---

Staring down at the mark below his feet, Nitrous couldn’t help but grimace. For someone to waste paint on such a useless drawing; he was flabbergasted. He glared at the man as he walked away, and he made one statement before the guy walked away on his task.
“Your geometry is deplorable at best, and atrocious at worst. I hope that your other art makes a little more of an impact.”

He moved past the rest of the group, grabbing his slip of paper from the box as he tilted his head towards the man in the gas mask for one last moment. He didn’t fully understand where this man was coming from, or what kind of process was moving through his mind in this moment as he set challenges for this group of artists.

Nevertheless, Nitrous never backed down from a puzzle or challenge. It was like building computers, or taking things apart and back together. People were so impatient these days that they expected him to fulfill tasks for them within a few minutes of delivering the solution. Making something large and impressive for a few hours on a building, that shouldn’t be a problem. Though the thought of this boy’s disrespect of circles… that was going to get under his skin for sure unless he did something about it. He grabbed the paper, flipped it open as he stepped out the door and snuck another sip of coffee from beneath his mask. With another tap of a heel his wheels were out and his Gear were speeding away as a bright trail of neon light swirled out behind him.

The building in question was exactly what he wanted: that big building near one of the major intersections. It used to be a brick apartment once, but it had been knocked down and replaced with this very slick white office building. This would just have to be another way to take it back.

He stuck to the back roads for the most part, passing down to a ramp past a road, sliding up over a construction site and grinding down the railing of the massive “do not enter” fence. If efficiency was the goal, then limiting colors would be the best bet. From his bag he pulled two cans out as he leapt of the fence and spun around to the back of said building. There were some people around, and he could see some lights high up near the top, but he also saw a thick box nearby. A heavy lock kept it stuck, and a thick yellow sign depicting a lightning bolt as a means of warning was displayed above a small white panel. He moved over to it carefully, turning of his Gear only for a second to diffuse the lights. Then he moved to the panel.

“Well then, plastic case, what are you hiding?” He smirked.

His gloved hands moved around the surface of it, found some screws in the back, and pulled out a small screwdriver. The case dropped to the concrete with a clack as he found a small display and a smattering of wires. He took out a small pair of wire cutters, and found one particular wire. With a quick cut, the building’s power suddenly went black. His gear went back on and he got to work.

The building was about five stories. Not tall enough to reach for the stars, but enough to give him a massive white canvas. He sped up his Gear and when with a blast of speed, taking a nearby railing to hop up a couple stories of a smaller building nearby. Then, from the roof, he launched himself at his target, throwing his feet in front of his body with the momentum. Bracing for impact, he pushed his heels forward, and the moment they hit the wall, the wheels retracted and the spikes emerged. Sure, there would be some holes in the white wall of the building, but it wouldn’t be a big deal. Then, using himself as the focal point, he got to work.

He had to take that leap a couple more times, re-adjusting his positioning and using the wheels of his Gear to climb up the sleek surface or let gravity tug him downwards. The next upgrade would be adding some grapple element to his belt just to hang and give him a different angle.

But Nitrous was anything if not a perfectionist. The speed was a pressing challenge, and there were a couple moments where he had to wait for a police officer to drive by, probably because the power of a building had been cut by some “mysterious force”.

Sometimes the authorities were absolute imbeciles. Too blinded by the streaking whiteness of their conformist society.

In about two and a half hours, the piece was done, climbing from the top of the fifth story down to the bottom of it.
Satisfied, he released the spikes, pulled out the wheels and used some combined electronics and gravity to leap for a lamp post, spin around it once and then flip towards the ground, doing a slight roll on impact. He winced as a sharp pain went through his shoulder, probably a bruise, but he was up on his feet rather quickly.

With a deep breath, he pulled his hood off, turned off his Gear and re-approached the box. Using some electrical tape and the same screws; soon the lights came back on, and Nitrous could view his piece descending the wall in all its majesty.



Blue and red lines in separated circles, but it was clear that the geometry was thought out, the rings and their purposeful angles, and the colours dragging all attention towards the centre. The cans, now more than empty, were stashed back in his bag as he walked around the corner of a side street. Already he could hear shouts behind him as people started to wander towards the massive rings.

Mission accomplished.

Once he was sure he was out of site, he took a more direct route back to the warehouse. It may have involved grinding over some store front signs (and right past the window of some couple having a couple’s night) and then taking a broken pipe back into slum territory.

He found himself back at the warehouse with only five minutes to spare, but he walked back in as casually as he could, tossing the empty cans to the ground right in front of the feet of Gas Mask. He took another swig of coffee before returning back to the exact same position he was in before. Right at the center of that awful, misaligned circle.

He groaned.

“I’m sorry, but can we do something about this atrocity?” Nitrous glowered, “It’s going to drive me crazy.”

---

As soon as he got out of sight of the warehouse, he opened his piece of paper. He was glad to find that the building he had picked was indeed high up enough for his father and his goddy rich friends to see. It was a building that was a big and white enough canvas for Neon, and so he zoomed off to find it.

Once he arrived, he looked up. The building was about seven stories high, which meant that he would only have to climb to the fifth. For once in his life he double checked that his trademark neon lights on his costume were off. "The Rat" had said to make sure not to be seen, which he'd done a pretty good job of already. He began to climb the building. Once he'd gotten to the right floor level, he stuck his Gears into the side and they automatically magnetized into the side of the building. He started with a red can of paint, shaking it up before starting his work.

It took him quite awhile to use the silver, almost half of the time that he'd been given. After he was done with the silver, he took out a red colour and began to spray with that. Lastly he took out the white, but not before checking his digital watch 11:32pm. Shit.

He tried to spray the white as efficiently and quickly as possible. He sprayed on the words:

When he finished, he put away his white spray can and began to climb down quickly. When he'd gotten off the building, he sped away a little before looking back.

It was probably one of the best sprayings he'd completed. Neon quickly sped away.

With only ten minutes to spare, he arrived back at the warehouse and hoped he wasn't the last one.

Speed Demon

She had started on her task first, zooming away towards her destination.

The wheels on her Gears was no longer whirring, it was giving off a high pitched whine now, threatening to fall apart under the ludicrous speed she was going. The dirty, dusty, and dangerous lower levels soon made way to the clean shining upper levels, her spirits lifting as she returned to the familiar whiteness of her life. It was all right down there, but only in small doses. Franceska wouldn't want to move down there any time soon.

Nearing her destination, she turned in a tight circle, slowing down to a stop.

Taking a look at the piece of paper again, and running through the instructions in her mind, she realized they didn't exactly specify anything in their instructions, only to tag a building they were given and to get back in four hours. Shrugging, she pulled out two of the four spray cans on her belt, and started to work. She painted using both of the cans at the same time, not because it was faster, not because it made her look cool, and certainly not because of some technique she developed, but simply because she can.

A while later, she finished her work.

It certainly didn't take very long considering she just painted over the entire entrance of the building instead of making a grand mural. The location however, would ensure everyone who enters the building see her work, at least until they get someone to erase it. But that will take a bit of time as they contact authorities to report on it and getting someone to work on the door. Plus, it would annoy or even humiliate her father's 'friend' when he found out about this, and would no doubt be lamenting about it the next time they attend anything. Their parties and functions could use a bit of excitement.

Taking another look at the mass of brightly coloured geometric shapes, she nodded and sped off before one of those patrolling assholes came over and started investigating her. With a loud burst, she stopped right in front of the warehouse and looked at her watch.

"A little over 2 hours." She said to no one in particular, wearing a slightly displeased expression. "I'll take it."

With a sweeping gesture, she opened the door, gave a two fingered salute towards Free, and liberated a seat for herself. After a while of waiting, the other idiots who were also invited started trickling in. Will she be accepted? Will she be rejected? Franceska found that she didn't mind terribly should she be rejected. After all, she wasn't in this to prove herself to anyone, but to simply be.

Laura was calming down a block away from the rendezvous. Having finished her cigarette, she wandered in with a few minutes remaining, not sure how much. She did hear "Nitro" or "Neos" or whatever, the guy with the disco mask, complaining about a lopsided circle.

"You're right. If anyone should be removing graffiti, it's the fucking Taggers." Than she laughed, with a hint of wheeze to it.@RedXCross

She slipped off her Gears, placed them in her seemingly signature duffel bag, took out her shoes and placed them on again. Stretching, Laura lazily leaned against the back wall once again.

---

Parker jumped to her feet as the others began rolling out. If she wanted to get back in time, she would have to get going. She reached down and packed her stuff back into her bag. She zipped her backpack and shouldered it, then jogged to the box. She picked out one of the last pieces of papers and up and unfolded it. The place she had picked was called Insomnia Night Club. The good part was that she new exactly where it was, but the cons outweighed the pros in this case. It was also at prime business hours from 8pm-2pm. It was also over an hour ride from the warehouse. She sighed, nodded and pocketed the slip of paper. She pulled her respirator back over her mouth, drawing her hood back over her bright red hair.

She ran to her board and powered it on, hearing it whir to life. The LED lights flashed, casting a blue haze on the concrete. She looked over to free, giving him a thumbs up. "Thanks for the tune-up! Gotta blast!" She said, she lunged forward, landing both feet on her board and rocketing forward. She stomped her back foot against the board, engaging the gear boost and accelerating her forward at an extra-high speed. She knelt low over the board to give herself more maneuverability. She leaned right and turned the corner, disappearing from view of those in the warehouse.

She had no idea how long it took her to get to Insomnia, but she looked to the big screen that hung on the wall to entertain the people in the waiting-line, reading the current time as 10:40. She swore as she curved down the street, avoiding the eye of the massive bouncer in front of the club. She rolled around the back alley, trying to find a good place to tag. She spotted the wall in the alley, just behind the corner of the wait line. She grabbed her paint from her bag and rode to the wall. She got close to the wall so as to minimize her visibility, and began spraying.

She used angles and distance on the wall to get her preferred effect from the spray paint. By the time she was finished, she'd completed an acrylic word art, which read, "Now is the time, art is not a crime!" She stepped back to admire her work. She moved her foot backwards, but her foot hit her board, causing it to roll back into the dumpster behind her. The board created a loud crash, which drew attention from the people standing in the wait line. She jumped behind the dumpster, hoping to God that no one spotted her, especially the Ratpack member that was supposed to be following her.

She slid her hand under the dumpster and slid her board out. She jumped up and sprinted to the other end of the alley, turning the corner. She dropped her gear on the ground, jumping onto it and propelling herself forward. She road down the street, passing the monorail station. She looked up at the train arrival signs, seeing that the current time was now 11:05. She swore again, accelerating forward again and proceeding faster than she was honestly comfortable with.

Parker turned the street corner and kept going, apprehension rising within her chest. She felt the pressure building in her mind. She was cutting it close. In a moment of horror, the lights on her board flickered for a moment, teasing at possibly shutting off, but she was relieved when it remained on. She leaned into the board, engaging the boost even further. All of the sudden the board jerk like at the warehouse, almost throwing her to the ground. The gear slowly began to decelerate on its own. "No, no, no, no!" She yelled at the board, as though her protest would fix the problem. The board decelerated until it jerked to a halt, causing her to stumble to the ground. She shouted in anger and hit the ground with her right fist, leaving her knuckles bloodied.

She ran back to the board and switched it into manual riding mode. She place her front foot on the tip of the board and kicked off the ground, propelling herself forward. She kicked as hard as she could and gained as much speed as possible. The whole time she rode, she felt the dreaded sense of losing creeping up on her. She wasn't going to make it. She had finally been given her chance to become a real tagger and actually make difference, and her stupid gear was going to ruin it all.

By the time she reached street the warehouse was on, her legs burned and were the sorest they'd been in a long time. Without her propulsion system, she was riding a normal skateboard that required physical control and endurance, the latter of which Parker currently struggled with. Her legs hurt from kick and turning, and her abdomen was on fire from balancing for so long.

Parker gave one more heavy kick as she arrived at the warehouse. She crossed the threshold and jumped from her board, stopping it and kicking it up into her hand. She ran to Free, dread filling her as she saw that virtually everyone had returned. "I'm back... did- did I make it? She said between labored breaths. She lowered herself to the ground and dropped her board, letting it roll a few feet from her. "Stupid crappy board..." With a sigh of exhaustion, she laid down on her back and tried to regain her breath.

Once the rag tag group had finally all left, Kacey took a moment to soak in the silence. He was able to relax, he had been doing nothing but sitting around, but just being near all these combative taggers was enough to give him back pain.

“Aaaah, gotta love some peace and quiet.” He muttered as he made his way back to his spot in the office. As he sat he let out a sigh and got a beer from his bag. He pulled off his mask and pushed his hair out of his eyes before putting his feet up and relaxing. After about an hour and a half he was getting bored, so he figured he might as well check in with the recon team. He switched his radio on and tried to sound as polite as he could.

“Morning sunshine, how are our new recruits going?” He said as he held the mask near his face. “You’re watching that Nitrous one aren’t you?” Data had seemed to be fairly interested in Nitrous, Kacey wasn’t sure why. Perhaps the guy had some interesting skill set that he wasn’t aware of, might be why Data recommended him.

“He seems to be doing well, operating as expected. Seems I was right about his technical skills, would fit in pretty well with my crowd if he made it through.” The voice said with a quiet contemplation.

“Okay settle down, we don’t even know if he is going to make it yet. Try not to recruit him before we know if he can cut it.”

“I know, I’m just saying. But do you really think this test is enough? It’s a lot easier than other years.” Data said with a condescending tone. “I know we need members but I don’t know if this is a good idea”

“Don’t worry about it, this is enough. In fact, I think this type of thing is the best. If we give them some sort of specific challenge then we are never going to find their skills, we are just going to see them all try and do the same thing. There was a saying like that wasn’t there? Something about a fish and a foot race…” Kacey said as he rubbed his temples in a vain effort to job his memory.

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid” Data recited in a rather smug tone. “Famous Albert Einstein quote, not entirely applicable here either, as it speaks from a theoretical standpoint about the merit of education. Don’t you know anything about historical figures?”

“Some of us aren’t nerds” Kacey replied with a grin. “But, since we are on the topic, how are the others going?”

“Rude! But if you must know, I’ll get the others to check in.” After a few moments of silence the radio sounded again.

“Well most are doing pretty well, seems most are underway with their tagging. One is way ahead of the pack it seems, and one of them hasn’t made it yet. The short one, seems younger than the rest. Apparently she is getting close though” Data reported.

“Well that’s to be expected. She is a little young, her gear wasn’t even working properly” Kacey said, remembering the malfunctioning board.

“What? How could you stop yourself from fixing it right there, that doesn’t sound like you” The voice replies, poking a little fun at Kacey

“Well I did a little tune up..." Kacey said, a little embarrassed that he had been called out.

"But to be honest I’m kinda expecting her to fail She seems a little under experienced. The rest seem rather capable though, if a little… psychopathic? No that’s the wrong word… Energetic. That fits.” He said as he reached into his bag and pulled out another beer.

“Well who knows, still a couple hours to go, anything is possible. Well I gotta get back to watching, I’ll let you enjoy your sad alone drinking. I might join you when I get back though. You’re buying of course.” The voice said with a smug tone.

“Looking forward to it” Kacey replied before switching off the radio. He took another sip before he heard a loud noise come from outside. He quickly grabbed his mask on in preparation for a quick retreat, but it seemed as though one of the potential recruits had returned. Kacey took note of the time.

“Two hours?” He muttered, somewhat surprised as the girl grabbed a chair. “Guess she wasn’t all talk…” He shuffled his chair over towards hers and returned the gesture.

“That is an impressive time. If this were a race you would come in first by a long shot. Well sadly I can’t tell you if you passed till the rest of them get back, so make yourself comfortable” He said as he went to drink from his beer. The can tapped against the filter of his mask, and Kacey let out an audible noise of disappointment before placing the can next to him and retrieving his sketch book. He continued to sketch as time passed, and the deadline drew closer. In the last 15 minutes people seemed to come in one by one.

First came the guy that drew a circle on the ground, Kacey was pretty sure his name was Dax, but he was worried he would say the name wrong so he just waved as the man arrived back. He was going to be very sure not to piss him off, he seemed the type to have somewhat of a temper.

Next followed the colourful one, Neon. Kacey was glad to see him come back, his art was always a sight to see. It was the reason that Kacey chose him, it’s always refreshing to see someone rebel the way this guy seemed to.

Nitrous was the next one to return. He came strutting in with the same confidence as before. Apparently his abilities were good, so Kacey was glad to have him here, but his smugness was almost enough to make an apathetic guy like Kacey speak up. Almost.

Next came the older lady, Smiles. Kacey was a little relieved to see her, she seemed to have a sense of humour about the whole situation. Kacey had to stifle a giggle as she called out Nitrous. Not to mention her abilities are useful for more… direct missions.

And as time ticked down and time approached midnight, Kacey let out a sigh and stood up, quickly placing his book back into his bag.

“It seems as though this is everyone we are going to have arrive on time. Now then-“ He started, before the doors quickly swung open and in ran the last recruit. The younger girl came in breathing heavy and dropping onto the ground.

“I’m back… did- did I make it?”

Kacey looked down at the exhausted girl for a moment, surprised that she had arrived at all, before looking down to his watch. The time read 11:59, and ticked over to 0:00 as he was looking at it. Kacey was shocked, but ultimately relived.

“Well, I’m sorry...” He started, leaving a small pause as he spoke, letting the moment soak in. “But it looks like you made it just in time. And with a broken gear too. Not bad” He said before offering a hand to help her up.

“Well then” He said as he looked around the group of recruits. “It appears that you have all made it back in time. This means that you have all completed the necessary requirements to pass.” He said with a small round of applause.

“But that’s not all that is required. We do need to see if your work is up to scratch. If you will give me a moment” Kacey said as he turned his radio on and turned his back to the group. He conversed for a while to determine the results, before turning around towards the group.

“Well then, it appears that…” He started, before pausing again. Kacey barely got a chance to mess with people like this so he was savouring it.

“You all pass” He said with another small round of applause. He reached up and pulled at his gas mask, removing it and holding it in his arm as he moved his hair out of his way with his hand. He glanced around the group with his sharp blue eyes that seemed to be stuck in a permanent scowl.

“That thing gets annoying after a while…” He muttered as he rubbed his jaw. “But yes, allow me to be the first to offer you all a position in the Ratpack”

He offered everyone a wide smile as he waved to a figure that had just entered the warehouse. The figure walked past the group before stopping next to Kacey. They were rather tall, just a little shorter than Kacey himself and were dressed in all black except for a bright purple mask that didn’t seem to have any discernible facial features.

“This is another member of the pack. And the one that had their goons out watching you all night.” Kacey said as he gestured to the figure next to him.

“Hello! My name is Data” The figure announced in a soft and calm voice that sounded almost robotic, as if it were coming from a speaker. “I’m the head of recon and intel at the pack. It’s good to meet you” She said, offering a wave. As she spoke the mask lit up with dots and formed pictures, lingering on a small picture of a character waving rather energetically.

“Well then, it seems as though the time for introductions has finally arrived” Kacey said as he glanced down at the young girl and offered her a playful wink.

“Oh and I’m not expecting everyone else to take their mask off. You can if you want, I just don’t really care if people see my face”

Kacey grinned as he looked over the group. He was all too relived that the hard part of his job was done for the night.

---

Thankfully, he wasn't the last one. A few more people came in after him; rainbow face and smoker girl. He waited in silence as time ticked by, messing with his mask by turning it off and on again as well as the rest of his costume.

After what seemed like ages, but was probably only ten or fifteen minutes, "The Rat" spoke. As he did so, Neon looked around. He saw that the young girl who he'd defended earlier hadn't arrived yet. He was wondering what could have taken her so long, when she burst into the room out of breath.

Neon heard Free's sad tone, but then realized he was messing with her. He gave a smirk. He nodded his head in astonishment that the girl (Skyscraper was it?) had arrived with broken gear. His head again turned back as Free gave that same false tone that turned out to be in a joking matter. He gave a smirk and a sigh, in disbelief that he had made it into RatPack. He watched as Free took off his mask, and drew in a small breath.

His blue eyes were beautiful, and they went well with his hair. Neon then watched as another walked in, and was introduced to them. And then it was time for introductions.

Even though Free said they didn't have to take their masks off, Neon still did as well as throwing back his hood. His face was quite feminine for a guy, and he wouldn't be surprised if questions were asked.

"Hey. So if it isn't already obvious by my mask, I'm Neon," he said, as he ruffled his blonde hair and smirked.

Dax stood quitly for a moment and removed his Hood leaving his mask intact still not big on the whole identity thing. Dax took a quick look around the room making sure everyone could see him. With a small sigh he began to speak . He first looked towards the rat pack members"considering the wealth of resources within your group. I'm sure you all ready know me as well as the rest of them throughout if not even by name"

Dax proceeded to turn towards the others. "as for the rest of you" he said with a subtle sigh. For Daxs usual day he had already talked to much and no longer wanted to say anything, but he knew it was a nessasery formality. "you probably don't know me nor do I care or even really want you to" he let out another small sigh before continuing to speak.

"I am who the public refers to as anonymous. You can use this or you can call me D. Either works I really could care less. As for you he said the last words turning and pointing his pistol at nitros. ["shut up about the damn circle I swear to God I will shoot"

Although not entirely truthful or joking dax chuckled a bit jokingly as he put the safety on his gun and walked back to his spot on the wall. Dax began adjusting the engines In his gloves. He had almost lost grip 20 stories in the air and that was just too close of a call to not fix.

Laura rubbed her chin. Masks were always a bit unnecessary to her. In her experience, if the feds were close enough to get a good look at your face, you've already been caught. Of course, "D", as she would refer to him (she refused to call him 'Anonymous'), immediately pulls a gun on the guy who hates lopsided circles. Now, Laura wasn't sure about where D came from, but you don't just casually pull a gun on somebody.

"Hasn't anyone taught you the basics of gun safety?" @KiritoAsuna She said, staring at D. "It doesn't matter, because that was an unwarranted show of aggression. And I'd know, I'm the master of unwarranted aggression. They call me 'One Who Pinches Elbow First', in The Old Country."

"I'm just saying, if we're going to get thrown into The Hole as a team, we can't go pointing loaded fire-sticks at each other." She lazily meandered towards D, maintaining eye contact. Eventually she came up beside him and leaned next to him on the wall.

"Know what I mean?"

Dax stared back at Laura angerly. His head was filled with all kinds of things. I'll shoot you too don't test me. he thought to himself. What an interesting group of crazies this was. What an iteresting group they would make. Turning away from her he pulled out a small phone like device and toggled the switch on his ear piece. @Stekkmen

Dax was curious who would truly make it into the ranks considering no one had yet actually told them weather or not they were going to be a part of the infamous group. Dax was honestly surprised that None of them knew who he was, but he shrugged it off. His work must have only been infamous amongst the people not the rebels.

Sliding down the wall dax messed on the phone and managed to open his rig to the frequency of the rat pack for a moment. Throughout the testing he had been listening to their examination of everyone, which however, is one reason he is irritated with Nitro. What did they want with him? Why was he so special?

In the Mic he let out laugh. "hey guys I think you need to use a more secretive signal this one is way too easy to catch" he shut from the signal and swapped his ear piece to his music and sat back awaiting the others responses.

---

Nitrous’ response remained neutral even as the older woman made the assumption that he wanted to eliminate the circle from his premise, but in reality, all he wanted was to fix it’s deformed, lopsided-ness. This… D clearly had no respect for geometry, and while Nitrous was aware that art could come in various forms and shapes, you needed to have strongly established basics.

For a moment his attention turned to the group of purple cronies that moved in behind the man now known as Kacey, and his attention was piqued by this “Data’. Unlike the first man, they still refrained from revealing their identity, but if they were in charge of intel then it made sense. Hackers and computer fiends of all kinds tend to prefer hiding behind an avatar whenever possible. With that out of the way and introductions starting, Nitrous decided to let some other people speak as he stared at the twisted, deranged red circle beneath his feet.

He was reaching for his own can of paint when D pulled the two guns on him. He paused, only for a moment before Laura came a little closer and appeared to bat him away. Nitrous still kept a neutral response, even if his heartbeat was still racing. “Anonymous”, huh? Actually, the name ‘Dax’ was unique enough that he could probably find something on him if he slipped through some of his more “unique” search engines. Though revealing that man’s identity may end in him actually getting shot.

He seemed to cool down a bit as the woman intervened, and Nitrous was slightly grateful for that. Not that there was a way of responding with anything more than a nod. But the moment he pulled the guns away, Nitrous took out his can of red paint and started to fix the circle, fixing the edges of the shape, increasing the thickness, and adding a few smaller, linking circles for added measure. Once that was done, his head popped up, he pushed the can back into his bag, and then glanced around at the rest of the group, though he made no effort to remove his mask.

“You can refer to me as ‘Nitrous’,” he said, his tone colder than the concrete they stood upon, “Though I tend to go by N15 as my handle on various Tagger-related pages.”

That last bit of information was a little more for the new people that entered the room. He was sure that someone who went by the name of ‘Data’ was probably lurking around on some of the sites set up by some other society-despising types. Nitrous figured that being part of this group was just as dangerous as being without, but perhaps the number of loose cannons was offset by the number of steady triggers.

He tilted his head and yawned as his eyes wandered around the circle, though it seemed like his body perked up when he realized all the people that passed.

“And I’m excited by the art that you’ll bring to this bland city.” he chuckled.

Speed Demon

“That is an impressive time. If this were a race you would come in first by a long shot. Well sadly I can’t tell you if you passed till the rest of them get back, so make yourself comfortable”

Giving a nonchalant shrug at that, she took another chair to rest her feet on, lounging about as she waited for the rest to come.

As soon as they all arrived, including one girl who just barely made it, Free started to announce the result. Apparently all of them had managed to pass. No real surprise that Franceska herself had passed, but for all of the others? They didn't look like much to her, or most taggers for that matter.

When they started on the introductions however, one pulled out a gun, and started threatening the man with the strange mask. For all their claims, taggers were no more than glorified thugs it seems. Certainly doing nothing to refute the media's claims that these taggers were no better than terrorists. Not that she actually cared, but Discord members seemed to be more in control of themselves than this thug, who was being recruited by none other than the Ratpack. The ones called Neon and Nitrous did not seem to be acting like a gutter thug at least.

Raising her feet and slamming it down on the chair to get everyone's attention, she spoke. "Call me Speed Demon. Didn't think the Ratpack took in riff raff like that, but it looks like I was wrong."

The introductions started out nice enough, even pretty polite. Neon introduced themselves nicely enough, truth be told Kacey was relived. These guys were somewhat competitive it seemed, and it was good to see that they could be nice enough. Then the rest of them started. Well the ‘rest of them’ consisted mostly of Dax, or Anon to go by his title.

“Woah, okay, take it easy guys” Kacey said as the man raised a gun to Nitrous. He glanced around the group and over to Data, who seemed to be rather disturbed by the presence of a weapon. Kacey considered stepping in and disarming him, but the older member seemed to unwind the situation fairly well. He was relieved to see that there was someone to keep a lid on things, especially since these guys were going to have to work together on the coming missions. Data seemed to calm down once the man had lowered his gun, although she was a still a little shaken. But when the guy connected to the signal, she seemed to perk up a little.

“Well well, looks like there may be a few more of you that would work well with me. Might need to work on that itchy trigger finger though” She said as a big grin appeared on her mask. That D guy had been picked up by Kacey, but it seemed as though me might be more suited to the Intel team. She listened as Nitrous spoke, and she seemed to notice the name.

“I knew it, I figured you must be him. Your art was way too similar to be different people” She said as she walked over to the man. “I’m actually a moderator on a few sites, I go by D4TA” She said as the name appeared on her mask with flashing border around it.

“Once you get out of probation you should let me know and I’ll get you involved in our little group” She said as her mask showed a wink to the man.

“Oh yea!” Kacey exclaimed. “That’s what I was meant to tell you guys. Okay, so you guys all passed, but you aren’t 'full' members yet." Kacey said with a set of sarcastic air quotes. "You are in somewhat of a probationary period right now. The test is the important part, so don’t worry you are pretty much in, we just want to see how you operate on a real missions. Tests are one thing, but an actual mission is something other entirely. One mistake and you don't just pack up and try again later. If you mess up then the whole operation can go belly up." Kacey said as he looked at the group.

"And if you get caught doing missions for us then there isn't any mercy. You would be lucky to not end up on a one way trip to the Hole. So, you will need to operate as a group. That means no fighting that would endanger the mission.” Kacey said as he glared over to Nitrous and Dax.

“Anyway, some groups have to wait weeks for a mission, but luckily for you we have a mission planned tomorrow night.” Kacey stated as he paced backwards and forwards. He was expecting that some of them might be a little annoyed to be placed in this kind of situation but it was unavoidable.

“We will provide you with an address that will be the pre-mission stop. We have paint there, and we will brief you on the mission before we begin. Also, if anyone needs maintenance on their gear then show up early and I’ll fix you up.” He said as he looked down to the young girl’s board.

“That defiantly means you, Red” He said as he took note of her bright hair. “Can’t have you going around with a broken gear. That would just make the mission harder than it has to be.” Data interjected quickly as she went to stand back at Kacey’s side.

“We will be unable to observe you in this mission or to act as spotters, so you will be operating blind. Normally we would keep an eye out, but my team has other matters to attend to.” She said as she looked over the group. “But you guys will do just fine. So yea, good luck!”

She quickly turned around and walked out the door with a wave to the group. Just as the door closed, it opened slightly and a purple mask popped back in through the crack in the door.

“Oh Kacey, you better have beer in your fridge!” She yelled as she waved again and quickly ran off. Just after she left, there was a whirring sound, followed by a small boom and the noise faded away.

“I-“ Kacey started before he looked around at the group. He let out a big sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. “I was planning on keeping my name a secret for a bit but whatever, it’s not like we are in a gang of rebels that prefer anonymity or anything” He said with a sarcastic shrug. He quickly went back to his bag and grabbed some paper before started handing them out to everyone. It contained the address that they were to meet at for the mission brief. It was a different warehouse towards the eastern sections of the slums. It was in a more populated area, but seemed pretty unassuming.

“So yea, that’s that. If anyone has any other questions then I would be happy to answer but if not then I’ll see you tomorrow, same time as tonight.” Kacey said as he walked over to his bag. He waited in case anyone had anything extra to add, knowing full well that his fridge was going to be cleaned out by the time he got home.

Day streatched and looked around at every one as he removed both Hood and mask. "hey guys if you don't have anywhere to be please stick around to hear me out". the man actually copped a small smile for the first time this night. He was genuanly in a good mood. He looked around to ensure everyone would stay and listen. "I would like to apologize for earlier. It's just a formality to be rude, but since we will be working together I want to actually introduce myself and afterwards if you would like I can give you equipment to keep in contact with me digitally"

Dax let out a small sigh and laughed. He had never tried to make friends or even showed his face before today and now he was about to go full steam ahead. The name is Day . Full name Dax Alabaster Slade. Please call me Das or Dax whatever works for you. The name anonymous wasn't chosen by me it was given because I run without a crew and the public gave the name anonymous to my art. I work with technology as a specific so if you can't reach Free give me a call or hit me up some other way and I will help you. he than turned to nitrous specificly "sorry for the gun play.just trying to keep up an image Dax chuckled a little and smiled

"thank you for listening. As I said before I have some tech to keep us connected as a team if any of you are interested Dax gave a small wave and sat back down messing in his bag.

---

Probation? Sounds about right. Most jobs usually had a trial period for their employees. He figured that a group trying to be organized is going to have a similar run-down to an organized company, especially when you’re dealing with this entire group of people with clashing ideologies. If they don’t know how to handle the situation, or if they’re too fresh, then a little jaunt on the town and a pretty tag on the wall (regardless of its quality) barely simulates a challenge that could potentially level the city or at least cripple its oppressive government. Let those that fail the first mission fail. In fact, based on what people were talking about, there were already some that were thinking about avoiding this group altogether.

He’d be lying if he said he would prefer that Dax guy either be far away from him or out of the group entirely. His final introduction seemed too quick, too weak for the earlier reaction, leaving two options. Either he was consistently trying to put on an act or he was clinically insane.

Based on the first impression, however, the idea of working for D4TA would be interesting. Based on some of the more complicated technical things he’s seen (plus the fact those sites have evaded the government for so long) meant that there could be much more that the pair of them could do together. The could be like two sides of the perfect shape, just waiting to align in perfect symmetry.

There he was going on an art tangent again.

Nitrous gave one more glance around the room, eyes stopping on Data’s flickering mask for a moment before he pushed himself away from his space on the wall with a yawn. His heel tapped the floor once more, and the wheels slid out in a usual fashion. He readjusted the straps, eyed Dax one more time before his attention went back to Kacey.

“Until next time, then,” he stated.

Then, with a trail of neon he zoomed out of the room, pulling a few blocks away and around the corner before throwing himself onto a small electrical box, right across from where one of his other symbols lay. It was only midnight, after all, and there was no way his nagging thoughts would let him sleep this early.

There were so many questions. Ratpack. What was it they were after, exactly? Was art their main focus, or was it something else? Either way, he could assume that at least Data knew his intentions. Some of his deeper profiles potentially held some even stronger ideals, especially based on how he assumed the white buildings shaped their society, and how even he was willing to do whatever it took to bring back a little bit of colour. In that sense, all of the Taggers that existed were pushing towards the same goal. And even when they covered it up, Nitrous took ample satisfaction from the slightly off-shade colour that was left behind.

His more private thoughts could stay in his black box, however.

For now, his attention drew to the empty night sky. Light pollution made it near impossible to pick out the specks of stars. He hadn’t ever seen the stars in a real sense. Only from books did he know about the chaos of the universe.

To be honest, that stuff was something he wasn’t willing to touch.

He shook his coffee canister, which was still pretty full, and took another swig as he lifted the bottom of his mask and kept his eyes to the sky.

”Don’t worry, Mom. Hopefully I can bring back our colourful world.”

Speed Demon

It looks like they weren't exactly in yet.

Probably just a test to see how they operate and such. There wasn't anything to record how good taggers were or what they were particularly skilled in under here after all. At least, none that she was aware of. How many of these newcomers would pass the second test?

“So yea, that’s that. If anyone has any other questions then I would be happy to answer but if not then I’ll see you tomorrow, same time as tonight.”

She glanced at her watch, noting that it was getting uncomfortably late. There was little time left before she had to sleep if she wanted any semblance of a good day tomorrow. Stumbling around with half awake wouldn't do much for her image, and it would rouse suspicion that she was staying up longer than she should. Pity, she would have loved to stay and see what else that idiot has in store, after declaring swinging a gun about was about maintaining his image. Pretty piss poor excuse, sounding like he had to compensate for something. Whats next, throwing a live grenade at people as greetings?

"Nothing important. I'll be there tomorrow night."

With nary a word more, she rode off into the darkness, jetting her verniers to reach her top speed. There wasn't much time left, so she rode into several obscure routes, on the look out for tails. Satisfied no one was following her, she stopped by an alley behind a relatively seedy hotel, the kind that most people use, but has whispers about odd stains and the occasional unwanted insects inside. Retrieving a bag from a hidden box, she changed quickly and called a cab home.

From there it was a simple matter of sneaking in through the right doors and back into her room. Perhaps she'd make one of the maids her accomplice for tomorrow. It was getting rather tedious doing all this alone.

To be honest, this Dax guy's apology probably worried Laura even more about his mental health. It's one thing to be a gun-toting lunatic, it's another to be cherries and roses the next moment. He could be bipolar or something. And not the teenage stereotype "Omg, I'm so bipolar!" either. Actually bipolar, as in, needing medication.

Or, on the other hand, he just turned over a new leaf. Laura lit a cigarette, inhaled those sweet toxic fumes and planed her bare arm around Dax's shoulder, so as she was on his left and her limb draped over his right shoulder. @KiritoAsuna

"There you go, buddy boy; that's the spirit. I can feel our beautiful new friendship blooming already." As she spoke, the smoke from her new cigarette drifted over her lips and into the air. She was a chain smoker indeed, but as she saw it she was probably going to die early or get thrown into the Hole, so she didn't see a real point in going through the effort of kicking the addiction.

She jostled him with her arm, all friendly-like. Personal space was not a huge issue for her, perhaps to other's chagrin.

Still holding onto D, Laura called out to Free. "Yesiree, ready to kill some krauts...or whoever we're fighting. Just don't expect me to die for your grand cause." She placed the lit nicotine stick back to her mouth.

---

Parker could hardly contain her excitement throughout the whole exchange. She watched as the other taggers announced themselves. Her jaw dropped when she recognized most of their names, having at least seen one of each's tags. The whole while, she sat on her board, rolling back in forth to diffuse her urge to jump up and down in celebration. Her spirit slightly sank when everyone began leaving. She couldn't explain how much she loved being around all of these veteran taggers.

She stood and moved towards Free as he handed out the papers. She looked at the address and mentally recalled the route to get there. She nodded and pocketed the folded paper. "You got it, boss." She said, stepping both feet on her board. As the others filed out, she waited at the door for a minute. Before she left, she looked to the leader of the Ratpack. "I got no idea what's up with my board, so I hope you're good at whatever it is you do." She turned, and kicked off the ground, riding away after giving both Free and Data a mock salute.

She rode home with a permanent grin plastered across her face. She reached her building and kicked her board up as she reached the back alley. She grabbed her board by the front lip and tossed it up the fire escape. She slung her backpack up as well, then took a few steps back. The building was old, so the ladder on the fire escape had long-since fallen off of the metal structure. Thankfully, she was rather efficient in improvising her way around. She lunged forward, running sideways at the wall. She placed her left foot and pushed upwards, quickly bringing her right foot to the brick facade and pushing off the side, gaining enough height to reach her right arm out and grab the edge of the fire escape.

She pulled herself up with ease. It might not have been totally evident by her small size, but her upper-body strength was above par. She'd learned to use her size and relative strength to her advantage. Inside her small frame were strong muscles that were earned by years of running and skating the city. In the recent years, she'd also taught herself to climb. She was still new, but she was working up her skill in freerunning, and she was actually very good at it. Despite her athleticism she was still limited by her lack of size.

Presently, she stood and grabbed her stuff. She opened her apartment window, stepped inside and quietly shut the window. She looked to the other side of the room, where her brother, Ben, lay dead asleep on a filthy couch. She sighed glancing him over. Unlike her, he was tall, almost six and a half feet tall and weighed over two-hundred pounds. Their genetics didn't match up, since Parker was short and small, while Ben was tall and muscular. The muscles in his back were displayed as he lay shirtless on his stomach. She saw that the bruises on his back were almost completely faded. He'd been in a fight a few days back, but he'd been horribly sick since then.

She shook her head and grabbed a blanket that he'd tossed to the floor. She threw it over him, though it didn't cover his long frame completely. She looked at him one last time with sympathetic eyes, then turned towards the only other room in the pathetic excuse for an apartment. It was technically her bedroom, since Ben refused to let her sleep on the couch. It would be a monumental day if he didn't give her the best he possibly could. Though she protested all the time, she always lost, and resigned to her room while he slept on the horrible couch. She appreciated the privacy, though.

She opened the door and set her bag and board down against the wall. In reality the only thing special about the bedroom was the extra privacy. The only thing in it was a lousy mattress, a threadbare blanket and a pillow that hadn't been fluffy in a long time. As she gazed at her bed, she finally felt the exhaustion hit her like a semi-truck.

Having to race to and from the Insomnia Night Club in just a few hours with broken gear had drained almost all of her energy. She slid out of her coat, but left her boots, jeans, and tank top on. She was far too tired to get in proper condition, so she just flopped onto the mattress, nearly instantly falling asleep.

Kacey was very surprised as all of a sudden that Dax character removed his mask. He listened carefully as he looked over the man carefully. It seemed as though he was sincere about it all. The sudden change of mood was a little disarming, but it seemed that not everyone had the same relaxed view on appearances that Kacey had.

“Well that’s a surprise, he can be civil too” Kacey said as he flashed a cheeky smile. “I’ll admit, I was a little worried about how you guys would progress as a group. It seems as though my worries might have been misplaced.”

He walked over to the man and put an arm over his shoulder.

“But you better be careful with the tech talk, we have a few people that might just steal you out of my little group if they knew you had some real skills. And I couldn’t bear to part with any of you just yet” He said as he gave the man a playful wink before walking back to his spot. He waved a few of the other members out.

“The war jokes are appreciated, but not a hundred percent necessary” He said as he stifled a giggle. Most people were intimidated by his mask for whatever reason, but this one had done nothing but made jokes about it. She was defiantly as tough as he had heard.

“I’ll get your gear working alright” He said with a sense of pride as the younger member started leaving. “You don’t get to become head mechanic without a few skills up your sleeve”

He offered her an equally enthusiastic salute as she made her way out. As some had left, and the others seemed content with the mission details, Kacey waved his final goodbyes before leaving the warehouse. After a while he wound up home and saw a light on from his window. He quickly made his way up the stairs and unlocked the door. He entered to see the girl from earlier was sprawled out on his couch with a beer in hand. She offered him an uninterested wave as he closed the door behind him.

“I don’t know how you keep getting in here, I even put a lock on the window. I could have you arrested you know” He said as he put his mask on his table along with his bag. He slipped off his gears before heading to the fridge and grabbing a beer from the hefty supply he kept at the ready for fridge raiding lowlifes.

“If I told you then you would just lock me out and I would break another window.” The woman said as she looked over in his direction, her mask tilted slightly up on her face allowing her to drink from the can. “You know I’ll do it”

“Yea yea, I know, I still find glass in this shitty old thing” He said as he made his way back to the couch. He pushed over his guest and took a seat. He cracked open the beer and took a long sip from it, before glancing over at the woman who was doing the same.

“You can take the mask off in here you know. Its only me, it’s not like it bothers me or anything, but you should relax” He said as he went back to his can. The woman hesitated for a moment, before she slipped the mask off to reveal her white hair that quickly fell down to cover the scar on her face. It was a deep cut that traced down her face across her eye. The eye itself was cloudy and glassy, and seemed not to respond to the world around it. There was a large burn that ran around her neck, and a small box sat affixed to her neck.

“I know” She spoke, as the voice sounded from the box at her neck. The voice was so close to realistic that it was a surprise to any that saw her like this, not many would even pick up on the voice.

“How is the speaker holding up? Any issues since the upgrade?” Kacey said as he reached out and inspected the small box. It was connected to a small device that picked up the words that Data tried to speak and ran them through a program to alter the voice and produce it out the speaker. She couldn’t speak normally without it.

“It’s doing fine, it’s a little uncomfortable though” she said as she rubbed the corners of the box.

“I’ll make the next model more rounded, shouldn’t bother you as much as this one.” Kacey said as he patted her on the head and smiled. He slumped down in his chair and let out a deep sigh. He was nervous about tomorrow. His job was easy, but Data had the dangerous assignment for the day. After a few moments of silence, the girl let out a sigh and put an arm around his shoulder.

“You don’t need to worry about me” She said as smiled up at the man. “As long as you guys do your job, I’ll be fine. I have confidence in you and your little group, you should too”

“You're pretty good at motivational speeches.” He said as he finished off his beer and threw it into the bin in the corner. “I’m wiped out, going to bed.” He said as he got up walked to the room at the back of the apartment. It was a dusty little place that consisted of two rooms and a dirty bathroom. All in all, it was pretty great considering the usual state of the slums. Yet another perk of being in the Ratpack.

“Feel free to join me when you get tired” He called out to the girl as he gave her a wave and started changing for the night.

“Sure, I’ll be there soon” She said as she took another drink from the beer. After a few minutes made her way to the bedroom and saw that Kacey was sound asleep already. She changed quickly before climbing into bed and hugging up to him for warmth. Nights like these were the ones she loved the most, the nights where she could just forget about her troubles and sleep in comfort. The night quickly faded as the pair drifted off.

--------------------------------------------------

Kacey woke to sound coming from the kitchen. He looked at the clock to see that it was almost 1 in the afternoon. He went to the other room to see that Data was getting ready for the day. He walked over and hugged her from behind.

“Morning” He said as he rested his chin on her shoulder. She put her hand up to his face and kissed his cheek.

“Morning” She replied with a grin. “Im about to head out. Got a lot of prep to do for today”

“Cool, good luck with your side of things” He said as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “Keep your radio on.” He said as she started walking to the front door.

“Hey, I should be saying that to you!” She said as she slipped her mask on, and the dots on the screen showed a frustrated chibi character. Kacey just laughed as she started to walk out. He waved her off before he sat down and looked out the window. He didn’t need to leave for a while, so he decided he would just get a little more rest before the meeting time.

At about 6, he decided it was time to leave. He grabbed his gear, making sure to get some extra supplies to work on any gear that repairs. After half an hour of travel, he arrived at the meeting place. It seems as though the prep team had left a drop off containing paint and few other supplies in the warehouse.

“Well then, time to get ready” He said, as he rolled up his sleeves and painted the pack logo on the door. He then began painting a map of the city on the wall. The radios would stay off until an hour before the mission began, so he kept himself from getting bored by humming songs as he worked.

That night day never really went home, not that he really had a home to get to. He strolled through the slums softly as the daylight started to come up. Looking up towards the upper city he could still vividly see his artwork. The man knew he was under rated by others, but that was his own fault. Being alone wasn't the easiest thing to do but it also wasn't that hard for him in his own head. Not knowing what to do he sat there and waited atop the roof of the next meeting place as morning hit .

"I can't believe you appologized to those people . They don't know you, they don't care about you" a voice from inside his head spoke. Dax had a small bout with schizophrenia but it wasn't like other people. It was closer to MPD than anything. He had a second personality that usually only came as a voice in his head. "Shut the hell up Alister" he said aloud. At the is time of day there really wasn't anyone around so he wasn't too worried about it. "you know I'm fucking right. They don't care about you all they care about is themselves no one else""shut up damnit. I'm going to bed"

Day lie down on the roof and drifted off to sleep.

Later that afternoon he was awoken by the smell of fresh spray paint and he sat up. What could that be he thought. Dax looked over the edge and saw the fresh rat pack logo on the door. "oh shit I guess this is the place" he said with a chuckle as he lie back down. Even though he was already ther, he decided to wait for others to show before entering this time.