The Freaks IC. Chapter One: The Stalker in the Shadows

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before." -The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe

Aurum Alpha District. November 20th, 2013. 6 PM

Eli Vaughn walked out of the doors of a Starbucks and was immediately blasted with a gust of the cold November wind. It was about 40 degrees outside, and a very light flurry of grey snow was trickling to the ground. The most snow Aurum ever got was a few flurries here and there due to the massive cloud of grey soot which filled the sky, making it look perpetually stormy. Eli wrapped his steel blue scarf tighter around his exposed neck, and buttoned up his black wool pea coat to guard against the wind. He gingerly sipped at the pumpkin spice latte in the to go coffee cup which he clutched in his left hand, and began to walk down the street briskly, trying to get back home as soon as he could. It was Christmastime in the Alpha District, and the glass-front shops on either side of the wide Alpha Avenue were lit up in shades of red and green. Silver and gold garland adorned the black streetlamps lining the avenue, and the sounds of christmas carols could be heard echoing from stores. It seemed as if this part of the world had decided to skip Thanksgiving altogether and go right ahead to Christmas. Eli was quite content with this decision; Christmas was his favorite holiday. He loved how the holiday season always seemed to brighten even the darkest and most depressed of people. Christmas turned robbers into charity donors and muggers into kind gentlemen. Christmas in Aurum was a big deal, as no other holiday was anymore.

Eli took his time walking down the sidewalk to look at all the store window displays. He passed Bells and Whistles, a gigantic toy store which took up the size of nearly three regular stores on the Alpha Strip. A crowd of children stood around the store's windows, which were filled with Christmas displays. Inside, he could see the red-and-gold throne on which the store's owner would sit, dressed up like Santa Claus. Eli sipped at the coffee once more, and decided that home could wait. He leaned up against one of the black streetlamps in front of the toy store, sipping his coffee. He looked around the street, and saw several of his schoolmates that looked familiar. Eli wasn't exactly feeling social though, so he decided to return to his coffee and wait for someone to approach him.

---

Joshua, meanwhile, found himself sitting on the concrete stoop in front of his family's row house on Applewood street, one street over from Alpha Avenue. This street was lined with brown-and-blue double wide brick row houses. Joshua had is leather jacket on, and it's grey sweatshirt material hood was shielding his face and head from the cold. In Joshua's right hand was his black iPhone 5. A long crack spread across the phone's screen from when he dropped it a few days before. His plan was to get it fixed when he took a walk down the Alpha strip with his girlfriend, who was currently MIA. She had sent him a text saying she was leaving her house which was two minutes away five minutes ago. Girls. he thought to himself, rolling his eyes She's probably doing her makeup or something. Joshua had figured that by this time Rachael would have stopped bothering to put makeup on when she went out with him. She was perfectly beautiful without it. So Joshua sat around on his steps, waiting for her beautiful form to come striding down the sidewalk. He entertained himself by playing Temple Run on his iPhone while he waited for his girlfriend to appear.

At the moment, Amelia couldn't think of anything she hated more then the cold. She stood on the corner of the street, next to a bus stop sign. She elevated herself up onto her tiptoes, then back in her heels. She turned this simple movement into a sort of a game while she waited for the bus. After a particularly cold gust of wind Amelia shivered, clicking her teeth together under her bandana. She pulled her woolen mittens tighter over her numb fingers, trying to shut out the cold further. If one was to look close enough at her hands then they would be able to see her signature leather gloves poking out from under her mittens. She really never left home without them. The same could be said about her bandana, which was tied around her mouth over the plushy scarf she was wearing. Some habits died hard. Amelia was rather pleased with the pattern of bandana she had picked out for the day. It was checkered gold and red, a weak attempt to get into the holiday mood. Amelia loved Christmas as much as the next kid, but it had begun to lose some of its magic over the years.

Amelia grumbled something that was easily sucked into the fabric covering her mouth. She leaned forward slightly, wondering if it would be quicker just to walk home. That might have been the case but the bus would be safer, warmer and more comfortable. So maybe waiting the few extra minutes in the cold wouldn't kill her. Amelia watched as the snow began to fall around her. Her eyes softened a bit, watching the clumps collect on the streets. It had been awhile since she had seen snow and briefly thought about sticking her tongue out to catch a few clusters in her mouth. Amelia then mentally smacked herself for thinking of something so dumb. The snow was most likely filthy, given the living space of, and she wouldn't even be able to get her tongue out far enough to catch anything without tasting fabric.

With her patience growing thin Amelia then decided to observe the people around her. Everyone seemed so unique and everyone was doing something different. There were couples walking together stern looking business men walking quickly, elderly people moving slowly and friends walking in huge clusters. Even a few solo people were walking around, most looking into the large glass windows lining the street. The glow of the windows was almost mystical to the young girl as she watched piles of kids, most younger looking then her crowd infront of them. Amelia briefly thought about buying an early Christmas gift for her mother, fingering the measly coins in her pocket. She shook her head, removing her hands from her pockets. The money was barely enough for bus fare, and the gift would be laughably small.

Amanda, & Daniel Blackmore.


"It's just another beautiful day, young Daniel! Good times are waiting for us!" Amanda says with a toothy grin on her face as she walked down the streets of this glorious city, Aurum city. She was walking alongside her younger, and blind, brother, Daniel Blackmore. Like they usually do. The day was cold, and dark, like any other day here. Seriously, why the hell haven't they fixed all this damn pollution yet? Amanda was dressed in her usual attire. She had a large leather jacket with a white skull on the back. Making her look like a biker. She had her jacket zipped up but under it was a white t-shirt. As for pants, Amanda wore black and tattered jeans, with large and matching black combat boots. She had a large leather belt with a belt buckle that was seemingly made out of titanium. A strange kind of metal to have a buckle made out of. Amanda has, putting it lightly, a metric fuckton of metal on her. Bracelets, finger rings, ear-rings, you name it, Amanda had a ton of it. Strangely, these were made out of various metal types - Even if they were uncommon. With every movement she made, even if it was a subtle movement, her entire body made a jingling sound. Announcing her presence to the entire sidewalk. She had a lit cigarette clenched tightly between her teeth. Which she would take the occasional puff out of, every now and then.

In response, Daniel just shook his head his head as he took slow and careful steps, white cane held in hand. Shades reflecting the streetlights. "... Good thing I can't see." Daniel snarked in response, which to some people was strange. Since he always appeared to be that quiet shy blind kind. Daniel is more open and warm when he's around his family, specifically Amanda. He was wearing something completely different from Amanda. Since he's blind as a motherfucker, people can play "dress up" with him and he won't come close to figuring it out - Unless someone decides to be a party pooper and point out. Which will only make Amanda butt. Getting back on track, Daniel was wearing a dark purple suit with a black tie that was hanging about. He wore black dress shoes. Daniel doesn't exactly look too good in the suit. He looks even worse in it with that massive long-coat thrown over it that he insisted on wearing. Or else he wouldn't go on the walk.

"Oh stop being stop being a party pooper, Dannyboy." Amanda says in response, her tone as playful as ever, her grin widened even further. "You know, that's why you'll never find a chick n' get lucky." Amanda just throws in to screw with him. Then Amanda took another inhale of cigarette smoke and then blew the smoke in between her lips. Not caring if she gave her little blind brother second-hand smoke.

Daniel blushed slightly, and kept his gaze forward. If he could see, he would be looking at her. Instead of responding to her statement, he choose to change the subject on. He can smell the cigarette of Amanda. "You are smoking. That is bad for you."

"Oh yeah." Amanda starts off, tossing the cigarette away. She doesn't need her dad pissing about her smoking habits. "You know what is worse for you...?" Then Amanda came up with the perfect resort. "... Living in a sh*thole of a city that is so polluted that you can't even see the f*cking sun. I mean, we're probably going to have radioactive cancer babies for years."

At first, Daniel said nothing. Then he blankly inserts a, "Good point." And accepts defeat.

Their walk continued. Silently, almost to an awkward level. That's not fun. Then at the corner of her eye, noticing someone leave a Starbucks, Amanda noticed a familiar face. It's one of the Daniel's schoolmate's Eli, she thinks. "Oh Daniel, doesn't that look like one of your friends, Eli?"

"We've been over this; I don't know what he looks like." Daniel argues softly. Why the hell does she keep forgetting I'm blind?

This walk has been relatively boring. She could use some young hunk to help spice things up Amanda spoke, "Oooooooh, let's go talk to him." She then latched on to Daniel's shoulder and dragged him towards Eli.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Daniel attempted to resist, only to fail because his older sister is physically superior to him in every way. He's used to this by now and has promptly stopped resisting Amanda's attempts and let get dragged off. That's when he reverted back into his shy and anti-social mode.

With Daniel in her hands, Amanda quickly walked over to Eli. Her jingling jewelries probably giving away her position to him. She got close and gave him a warm smile. She spoke to him in a sort of teasing, playful, tone, "Oh hi, Eli. It's nice seeing you around these parts. Me and Daniel were just goin' for one of our strolls, you know." Amanda had on a strange smile on her face. Which was off putting to some.

Daniel didn't say a word. Only maintained his blank face.

Amanda then pushed Daniel a few inches forward. Then spoke again, "C'mon, Dannyboy, don't be shy. He is your friend, right?"

After a brief moment of awkward silence, Daniel spoke, "... Hi?"

Christmastime snow.

None of it fell on Leila. The flurries flew close and vaporized before they touched her. The girl was dressed rather lightly for such a cold climate, wearing only a light sweatshirt and jeans. Tennis shoes with flimsy socks adorned her feet, but she didn't feel any chills.

A man stood next to Leila; at least, in her eyes. Daniel and Amanda walked straight through him, which gave Leila good reason to believe he really wasn't there at all. Since they were in public, Leila didn't speak to the man, a slightly overweight but nonetheless happy looking man, all wide grins and messy crimson hair. Leila gave off a natural beauty, but he gave off an earned one: he had none of the traits that a woman would find attractive, but one look at him and you knew he was enjoying life.

"Please go away," Leila murmured very quietly.

Gluttony grinned back at her. "You're no fun. Lookin' a little under the weather, too." he pressed his hand to her forehead, making her step back with a flinch before she reminded herself the chubby man wasn't there. Leila held her ground after that, pink lips tersing and pale, wind-blushed cheeks going tight as her jaw clenched. "Oooh. And you're burning up. Bahahaha."

"Of all of them, you have the worst sense of humor."

Gluttony raised an eyebrow in response, perhaps offended by this, but most likely not. He merely walked up to her, thrust a claw into her stomach, and sent a pang of near irresistible hunger through Leila's body, the sort that made you physically weaker. The girl struggled to stand upright for a moment, weathering the head rush and sudden feeble legs supporting her all too-heavy frame. You do look a little thin, don't you Ley...that candy store smells heavenly...

"No. Stop." Leila hissed, perhaps audibly. She caught her mistake a second later, the fear of social fallout outweighing her starvation for a moment. "....you stupid shoe! Always getting untied!" she knelt down and pretended to retie her shoe, hoping none of the passerbys were really concerned enough to pay attention. Upon getting that close to the sidewalk, however, Leila found the thought of standing just too hard to resist, and gradually shifted to sitting on the curb, worn sneakers resting on the pavement. She sighed, breath misting up around her, and observed her reflection in the side mirror of a car a little ways away. The Leila looking back at her looked far healthier, fuller, more gorgeous-a man who wasn't too unattractive himself stepped up behind her, massaging her back, and from ther-

Leila closed her eyes and counted to ten. I would, honest to God, kill to have normal teenager problems.

Do you really mean that? a voice whispered back.

Leila stood up and began walking, unable to sit and let the voices pester her any longer. She'd been forced to draw upon a few of them due to recent events, and they were taking their toll. Leila brushed some hair back behind her ear and noticed a group of kids from school nearby, which raised the usual sense of curiosity in her that it always did. Leila liked school, but also feared it-she was never entirely sure what impression of her people had. She tried to be nice and friendly, but there had been a few strange occurrences during her tenure at Aurum High. A few girls asked her how she managed to keep such a great body and eat as much as she did, and Leila politely told them they didn't want to know. One lucky bastard still couldn't walk straight from accidentally spooking her from behind; in a reflex of hellish proportions, she'd broken his leg in three places. Leila had succumbed to fits of anger for a fortnight afterwards.

Ooooh, and the worst. Those rumors about her and half the football team. The stylish man she'd seen in the reflection, she could feel his presence right behind her shoulder, but she focused on the kids before her. Conversation usually did her good; even if she did get strange vibes from Eli. The voices didn't like him. The others, she didn't know super well-except for the blind kind, who she knew of. One girl was smoking, and Leila unconsciously made the cigarette burn a little more intensely, reek a little stronger. She hardly noticed anymore.

"Um, hey, guys," Leila said, noting an awkward pause in the conversation-it was hard to put a finger on, but it just felt weird. She briefly let her eyes wander to avoid making even more awkward contact and spotted another schoolgirl down the street, looking a little forlorn-pity, really, but how many of them were here today? Coincidences, coincidences.

No such thing, madame. Pride whispered in its usual bass; she'd never admit it, but of all of them, Pride tended to make the most sense. But, to be fair, Lust and Gluttony were usually the most enjoyable-they enjoyed taunting her about that. Here for a reason. All of them, and you. Be careful.

Suddenly Eli had become quite the popular guy. First he was approached by Daniel and Amanda, an interesting duo. It seemed as if Daniel was being brought along rather begrudgingly by his bigger sister. Amanda was an interesting girl to Eli; despite her various scars and that weird burn on the side of her head, she was rather attractive, but yet she wore such ostentatious jewelry that it detracted from her appearance. Eli happened to like Daniel a lot though, as the acquaintance reminded him of Ray Charles.

"Good evening Daniel, Amanda." Eli said in an eloquently clear voice "How are th-" Eli stopped dead when his eyes met Leila's. She was an interesting woman, Leila. Eli had always kind of had a crush on her, but yet every time he got near her, weird things happened. Her presence caused him to hear these weird voices and get chills, and she was so hot, not only aesthetically, but in her body temperature. He tried to touch her once and almost got burned. It was almost as if...

"No such thing, madame." Eli heard a warped snakelike voice say in the back of his head "Here for a reason. All of them, and you. Be careful." Eli realized he was staring, however, and figured that he should break the awkward silence before she realized he could hear them.

"Good evening, Leila." Eli said, smiling kindly "How are you?" He went with this rather awkward line of inquiry as he was stuck for a subject to speak with the lovely woman. He could see Tank standing by the Starbucks. Of course he, being one of Eli's closest friends, knew about Eli's crush on Leila, and that awkward intro wouldn't earn any points in Eli's favor. Eli remembered all of the rumors that had gone around about Leila not long ago, about her sleeping with boys on the football team. Eli, feeling as if he could win Leila's heart by standing up for her, refuted the accusations, but his anger at them only seemed to corroborate the scandalous stories. Such was life for Eli Vaughn. He was a rather popular guy in school, but he was so awkward at times that he seemed like he wouldn't be. That was the magic of an undefeated Varsity football team. Eli decided that he would have to suffer through whatever sort of jeer Tank would shoot him anyways, so he nodded to him and made a "come here" gesture with his head.

Amanda, & Daniel Blackmore.

Maxx wrote:

"Good evening Daniel, Amanda." Eli said in an eloquently clear voice "How are th-"

"Ah! We're just livin' the dream, E. Going out today to find some ripe adventure!" Amanda says in response, in an grandiose (And over the top) tone.

"W-We're fine... Just... Going out for a stroll." Daniel said in response to Eli's half statement, rather awkwardly at that. He quietly shook his head as Eli turned his attention to Leila. He knew what was going to happen. Five, four, three, two, one... Daniel counted down in his head. He knew Amanda was going to either start teasing, or flirting with, Eli for the f*ck of it. Because that's what she does. Daniel accepts it... But, that's when the scene will get twice as awkward for him. Daniel visibly tensed up. He knew there were several other people around... Even though he's blind. He just knew that there were several people bunching up. Which made him even more uncomfortable, and eager to end their business here and continue their stroll.

While Eli was addressing Leila, Amanda turned her head towards her. She crossed her arms behind her head as she looked. Giving Leila a devious glance. Then she turned back towards. Just as Daniel mentally predicted, Amanda done so. She decided to tease Eli a little bit. "Oh, E, are you really taken?" Amanda playfully says, not knowing anything about Eli's relationship with Leila, "Being a little flyboy like yourself, it's no big surprise." She chuckled a bit, giving Eli a wide, and cheeky, grin. Then she continued, "... I could of been faster myself. Then I would'a beaten the other young, and loose, ladies to the punch and had you." She then gave Eli a wink. Amanda wasn't being serious. She was just playing with Eli, just so see his reactions. Like she usually does with boys.

"Oh god..." Daniel muttered to himself.

Amelia had barely noticed the man who had joined her in waiting for the bus. She had ridden busses for as long as she could remember, and she had never ridden one alone. So this observation came and went from her mind. She had been drilled over and over on stranger danger and who to look out for and never to go near scary people or accept candy from strangers or go down dark alleys alone. But in all reality if someone was to attack her she would be able to defend herself just fine. It might be hard with all her layers on, but she still could. To top it off Amelia has a scary aura about her. As if kidnapping her would be more trouble then it's worth. And to even add to this, this guy didn't really seem all that suspicious or scary and he also seemed like a bit of a wimp.

But dang it was cold out. She wiggled her toes in her boots, trying to keep from losing all feeling in them. She exhaled, causing her scarf and bandana to puff up from the built up air. She tucked her mittened hands in her armpits. Normally the cold wind and weather didn't bother the young girl, but every year she gets more and more ticked off at the smallest things. Like right now with the bus. Maybe the bus was never going to get there, or maybe she had already missed it. She glanced for a moment up at the man. She wondered why he was getting on the bus and where he was going. But Amelia knew it was rude to stare, so she quickly looked away.

Amelia decided that the best course of action would be to go and look for another bus stop, or maybe a schedule. But every time she thought about going the thought popped into her mind that she might walk off, only for the bus to arrive moments later. And that would be a pain. But after several minutes of no busses she decided it was finally time to put her plan into action. Giving one last look up at the man before turning from him and beginning a walk down the street. Maybe she would seek out a different, functioning, bus stop. Or at least someone who could direct her towards the bus station.

Leila was caught a little off-guard by Eli's question: she hadn't been expecting for somebody to, you know, actually reply to her-but why wouldn't they darling, you look so lovely today-she'd mostly been hoping for a bit of a reprieve from the rather intense, even more awkward conversation going on in her head. All the time. The hunger cramps in her gut intensified for a moment, stalling her answer, and Leila silently cursed Beelzebub.

Aw, don't be that way. the fat man whined. Honestly, you're no fun.

"Oh? Me, I'm, uh, fine. Doing just fine. How're yo-" she replied somewhat lamely, unsure of what to do-she could turn to one of them, probably Pride for advice with social settings, but she didn't enjoy relying upon any of them. No more than necessary. No more than necessary. A shiver from the cold and entirely unrelated to the wintry air ran down her spine.

Then, of course, some other girl interrupted, Leila couldn't quite remember her name-Amanda, her name is Amanda Daisy Blackmore, you saw her full name on a schedule once a few years ag- Leviathan whispered, to which Leila resolutely ignored the suggestion-Leila couldn't quite remember her name, or so she insistd-regardless, this girl made things incredibly awkward. She noted something about Eli being taken,and the voices went off on a tirade.

Watch him. He cares for you, milady. His body language, his posture, the way he motions for ai-

Pride doesn't know sh*t, Leyls. Focus should be on the blind boy, he's even more ashamed than Eli is right now-something tells me there's, ah, more than meets the eye with that one-

I may not...know sh*t, Beelzebub, but I have a sense of humor. Watch Elisha, madame.

Another voice chipped in, this one female and sounding somewhat interested, but in a detached way, as if Leila's life was another soap opera that was going to cut to commercials soon. Ooh, honey, look at Amanda. Don't you wish you had that kind of confidence? She's not afraid of anybody. With looks like yours and confidence like hers, I bet even Stevie Wonder over there would be staring at you.

Leila silently bid all of them to shut the f*ck up and let her think. Regardless, the snow began to melt before it touched her again-a detail so subtle, none of them would notice, although her less-than-totally-insulated clothing might've drawn some looks. Victor definitely wouldn't be able to tell, at least.

Then a new guy-massive, this guy was like a mammoth-And he's on the football team, if I recall correctly

Oh f*ck off, Asmodeus, we're dealing with the awkward b*tch and Helen Keller, not Leyls' new boytoy. Envy started up again, and in the time between Leila blinking and opening her eyes again, she got a very keen image of a woman lazily polishing her nails, surreptitiously glancing at Leila and Amanda and back to herself in-between strokes, when no one was watching.

Well, there was an avenue out of the awkward silence, at least-although after what Pride said, she avoided Eli's gaze-hell, she was avoiding eye contact with most of them. The demons had both lots of free time and access to all that Leila saw, heard, (and felt, Lust murmured alluringly) and thought, and it gave them plenty of free time to make handy observations. Leila never wanted to hear them, but she grudgingly admitted they were useful. Sometimes. Endlessly distracting, however.

"Oh, hey, Tank. My name is-" Lucifer/Mammon/Asmodeus/Beelzebub/Amon/Leviathan/...uh? Huh? Belphegor "..Leila. Leila. Good to meet you, I think I've seen you around before." she said, trying to keep her tone light, her smile cheery. Keeping track of two conversations at once, and the dozens of nuances between them all, on top of the aching hunger that kept sending spikes of pain through her gut, left Leila a little...stressed. Perhaps finding a convenient excuse to leave the conversation would be a good idea. Her eyes flickered around, searching for an escape that would be socially acceptable and also get her the h*ll out of there in a hurry.

Waldo was sitting rather precariously on the edge of a one story brick building's roof, right in between the G and the O in the large Goodwill sign, legs dangling over the storefront, but not so much so that the shop keepers would be able to see her shoes through the display window, which gave her a perfect view of a small, disorganized rag-tag group of teenagers all converging on this one, rather popular kid apparently named Eli. Of course she had seen all the people below before, during the few days she actually attended school (mostly to steal their lab equipment and a few chemicals) however she had never really seen the point of names, and had never bothered memorizing them. To her it was all silliness, why on earth, would one deem it necessary to attach a string of random syllables together to form a name? If the person was worth remembering then obviously one would remember what they looked like, talked like and behaved like. There was no need to go about making up words just so people could feel somewhat unique, and be selectively unaware that a certain percentage of the human population also shared their name because their parents weren't creative enough to make up a new one.

Really, it was all quite ridiculous. But then again, that was human interaction in general. And speaking of ridiculous, the weather, the smog and the current bombardment of airborne heavy metal particles all fit into that category. Although, they were all surpassed by the absolutely retarded reaction the media had to it all. They were so obviously being payed off by the power industry it was a wonder that there wasn't a front page 'breaking news' article about that as well. I mean, would it kill them to at least try and make it look like some politician didn't have his fat, ruddy fingers in the pie before it was even fully cooked? Would it kill them to plaster some obviously faked data over the gaping holes in their 'explanation' on how harmless the smog actually was? Everyone with half a brain knows that, generally speaking when the air fecking hurts to breath then its usually a pretty obvious sign that its, maybe, just a little bit bad for you. And when the entire population of the city has to wear makeshift gas masks like we've time traveled back to the dustbowl, which, not surprisingly, was caused by the very same thing as the massive cloud of radioactive gas being spewed unfiltered into the air like the Fukushima power plant leak turned upside down; People, money, untested innovation, greed then denial of the truth. Pathetic. Truly pathetic.

Waldo opened her eyes and unclenched her fists, not having realized doing either. She really should find some way to stop doing that. Going off on a mental tirade when she was supposed to be observing group interactions wasn't really helping her learn anything new. With that she pulled her legs up into a more comfortable cross-legged position that didn't cut circulation off to her feet if she sat in one position to long.

The group was mildly interesting to watch, more interesting than the oxidization of the copper fulminate she had left exposed to the air inside her apartment at least. One of the people there, who was obviously blind and a ongoing victim of the girl, probably a relative, sister maybe, standing next to him flirting needlessly with this Eli character who looked more interested in a extremely shy, yet aggravated looking girl who was avoiding eye contact with anyones and at the same time managing to stare daggers at nothing, which was most peculiar. Waldo briefly considered investigating her further, a little more invasively but quickly decided against it as it would alter the behavior of the group, which she was here to study, as a group, in its natural habitat. Which meant not prying into the minds of people just because they were sending out wonderfully fascinating conflicting messages. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to interfere just a little- No. No, no, no. She was not doing THAT again. Ever. Last time someone had looked up and seen a copy of themselves watching them from the roof top of some building and attempted to chase after her. And do you have any idea how hard it its to jump from a slanted ceramic tile roof into a fire escape that's five feet below you and on a building 4 feet away? She had nearly slipped up and broken her neck pulling that stunt and it was not happening again. She was just an observer. Observers do not interfere. Well... maybe they could if it w- No, no, no. Not happening. Just an observer. Not going to interfere. Just going to watch. Nothing else. End of story. Defiantly not going to read anyones mind. Nope. Not happening.

Ray Judah Drager, & Dexter 'Rush' Chertok.

Spoiler:

"Alright. As you had asked for, this phone has been hacked." Rush blankly says to his new client. The scene was a simple one. They were in some alley-way in the Alpha District. A dark ally-way. One of those places where you don't want to be in this specific city. But, for the business that Rush was making for himself, this was common meeting grounds. Hell, these alleys might as well be called his offices. Today, Rush was doing a routine deal. Someone asks for his services, and he delivers. In this case, it was a woman, in her late forties who requested that Rush hacks into the phone of her husband to see if he's been cheating on her. Which Rush and Ray were more than glad to do. Because it's so trivial, something that Rush can do while his eyes are closed, and set on fire, and being mauled to death by a bear. It is possible to do some... Amazing things. You know you can use a smart phone's tilt sensor to track what people are typing with one simple app? Either way, it turns out that the woman's paranoia is justified. Quite. Her husband's been cheating on her with every woman he can get his hands on... Going off from his phone-book and texts (Which Rush got off his phone and more).

Rush was wearing his usual outfit. A massive leather trench-coat, that goes down to his ankles. Filled to the brim with several different gadgets. This trench-coat covered his entire. He wore large, thick, grey welders gloves on his hands. Because those shield his hands from harm when he does the heavy lifting. Rush wore grey sweat-pants and had large black boots. Like he's always seen wearing, he was wearing large welder's goggles, resting on his forehead at the moment.

His partner, Ray Drager, was watching in the background, leaning against the cold concrete wall. With his arms crossed and, well, looking like some you don't want to meet in a cold and dark ally-way. Like he's paid to. Ray is Rush's bodyguard, because of his expertise in the combat area. An area which Rush is severely lacking in, and Ray is more than happy to loan his "Talents". He's dressing like he usually does, a mix between a shady person and a wanna-be bad@ss. He wore a large black hoodie, with the hood up, obscuring his face from sight from most angles. Under the hoodie was a plain and simple t-shirt. He had his sunglasses around his neck, since they had a string attached to them, he can freely hang his sunglasses. Ray wore black, wool, finger-less gloves, which were a little tattered here and there. He had on black jeans, which appears to be new. Breaking the pattern of  black, were his wide sketcher sneakers. While Rush did his business, Ray just waited to see if this b*tch would try to try anything. Not many can escape Ray.

Back to Rush, he was presenting the woman with her husband's hacked cellphone. Rush spoke to her, his tone blank and emotionless, "Your suspicions are correct. He has been seeking coitus outside of your marriage." Rush shrugged and gave the woman her Husband's cell-phone. "See for yourself. All systems have been unlocked. You have free"

"Oh my good god... That b*stard!" The woman shouted as she went through his phone. Getting angrier by the second. "I swear to god! I'm taking everything from that fat bastard! The money, the kids...!" She rambled on and on as she turned away and walked away fuming. Totally forgetting that she didn't pay. Suddenly, and strangely, as the woman tried to leave, she felt a strong force pulling her back towards Rush and Ray. She tried to resist, but the pull was just too strong to resist, and she just gave up. She came back to Rush and Ray.

Like the loyal hound he is, Ray wasn't just going to let the woman just walk away without paying her dues. He was too focused and hardassed to allow that - Regardless of what she may have found on that phone. He stood straight up and walked over to her. "Hey, Lady! You forgot to pay..." He grabbed her tightly around the arm. Strangely, the woman couldn't break free of his grip, or even move. It was like some outside force was holding her still. She could barely move an inch. At this point, the woman was scared sh*tless.

"Ray. Unnecessary contact and demonstration of abilities. Yes. Very, very unnecessary. Drager, release her, please." Rush steps in, the last thing he wants to do is freak out a customer. When they get freaked out, they tend not to come back again! He was kinda the voice of reason to Ray. His aggressive and rebellious tendencies tends to get them in trouble more times than he can count.

On command, Ray released his super-powered grip on the woman. Then took a step back. Coughing, covering his mouth with his gloved hand. "... Sorry." Ray puts in, in a apologetic tone. Realizing that he had went too far.

At this point, the woman was scared out of her mind. She felt like she was held hostage by the pair with some sort of black magic. She knew that these kids were metas, and that frightened her. Which made her all the more eager to get the hell out of here. She reached into her purse, pulled out her wallet and threw out all the money in her wallet. Before hauling @ss to her red Sedan, which was parked some yards away.

"Thank you. Recommend me to friends and family." Rush says to the woman, almost sarcastically. She didn't say a word, she just sped off in her car. He shrugged, with a frown. He bent over to pick up the crumbled up money on the floor. She overpaid by thirty-two point eight dollars... He thought to himself, as he stood straight up. Rush then turned his attention to Ray. "Drager. Walk with me." Rush says blankly. He starts walking out of the dark ally-way and out into the sidewalk.

Ray shrugs and follows behind Rush. "What is it?" Ray curiously asked - Even though he knew what the subject would be this time.

"Give me a concise summary on how many instances where unsavory individuals have attempted to rob the business." Rush just says blank, out of no where. While walking down the sidewalk

With a roll of his eyes, Ray answers the question, "... Five."

"Oh? And what occurred when they did?" Rush says in response, sounding sarcastic at first. Ray was playing right into his game.

"I kick their @ss and get back your tech..." Ray hesitantly says. Like he knew what was coming next.

"Exactly. When. Choice you made back there; no good. Would have handled that woman and made her pay. Using diplomacy. No touching necessary. If then she still refuses. Then you step in. Otherwise, stand aside." Rush gives Ray a pep-talk on how he wants to run this business. While it's rare for Ray to even have to step in; Rush knows it's essential to quash such things now before they escalate into full-blown problems.

"Got it." Ray says, open-mindedly. "Let's go get some coffee." He says, trying to get this over with and move on. He wasn't the type to mull on such things.

With a warm smile from Rush, they silently decided to put this incident behind them and move on. While they were walking down the sidewalk, Rush noticed a group of teenagers in the far distance. He got closer to them and definitely recognized a few of them. Namely the two Blackmores. Rush recalls being hired to hack their phones a few years back (Admittedly, plenty of his jobs required hacking phones). That ended a little badly for himself. Since then, he managed to form a relationship with both of them. Regarding Daniel as the more reasonable one out of them - Albeit, severely lacking in the social area. Other than that, he spotted Eli. Some of the other people there could have been clients in the past, he didn't know. He would have to get closer.

"I observed some associates of mine in that group." Rush blankly says in his usual tone. "Let us engage in social interactions with them."

"Let's not. There isn't a need to." Ray blankly says. Since he was in the least bit interested in awkwardly inserting himself into that group. Especially since there was no need to, and he was probably not the most popular person in the world. Especially with his outbursts, and habit of being a d*ck (when provoked), being well known.

Before Rush could come up with a witty remark, he spotted someone near the group. A woman, around the same age as Ray. She looked very rich and had a fancy dress among plenty of expensive jewelry. Curiously, he got the impression that he's seen her before... Perhaps he'll be certain after he talks to her. Despite his appearance and manner of speech, he's quite the social person. Rush walked over to Cassandra and greeted her, "Greetings, Madam. How are you this evening?"

No choice but to go along with it... Ray thinks to himself as he rolled his eyes up into his head. "Hey." Was all Ray said to Cassandra as he made his approach. It was clear that he isn't too interested in talking to her.

"Huh?" Eli seemed extremely confused by what Amanda had said. What did she mean by all of this silliness? Was she hitting on him? No, absolutely not. No sensible human would do that for no good reason. Maybe she was making fun of him? Eli had always had some rather thin skin, so insults really bothered him. He stared at her with a look of bewilderment on his face until Tank came up. As soon as he spoke, Eli heard more of the voices in the back of his head. They were hushed, as if he were eavesdropping on a conversation through a heavy door, but still he heard them. it sounded like they were poking fun at Leila.

"Oh f*ck off, Asmodeus, we're dealing with the awkward b*tch and Helen Keller, not Leyls' new boytoy." He heard one of them say.

"Will all of you please shut the Hell up? Eli thought angrily, as if they could actually hear him. He realized that he was staring again, this time at Amanda, still in that same confused gaze. He probably looked like a total moron. Eli shook his head once, and turned his attention to Tank.

"Oh, hello Tank." Eli said, smiling "This is Amanda, Daniel, and-" Leila cut him off. He looked back at her, and realized that she seemed rather...irritated. She kept clutching her stomach and she looked generally confused. And...was the snow melting? Something very, very strange was going on. Maybe she was hungry. Eli wasn't very good with body language, especially when it came to girls. Leila seemed to not be wearing a lot of clothing too, considering the weather was so chilly. Eli looked down at the weather app on his phone. 35 degrees. It was getting colder. There was more awkward silence, and then Eli looked up at Leila to address her.

"Are you, um, feeling alright, Leila?" he said rather unconfidently. Talking to girls was not Eli's strong suit "You, um, look a little...unwell".

---

Joshua looked up at the girl approaching him, and smiled widely. Selena was a bit of an urban legend at Aurum High. She broke the state records for four races, and was alleged to have been invited to the US Olympic team, but turned them down. She was the ultimate badass, basically. He used to run with her a few years back when he was a freshman, though nobody believed that he had actually gone running with the goddess of Aurum City. Her workouts were ridiculously difficult, the hardest he'd ever done.

"Hey Selena!" Joshua replied happily, dodging the whole 'you've grown!' line of questioning "I haven't seen you in a while! How's it going?"

The snow flurries danced around Bre as she walked down the sidewalk, a content smile on her face.  Snow always had that effect on her- it was just amazing how so many small pieces of something presented naturally could be so delicately made, each with its own design, and then be used to make the most unwelcoming of places seem like a winter wonderland.  Such a phenomenon always helped to lighten the spirits of many people.  

Bre’s ginger hair was down and she had on a white beret that matched the white NorthFace coat she had chosen to wear for the weather, the white contrasting her naturally orange hair.  Bre had on a light blue shirt under the coat, but the winter breezes had forced her to zip up the coat in order to stay warm.  Bre wore a pair of faded blue jeans, as usual, with her favorite dark brown boots.  She had also chosen to wear some hobo gloves for the day, as she was out on an assignment she really found impossible with plain gloves on, yet she wanted to have some warmth for her hands.  Then, to top off her outfit, was Bre’s signature item that she was never caught without- her sunglasses.  A pair of very dark-tinted sunglasses that prevented others from seeing her eyes, lest they be frozen for about ten seconds.   She wore this accessory even at night and even inside, which often times would get people to question if she were on drugs.  Bre used to feel uncomfortable wearing sunglasses at times others don’t, but she had gotten used to such situations and in fact had gotten to where she no longer cared about what others thought about her.

Bre ventured through the streets of the city, looking for the perfect place to get to work on her “assignment.” Actually, it wasn’t an assignment, per se, more so a strengthening of one’s skill in a hobby that they quite enjoyed.  For Bre, it was currently sketching.  She was actually into several different forms of art- she even had tried sculpting, before.  Sketching was currently her main interest, though, in the art department.  

A few kids playing a childish game of some sort ran past Bre, cheeks rosy and noses red from the winter wind nipping at their faces.  She smiled at them as they passed by and continued walking, still looking for that perfect place.  Finally, she found it. The perfect place where the snow that had already formed a thin sheet of snow and the scenery had a natural beauty to it.  If she were to just get this drawing in right now…. Bre sat down in a bench and took out a sketchpad and pencil, quickly beginning to sketch the scenery of a snow-covered park while Celo tried to think of a way to introduce her into the story.

Waldo raised an eyebrow skeptically as she watched what she figured would be the rather short exchange between a young woman who was giving the guise of being a attention seeking bachelorette all she had, for some yet undetermined reason. However, when she turned to look at them she did smile, yes, but it never quite reached her eyes which were narrowed suspiciously instead of wide like a puppy dogs. Which was entirely justifiable given the two older, rather shady looking teens addressing her. However what was of interest to Waldo was the level of confidence she was showing as well as what her motive for flirting with someone she clearly wasn't interested in was. You only ever do that when you want something from the other party, and going by the expensive electric cigar and dress she was wearing that more than likely wasn't money, and it defiantly wasn't attention. So, she didn't wan't attention, she doesn't really have much of a chance of getting money and it doesn't look as if she needs it, so, what then, did she hope to gain by engaging in social discourse with them?

(1: Drugs

(2: Entertainment

(3: Data

Or possibly something Waldo hadn't thought of. In any case, their interaction would be somewhat interesting. Maybe she should write a book or something on the differences between normal human interaction and metas. There would be plenty of materials to do it, metas tend to lean towards more edgy activities where as regular humans tended to reveille in their normality. "Oh thank god I'm not a meta, they scare me." versus "Wouldn't it be sooo boring to be a normal person? Probably like being on vacation but without the copying people and following them around until they notice for laughs." Well, that was more specific to her, lots of other metas were ashamed, scared by or just pissed off by what powers they had. Although she was yet to meet someone who was jealous of another's powers so that was one point for the general populations morality. Although the point against that was some normal peoples aggressive hatred towards metas and vice versa. Waldo had always thought that this kind of thing contrasted hilariously with medias depiction of good and evil, light and dark, black and white. Maybe it was some form of altruism or coping mechanism because that stark difference was by far better than reality which could only be described a gray. Although for the life of her, she couldn't figure why this was the common belief but theorized that it made people feel better because they otherwise couldn't categorize things, people and events into good or bad unless millions died, and even then that would somehow manage to be a controversy depending on just exactly what group of millions died. That's because society never really cared about the people. It cared about what they stood for. And there are multiple societies so they're all going to have different points of view so obviously they were going to disagree. Meaning that collectively, it wouldn't be controversial at all to say that humanity had MPVD or Multiple Points of View Disorder. Where as humanity in fiction had a clear head with only one point of view so there could only be two categories in which to sort events. It was all just people trying to make sense of their own world. Probably.

However, there was a high probability that Waldo herself was biased in which case this would just be her trying to make sense of how people tried to make the world make sense. No deeper meaning, just, trying to justify her own actions by comparing them to the not good and not bad actions of others. And the world probably wasn't just gray, it was more likely an entire artists pallet of colors, she just couldn't make heads or tails of it so it all kind of looked the same.

Pride: Careful about this one, my liege. A man, dressed in a black tuxedo, meticulous and smooth, stepped out from across the street, adjusting his tie as a car came down the snow-covered road and passed right through him. He moved up behind Eli and nodded his head towards the boy. His nature is in opposition to ours. He can tell who we are, sense our presence. Perhaps hear what we say.

Leila managed to keep up a solid poker face, but internally, she was very, very confused by this information. What, is he an angel or something?

Pride: Hebrews, 13:2. "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." He very well may be. He very well may not. I would, however, advise against meeting with him...of all the ones here, he is most likely to guess at your real nature. On the flip side, you are aware of his: should he "go public" with what you are, turn it back upon him.

The hardest about Pride was that what it was telling her was...right. It unnerved her when the demons presented such sound judgment. Almost like they were human.

Pride smiled wearily. Pride: Once.

Gluttony, however, was either masking its endgame plans very well or simply not preoccupied with them-its rolling, healthy voice echoed from the back of her skull. Gluttony: DON'T go? Are you insane, Leila? He's offering you food, darling, and frankly, you're skin and bones. Despite what Asmodeus may say to you, you're hardly in a position to be skipping past meals. Besides, even without everything you've got going on up here... Leila felt a finger tap against the side of her skull, clearly referencing her minor demoniac issue; it surprised her and made her flinch, but Leila hopefully covered it with a full-body shiver, likely blamed on the chilly air. ...your life isn't exactly stress free. You've earned a little R and R, darling.

Leila hesitated, closing her eyes for a second as the hunger cramps-issued from the same deliciously tempting voice that said she really was too stressed, really did deserve to just relax, cast her worries aside...eat, drink, and be merry.

Eh. If sins weren't tempting, nobody would do them.

"Me? I'm fine, thanks for asking." she flashed him a smile that wasn't entirely genuine, hoping desperately that nobody saw through the facade or began cross-referencing the cover stories she'd been spewing out increasingly over the last few weeks. Envy materialized before her, lazily blowing a piece of bubble gum as she pushed Leila's cheeks back, inched her lips back just so. Envy: There, hon. Looks real now. Looks real. Trying not to let the worrying implications of that statement show, Leila kept on grinning, far more believably now, and Envy vanished with a tittering laugh. "Say, why don't we all go get some food or something? I missed out on breakfast and I'm just starving."

Asmodeus began massaging her shoulders again, sending an electric rush down her back. Stop that. Stop.

Lust spoke softly as his strong hands danced across Leila's back, his lips an inch from her neck. Lust: All I'm saying is...there's no need you can't have a little dessert afterwards, hmm? He outstretched his hand and Eli's clothes melted off of him, the body left underneath far more tantalizing than Eli's real form was. The same process happened to Daniel, and Amanda; all three of whom Leila suddenly felt a rather strong attraction to, despite the fact she was entirely straight (she thought so, at least-she wasn't wholly sure of much anymore) and not at all in the mood for a romp.

No. Go away. All of you. Leave me be.

After a few moments of solid concentration, she began to shut them out, zoning out of the conversation for a moment to do so. The voices retreated to whispers on the edge of her awareness, like pinpoints of candle-light down a long, dark hallway, but were still a nuisance. Gluttony's came out loudest of all, nudging her towards the nearest restaurant. "C'mon, let's go. It's getting a little cold out here."

It bothered Leila how effortlessly the lies rolled off her tongue now.

Dexter 'Rush' Chertok, & Ray Judah Drager.

True Night wrote:

"I am doing quite splendid, and what about you gentlemen?"

While most would have never noticed it, Rush's ability had allowed him to pick up something that even the best wouldn't have figured it out. Cassandra's electronic cigarette had a tiny defect. The atomizer was the defective component. Again, it was practically invisible to everyone but Rush. It wouldn't affect anything in the slightest, but Rush knew it was there. Advantages of being a Technomind... Rush thought to himself. In the blink of an eye, the electronic cigarette was deactivated completely. Don't like cigarettes. Addiction. Lung cancer. Both detrimental. It would be near impossible for anyone to guess that Rush or Ray were behind it. Just to make sure that she doesn't catch on, Rush would make sure that he doesn't mention it. "Myself? Doing perfectly-" Rush stopped talking as his head darted to the side, towards the star buck's. What caught his attention was a cash register. He stared straight at it, blatantly. There another subtle defect in the machine, it's circuit board. Rush shrugged and continued, while maintaining contact with the cash register, "-Got off work. Business's good." He spoke in a blank and logical tone, even though his wording was warm and friendly. "Forgot manners. Name is Rush. May have heard of me. Popular on streets." He continued talking

Now, social-situations like this wasn't Ray's preference. Especially when this conversation seems like a colossal waste of time. They're just going to talk for a few minutes, move on and completely forget each other. Unless Rush is trying to get some business going, they should end their interactions soon as possible. He felt more comfortable doing something else, like work. Ray decided to look around a little bit. Blatantly showing that his mind wasn't in this conversation. Ray looked around, first at the group not too far away. He was certain that a few of them were Metas. However, he was the least bit interested in finding out anymore Metas. He already has himself, and Rush. Then he noticed that there was a girl up on a building. Just sitting on the edge, watching the group. Ray knew that she was watching everyone - But honestly couldn't care less. Dumb@ss, best take a step back before you fall on your @ss... Just hope that someone here is a good samaritan, because I'm not calling an ambulance. Ray thought to himself. When he snapped back to the conversation, Rush had introduced himself. Ray had followed suite, "... Ray." He speaks blankly.


Daniel, & Amanda Blackmore.


A cheeky grin crept up on Amanda's face. She had provoked the reaction she wanted to: surprise and confusion - Probably a bit of embarrassment. While she would have enjoyed a stronger reaction, she'll have to work a little harder. Perhaps tease him about Leila or one of his friends. It would be easy embarrassing the boy. Amanda was just about ready, she spoke cooly, "Well, E, I- Ow!" She said the "Ow" loudly. Her devious plans were halted when she felt a sharp pain in her mid-thigh, like someone whacked her with something. Her grin quickly turned into a pained frown as she knelt forward a bit to rub her thigh.

Daniel, who had enough of his sister's sh*t, finally decided to take matters into his own hands. He was uncomfortable enough as it is around other people - He doesn't need Amanda making it worse for him. While Amanda was busy eyeballing Eli, Daniel grasped his white cane and brought it back a bit. To relieved a painful swing. He swung as hard as he could blindly (lol) at Amanda. Even if he missed, or hit someone else, he can pull the blind-card to get him out of it. Daniel managed to connect with her, going off from the loud ow she exclaimed. "That is enough, 'Manda." Daniel pushed his sunglasses up his nose. He then stood straight up and held his cane in one hand. Keeping his composure and demeanor calm.

"Ow, @sshole..." Amanda muttered at Daniel, unsure of if he could hear her or not. The pain in her thigh subsided as she gave Daniel a narrow glare. Before standing straight up and crossing her arms. Her playful and flirty demeanor quickly turned to an angry one. Her cool has been lost for a moment. Momentarily though. In half a heart-beat, her smirk returned to her face and she was playful as she. Amanda shrugged as she spoke in a playful tone, "Ah, ah, well then Dannyboy, I've had my fun. I'll stop."

Because of these events, the pair missed up on a few things that were going on. Because their writer just doesn't give a f*ck!

Maxx wrote:

"Oh, hello Tank." Eli said, smiling "This is Amanda, Daniel, and-"

"Tank...? Now that's a bad@ss name... Better have an utter bad@ss behind it" Amanda. She felt a little disappointed with Eli's introduction for them - He didn't even finish it, he just turned his attention to Leila. Ah, I can tell it, you dig her, fly-boy. Amanda thought to herself with a smirk. She would have said it out-loud, but she's going to behave. From here on in. She decided to ignore Eli and turned her attention on to Tank. She knew that if she says the right things, Daniel won't say a word, literally. He's quiet and stoic, most of the time. Amanda knew Daniel quite well. He's too shy, and awkward to speak unless spoken to. Even if he does speak, he he'll derp it up. Otherwise, he'll just awkwardly stand there. Amanda faced Tank, "Oh, E, your introduction does do the job well - But doesn't have that pizzazz that only a Blackmore can give a name, yo know?" Amanda says playfully, wrapping her arms behind her head. Amanda spoke to Tank in a grandiose and happy tone, not a hint of flirting was in her speech, "I'm Amanda D. Blackmore, and I am an expert when it comes to the D. I'm the kind of gal you want to be with when you're in the mood for a little bit of adventure - Not just that. Danger, and excitement. Stick with me big boy and you're going to have lots of good times. Oh. And this is Daniel R. Blackmore. He's just my personal blind monk who I bring along. Because, why the f*ck not?"

Shade wrote:

"Say, why don't we all go get some food or something? I missed out on breakfast and I'm just starving."

Leaving here was a good idea actually. He wanted to leave this group but... Perhaps he'll stick around for a little bit. Maybe he'll find a good looking gal and finally fulfill his dreams. Daniel spoke, trying his best to talk like he had some social skills, but failing miserably, "Y-Yes-yes, I'm... hungry. What do you say lads? I'll... p-pitch in for everyone." Oh god, why am I such an awkward f*ck up. Why can't I be like Amanda and be an infinite fountain of confidence and bravado...?

"Now that's a gentleman." Amanda playfully says to Daniel, loudly enough for everyone to hear (Which was the point). "He takes the ladies to dinner first! Now that is what I call some chivalry."

Waldo noticed the person who seemed to reluctantly follow the more social guy, -she paused, replaying an audio memory from a few seconds ago where he introduced himself- Rush whatever kind of street name that was. Probably had to do with the way the guy acted in social situations, or at least this one.

Gah, tangent. I really need to stop doing that... just... keep one line of thought at a time, everything works better when you do. Also, note, stop referring to self in third person. Proven symptom of early onset insanity.

Anyway. Bodygaurd. That was what the second guy is. His shoulders are squared towards Rush, he's observing his surroundings, specifically the people, clear sign of distrust, although justified when you're line of work is guarding a street operative who...

-Waldo raised an eyebrow as Rush stared blankly at -Cassandra's?- electric cigarette which went out a millisecond later, before Rush turned to stare blankly at a cash register of all things before looking back to Cassandra and finishing his statement which confirmed the street business theory-

Was evidently a technology oriented meta although what exactly his power was, she was unsure of, but knew it more than likely had something to due with the cigarette and that if she kept watching she'd find out exactly what it was.

ANYWAY. The body guard was clearly disinterested by the conversation Rush had initiated, and probably thought it was a asinine waste of time going by his non-to-pleased expression thus another reason why he was a little bit edgy and looking around- ops, been spotted.

Note to self; 1 out of 8 meta's actually look up, compared to 1 out of 15 normal people.

Waldo returned the body guards look sarcastically, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly at his disdainful look. The hell was he doing thinking this wasn't perfectly safe. She'd done it well over a hundred times, it was a perfect way to people watch because most of them just stare at their feet, their girlfriend or the shop windows. Only body guards bother looking up, and really only ones who've had at least some kind of experience with snipers or, in most cases, a gangster who think's they're being clever. Which really, they're not, you try and shoot someone from a position like this with a standard pistol and any halfway decent mortician will know exactly what type of killer shoots with a low caliber round out of a cheap gun and manages to make an entry wound at the top of the victims head and an exit hole -or not, in most cases- in the bottom. One body shows up with that kind of entry-exit wound and you'll have gang violence and organized crime swarming the streets within 30 minutes of the body being found.

Or, at least, that's what Waldo thought should happen. However as with most things in real life, the actual excepted standard is much, much lower than what you'd think, if you're an optimistic person. And Waldo did consider herself one, but she doubted anyone else did. No, if you knew Waldo personally, which you don't, and wouldn't even in fiction, you'd think she was completely sardonic, jaded and at times, a little bit evil. But all the time completely and totally bonkers.

Which, ironically, Waldo would find hilariously funny because of how completely wrong you all are. There was nothing wrong with her, everyone is just so stupid they can't see the poles sticking out of their own eyes.

Or, she could be the insane one, the wrong one, and everyone else would be the right ones and the sane ones.

But to be quite honest she didn't care which one was right because it didn't matter. Everything was monotone anyway what difference would one philosophical question make?

And entire WORLD of difference if it was the correct one.

Or, at least that's what her subconscious thought and since when did it matter anyway? It was just a manipulative little voice at the back of her head that tried to convince her to do things. Which, last time she checked, was considered more than a little bit rude and immoral.

But that didn't matter either because her subconscious was part of her brain which was only one person, last she checked, although who knows, maybe there really was a second personality stored away somewhere dark and rarely used inside her head.

She didn't realize she'd fazed out again until she heard the body guard's voice carry up to where she was perched a half second after she'd given him a sarcastic shrug of the shoulders and continued on sitting on the roof. So in real time she'd only blinked. Blinked and managed an entire philosophical debate inside her head. That takes skill.

-Ray. That was the body guards name. Rush 'n Ray. If she ever had a conversation with either of them she'd have to make fun of their parents -or, more likely their- choice in names.

Stupid things, names. No real point to them.

"Careful about this one, my liege." Eli heard that snake-like voice say in the back of his head once more. This was getting irritating "Hebrews, 13:2. "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." He very well may be. He very well may not. I would, however, advise against meeting with him...of all the ones here, he is most likely to guess at your real nature. On the flip side, you are aware of his: should he "go public" with what you are, turn it back upon him." This was starting to unnerve Eli. He wasn't exactly the person you'd most likely guess to have voices in his head. Eli was going to ponder this more, but his thought process was interrupted by his stomach growling. He hadn't realized how hungry he was.

"Why thank you, Daniel!" Eli said, smiling politely "I am getting rather peckish myself. If you'd like, I know a good Italian restaurant nearby where we could all go". Amanda was acting very, very strange now. Eli felt as if she was just trying to screw with him now. The creepy snake voices in the back of his head and Amanda acting like a complete moron was really starting to confuse Eli. Hopefully some calamari would fuel his brain more and stuff Amanda's mouth so she'd stop talking. He looked around to see if everyone was on board with the Italian, and began to slowly walk backwards in the direction of the restaurant.

Spoiler:

Eli was being watched. High above the street, on the top of a six-story office building crouched a mysterious dark figure cloaked in black. His face was hidden deep in a black hood lined with dark brown faux fur. High up there, the wind whistled coldly, and the figure seemed to shiver slightly. He was listening very closely to their conversation, especially the one going on in Leila's head. The woman was...interesting. Next to the figure floated the rough outline of a person, clear as water and shimmering ever so slightly, like a heat mirage. Of course, only Mort could see this spirit floating next to him. No one else could.

"There they are..." the spirit said in a feminine voice, looking down at the mutants "I remember them well. I used to go to school with them. I had a crush on Eli. He probably doesn't remember me, though. He came to my funeral, though. Oh, if only he could see me again. I-" Mort held a hand up.

"We can't chat right now, Persephone." Mort said softly, his voice muffled by the hood "They could be in danger". The woman nodded, and she came into focus more. She would have been a decently pretty girl if there wasn't an enormous bloody slash streaking across her face. She wore a long white gown that was torn to ribbons and covered in silver blood. Her left arm was covered in bloody streaks and deep slashes. Her hair was matted and wet, obviously soaked in blood. Mort winced when he saw Persephone's appearance. Fifteen years of seeing ghosts and still their gruesome appearances terrified him. It was like living in a horror movie.

"I know," Persephone moaned, moving to float above Eli "I just...reminisce too much for a ghost". She looked down at Eli, and blew him a kiss. Mort stared at the young mourning ghost, and sighed. People wondered why he was so depressed, yet if they only knew the Hell he went through every day, the stories that he's heard and the gruesome sights he'd seen, they'd know; they'd all know, and they'd be just as depressed. But suicide wasn't an issue for Mort. He'd seen the afterlife, and it was none too pretty. He kept going due to his fear of Hell and the knowledge that with every twisted ghost story he heard and helped to fix he allowed another soul into Heaven. Down below, Eli shivered as he felt a cold sensation trickle down his spine. It was as if he had been touched by a ghost.

---

"I'm not bad." Joshua replied cordially to Selena "Life's going pretty well. Indoor track's already going strong. We have our first meet in two weeks. Right now I'm waiting for my girlfriend Rachael. Oh wait. Nevermind".

Spoiler:

Down the street came the small meek silhouette of Rachael Fleming, the owner of Joshua's heart. Her short mahogany hair was rippling in the wind, and her open jacket fluttered like the wings of a butterfly. Her soft eyes were looking down at the ground in that humble way she always did, not making eye contact with any of the passersby. Around her neck was a white scarf that Joshua had bought her when it started to get cold, and under the open denim jacket was a concert tee shirt from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Joshua got up from where he was sitting when Rachael approached, and walked up to her slowly with his hands in his pockets, trying to look as swaggering as possible.

"Hey baby." Joshua said, arriving at Rachael and kissing her on the cheek. "I've been waiting for you." She smiled, and pecked him on the lips lovingly.

"Hey." Rachael said, smiling as Joshua put his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, still smiling brightly. Joshua was the only person who could make Rachael smile.

"Oh yeah, this is Selena, Rachael, a friend of mine." Joshua said, forgetting that they had probably not met "Selena, this is my girlfriend Rachael".

Dexter 'Rush' Chertok, & Ray Judah Drager.

True Night wrote:

"Odd, this is thing is brand new... no matter."

It took all (And I mean every ounce) of Rush's willpower to avoid utterly flipping his sh*t and going off on a technological rant all about her atomizer. The technology always interested him, even if it was sh*tty or old. Hell, he can easily tell that this electronic cigarette was custom-made and brand new just by looking at it. He wished to discuss it further, the only thing is that he'll probably arouse suspicion. So he tried to go the subtly route. Rush's tone was emotionless and he spoke quickly, "Possibly defective," starting off. He got the subject from tiny defect that only he can see. "Sometimes put together incorrectly. If the slightest component is placed off by a centimeter. Whole thing could operate ineffectively. Besides. Cigarettes are quite toxic."

True Night wrote:

"So what exactly is you that do?"

After a short pause, Rush spoke, "Engineer. Freelance. Work for whoever pays." Now anyone with a brain would point out one major inconsistency in this answer. Rush is too young to be an engineer. Technically, he's an Engineer/Inventor/Hacker/IT-guy rolled into one big fun package. He was twenty times better than what they can ever even hope to come close to. Even through decades of rigorous training they can't come close to competing with Rush's link to technology. Unfortunately, the only thing holding Rush back is that he actually lacks the resources to create world changing tech. Would love to make history. Alas. Cannot. Due to mutant prejudices. Some day. Rules will change. Until then. Will make due. He thought to himself.

There was something else that Ray was more concerned with than this stupid conversation (He was blotting it out at this point). Waldo. Their little spy. His instincts were howling at him at this point. People don't blatantly chill on top of buildings, watching seemingly random people go by, for no reason. He was getting a little paranoid. You see, the duo had pissed off a lot of people in a very short amount of time. The kind of people that would walk up and gun the two of them down. Which is why Ray is here today. To make sure those people don't get the chance. For an instant, he felt like using his gift to drag the girl off the building- An easy way to take her out of the picture; she was playing on buildings and fell down. No questions, no foul-play- But he was far too moral to actually horribly wounding her. He also didn't want to jump the gun, when this could just be some young stupid kid just playing around. Not everything is malicious, Drager.... Ray had an idea for finding out what this girl really wanted. "Hey, can we go somewhere else for a moment?" Anywhere will do. All Ray wants to see is if this girl follows. If Waldo does follow, then damn; just this once, his paranoia will be justified.


Amanda, & Daniel Blackmore.


Amanda had realized something, again. She was coming off as annoying. Again. She could just see it in their eyes. So, she decided to tone it down a few notches, before they kick her out. And she doesn't intend on that. Adventure awaits! "Yeah, I'm down with Italian, E." She spoke in her usual cheerful tone. "Not that hungry, but I'll only pitch in if me, and Dannyboy, get dibs on the bread-sticks." The pair quickly followed behind Eli, she, herself, walked behind Daniel. Standing over her younger and shorter brother. She had the impression that things were uncomfortable for everyone. So she decided to change the subject to help everyone forget about before (Because she already has, few things ever leave a mark on her). Amanda had the perfect subject-change, something's that's been on her mind. "So my favorite people in the world, what do your think of our illustrious city of Aurum?" She asked the entire group, hoping that they didn't ignore her. "To me, this place ain't half bad... But I'm going to get the hell out of here soon as possible. I belong under a sun, not whatever the hell that stuff is." Amanda had pointed up at the polluted skies. She was serious when she said that she wanted to leave this city. Because she has never seen the sun for herself. Never felt the warmth and glory it gave people. Some day, you'll be in my hands O' sun... Amanda faded out of reality for a moment, then snapped right back in. "... 'Sides, the people here are getting weirder by the second, I swear..." Amanda spoke as she glanced at a random woman they passed.

This had prompted the generally quiet Daniel to speak. He had something sarcastic to say in his head. "You must see a lot of those weird people when you look in the mirror..." As quickly as spoke, he went back to his quiet shy kid attitude.

"Heh." Was the only word that Amanda said in response. Giving him a slight shoulder nudge.


Veronica Mia Valos.

Spoiler:

Another pair of eyes. Why the hell do all these pervy b*stards keep eyeballing me!? Veronica thought to herself as she walked down the street. Shooting aggressive looks at everyone who dare look at her. A look that just screamed, f*ck off. Is it the way I look? Oh that's it. I'm just the sexy nerd that everyone wants to nail. The "sexy librarian" the "cute nerd." I'll tell you this, come near me, and I'll snap it off. She continued to rant on to herself as she walked. Veronica quickly glanced down at her outfit to get a good look at it. Since it was cold outside, she wore something heavy and warm. As her top, she wore a large dark-red sweater with long sleeves (The sleeves were rolled up slightly). This sweater looked quite good and elegantly woven. She wore a long tan skirt, long enough to go down to her ankles. This skirt covered up a bit of her curves. Of course, she wore her large and round black oval-shaped glasses.

While Veronica may look "sweet" and "cute"; she radiated an aura of pure f*ck off. It was the way she walked, that scowl on her face, and the death glares she gave anyone foolish. It meant that anyone who approached her would be sent off crying. With their feelings hurt. She was Veronica Mia Valos, a girl that's infamous for losing her temper when provoked and her passive aggressive attitude obvious. She can be sweet when around the people she enjoys... Other than that, she's pretty rough.

Today, she was looking for something. Something that actually didn't provoke, or annoy her. Something to provide her with inspiration so she can paint a picture and actually improve her artsy skills. At the corner of Veronica's eye, something caught her attention. A girl (Bre) sitting down on a bench. The girl wasn't that interesting herself... Being Caucasian, orange hair, good looking. None of that really interested Veronica at all. The one thing that did was what she was doing; sketching - And looked like she did know what she's doing. The only thing that put Bre in a negative light were those stupid sunglasses. It's the @sscrack of night, and she's wearing sunglasses? Stupid. Because of her habit, Veronica had classified Bre in the stupid annoying hipster category. Why? Because she's just like that.

Nonetheless, Veronica was going to hope that this girl wouldn't spout ghetto slang and sound like an utter uneducated degenerate. She approached slowly, "Why hello there," Veronica spoke in a polite tone, which sounded quite genuine, "I noticed that you were... Drawing. I'm quite interested in that subject, as well. Perhaps we can share a few tips, if you're hospital enough...?" She just spoke what was on her mind (Sans dickish attitude). Veronica was reluctant to give her name because until this girl proves she isn't what Veronica thinks she is, she sure as f*ck ain't getting it.

Bre jumped in surprise when she heard a voice, though her pencil seemed to stay surprisinglyfirm and well controlled despite the surprise. Her eyes slowly travelled to the owner of the voice, and Bre turned her head to look the woman in the eyes. It was always like that for her- no matter how hard she tried, whoever Bre began to speak to she had to make eye contact with.

The owner of the voice was a woman- older then her. She had a little bit of a "nerdy" vibe to her, and was of some foreign descent. She seemed nice enough to her... kinda. She layed her sketchbook that she had been holding up on her lap and placed her pencil on top, keeping one hand over it so that the item wouldn't roll away as it often times did.

"Hey," Bre gave the girl a friendly smile. "Art tips? Sure- you want some for just sketching or what? I kinda use several different art techniques. Acrylic painting, oil pastels, digital art, et cetera. I'm also always up for new tips for art." Normally, Bre tried to look away while talking to people (though it never worked). This time, however, she didn't even attempt to look away. It was dark out, afterall, and the dark combined with tinted sunglasses make it just about impossible to see one's eyes. This meant that, while the sunglasses at night may make people suspect Bre of being on drugs, she could relax a little when it came to her "gift" possible taking over.