie when she claimed not to be from around here, but he could tell that she was no wide-eyed tourist either. She had well defined muscles, the type you couldn’t get from just long jogs and yoga sessions alone, and there was also the scar beneath her eye. It looked fairly new and gave him the feeling someone tried to slice her face open. Or it could simply some accident and he was reading too much into some random scar. Either way, he didn’t think this redhead was here just to take part in the famed festival. If he had to guess, this girl looked like trouble.

“Afraid you will have to wait a bit for that. People won’t start flashing each other until midnight.”-He grinned broadly at her remark about the festival – “Worth the wait though. We have some of nicest boobs around, trust me.”

He kept quiet as she continued, however once she mentioned her missing friend, his smile flattered. It was a small shift though, only visible to the most trained of eyes. Her choice of words in the description interested him. A brown-haired, well-built girl with a scarf was far too vague, but he must admit it wasn’t someone you saw every day. He knew he wouldn’t forget someone like that. However, unfortunately for the girl, he hadn’t seen her friend. But he knew someone who might. It didn’t mean he had decided to help though. Getting involved with Seraphine in the first place was risky enough; to actively contacting her for something like this was absolute madness in his book. Then again, it wasn’t like he was asking for favours; the redhead was. He saw no harm in pointing her in the right direction. After all, she didn’t seem like a bad person, and believe it or not, Garrett had his bouts of selfless kindness to those he took a liking to.

“So, on the scale from getting shitfaced in a stranger’s house to committing multiple homicides, how dumb this… something is?”- He crossed his arms, the casual smile still remained in place, but his blue eyes had lost all traces of humour. - “You’d be surprised how easy it is for people get lost in this city. Finding them is a bit harder. Your friend has a name?”

When she mentioned her name, Garrett paused before introducing his, fingers instinctively reached up to the front of his shirt. Right, he didn’t wear his name tag today. He wasn’t working at the hotel. - “It’s Garrett. Nice to meet you, Jessica.”

---

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_{Written in collaboration with @RedDusk}

---

"Haha," Jessica said as she took another bite of her hot dog. She was nearly at the end, so she just stuffed the whole thing into her mouth. She smiled as she pointed at the newly introduced Garrett. "Y'know, gonna hold ya' up to that one, Garrett!" She said. Half joking.

She wanted to see the boobies as much as any virgin thirsty for some poontang.

But, there's no time for that. Jessica has to save her friend. Which Garrett was interested in knowing about. Hm. She wondered if she should even tell - but, as Diana said, not telling the whole story never hurt anybody. "Well," Jessica shrugged as she leaned up on the hot dog stand, putting her elbow on it as she looked Garrett down. "Let's say that my friend is after a very... big assclown. The kind of assclown that'd murder her ass without a second thought!" Jessica put a dramatic flair into that statement.

"I'unno what'll happen if she meets said assclown," Jessica started off, shrugging. "But it ain't going to be good for 'er, if you know what I mean. Which is why me and some friends have elected to stop her, and drag her ass back to Verthaven, before she gets killed."

This was getting a little heavy. Maybe Jess is running her mouth - but being all quiet and brooding all the time like Diana wasn't going to get them anywhere! "Oh, yeah, her name's Olivia." She added with a smile.

Garrett remained silent even after Jessica finished talking. The girl’s story sounded like something straight out of a bad young adult novel, but strange enough, he didn’t think she was lying. What was the point? Who was he to her, but a curious hotdog vendor? And she didn’t look drunk to him, so as impossible as this sounded, it just might be true.

“That’s some tough stuffs you got going there, Jess.”- He began, expression blank-“Ever tried contacting local authority or something? Ya know, put pictures on milk cartons and stuffs. No offense, you look like you can handle yourself, but wandering about by yourself isn’t exactly the safest thing to do here.”

Jessica heartily laughed. This guy must not know about Jess - the Female Hercules, The Raging Bull! She's got everything she needs to handle what this city's got, alone. "Don't worry about me, partner." Jessica said as she took her hat off, shrugging with a wry grin on her face. "I've got three of the best gals in the world by my side!"

Though, she didn't want to really contact the police - because what will they do? Arrest her? Her daddy's a big wig with NEST... and Jess didn't want to deal with that. "Ah, we don't need to police officer with no gun chargin' through here... And I might be a country girl - but, in a city like this, you think they'd really give a crap?"

Garrett retained his unimpressed façade, despite himself. He knew there were powered folks lurking around; he had run into many while working. However, his power remained unknown even to them, and he preferred it that way. He had never felt the need to socialize with those of his ‘kind’. And once Jessica revealed who she was, Garrett was tempted to cut off interaction there and then. He could, easily, just by saying he didn’t know who the hell Olivia was and went back to work. But he didn’t. He decided to help her, regardless.

“Ah, so you’re one of those people…”-He narrowed his eyes- “Cocky, eh? Well, here’s a friendly advice: don’t. Lots of folks in this city have the gift, something about birds of a feather and all that.”- He paused for a short moment, as if collecting his thoughts-“But I’m not an asshole. Can’t have a girl running around town on her own now, can I? How about this? I don’t know any Olivia, but I know someone who might. Come see me here after the festival, I will take you there.”

"Well," Jessica smiled with a big smile on her face. Totally oblivious to the fact that she just revealed that she was a Metahuman. She had just slid her hat back on... since the horns were ignored at times, so she just forgot about 'em. Just happens sometimes! "Long as we get to enjoy this festival, I'll stick 'round for anything!" She said. "But, don't go outta' your way to help me - aw shucks, it makes it look like you got yourself a crush on me!" Jessica cheerfully said. "Sorry that I swayed you! But, daddy won't like it if I bring home a hot dog dealer!" She started laughing.

"Haha, just kiddin'." Jessica said. "But, don't inconvenience yourself. I'm a big, strong, girl." Jessica flexed.

“Sure you are.”-Garrett chuckled, genuinely amused by both her solid confidence and her crippling naivety. - “Though it has more to do with me trying to be decent and less with playing the nice guy card to get into your pants. Do remember that there is no handout in this city. Bring some cash with you.”

"Cash...?" Jessica realized that was the one thing they were short on. She threw her arms behind her head. Maybe she can get Wendy and Diana to make up some fake money. Or... maybe she can work it off. She was a powerful Metahuman, she can do a few favors (That aren't prostitution). So, she got this in the bag. She flagged him up. "... Please, I got lots of money."

Jessica just knew she was digging herself a hole.

And Diana was going to throw her in it after she finds out what she said.

"So, we'll definitely meet after the festival, yeah?" Jessica said as she started taking steps backwards. "I'll get my friends and everything - I'll just enjoy the festival until then." She kept moving.

"... And thanks for the hotdog, Garrett!"

“Of course. I won’t go anywhere.”- Garrett waved goodbye, just as he mulled over his decision to help this powered girl. It wasn’t like he stood to lose anything here; he’d just take the girl over to Seraphine, let they work out a deal then that was that. Hopefully things would be as simple as he had hoped. Then again, it rarely did, in his case.

When Jessica had somewhat disappeared into the crowd, Garrett reached for his phone to deal a number he had learnt by heart.

“Seraphine?”- He said as soon as the beeping came to an end-“Someone wants to ask a favor.”

Alex was, in a word, kinda lost. He'd been roaming around the city streets for a few hours now, making his way to crowd after crowd of wild citizens, both locals and tourists, feeling a bit over-whelmed by it all. He'd left his phone at the apartment he was staying at like an idiot because he thought he wouldn't need it for what started out as a simple walk through the city. A few hours later, he'd been dragged into several bars by strangers, bought of few drinks by both women and men(who he'd tried to refuse as politely as possible), and he was certain he saw some people running around naked and on fire. If he did, he really hoped that they were a Meta at least, and that nobody had gotten seriously injured.

Is this how people usually celebrate the founding of their places of residence? Seems rather hectic and costly, in my opinion.

"You know very well that isn't the case, Nora, now stop being stubborn and tell me how to hell I get back to my apartments already." Alex said in an exasperated tone, pressing his arm up against his ear in order to give the illusion that he was using a bluetooth, so people didn't look at him like he was crazy. "I can't look it up myself without drawing a lot more attention than I feel comfortable with right now, and I need to wake up early tomorrow so I can meet up with the Nest Agent I'm supposed to work under for a while."

Nope, don't think I will. Nora answered with a annoying lilt in her voice, obviously taking some joy in his discomfort. And while this exchange, which had been going on for a few minutes by now, got on his nerves to no end, he felt a surge of pride cause his chest to puff out a bit and put a hop in his step as he remembered that he had create this annoying voice in his head by himself. She was capable of feeling emotion, could think critically to solve a problem, and could differentiate between right and wrong(most of the time). I'm a fuckin' Genuis

. . . Some genuis you are, leaving your gone at your apartment in a strange city you just arrived in. Brilliant.

And with that bit of sarcasm, the pride was knocked right out of him, an annoyed glare at nothingness settling on his brow.

"Why can't you ever let me have my moments? Seriously, can't I feel good about myself just once?!?!" The last bit was screamed a bit as the annoyance and frustration got to him a bit, turning a few heads to state at the man screaming at nothing in the middle of a crowd, instantly causing Alex to kind of curl in on himself in embrrassment. Meanwhile, Nora was chuckling in his head, finding the whole situation rather amusing.

Put it's so funny to see you get so worked up over it, Dad. Maybe if you could keep a better handle on yourself, you find yourselves in these situations.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? I know it's true, and it's endearing to an extent, but the fact that you chose a more adult voice as your default makes a bit . . . weird to hear." Alex said, massaging his temples as he had to go over this for what felt like the hundredth time. "And you know I'm trying to work on that, dammit, so don't bring it up. Still a bit self-conscious about it."

Nora remained silent after that, though whether it was out if remorse or boredom was hard to tell. It was only then that ge remembered why he'd called her up in the first place, and though he quickly tried to call her back, she seemed to be ignoring him at the moment. This left him to be standing by himself in a crowd of drunken revelers, looking way out of his depth as he simply face palmed, only to curse soon afterwards after he was reminded rather painfully that one of his arms was made of metal and not to be face palmed with.

"Ugh. . . I've got a bad feeling about tonight."

The art of seduction was, as all forms of art were, a skilled trade practiced by many but only mastered by few. Every smile, every twitch, every breath was a careful brushstroke in a masterpiece of lust and wiles. Only a born Picasso or Micheal Angelo could get away with such sultry looks.

Unfortunately, Lewis was the equivalent of a blind two-year-old with broken arms and no thumbs. But hey, at least there was always improvisation.

Lewis--or 'Camilla', as he decided to name this new disguise--sashayed towards the man. His hips, generously curved, swayed with each step in a sort of rythm. The neckline 'accidentally' dip lower, allowing the man and other onlookers to catch a view of some nicely sized cleavage. A little too much? Perhaps. But judging by the way the man stared at Lewis' body, they didn't mind.

Lewis slid into stool beside his target, his lips pulled in hopes of what would look like a mysterious smile. "Well, aren't you a gentleman," Lewis purred. His voice came out sweet and rich, rich but still light. A ghost of an accent, but from where was unknown. A perfect fit for a singer or, in this case, an easy con.

"Camilla." The name easily slipped out of Lewis' tongue, despite just being thought up. A talent formed from years of practice. He flashed Mr. Gentleman a flirtatious smile. "Camilla Renois." His eyes flitted up and down Mr. Gentleman's body, and for a moment he resisted an urge to whistle. Not bad. Not bad at all. "It's very much a pleasure to meet you." That was the first truth he told since walking into the bar.

Wei took a long drag from a cigarette. It was odd, Wei never smoked. He found it distasteful, and thought that cigarettes tasted like tar. Yet, when he was in the drug store across the street buying aspirin, he saw that intense, bright red label of the Marlboro, and something whispered to him, "Take it." And in an inexplicable urge of impulsion, Wei snagged a pack and stuffed into his leather jacket's breast pocket when the cashier turned his back. He smiled and nodded towards the cashier, paying for his pack of aspirin and dropping whatever medley of leftover coins he had into the jar labeled "TIPS" in thick black sharpie block letters. The coins plunked into the jar with a satisfying clunk, and Wei was off onto his merry way. Wei found comedy in the irony of the fact that he had left the drug store clerk a tip whilst simultaneously shoplifting a pack of cigarettes. So here he was, sitting in a shifty and inky alleyway across the street taking a long huff of something he had always found unpleasant his entire being. His face soured as the taste of the cigarette set in; it was just how he remembered. It tasted of singed rubber and grime, filth, and disease. He spit the cigarette onto the ground, stamping it out with his foot. His stomp had a little extra oomph to it, just for good measure, almost as if he was showing his extreme disdain for the poor cigarette. "What a fuckin waste." he muttered to himself, as he flung the pack of cigarettes onto the dirty ground.

Wei stepped onto the main streetway. The avenue was a couple blocks away from the main parade and he could hear the erupting of the surging parade from here. Wei scanned the street for any point of interest, anything to do on this long, hot and sticky day. "Fuck it," he thought to himself, as he decided he would go check out the festivities. After all he lived in this damn city, shouldn't he at least see the fabled festival? And besides, he'd heard a myriad tales of people getting serious action on a day like this. Wei didn't expect much to come from this, but hell, it couldn't hurt.
---

Wei arrived on the main avenue, where a large crowd was amassing. Alcohol was flowing and the sharp smell of it attacked his senses. Drunk people danced around the street whilst what seemed like a small army of NEST crawled over the place. "Like flies on shit," he thought to himself, with incredible contempt and scorn for the organization that was so present in America compared to Japan. He hated the way that metahumans cataloged and forcefully recorded by NEST -- something Wei did not appreciate. As he walked down the sidewalk amidst the throngs of people, a NEST agent shot daggers at him, intensely staring at him with furious blue eyes. Wei glared back, his hard attitude and pride requiring him to do so, almost as if to say "I'm not scared of you." About 200 paces further along the road, he stopped in front of a cheery little hot dog stand. He was sweating like a stuck pig, and thirsty as all holy hell. He waited for the employee to finish his conversation on his phone, and once he was done, pulled out a dollar bill. "One water," he said curtly with a slight accent.

_@RedDusk

Seraphine Campbell

Veronica had left, and Seraphine felt the weight leave her shoulders like Atlas stepping out from beneath the sky. The woman was dangerous, that was a certainty, and she had no respect for the way this city lived and worked, which was perhaps even more dangerous than whatever abilities she might have. It was unnerving, having someone in this office she knew nothing about, and so she set about correcting that problem.

The camera in the corner of the office would have got a good shot of her face, and she went through it until a suitable mugshot presented itself. She didn’t want to have to use the picture yet, if this woman was what she suspected then it might cause more issues for Seraphine if she released a photo to the appropriate authorities. She would put out feelers though, take advantage of her contacts in NEST and the city police department. Maybe one of them would be able to give her a list of possibilities, narrowing it down from there would be child’s play.

Her phone buzzed, it wasn’t a burner phone, like most people who dealt in information would use, oh no, this was yet another tool of blackmail and coercion. There was enough dangerous information on her phone to ensure that it would never be checked into evidence, and as a result she would never be arrested, it would be too expensive.

She picked up the expensive smartphone and checked the caller ID displayed on the screen, it was Garrett Dovanon, one of her informants. He worked mostly at one of the nicer hotels, just on the desk, but that meant he saw who came and went. Knowing that was valuable in this town, though it was interesting that he would contact her like this. This must be something lucrative, it wouldn’t do to have mere employees call her, so he would have been redirected through a secure switchboard before being connected to this phone. She would not have been happy if it wasn’t valuable information.

Her voice was smooth and silky, every inch the sophisticated socialite. “Yes Garrett, I do hope this is valuable, you know I don’t like people calling uninvited…”

Eli Scott

“Camilla…”

He took a moment to savour the name, perhaps this woman was here to try and rob him, or kill him, but he might as well enjoy himself while he was at it. He might not be particularly muscular, but he had a certain slender appeal, and his easy confidence, plus the fact that he worked with a lot of women, and indeed men, who made a living out of seduction meant that he wasn’t exactly poor at it himself.

“I’m Eli…”

He turned to the bar, ordering a glass of the bar’s most expensive whiskey, which was probably still swill next to the stuff Seraphine swapped, not that he cared, he would drink anything if it got him drunk. He bought a cocktail for the lady, in a place like this cocktails were always a better idea, the heavy sugar disguising the sharp bite of cheap alcohol. He took a moment to obviously check her out, before sipping from the whiskey. She was pretty, sexy even, but he spent his working life surrounded by beautiful, sexy women, women who knew how to use what their genes had given them. This woman did not, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t appeal after a few more whiskey’s, maybe she would be better company than she was ornament, although Seraphine’s girls had that too, they could entertain in other ways than on their back or their knees.

He nodded at the pendant hanging from her neck, nestled conveniently in her cleavage, taking the excuse of its presence to admire the view. “What story does that tell?”