[IC] Titans of Earth

[Pathfinder]

Knowing that he was going back to a fight club, Nathan was filled with an anxiety that he hadn't felt in a long time. It churned his stomach in such a way that it almost made him want to throw up and he was pretty sure he would do it sometime during this mission. However he soon got over his anxiety, or at least made it not a problem for the rest of the team. Punching his fist into his palm, Nathan worked out his funk and was ready to start this mission.

With everyone piling out of the ship, Nathan did the same. Stepping onto the roof, Nathan took a look around and took in his surroundings. There was a door but that was no doubt locked, it wouldn't pose much problems for someone of his strength but it was undesirable. The other option was the fire escape which was equally undesirable for the simple reason that it was too cliche. Giving Stitches a mischievous look from behind his mask, Nathan jumped off the roof and landed on the concrete down below and leaving a spiderweb of cracks in his wake.

It was more of a test than anything, the gloves held up and his durability kept him from getting hurt. Diagnostics complete, Nathan looked up and did a comm check while waiting for Stitches, "Lamorak this is Vulcan, can you read?" Getting a little more serious, Nathan couldn't help but feel like more of a soldier than a hero and as such didn't hold many "heroic ideals" like not seriously hurting the bad guys or being friendly.

[ColouredCyan]

"Since most gangsters seem to be sexist, refer to me as a guy, it'll be easier. It's not like I'll be doing a Jersey accent, but I think I can scare up a few old connections."

Imagining such a thing would not be difficult, there wasn't a feminine bone in her body. Its was cute in a tomboy kind of way, although Stitches wished Cora would let her tidy up her hair a bit. Stitches resisted the temptation to respond with, "Yes ma'am," and instead gave her a solitary nod in confirmation of strategic advice. Now was not the time for playing games and angering team mates who might have to save her life.

Vulcan turned to Stitches, said nothing and leaped off the building meaning stitches would be the sole member of team Cobra to take the fire escape. Cora and Linn would no doubt whisk themselves to the floor shortly so it was probably better to have a head start on them and try to catch up Mr. Incredible.

Clink clink clang clink clang clink clang clang clink clang clink clang....

...Clink clink clang clink clang clink clang clang thud.

Stitches dismounted the ladder on to unsteady ground and at its epicentre, the one that tears the earth asunder himself, running a comms check. In a fight club, he was going to be quite handy. A little plan hatched in her mind, one that would certainly get her in somewhat discreetly.

Stitches slinked up to Nathan, gently taking hold of his arm and tiptoed up to his ear.

"So, big boy, who are you gunna beat up for me first?" Eve whispered in the most sultry tone she could manage.

If he was the prize fighter, Stitches was the going to pretend to be prize.

[Scarifar]

Press followed each group's progress as best he could, both from Horus and his own zoom tool on his helmet. So far, everything was going smoothly. Her had no doubt he was going to get bored up on the rooftops, but wearing a high-tech suit of armor wasn't exactly the most inconspicuous thing in the world. So, he had to make do with the current set up they have now.

With everyone off to fulfill their part of the mission, that just left him and Blur in what Press considered to be the back up part of the plan in case things didn't go very well. He also wondered how Blur was going to stay on the rooftops when he couldn't fly. As far as Press knew, he could move very quickly, as if he had super speed, but that didn't seem like it would help. Perhaps only time would tell, and possibly Blur himself.

[Famotill]

"Affirmative Vulcan, Owl reads you loud and clear" Ambrose, or Lamorak, answered back. "If either team makes contact with our target report it to the other two teams immediately. Keep your eyes open for any signs of her presence, and ground team, keep your ears open for anyone who might know her." With his squad following behind, Ambrose slowed down in order to allow the other two teams to get out ahead. He turned back to face the rest of his group.

"Alright everyone this is it, we should be scouting the rooftops and the streets directly below us. Look for signs of ink, or places that might serve as a base or resting area, people, or platforms that might provide for parkour styled movement. Anything that might put us directly onto her path." Ambrose already began scanning the area around him, though he didn't see much. They stood on a dilapidated factory type building, not incredibly large, but certainly high enough to mask them from the people who might be below.

In particular, there was a door on the roof, not uncommon of most buildings. It's brick frame however held some sort of graffiti like artwork on it's right side wall, slightly obscured, but present. The art was of a silhouetted woman simply standing. It was rather unremarkable in appearance.

[Pathfinder]

As Stitches went down the fire escape, Nathan took a second to appreciate superhuman durability before getting an affirmative from Lamorak. Within that, Nathan just cracked his knuckles as he awaited Stitches' arrival. After about a second or two, Stitches latched herself onto his arm and said "So, big boy, who are you gunna beat up for me first?" in a voice that made Nathans eyebrow rise, among other things. Giving Stitches a once over, Nathan couldn't help but fall under the hormonal teenager stereotype if not for once in his life. Giving a smirk underneath his mask, Nathan couldn't help but take a stroll through memory lane to one of the few times Stitches wasn't wearing baggy pants. What could he say, Nathan was a leg man and Stitches definitely checked off on that list.

Giving a little laugh, Nathan said, "How scandalous miss Stitches, at least take a guy out for dinner first." His mirth didn't stop there as the pair began to head over to The Pit, Nathan talking on the way. "Preferably I would like to pound our good friend Mr. Jack into the dirt but alas, I do believe that would be frowned upon by our superiors. So I guess I'll just have to do with turning the champion of The Pit into paste."

As the pair walked nonchalantly down the crummy path, Nathan was on constant alert through his jovial manner. In all truth Nathan hated what he was about to do, the fights always did bring out the worst in him. Darting his vision around, Nathan noticed a silhouette or two making themselves scarce from across the street as soon as the duo came into view. It could have been nothing, but it could have been something. In this part of town, who knew. However he decided to call it in, "Lamorak this is Vulcan, I've got some people tailing us. It could just be some thugs but I'll keep an eye out for anything odd, keep you posted."

From the looks of it, this place was already getting to him, in a low voice Nathan said "I could use a drink." before a deep sigh escaped his lips.

[Gisk]

Bruce stepped off of the aircraft with less of a spring in his step than usual. He shook his head to clear it, and then pulled his mask over his head, checking that the respirator was tight. His air system was hooked up to his watch, and would activate automatically upon reaching times 4.7 NET. As he got his various systems in order, Vulcan dropped quite suddenly to street level, and started a comms check. Bruce heard him loud and clear, and Lamorak confirmed it as well. Half of Team Cobra started its way down the street, and Bruce walked to the edge of the building, looking at the alley between it and the next building. "Yeah," he muttered to himself, "I can clear that." He backed up and took a running start, leaping across and rolling on the other side. The members of the team who had no special powers to help transport themselves were trained for this sort of thing, and Bruce in particular had very stringent athletic standards place upon him by their overseers, as his power relied very heavily on his ability to move quickly.

"Engineer," he spoke over the comm, "Let's keep up. Vulcan, Stitches, slow down a bit so the rest of Team Cobra can catch up. We don't want to split any further than we already are."

Nathan called in to mention some potential trailers on him and Stitches. It seemed a bit early for that, but Bruce thought it best to take a look. "Engineer, take a look at that. Make sure we aren't being stalked already."

[Scarifar]

Press looked around for a few more seconds, then followed Bruce to the next building, using his jetpack to help jump the gap. Press had, of course, received training to increase his athletic capabilities, just in case his machines failed him, but Press preferred to use his machines anyway. Press opened up a window for the Horus-cam, to check on the potential threat. Horus flew up into the air and quickly spotted the person. Horus zoomed in and sharpened the image of the person. "Hmm... I could be wrong, but I think it's nothing serious. Just a random thug. Carry on," Press said, relaying his opinion.That being said, Horus then flew back to where he was originally.

[Eyeris]

The others began to spread out, she felt their presence vanish as they moved beyond her field, they flickered out like a candle. She felt herself blush as Nathan... well... legs... then a rush of adrenaline as Bruce leap off into the unknown... then... they were all gone. Only team Owl was withe her now...

... but they advanced quickly. Ambrose was running, so Carl followed, so Ponder inhaled sharply and tried to keep-up. She focused as much as she could on the canine following his path closely. She made sure not to follow directly behind, for the dog had much quicker reflexes than she did, Carl could easily dart around or jump over an obstacle that she would just as easily trip over.

Once they stopped Ponder could barely hear the next instructions over the sound of her own heartbeat. It was a wonder that she hadn’t fallen. It seemed as though she had something to show for all her time training!

She nodded to her leader, understanding the orders given.

She slid her toes across the ground, she found the roof to be a bit gravely, the sound of the small rocks scratched her ears as she pushed them around with her toe.

With a snap of her wrist she extended her cane. She brushed it around in a wide circle make sure she was not near a building ledge or near another object she might trip over. She knelt down on the ground and closed her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, she first focused on her fellow Owls. If she could keep a connection with them she would know right away if something was amiss. For example if they felt fearful or got hurt… That would only be if they remain within my field of perception.

Next, she tried to extend that field of perception as much as possible. It was spherical in nature, and therefore extended into the building below her and the air above her. If there was someone underneath her she would be able to feel them. No one would be able to sneak up on Ponder. No anyone organic anyhow…

Will I be able to feel the tattoo-creatures? She shivered. Do they even have a scent?

That thought gave her an idea. Ponder touched the top of Carl’s head.

“Sniff.” She whispered. She wished she could tell the dog what to sniff for. But hoped Carl would alert them to… anything odd... She had not worked with Carl herself in this capacity, but knew in the military the dog had often sniffed for bombs and weapons. Perhaps Ink did not need or utilize any kind of bomb or gun such as Carl would detect, but it was worth a try. Besides, what else could she do? She was on the watcher-team without eyes, best send the watch-dog instead.

Carl trotted off and away from Ponder, his nose to the ground and his ears pointed up. Magara folded her hands behind her back as she waited. She pushed her field to it’s limits and struggled to maintain it’s diameter.

[ColouredCyan]

"How scandalous miss Stitches, at least take a guy out for dinner first. Preferably I would like to pound our good friend Mr. Jack into the dirt but alas, I do believe that would be frowned upon by our superiors. So I guess I'll just have to do with turning the champion of The Pit into paste."

It had been along time since she'd been looked at like that, it had been awhile since she'd worn anything that might merit such looks but she enjoyed it none the less. She guessed it was a sign of them getting used to her appearance, which come to think of it, they weren't too bad about to begin with. It was impossible to tell whether it was because they walked in expecting the weird and the wonderful and thus weren't fazed so much by the patchwork girl, the dissonance between the monster she looked like and the ordinary girl she acted like or simply that her outward appearance only reflected what they all felt inside, freakishly different from the normal folk. Stitches tried not to rationalise it and just enjoy her moment of being objectivised sexually. It couldn't last for ever though, the reality of the situation and the reason for the sexy walk returned as suddenly as it disappeared.

"Eyes front soldier," Stitches replied in stark contrast to her previous tone, "Lets get out of this intact before discussing dinner and drinks."

Arousing suspicion would almost certainly end the mission, which was a nice way of putting "these thugs won't hesitate to end us if they think we're Popo, let alone a hitsquad for a particular super-powered associate." It suddenly felt like not such a good plan, more specifically a really stupid plan and as faith in her scheme fell, stress levels rose. A cop disguised as a prostitute to infiltrate the headquarters of a criminal organisation, really? This had to be the plot to about a thousand films, they'd see it coming a mile off. She'd be dead before she even saw the inside of this place.

Vulcan called in a group tailing them, Stitches hadn't even noticed them.

Deep breaths.
Calm thoughts.
Backup.
Lots of backup.

She wasn't doing this alone. She was escorting a fighter to a fight club, it wasn't out of the ordinary. It was much more inconspicuous than the three of them just trying to stroll in. Stitches relaxed slowly back into the sexy walk.

"We can wait up for Cora and Linn outside the alleyway where were less likely to asked for our wallet and phones."

[Pathfinder]

"Hmm... I could be wrong, but I think it's nothing serious. Just a random thug. Carry on,"

With that dealt with somewhat, Nathan continued his walk towards The Pit. From the sounds of it, Linn and Cora were being a pair of slow pokes. "Whatever." he thought to himself as he slowed down a bit. Giving quick glances around them, Nathan kept an eye out for anything else suspicious. After a bit, Nathan let his vigil fall for a second and just walked and enjoyed the wondrous atmosphere of the dank, sketchy, street he was walking down. Idly Nathan looked up at the sky and was mildly disappointed to find that there wasn't any stars in the sky, not that he was surprised. It was a New York after all.

"Eyes front soldier, lets get out of this intact before discussing dinner and drinks."

Switching his gaze from the sky back to Stitches, Nathan couldn't really fight that logic no matter how hard he wanted to. Eyes front. Nathan was about to say something witty when he noticed that Stitches was acting a little fidgety, deep breaths and the such. Before he could say any comforting words, Stitches went back into that oh so nice walk and gained some confidence back. It was true, this whole thing was a little sketchy. Plus the place Nathan was heading to was one he hoped he would never see again, and the fact that if they messed this up than a dangerous criminal would still be on the loose. "Yeah, not ideal." he thought to himself as they continued on their way.

"We can wait up for Cora and Linn outside the alleyway where were less likely to asked for our wallet and phones."

His attention back to the present, Nathan looked back at Stitches and said "That would be a good idea, but only for the backup. They aren't going to care about our age or whatever. They will just give us a pat down and send us in, but I'd watch out if I were you. These guy's will pocket anything of value you have on ya, or maybe cup a feel." His face twisted in disgust at that last prospect, those were one of the worst people in his book. "Slime balls." he said to no one in particular.

Giving a sigh, Nathan pulled his mask off and ran a hand over his short hair before looking at Stitches, "Listen, I need to at least warn you before we leave the frying pan. When we get down there you are going to see a part of me I hoped would stay buried. Just... don't judge me too harshly when the shit hits the fan."

[RainDash]

Cora, appearing behind the pair as they passed a shadow, dragging Linn along with her. They'd dallied long enough, and Cora was itching to get back into the seedy underworld that would hold precious darkness. "So you do care, I'm touched," Cora said sarcastically, already feeling the dread creep through her as she waled near the couple. She hated being the third wheel, and to be honest, she hated how much she wanted to be open and honest with how she looked like Stitches. She didn't want to even think that Stitches thought the same about her appearance as Cora did, she just assumed from how the other girl dressed that she felt comfortable put in the open like that.

Cora decided to try and burn all of the bagels tomorrow, just for that sake of doing so. "So, Nathan, you sure you wanna get in a fight down there? I mean, if things get outta control, I'd like to not become a splat on the wall." she had also been tempted to ask him how long he'd spent down in the pits, but she honored his silence. After all, they were kind of soldiers in arms. The streets were a harsh mistress, even more so to titans, and those that made it through were never quite the same as before. The only difference between war and the streets -at least as far as Cora could tell- was that you weren't given a chain of command and everyone was your enemy. Bonds of mutual survival were the only bonds, and even then, easily broken. So, so, easily broken.

[ColouredCyan]

"They will just give us a pat down and send us in, but I'd watch out if I were you. These guy's will pocket anything of value you have on ya, or maybe cup a feel."

Stitches' was not fond of the idea of being fondled, but it wasn't going to stop her doing her job. Causing a fuss endangered the mission meant endangering the team, by which she meant herself and as groped was better than dead she was going to side with the lesser evil. Nathan removed his mask with a sigh an stared down at Stitches with apologetic green eyes.

"Listen, I need to at least warn you before we leave the frying pan. When we get down there you are going to see a part of me I hoped would stay buried. Just... don't judge me too harshly when the shit hits the fan."

Eve smiled, his concern was somewhat humourous and endearing. If only he knew why she was here about to brawl with street scum instead of in a cosy med school enjoying the dangerless student life; Stitches doubted he'd bother asking forgiveness for his future actions, let alone let her pretend she was his tonight's squeeze. It was with good reason she didn't tell anyone her name, they couldn't have already forgotten the grotesque media footage, she certainly hadn't. She was lucky they only ever used her med school ID photograph or she'd be outted straight away. Her name however, was. The papers ate up the story, it was so sad, so grotesque, so deranged and the twist ending? Ooh! You simply couldn't make up. Nathan needn't worry, being massively hypocritical was not a trait of Stitches. Genuine concern showed on his face, so as much as she wanted to make light of it, Eve thought it better to simply assure him she wouldn't be judgemental.

"Don't worry Vulcan, I assure you, I won't be judgemental"

"So you do care, I'm touched"

Eve jumped a bit, about the same amount one jumps when someone else pops out of a closet that you knew was in there but weren't mentally prepared for the sudden movement and the scary noises. Her heart raced for a moment, Cora wins this round.

[ColouredCyan]

Double post.

[Pathfinder]

"So you do care, I'm touched...So, Nathan, you sure you wanna get in a fight down there? I mean, if things get outta control, I'd like to not become a splat on the wall."

The sudden noise caused Nathan to stiffen a bit but otherwise he welcomed it. Turning to the source he gave Cora and Linn a nod of greeting before he said "It's good to see you too, and yes... I am going to fight." Stepping up, Nathan brought them all together in a semi circle before talking about his plan of attack. Taking a moment to look each of his teammates in the eyes, Nathan said "Ok, a word for warning. Some serious shit is about to go down and I am about to give you some ground rules about the pit. Rule number one, don't trust anybody in here. It's obvious but it needs to be said. Rule 2 don't drink or eat anything they give you. Not only will it be filled with drugs it'll taste like shit. Last rule, look out for each other. When we enter this place its going to be a whole nother world, one we are not welcome to."

Clipping his mask to his belt, Nathan then continued by saying "So here's the plan. I am going to enter and fight the champ, this will distract most if not all of the bastards in this place. When that happens Demon's Dog will break take out the banker, preferably non fatally, and cash the joint. Take anything and everything of value. Cash, jewelry, drugs, flash drives, CD's, hard drives, documents...anything that we can use as leverage. When you get that done get the hell out of here and stash it, we want these fuckers to know that we can ruin them and we can't do that if they take back their shit."

Turning to Linn, Nathan said "Monsoon, I'm going to need you to watch Demon's Dog's back while she clears the place. Try to keep it quiet, we need everyone to be focused on me for this to work."

Finally, Nathan turned to Stitches and said "I'm going to need you to watch my back, these guys aren't going to like it that some nobody from Alaska is beating the tar out of their prize fighter." With that said Nathan spun on his heel and headed for the door.

---

The door was big, bulky, and pretty unassuming. Only the graffiti made this place known, it was garbled and butchered but the meaning was still there. Fortis hic certamen ubi infirmus moreretur, "Strong competition here, where the weak die." Releasing a pent up sigh, Nathan picked up a pipe that just so happened to be next to the door before pounding on the door with his fist in a five point rhythm before dragging the pipe along its surface.

The looking hatch opened and a pair of eyes was seen as a voice filled with equal parts mirth and malice said "Its been awhile since we've had one of you Alaskan boys around these parts...Oh, it also seems that you brought some friends." Giving a scowl at the man, Nathan just said "Hands off, they are with me." With that done, the door opened and the group was let in. A pat down and an argument about first aid kits later and they were in.

Each person knew their roles and as such, the group split up once again. Thankfully this place was dark, it would make robbing the place far easier for Cora. As for Nathan, he was more on edge than ever. However he pushed the emotions down, they wouldn't help him here. Pushing past everybody in his path, Nathan was greeted with a large door. Yells could be heard from beyond it along with the sound of smashing glass, pausing at the door Nathan took two deep breaths before pushing the doors open. The assault of yells, screams, and curses filled the air instantly.

The room was large and easily fitting the fifty or so patrons that surrounded the large, domed cage that dominated the center of the room. As two men duked it out for whatever prize that was on stake, Nathan cornered the ring man just as he was about to rile up the crowd once again. Poking his finger into the mans chest, Nathan said "Ten grand says I can beat your best guy." As the mention of big money reached the greedy mans ears, his face turned from one of annoyance to one of joy as his face twisted into a large smile. Wrapping his behind Nathan's back, the ring man said "Well, well, that's big money your spouting. You sure you can afford to lose? I assume you know what happens to those who can't pay?" all the while his face kept that twisted grin.

Shoving the mans arms off of him, Nathan said "I know what happens. Start the fight." adding to his point, Nathan stripped out of his vest, shirt, gloves, and mask. Placing them in the challengers bin, Nathan stepped up to the challenger's door as he awaited the fight to start.

---

"Ladies and gentleman! Do we have a fight for you this evening! It seems that our much beloved Throwback has earned himself a challenger for his title as champion of The Pit! Now I know all you know who this is lovely fella is, he's lean, he's mean, he's on the attack and can bounce back! IIIIIT'SSSS THROBACK!"

As the Ring Man yelled through his mic, a gangly looking guy in his early twenties stepped out and raised his arms and soaked the praise that was showered upon him. Nathan didn't have time nor the patience for praise or introductions, he just stepped in and accepted the few things of garbage flung at him. Raising his arms into a fighting stance, Nathan began to advance upon the man while he was distracted by the crowed. You could say what you wanted but there wasn't any rules down here and Nathan wasn't going to pass up a free punch.

However his hopes for a quick fight were quickly dashed as his sucker punch not only didn't do any damage, it didn't even move the guy an inch. After the shock, Throwback plastered a nasty smile and punched out faster than lighting. The punch hit him square in the chest and sent Nathan flying into the cage wall. Getting to his feet, Nathan thought "Damn, I guess that's why he's the champ." as he brought his fists back up and advanced again.

[RainDash]

Cora watched the fight briefly before scouting around the edges of the ring. After a few moments of searching, she found the banker, though it wasn't hard to miss the flashy clothes and how he was taking cash from people who were betting. She studied them for a moment before striding up to the banker and smiling. "I got big money I wanna bet on the newcomer, the Alaskan guy. Thing is, the only way I can bet this much is not in front of beggars and slime." Cora flashed a smile and some bills that she had pickpocketed from people around the ring. She was glad drugs made people stupid.

The banker sized her up, "ain't you a little young to be flashing that much cash? Or is that your allowance for the week?" the banker started to laugh but Cora moved quickly to put a knife to his throat.

"Well, I guess that if you're going to be rude, I'll give you three options," Cora paused to thumb the bills in her hand, "thousand dollars for that bet to start the night and we transact everything in your office, I slit your throat and take your key to the office, or... I could leave and somehow the police will get an anonymous tip about this place. I hear buying off the police isn't cheap. Especially if you have to do it every week for a year. Your pick."

To his credit, he managed to remain somewhat calm, "... let's do business in my office."

Cora removed the knife from his neck. "Oh, good. I hate getting blood on my stuff. It's a bitch to clean off."

---

"Might want to lock the door behind you, or I fear things will go badly for you." Cora said, splaying herself out on the couch in front of the desk. Click. "Good, now, I'm afraid I was lying about that thousand dollars, good sir. I also fear you're gonna have to be beaten within an inch of your life. You know, gotta do this non-fatally and all that." Cora stood and teleported behind the banker, landing him in a chokehold to start, tightening her arm around his neck as he started to slip from consciousness. "I guess you'll have to make do with no air for a bit, but you'll wake up. Maybe in a hospital bed, but you'll wake up at least."

He scrabbled at her arm, and tried to claw her face, missing her face until he finally went down, his breathing slowed. Cora dropped him to the floor like a sack of flour that had bugs inside of it. When she took a look at him, she decided that he hadn't been beaten up enough yet. She started out by kicking his back, aiming for his kidneys first. She then moved around for his stomach, kicking for a few solid minutes before stopping and seeing if it was enough. She kicked him in the face for good measure. Any questions could be answered by saying he fought back, which was mostly true. He had tried to fight, but unfortunately he never managed to reach that gun in his waistband.

"Next up, anything that's not nailed down," Cora smiled to herself as she pulled a set of keys from the unconscious banker's pocket as well as liberating his gun for good measure. "Let's see what kind of dirty laundry I can air for you, sir."

[Eyeris]

Ponder waited, the wind on the top of the building was exceptionally chilly, and the air thin. She knelt down to touch the ground, trying to reach her senses even farther into the building within. It would do them no good if they were detected or caught by the people inside it... She felt only blankness beneath her, so far...

Carl wound around the building, his nose sniffling and huffing, hard at work. He could sense so many things, most of which were irrelevant, he could smell that someone had enjoyed chinese take out leftovers on the northwest corner earlier that day, there was a patch of newer gravel on the east side of the building, he could hear the drip of a broken pipe under the air-conditioning unit, he discarded all these things like you might skip through a magazine to the cover-story.

Dogs have been known to sense things in humans that they could not sense themselves. There were countless service dogs assigned to humans who could detect seizures long before they took hold of the human's body, heart attacks long before the human felt an ache, and even tumors years before a doctor might. Ponder did not know something that Carl did: Titans smelled different.

He caught a scent of an unfamiliar Titan scent, something on the muddy-side. He lost it on the wind, but found it again in patches. Until he came to the door, the scent was most strong. He looked up, the door was painted with the picture of a woman-human. He sniffed the paint cautiously...

Arf! He let out a single quiet bark and sat. It was the signal 'I found it'. If his human was not nearby he would continue to bark until she located him, but he knew she was near so he only barked once.

Ponder stood as Carl barked. "What you got?" She used her walking stick and made her way over to him, patting his head gingerly. She touched the door, it was old and rough. "There might be something here." She called to her Owl-teammates. "Can you come take a look at it with me?"

[Eyeris]

A girl in throwbacks corner climbed up to peek closer onto the stage. She was dressed in bright colors, a pink and white dress with tiny accents of other colors in the hems and in the woven bracelets that climbed up her arms. Unlike many in the pit, her attire and appearance was clean and neat. Others looked wild and savage she looked civilized, like one going to a dinner party not a fight. She had long inky hair was coiled up into an intricate braid like crown on her head, her face was obscured by an intricate lace mask.

They might have noticed her walking with Throwback on his way to the pit, perhaps like Stitches, she was the eye-candy. Or was she, like Stitches, something more dangerous? She watched the Alaskan battle throwback with interest.

~~~

Hobbling up to the door of the office was a small hunched figure. People made way for the foul and musty stench they produced. Draped in layers of torn old cloth, once-bright hair matted and dull, it grew down to her elbow but only on one side, it swayed as she made uneven steps toward the office.

"The odds..." She muttered in a husky voice then spat on the floor. When she found the office she didn't bother to knock, barging straight in (She was often told she had no manners).

... Silver eyes blinked as she looked on an unusual scene. The place was completely dark, which was odd for the Banker, but, it all made sense when she saw his body sprawled across the floor.