City of Gold IC Act II

“And ya know...” Kylie slurred, flicking her cigarette butt into a discarded drink. “I really all up and appreciate the fact you let the kid into the Skulls all those years ago.”  Kylie swept some hair out of her face, re greasing it into the others. “I know he can be a huge douche bag sometimes but he tries  really hard to fit in here.” Kylie's thoughts slowed down as she began another drink. She looked down at her friends, wondering how they put up with her constant drunken hazes. Kylie laughed slightly. “I know you two remember that day when I showed up a f*cking mess and stuff.” Kylie, although drunk, knew that talking about that was a bit dangerous to both her image and her mentality. Bad memories keep in the back of the mind.

Kylie's rant of sentiments was interrupted by water suddenly being shot at her.

“F*CK F*CK F*CK.” Kylie cried out, desperately trying to get the water off of her. Kylie wasn't a huge fan of water, at least not surprise water. Showers? Fine. Jumping into a pool? Fine. Suddenly getting sprayed with water. Not fine. Oil and water just don't mix. Kylie quickly tried to stand up, forgetting for a moment how drunk she was. Her attempt to stand up, still on the bar, ended with her on shaky legs. Kylie, unable to hold herself up, sat back down on the counter, luckily avoiding stepping in the nachos. Kylie rubbed at her eyes in an attempt to clear her vision, her normally slicked up hair layed flat against her head. Not very punk.

“Damn.” Kylie grumbled, trying to figure out what had happened. She couldn't think of any Skulls who had water powers, and they knew better then to fling it around near her. And there was almost no way it was a SAM, unless they had a death wish. Even then so, the attack wasn't large enough to kill Kylie or even bother anyone else. If it had been a planned attack more people would be attacking. Kylie looked up, her brow furrowing in rage. Could it have been someone just dropped a bucket of water? Kylie growled at herself, she might be drunk but that was a stupid conclusion to come to.

Then who had done it? Most Skulls would have quickly come to apologize, in hopes their punishment wouldn't be as severe. She then noticed someone scaling a building at great speed. She recognized that climbing technique, and Mattie wasn't like the other Skulls. A low growl erupted from Kylie as she yelled after her retreating brother. “MATTHEW DAVID DETMER-EVANS!” Oh CENSORED breaking out the full name. Kylie growled again as she watched him run over the roof and then out of sight. Kylie sighed, trying to bring her hair back to its poofy goodness. “That...goofy kid.” She grumbled. “He should be counting his lucky stars that he didn't hit Archer.”

---

Mmm, it has been a couple days since the whole firefight between the alley-rats and the authoritarian police force, hasn't it? A couple days since the inception of her ambition. She didn't have much to do today. She sat in a musty old chair, that has long since lost its red hue after the years and lack of care it had received. The boombox on her right coughed out scratchy tunes, its bass doing little more than to upset the dust that had settled on top of it. She knew her home looked like shit, even though she was blind. The dust made the air suffocating to breathe in. It was also cold. The sun's warm rays barely breaking its way through the blinds that veiled the windows. Presumably, it was dark. Mia's eyes were milky and deadened and didn't have the luxury of sight. Mia lifted her hand, and with her fingers, touched the scarred skin below her right eye, feeling it and all of the ugly memories that came with it. Her stupid, stupid youth. God, it really is hard to tell how dumb a woman is sometimes until you give her something to cry over and see how they cope. Mia coped terribly. But she's not a little girl anymore. She's a grown woman, and she became wiser for it since the reality of the world had sunk into her the past several months. Nobody in this city was going to help pick her up or turn her life around. Everyone was bitter. Perhaps it was time she started going with the flow of things, and by God, she didn't intend on her blindness being a handicap for her.

She felt for the crook of her cane. Feeling the sudden sensation of the cold stainless steel, she felt further up until her hand came into contact with the rubber grip. She grasped it and stood up. Now, it was time to meet with the Skulls, like she intended. She didn't think she knew anyone in particular within the street gang, only word that a childhood "associate" was among them. To this, Mia shrugs and disregards - she knew quite a few people when she was younger. An associate was not much to go on and very much likely given the close quarter environment of Aurum. There weren't many places one could go without the bio-degrading "magical" barrier that surrounded the town. She swung her cane left and right, feeling her way towards the front door. It was something that was unnecessary. She knew what this apartment felt like, just like the back of her hand. But it had become habit. She grasped the doorknob, and with deliberate gentleness and finesse, unlocked it before turning the knob and opening the door wide. The rays of the sun shone on her face for the first time in days and today, she relished in its warmth. The air was cool enough to warrant the old brown leather jacket that Mia never intended on leaving behind, which was layered over her black and yellow plaid button-up (the sleeves of which were rolled to her elbows, but that is a factor unable to be determined underneath her jacket). Faded, baggy boot cut jeans were basically all she owned in terms of pants, with draped over old mustard colored steel-toed work boots, that was laced and tied tightly around her feet.

She didn't bother locking the door behind her. Anybody who knew anything about West Rail knew that there is nothing worth stealing around this neighborhood. Besides that, she at least had the good fortune ("good fortune", a very much laughable term these days) of living nearby comparatively good people who sought to do nothing but survive on their own. Having keys were somewhat of a liability anyways. They made you a target. With keys, it looked like you owned something. On days that she was especially pissed off, she'd carry keys just to have an excuse to "defend" herself. Even without keys, and even without owning anything, she was still at some sort of "risk". She was a woman. She owned enough. Enough of what many men around these parts want, anyway. And how "easy" it would be to get away with "attacking" poor little Mia...

Ha. Laughable. Nearly all men that targeted her didn't know what they were getting into. Nearly. Perhaps some people are just really desperate. She must be pretty pretty, Mia figured, or that there weren't many tails to chase around here. She fortunately beat enough people into a pulp that the "dogs" around the corner don't bark at her any more. "Dogs". Going deeper into the city was a different story. She didn't go deep very often. Usually the corner store was all she needed, and going in deep usually meant drug dealers and whorehouses and gang turf - things that wasn't her type of business. As a result, some people down there see a decently attractive blind woman with a cane, and they start staring like starving wolves. From the sounds Mia heard, it seemed there was a party just a little ways down the street from here. It was the general direction that Mia recalled hearing all of the ruckus the other day. After all, she only lived a mile off. When Mia turned the corner on the sidewalk after feeling the edge of the curb with her cane, that was when one of the starving wolves tried to make their move. It was like a tickle in her ear. A crawl up her spine. She heard the rush of footsteps from behind, and large hands feeling up her back - and just as the cold, sharp blade caressed the peach hairs of her throat, Mia flipped up her cane and hooked it around the man's head with the crook before pulling forward and downward hard.

Her assailant was effortlessly tossed aside and was flung through air before making hard and abrupt impact with the dirty asphalt road. The wind was knocked from him and he cried out nothing but muted screams as he clutched his neck with one hand and is back with the other. Mia was unfazed. She felt around the ground with her boot, before coming up what felt to be the knife he was previously carrying. A quick stomp, and the gadget was shattered and flattened, and the rusted blade crumbled in a couple pieces. Letting her cane slide down through her hand until she came back to the grip, she continued walking, following the sound of music and shouts and motorcycles. On her way there, the blind woman would have been oblivious of the wary pack of wolves that had cut her a path on the sidewalk, as they were silently still and holding their breaths as she passed - but their beer ridden stench gave them away - but she would give them the benefit of the doubt.

The smell of street party was something to behold, alright. Beer, piss, shit, bile, and poorly made deviled eggs (which were probably laced with methamphetamine - she certainly wouldn't want to eat any deviled eggs made by anyone in West Rail). The rancid odor itself was a party, there hardly seemed any need to start an actual party. Still, she needed directions to "the big five" as they called them around here. Those were directions not lightly given unless people took you seriously, and she felt the drunken gazes of hawks on her. Hawks that were, of course, intoxicated. But regardless, their talons were still sharp. So, what was a good way to get someone willing to talk? A blind punch? Hardly. That would knock the poor bastard out. She bumped into a man, ripe and muscular and shirtless. Huh. He'd have to do. Mia quickly turned around and grabbed his arm, before gently putting him against the brick wall of a building.

"So..." Mia purred softly, "do you think you can answer a question for me?" Her hands were feeling around on his bare shoulders. Oh god. That feeling. Was that beer, vomit, or sweat? This guy was a disgusting pig.

Whatever the guy looked like, or the expression on his face to which she was blind to, it sounded as if he was a-okay with this. For he said, "Sure babe, what is it?" The guy nearly sounded excited. West Rail men were so easy. Mia finally found the spot she was looking for - the pressure point in the neck! Ever had your pressure point pinched by a gal with super strength? The man crumpled to the ground in an instant, his entire body seized and both of his hands were trying to pry himself from Mia grip - and ultimately failing to do so. "Where's the big five?"

"The bar!" He cried out and pointed. This scene of course attracted the attention of a couple people watching. Mia knew this by how the crowd came just a little more silent, where other parts in the crowd laughed - those laughing were probably more familiar with these parts and were around for longer. Those were probably the people who knew that there were some gals around here you didn't fuck with. With Mia's other hand, he felt her victim's arm and hand to see where he was pointing. Mia let go of him and followed the trail she was sent on. These wolves were a little different. They didn't cut a path for her. They were a little more hardened than the other dogs on the street. Feeling around with her cane was a little more difficult with all these meatbags in the way. But she did finally come in contact with something solid, and laughter a little bit upward and forward. A strange scent joined the mixture. It was strong, and it stung her nostrils just slightly. Regardless, she scaled the two or three steps it took to get into the bar, and she heard the musings of a couple other people. Mostly men. One woman. A slightly familiar sound, but there wasn't enough of it right now to make much out of it. She leaned against a wall next to the doorway, facing the bar stools. Well, this had to be the place. Better make an impression to these bozos.

"So I heard you scrubs were the "big five"." She crowed as she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. Okay, on second thought, that'd certainly make an impression. She didn't know how laid back these boys were or if they'd care - they were drunk. Anyways, she carried herself well - hopefully that was enough to mean she meant business. Certainly, Mia wanted to make business. And she had guts, if her statement said anything. Hopefully this was enough to warrant some attention.

Shaun

So now the mighty Miss Khan appears. Shaun crossed his arms behind his back and scanned the surrounding area, looking for the presence of others. Of course Lynn was there, finding a loophole in the agreement, but there was no one else: just the three of them. He did not speak during Leila's speech, and placed his hands behind his back. Obviously she carried no weapons, but that mattered not, because she was a weapon. She could easily fill the air with poison and kill Shaun without much effort. ”Context is everything” Shaun thought-spoke in Lynn’s ear.

“I’m assuming that you have a decent knowledge of physics before I begin this,” he began “as it will make more sense this way. So the reason that we’re all trapped in this big dome of our’s is that it is made out of a superhot plasma and held together by a very strange sort of radiation. This, oddly enough, is the same radiation that we find emanating from deep space. But what’s particularly odd about this radiation dome is that when in dense enough quantities, like it is now, it kills any living thing no matter how well-protected they are. The most popular theory at the moment is that this wonky radiation moves at an extremely high frequency while at the same time having a relatively long amplitude, which is, in all scientific models, impossible. Just a little introduction.”

“At this time,” he continued, pacing with his hands behind his back “we believe there to be four Wells in Aurum. There is the one in the SAM headquarters, one at the Skulls headquarters, one in the human military base in Ft.Braxton where they get the bullets that they love to shoot at us, and one somewhere else. The wells also emit cosmic radiation, but with less density. Luckily for us, however, the wells emit slower-moving radiation waves that have a lower frequency but the same amplitude. From this, we know that if a beam of radiation were fired from a well towards a beam of radiation fired from the dome, the two would cancel each other out in a way similar to radio silencing. So, if we could somehow combine the energies of all four wells and concentrate them on one single location, we could theoretically punch a hole clean through the dome. That is my plan. If we destroy the dome, then we can leave this godforsaken place and the US military can arrest the ACPD leaders for their crimes against humanity.”

“However, it has recently come to my attention that if I did indeed bring down the dome, there would be the problem of the damned Skulls, who have decided that they can indeed make a living at being professional assholes. At first I was hoping that through trial and error, along with some guiding from myself, they would learn that nonviolence is the best way to deal with the issue, but instead they decided that they wanted a repeat of the LA gang wars. If we escape this place and they’re still walking around blowing things up, then the government could see us as hostile and seek to make us the enemy. As you know, I am normally against fighting. I do not fight when I do not have to. I think it’s about time that we took a slightly less...friendly approach to the issue.”

Tobias

Near Shaun and Leila’s borderline showdown, hanging from one of the brick row house walls that composed the alley, a very thick bunch of ivy hung. The ivy crawled up the entirety of the wall, thickening as it approached the gutter and a hole in the roof that lead into the attic. Hidden in the thickest tuft of this ivy, however, was Tobias Wright, disguised almost perfectly as ivy. Toby was hanging here in order to watch the conversation between Leila and Shaun. Shaun, knowing that Leila would cheat, cheated as well, bringing his own backup in the form of the color-changing octopus man. Against a woman with a sniper rifle, Toby would be useless, but he could launch a powerful surprise attack in case of emergency. At the present time, Toby was simply watching, staring down at Leila with his golden eyes, camouflaged olive green to blend in with the ivy. Unless Lynn was trained to spot octopi camouflaging in urban environments, he would be undetectable by everyone but Shaun.

Archer and Skeleton

The bar roared with laughter as Kylie was soaked with water out of nowhere. Archer nearly fell out of his chair and Amira’s head hit the bar table with a loud “thump!”. If it weren’t for her heaving chest and the sound of her laughter, people would have thought she had passed out. Skeleton turned around to stare at Matt blankly through his mask and then grabbed a towel from behind the bar, which he tossed to Kylie. Skeleton found this to be rather amusing, but any emotion he had was hidden by the mask. He was smiling, but for all anyone knew, his face was a scowling skull. He took another drink of his beer and was about to say something to Kylie when an unfamiliar voice broke the laughter. Skeleton slammed the beer bottle down so hard that it shattered, silencing the laughter. He cursed under his breath, and stood up from his bar stool to face the blind woman. Normally, he wouldn’t approach someone like her with any sort of caution, but blind women don’t typically wander the streets of West Rail throwing around names like “The Big Five”. Several Skulls started rising to tell her to get lost, but at Skeleton’s hand they sat once more. He pounded his fist in his hand a few times like many people do to intimidate someone before a fight, slowly building up kinetic energy. If one looked very closely, they would see tiny streaks of electrical energy arcing between his gloved hands. He got within six feet of Mia and crossed his arms across his chest. Archer, too drunk to be of much help, wheeled around on his bar stool to watch what was going on.

“Yes,” Skeleton said with his raspy, little-used voice “I’m Skeleton, one of the Big Five. What do you want?” He was gruff and harsh, the way he always was. He had no fear of blind women, nor did he have any respect for them.

The SAM Pool Party

Jeremy cursed as his guitar went haywire. The horrible noise caused him to grit his teeth, and the girl to his left winced. He groaned loudly and picked the guitar back up from where it fell on the stone patio. There was another dent in the headstock. Smart-ass telepath he thought to himself. Jeremy didn’t feel like getting in a fight, though, so he picked the guitar up and continued to play. Soon Lucy found her way to the fireside, and she sat in one of the plastic patio chairs, listening to the music. It calmed her greatly, and helped her to temporarily forget about her scar. It wasn’t uncommon for Lucy to sit outside of Jeremy’s room when he played guitar and listen to him. There were great perks to invisibility. She had a crush on him, a quite obvious crush from the way she stared at his face when he played, but considering he was seventeen and she was thirteen, there was no way that they could be together. She had accepted that.

Ryan lowered his sunglasses and sighed as Amanda entered his presence. A quick scan of her mind found the phrase “enhance it with my presence”, making him automatically understand that she was associating with him for the sole reason of looking cool, which irritated him. ”She’s just an attention CENSORED” he thought-spoke to Taylor ”How hard do you think it will be to make her go away?”

“Ses yeux sont si rêveur! Mon dieu! Suis-je rougissais? J'espère que je ne suis pas rougir!”

“You know I don’t speak French, Tay.” he said

“Wha-? Oh! Sorry, did you say something?” she thought.

“Checking out Samson again?”

"I have no privacy around you."

"No one does. I know simply by thinking that Jeremy is pissed at a telepath, Lucy has a crush on him, and Amanda wants to get in my pants. Want me to take a peek inside Samson's mind and do a little nosing around?"

"Mon dieu! No! Absolutely not! If I want to find out if he likes me or not, I can just get up and go talk to him."

"Then go do it."

"Okay. Have fun with the fangirl, tu pede."

"How rude." Without another word, Taylor muttered "excusez moi. I have someone I need to go talk to." and walked away, leaving her Kindle on her beach chair. Ryan grabbed it and stowed it in a white canvas bag that sat between the two chairs before addressing Amanda.

"Good evening." he said "I am Ryan Corvo. Care to sit, Amanda Blackmore?" Taylor checked her swimsuit to make sure it looked perfect, and then walked over to Samson. She tried as hard as she could not to blush or giggle like an idiot. That would be tres embarrassant.

"Bonjour, Samson" she said.

"You have problems beyond the Skulls should you succeed in bringing down the Dome, Dr. Smithton. Consider your own people. I'm sure you have faith in them, but despite all their newfound abilities...they are human. And no matter how powerful you are, you cannot hope to stand against the United States military. Skulls and SAM alike would be promptly obliterated. A few survivors would manage to escape, those who could conceal their powers easily. But bringing down that Dome would cause genocide on a scale you cannot begin to imagine. We are gods amongst men, Dr. Smithton. But we're gods that can bleed. Letting even a single one of us outside of this city is a grave mistake. There are some of us who could shatter the global economy, spark wars, assassinate world leaders...all single-handedly. You may think the Skulls cretins. In some regards, you are correct. But there is intelligence amongst them. They can replicate your work, given time. If you bring down the Dome, it will not be a year before they manage to do it as well. And that's assuming that the government doesn't drive a nuclear warhead into Aurum and detonate it remotely. You are playing with fire that the gods never meant for us to steal, Shaun. I beg you-don't bring down the Dome. There are only two outcomes. Either the combined force of the United Nations Permanent Members wipes Aurum off the face of the Earth, or we somehow survive. They will try and kill us. There will be no negotiations. No diplomacy. Only indiscriminate killing, for the sake of survival. And if our kind does live, you must be truly blind to imagine them forgiving. Putting that kind of conflict behind them. There would be destruction. You may think the conflict between the Skulls and your own forces is severe." Leila shook her head. "I am not one for hyperbole. I truly believe this: if you tear down that Dome, you will cause the end of the world. The blood of billions will be on your hands. If you want justice against the ACPD, I can give it to you. But opening up Aurum to the world will be...catastrophic. Nations will war over possession of the Wells. Soldiers will be bathed in their radioactivity to become more potent, making conflicts even more deadly. The stock market will crash globally as men who can create gold from thin air, women who can make gasoline with the blink of an eye, destroy business. There will be rapists who can elude the police forever. Murders that are impossible to solve. We are sitting inside Pandora's box, Doctor. I pray you have the sense to keep it shut."

"Did I ever tell you how sexy conviction was?"

Leila, from behind the tint of the gas mask, flickered an irritated glance at Lynn.

"I know you're glaring at me." Lynn grinned and forced herself to sober up. Leila's monologue, whilst important to making Shauny refrain from catalyzing genocide, did leave Leila focused on rhetoric rather than things like people sneaking up behind her. Given Leila's armor, it'd be tough to take her out in one hit, unless they got a clean shot to the back of her unarmored head. Still, the alley was abandoned aside from moss and ivy on the walls, so Lynn felt confident. She was watching the ground closely to see if anything moved-perhaps Shaun had brought along an invisible friend, and then flickering up to the rooftops all around them. In a tucked away alley, in the dark, with full body armor on, Lynn felt confident Leila would be okay.

"Damnit. Help me get this strap on."

There was a very pregnant pause.

"Lynn I swear to Christ if you say anything I will kill you."

"No, I'd never say anything. You putting on your Kevlar is totally serious. But, I mean, before we start using strap ons I feel like we should-"

"Damnit, Delly."

Lynn grinned, moving and adjusting the aforementioned strap over Leila's back. She'd had to steal bits and pieces of the armor over time from the ACPD's armory, as Leila wasn't the typical size that most of the armor was outfitted for, and they didn't restock female body armor as frequently as they did men. A few of Lynn's connections with Fletcher Joe (she'd, working with Leila, supplied him with a few illicit substances, and gotten him to import some Dragon Skin armor) had paid off, and the result was a Leila ready to duke it out with Aurum's finest. Lynn tugged on the strap and tightened it, and the two slipped the rest of the armor on, piece by piece, in silence. Leila sat on the bed (which was sinking considerably under the weight of two women and a suit of armor), staring into the mirror. Black, stab resistant Kevlar, with ceramic plates gleaming. MOLLE webbed belts. Holsters.

"And the piece de resistance," Lynn murmured, handing Leil-no, Miss Khan, her coat. Leila slipped it on, staring at the insignia of the Golden Horde on the front of her armor.

"Can't decide if I look intimidating or kinda badass." Leila said, rubbing a hand through her too-short hair and shifting uncomfortably under the armor.

"You'll get used to the weight eventually."

"May not have eventually."

There was another heavy silence, which normally didn't happen with Lynn. She preferred to fill silences with inane silliness rather than let there be quiet. Leila turned her head, glancing back at Cordelia, and pain and hurt flashed across her pain. "No, I mean..."

Cordelia blinked a few more times, trying to pull herself together. "Sorry, I..."

"No. My bad. I don't like this either."

"I know. We're gonna be okay."

"Yeah. We're gonna be okay." Leila practiced drawing her Taurus from her holster, doing it with the smooth quickness built in from a thousand repetitions in front of the same mirror.

"You ready?"

"...ready as I will be. Grab my mask for me?"

"Christ. Not even a day into the super villain thing and you're treating me like Alfred."

"Our apartment's a lot sh*ttier than Wayne Manor."

The banter continued until they both realized they were stalling.

Selena Chalyvas

How do people swim in pools for fun? That's maybe the least fun I thing I can imagine.

Selena hadn't really been with the SAMs too terribly long-in fact, her past as a whole was a rather murky, not thought out thing, and won't be delved into at all really-so she still wasn't really buying into the "family". She saw the SAMs as the good guys, which seemed to be reinforced by this. I mean, supervillains don't have cookouts, right? Selena figured she could debate morality later. For now, there was the tantalizing smell of food, that irresistible drug which beckons to all teenagers, wafting over from the grill, with...okay, it was one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...Raphael? Yeah, Raphael next to...Selena paused, trying to remember the mnemonic device for her. Okay, hyper chick. A little crazy. Like a storm. Storm...Hurricane...Katrina!

Selena vaguely wondered how people remembered her name, if they'd learned it yet. She hadn't really been included in much, which was okay, because she hadn't really gone out of her way to be brought into the fold. Selena was glad to be somewhere relatively stable-and, seemingly out of the ACPD's jurisdiction. A mischievous grin tugged at the edges of her thin lips as she figured Shaun probably wouldn't turn her over to the cops for anything. Maybe scold her or whatever, but probably not much else. Still, Selena didn't like Shaun. The guy was nice enough, but there was something about getting into someone's head that was just creepy.

The irony of this was entirely lost on her.

Somebody splashed jumping into the pool and water splattered about half a foot away from Selena, prompting a brief shriek before she nearly fell out of her chair. Selena, who was feeling uncomfortable enough in a bathing suit (periodically, somewhere on her body would bulge with what looked like a gear that whirred for a moment before sinking back into the sinew beneath her skin), was now faced with water. Gah. While the mouthwatering scent of burgers did give her a second's pause, Selena got up, firmly wrapped a lime green towel around herself (between the pink bikini and white hair, she was rocking all sides of the color wheel), Selena went inside, grumbling to herself.

"Pool parties. At least this city doesn't have a beach. Oh God, what if we'd all been stuck in Seattle or something. Nyeh." Selena looked around the mansion, wiping her feet off on the mat. "At least these guys have a cooler hangout. I mean, the alternative was that sh*thole bar. With no Wi-Fi." The Skulls, despite Selena's comments, were never an option. She was too stubbornly righteous and too teenage girl to fit in. The Skulls were not an equal opportunity group-although, with a sad moment of insight, Selena realized nobody in Aurum really was. It was all whether you were a meta or not...

Selena casually walked into the kitchen, eyeing the various appliances as she scouted out food. She sure as hell wasn't going back out near the splash-happy morons in the pool. Hm. Toaster. Not as cool as she thought it would be. Blender. Nyeh. Already had one. I don't know how everybody else in Aurum lives without being able to make milkshakes literally whenever they want. Microwave? Oh man that would be the best. Selena reached out a hand to it and stopped, remembering this wasn't her place. If she absorbed the microwave they'd have to go out and buy another one.

"Truly my life is a struggle," Selena sighed, going over to the fridge and opening it. "Okay. They're probably not cool with me drinking. Man, between the cookouts, the Ph.D leading us, and no drinking, this street gang is really lame. Like the Crips and the Bloods would just be laughing at us if they were here."

The light of the fridge illuminating Selena's face the same way a mountain of shiny gold might illuminate a treasure hunter, the girl began looking through the fridge for something to eat. Honestly, that's most of what she did in her free time.

The smacking sound of flesh against flesh was a distinct one, and this sound had a higher pitch and less... hollow, if one had to put it that way. Tight. As if knocking on a solid surface with no passage or opening behind it. Like a man who was repeatedly knocking a fist into his own hand, and along with it the creaking of floorboards and the individual footsteps. The sound drew closer until they were approximately... six feet away? That's what it sounded like, at least. The creaking of a spinning chair further back, behind who she presumed to be a person six feet in front of her. Apparently whoever this man was - they were undoubtedly a man - couldn't tell how to differentiate a regular woman from a blind woman. The act of visual intimidation wouldn't work too well - was he also puffing out his chest? What a try-hard. Even if she could see, the man was just blowing smoke. Finally, she was addressed by a raspy voice. It confirmed her initial suspicion of this person being a man.

"Yes," he said, "I’m Skeleton, one of the Big Five. What do you want?"

Oh, a straight shooter. Right on to business with no bullshitting around! Nice. Mia pushed herself off the well and stood on her two feet, slouching to the side and putting her weight on one leg. The expression on her face remained unimpressed and unchanging.

"Mia." She replied flatly. "Straight to business. You don't like the ACPD. I don't like the ACPD. I want to cash in on what you have going on. You just got shot up by them not too long ago and probably lost a couple guys."

She paused a moment to let her proposal sink in. She proceeded with her offer slowly and carefully, to give these street rats some time to process what she's trying to say.

"I can join up and we can each mind our own business as long as I can get in my fair share of punches at the cops... and I have connections in the local station."

And if you're smart, you'll give me what you want. She wanted to say. It was seriously something she wanted to say, but these gang type people had fragile egos. Talk to a guy in charge and stand your ground, suddenly their power is gone. And power is like an addictive drug, and people will do all sorts of crazy things to get it back. She didn't plan on sucking this Skeleton guy's dick or anything, but she certainly wasn't going to give anyone any ground over her. As long as she put herself out there and negotiated, there shouldn't be any problems with these bozos. Christ, it is like job searching all over again.

Nikki Biyung, & Melisa 'Missy' Baroness.


"You shouldn't be out here alone." A strange voice startled Nikki and made her stop and look.

She turned her head and saw Missy Baroness... A girl that was found on the front steps of the University one night. Bearing a sad tale. Nikki didn't exactly interact with Missy, due to their own social incompetence. Missy was leaning up against a wall in a alleyway, dressed up in a black hoodie, black sweat pants, and that creepy surgical mask, completely nonchalant. Well, Nikki wasn't too surprised that Missy was here, a network of surveillance insects tends, just that someone was actually talking to her. Nikki was rather. "Well, I could say the same to you. I just came out to get a breath of fresh air?"

Missy quickly replied with, "... Near Skull territory?"

"Look, I don't do well in parties. So, I actually came out here to look for something to get my mind off of it, okay?" She quickly replied. Okay, Nikki didn't really get the boundaries of Skull turf. Like, once you see a load of maniacs riding around on motorcycles, raping and murdering everything in their path, you know you're in Skull owned territory. Nikki figured that she should head back, before they get into something.

"Fine. I don't like crowds either," Missy walked up to Nikki... There was a bit of a size difference between them. "You can go on your 'walk'-" Missy air-quoted, "- But don't go alone." She stood next to Nikki.

Wasn't truly necessary, since it was nigh-impossible for Nikki to be snuck up on, even then, but she couldn't find a real reason to turn Missy. So she silently began matching forward. Alongside the scarred chick that's an enigma to her. They were likely pushing into Skull territory, but it didn't matter. They kept their heads down, and no one would bother them, really. Neither of them were high profile, and aren't dumb enough to run around announcing who they are. Nikki was paying super close attention to the insects around her, and especially to what they're perceiving.

“I’m assuming that you have a decent knowledge of physics before I begin this...”

Nikki stopped, she didn't know. Insects can hear. Not in the way humans can, but they can hear well enough perceive speech. However, she turned all the insects in all alley - all the roaches and flies - to the two people standing there... Shaun and some strange woman gussied up like a soldier.. With a sniper on the roof watching them like a hawk. This little walk got interesting fast. The woman Shaun was talking to is either a Skull, or a member of the ACPD... Though, the Sniper was definitely ACPD. However, Nikki wasn't dumb enough to rush into there. She was going to watch and observe, just like she always did. Of course, if Shaun's in trouble, Nikki is the only person who could help him. Armed with nothing but flies and cockroaches. Well, never underestimate the power of vermin. Nikki started calling more to her position, trying to amass a swarm. Bees, spiders, crickets, and other creepy crawlies. But the problem was that they didn't cover distance as fast as a person could. Except for the flying ones. Nikki had a way to fix that, she ordered the bees and hornets to carry the crawling bugs. Though, it wasn't very inconspicuous, someone was bound to notice. But Nikki was a bit pressed for time.

Missy perked up, raising her chin, looking at Nikki, "Hm? Something wrong?"

"Shh... I see something, I'll tell you later," Nikki wondered if she was getting so close to Melissa that they're going to start sharing secrets. They're going to be friends already! However, Nikki was clever enough to not stand there and look conspicuous. Standing around like, did not accomplish that. So Nikki took a more natural position, standing up with the hell of her foot against the wall. "Look casual as possible. Let's chat."

"... Okay."

Nikki and Missy talked about a myriad of random things to make small talk. Nothing interesting or engaging, she kept her attention on the little confrontation between Shaun, Leila, and Lynn. She was going to be Shaun's (second) guardian angel.


Amanda Daisy Blackmore.


Totally oblivious to the mental conversation between Taylor and Ryan, Amanda kept grinning wildly. Amanda had to stop herself from laughing once Taylor left. But she let a little giggle slip. Ryan introduced himself, though she already knew of him, and his telepathic abilities. So, while Amanda was never the type to beat around the bush, the need was absolutely eliminated! "Awwwww... Looks like your girly friend left you for another man." Amanda voiced her mind as she planted her rump down on the chair. "But, you got me now. You don't need girls that worthless." She started laughing as she put her guitar onto her lap, leaning back in the chair. "I won't leave... Until I find someone prettier."


Samson Isiah Jeross.


It wasn't long before someone approached Samson, a very good looking girl person. Taylor Dubois. Well, damn, he didn't know any french, but he could speak her language. He was pretty hot himself, but he always managed to get the hotter girls interested in him. It was because they love his little phoenix, of course. "Hey, Taylor..." He said, slyly. The cigarette in between his fingers ignited like a match, before the flame spread and burnt it to a crisp. All in the blink of an eye. "Heh, you were already smokin' yourself when you walked up," Samson, flirts, "And I always say that if a girl's smoking well, she's a fire."

Kylie's growls of anger quickly silenced the laughter of the lower level Skulls. As soon as she stood up on the bar, her chest heaving with a mix of anger and embarrassment, the laughing Skulls quickly looked away as if suddenly really interested in their drinks or the floor. If Kylie was a little more, or a little less, drunk she might have been able to pass this off as a funny joke. She most likely would have laughed along with the rest of the Skulls. And the fact that was perpetrator was most likely Matt, that almost made it worse. Kylie briefly wondered if he had been set up for some bet by the lesser members of the Skulls. Get in trouble then split. If he had come to apologize she might have given him an almost too hard smack on the back and sent him on his way.

She accepted the towel from Skeleton with a grumbled out thanks. She flipped off Archer, as he seemed to be one of the only Skulls still laughing. And god did he have a loud laugh. Normally hearing her friend laugh would put her in a good mood, but she was still soaking wet. As she dried off her back and head she muttered a few curses, swearing to give that kid a talk when he got back to the apartment later that night. “Damn kid.” She muttered, not paying too much attention to the bar around her. Kylie draped the towel around her neck, attempting to re-gel her hair, when suddenly Skeleton slammed down his drink, and then his fist, silencing the rest of the bar.

Someone had approached the bar, obviously not a Skull by the way she dressed, but also not a SAM by the way she presented herself with such dignity and confidence. And there was no way she was a normie. She had a cane, which obviously wasn't just there to look cool. If she needed a cane to walk with she would have survived the walk here, unless she was packing hidden heat. Her voice reminded Kylie of something, something she would rather not remember. Luckily, Skeleton took immediate control of the situation. Kylie loved how the other lesser Skulls feared Skeleton, it gave him a lot of authority when Nex wasn't around.

And then suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks. The girl had introduced herself, said her name. “Mia?” Kylie repeated, her voice a mix of awe and confusion. An old acquaintance from the days when they were in school.

The Skulls

“What makes you so sure that you’re Skull material?” Skeleton said condescendingly, crossing his arms across his chest “Blind women don’t exactly make good bikers. Besides, we wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.” He cracked his neck loudly, and looked across the bar at the other people, many of which looked like they needed a good fight. No; ganging up on a blind woman wasn’t cool. No matter how strong she was, four on one wasn’t a fair fight. He nodded to Chell, a meta with the ability to teleport objects (and also a meta that I will probably never mention again!), and she cracked her knuckles, ready for action.


Shaun

There was something odd in the air. A mild headache began to pulse from the back of Shaun’s head, and his telepathy was weakening. His crowd-scanning abilities were being diminished, and soon he could only sense things around fifty feet away, in comparison to his normal half-mile radius. “Something weird’s going on.” he thought-spoke to Toby “My telepathy’s getting weaker. Be ready for a fight.”

“The end of the world is a major exaggeration.” Shaun said “I don’t think that’s quite right. You see metahumans being exposed to the world as something bad, and you isolate only its negative qualities. I see it the other way around. If metas are exposed to the world, think of the positive things that could happen! Science would take a major leap, and healers could revolutionize the future of medicine! Imagine if every hospital in the world had a doctor with healing powers! At Aurum University, the biology department is working on a way to isolate bands of mutated DNA in order to synthesize a painless gene therapy process that could effectively transfer powers to normal humans. Imagine if secret service agents could protect the president using telepathy, or if infectious disease teams could use your powers of gas manipulation to release aerosol vaccines into areas infected by horrible diseases. Think of the positives that could come of these things! Yes, it would need extremely strict control and there would need to be definite guidelines to prevent things like indestructible armies, but it’s possible!” There were holes in this argument, but they were intentional. There were some secrets that Shaun could not afford to divulge.

I can help you crack that neck for you, if you want it. Oh, another intrusive thought - though it was one she had also wanted to say on top of the half dozen other things that'd probably get her killed (or encourage them to attempt to kill her). She couldn't see, but she wasn't stupid. The pounding of fists? The knuckles were probably already cracked. And the sound the impact of holding one hand with the other would've broken the still air and the popping came from a spot overhead. Skeleton was tall, and judging how he silenced the others, very likely imposing. That was good! It means he falls harder, and makes a bigger statement once she punches his head off his shoulders. Was his attitude stem from her blindness or being a woman? Around these parts, it might even be a mix of both! Sexist ass. Not even the permanent veil over her eyes would be able to hide him from her once he pisses her off.

"Mia?"

Oh, that was a curious sound. The voice was from a woman, and the tone indicated that she might be familiar with her... and now that Mia thought about it, that voice seemed familiar too. And that smell... ah, the smell! Of course, she knew exactly who this woman was. She was a girl way back in in school. One of the "ne'er-do-wells" as she recalled. Kylie or something like that, right? Oh, back then, back then. She always found it strange back then how she never brought lunch in, back when Mia still wore her milky white blouses or sweaters. Her wardrobe changed over the years, but she couldn't quite tell with Kylie. So she never stopped hanging around these punks, huh? Well, some people never grew up.

"Oh, Kyles, is that you?" Mia mused as she turned her face in the direction where she heard her voice. She cocked her head to the side a little. "I knew I smelled a salon's worth of hair product walking around. Say, if that's really you, why don't you throw in a word for me so we can have Ron Paul here off my back?"

Lynn was hardened and professional: she wasn't the type to watch butterflies when she should've been scouting out a location.

That being said, when you see a bee carrying a roach, it's usually a sign something's up.

"Miss Khan," Lynn murmured into her radio. "We've got bugs. Literally. These things aren't acting normally." She focused the rifle scope on a few beetles near Leila's feet, which were crawling in a single-file line, moving around her foot.

Leila's body language showed no betrayal of her emotions, but her face deepened into a scowl. Doctor Smithton. I had hoped you were a man of your word. Leila shifted her foot to intercept the path of the insects, and instead of panicking and fleeing as bugs normally would, they simply shifted their path and kept going.

Normal insects didn't react that way.

"Shaun, your idealism is impressive, given Aurum's current state of being." Leila sighed, lowering her voice to speak into the comm to Lynn. "Call in the ACPD to this location. Make sure they have a K9 unit." She raised her voice again. "However, it's foolish." Leila let out a deep sigh and a puff of silver mist came out of the gas mask, diffusing quickly into the air around her. "I promised you that I would come in peace. I do not know if this treachery of yours is, indeed, yours. It could perhaps be a third party. However, I intend to eliminate it." Leila crossed over to him and pressed her gas mask against Shaun's neck, where a man might apply perfume. She exhaled softly and moved away. "That should keep them from tracking you. I have no quarrel with you, Shaun. For now. But I am a woman of my word, and I had hoped you were a man of yours. You are dismissed." Leila moved around him and out into the street, quickly trying to assess the situation. She had hoped that Shaun would be trustworthy, but she had a contingency plan. Several, in fact. Escaping into the sewers was a standard tactic of hers, as it put the ACPD at a severe disadvantage, but that would not help her. Depending on what these drone insects could do, they could be in rather serious danger-particularly if the bugs were assigned to follow them back. The eerie, organized movement of these things was most certainly not normal.

So Leila grabbed one off the wall as it scurried by, held it to her face, and exhaled onto it. The thick gas she had begun exuding whilst she spoke to Shaun had only one effect-it, whilst outside of the olfactory range of humans, would be a trigger for canine units trained for dogs. She'd warded the effect off of Shaun, but it didn't seem that Tobias would be spared the same fate. Neither would the bug she'd breathed onto. Leila followed the moving insects, speaking softly to Lynn.

"Get on the move. I don't want to confront the ACPD tonight but whoever's doing this likely thinks they're a step ahead of us. They're probably armed, and I'd prefer an ace in the hole."

"Gladly. Khutulun out."

Lynn threw the rifle over her shoulder and paused for a minute, looking at Shaun. She could kill him right now. Metahuman or no, she could splatter his brains across the wall. Halfway down an alley with no cover? Even if he was reading her thoughts right now, which he probably was, he couldn't stop her. But, she had her orders. You're lucky this time, Shaun. I suggest you don't betray Miss Khan again. Lynn drew a pistol from her holster and began to move across the rooftop, following parallel to Leila.

Things were never simple in Aurum.

Nikki Biyung, & Melisa Aubrey Baroness.


Oh god...

Oh no, oh no, Oh no, oh no, Oh no, oh no, Oh no, oh no...

Whatever the hell Nikki has come across was something really serious. Whether it was some backdoor deal, or something less sinister, Nikki has just stumbled upon it, and she's been noticed. Their little ACPD sniper noticed the swarm she was amassing, and alerted them. God dammit, she was so caught up in trying to get in position that she forgot about being discrete. She didn't know who they were, or what they're capable of, but she sure as hell ain't going to get into a fight that could end badly.

Playing spy is about to turn deadly if she doesn't play it smart.

Time to get the hell out of here before hell breaks. Nikki threw her hood back up, and tightened it. With one flick of her wrist, the swarm dispersed from the confrontation. Except much more inconspicuous. She also ordered the swarm to follow her... From a distance, and discretely. They would look like they were just going about their business, and only a very observant eye would be able to connect her to them. They would stay close to Nikki just in case she did get detected and would have to come up with something... Though, Nikki was a little conspicuous of the insect with the strange scent. Since she saw Leila exhale onto it (For seemingly no reason at all), and the insect can smell itself... This seems like a recipe for disaster, and she figured that it might have some relevance. So she ordered it to go far away from herself as possible. Just to be on the safe side. However, Nikki kept a fly near them to keep tabs on where they are. Thus, the easiest to stay undetected would be to remain out of sight of her pursuers.

Part two of her grand plan was to get the hell out of there. Turning away from Missy, walked down the sidewalk. "C'mon, we gotta go. Act real natural." She walked as normally as possible. She was trying not to look like she was fleeing the scene, but she didn't want to get even the slightest bit of attention on her. Every step she took was fearing for her life. She felt like someone would drop down on her at any given moment. Nikki threw her hoodie up, and tightened it.

Missy was not one to ask unnecessary questions. If someone says it's time to go, that means it isn't the time to ask questions. She nodded her head as she watched Nikki. Replying with, "Okay, guess we're heading back to HQ..." She kept her hood up at all times to begin with. So she was incognito as they get.

Shaun and Toby

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Leila." Shaun replied "But all calling KINGFISHER here will do is make more trouble!" Of course, gas mask girl wasn't buying any of it. He attempted to grab her wrist, but stopped when he realized that there was a target on the back of his head. Toby jumped down from the ivy and, hitting the plastic top of the dumpster, rolled to the ground, now disguised perfectly as a trash bag. Shaun tried to concentrate and find out what was coming, but beyond fifty feet, he was losing a signal. It was almost as if there were no people outside of fifty feet from the area. He cursed under his breath and turned to Toby, who, still disguised as a trash bag, spoke in a nasally tone, as if he had a very bad cold.

"Well that didn't work out very well." he said "What tipped them off?"

"I don't-" Then he saw it; there were bees and roaches crawling all over the alley, acting in ways that bees and roaches definitely should not act in. Shaun cursed under his breath and stepped on one of the roaches. The others did not react to this, as if they were hypnotized. He sighed and turned around towards the street. Leila was still within fifty feet. He could still hurt her, but it wasn't worth it.

"For the record, I betrayed Miss Khan as much as she betrayed me. The bugs aren't mine." he thought-spoke to Lynn "But no matter. I regret that this meeting did not go as well as I hoped." Then he turned to Leila and said a few simple words:

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Let's get out of here, Toby." he said to the trash bag "I hate dogs. Remind me to talk to Nikki later. I believe we have a saboteur." With that, Shaun walked to his car, a grey Mercedes, and got in. Toby shed his urban camouflage and entered the passenger's side. They drove off in the opposite direction of Leila, away from the school. When he was about halfway out of West Rail, he noticed that he was nearly out of power.

"Oh lovely." Shaun said "Where's the nearest charging station?"

"You think I know?" he replied

“Oh great. I’m stuck driving around West Rail at night with no gas and an angry octopus.” Shaun parallel parked the car and kicked open the door.

“The hell are you doing?” Toby yelped.

“Well I need to find a charging station, and if I keep driving in circles I’ll never find it. Stay here and watch the car. It’s expensive.” With that, Shaun slammed the car door shut and walked down the street, his hands in the pockets of his khakis. He felt the left breast of his tweed jacket carefully to make sure that his gun was still there. He would need it if any suspicious characters appeared.


Taylor

"You are tres terrible at flirting, monsieur." Taylor said, adding more french words than necessary to make herself seem sexier "But it's kind of cute. The muscles and tattoos help too. I love a tough guy." She winked alluringly, trying to keep up a sense of calm, even though inside she was terrified. She tried to think of something cute to say, but drew a blank, so she decided to fall back on the old meta human conversation topic.

"So," she said "something tells me, not sure what, that you like fire."

Ryan

"Oh, absolutely fantastic." Ryan muttered, smiling awkwardly "Um, what slight problem though, sweetie. I'm gay, so yeah; I don't do boobies. Have a nice day." He leaned his head back against the lounge chair, put his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes, hoping that she'd get the picture and go away.

Kylie had a horribly obvious look of embarrassment and almost a look of fear on her face. This girl had known her for a long time, almost as long as Kylie had known the rest of the Big Five. Mia brought back painful memories of being young and fearful. Before she learned how to properly use her favorite hair products, back when her family was still around and she had yet to display her powers to the world with brazen pride. And Mia had the balls to call her by her old childhood nickname, the one she had given to herself and everyone accepted out of fear. Being from a troubled home, Kylie was a bully and a troublemaker as a kid. Not much has changed.

“Uhh” Kylie started, looking over at Skeleton as she attempted to get off the bar. She suddenly didn't feel very drunk. “Don't...Don't mess with her, 'kay?” Kylie refused to make eye contact with anything but the floor in front of her shoes, not that Mia would notice this change in body language. But she would probably notice her change in vocals. She didn't sound her normal cocky and confident self. Kylie slid off the bar, walking towards Mia. Was Mia always this much taller then her? “Yeah...we go way back.”

In truth, as a kid Kylie was extremely jealous of Mia. She seemed to be one of those perfect kids who got great grades. Whose projects from art class would end up on a refrigerator at home. Yep, Mia had a sweet personality to go with the sweet clothes she always wore. Kylie chose to stick to hand me downs and torn jeans that couldn't quite fit. Kylie was suddenly hit with a memory of getting in a fist fight after school, wiping blood away from her split lip with the back of her hand, and seeing Mia off in her perfect little way. God Kylie had the worst hate crush on her.

Now Kylie stood in front of Mia, wondering how she had survived so long and how she had gone blind. God it was weird, cutting off ties from the past only to be sucked back in. Kylie cleared her throat with a soft cough. “But yeah...I'm sure the gang would love to have you.” Kylie paused, trying to regain her composure over the conversation. “But as he said, you have to prove that you are worthy for entrance. We can't let potential let downs into the Skulls.”

Shit, talk about a blast from the past. So after all these years, Kyles was still running around with these chumps? All Mia really remembered about her was the days back in school when she came in with barely any lunch, but with bruised and scratched knees. To think Mia used to be the opposite of her. They used to have scuffles with one another every so often, back then. Back then, Kyles used to be such a hassler. Hell, from the sound of it, Kyles is still hassling! A Skull, huh? And one of the Big Five, it sounds like. Suppose there was something to be gained in being in a gang around these parts in West Rail - gotta survive somehow. But the Skulls were half the reason why it was so hard to survive to begin with. So if Kyles is one of the five, then who were the others? Those punks she hung out with back in school? How the hell did those kids - who, mind, were wrestling over food scraps - jumpstart a gang to rival the Bloods?

Regardless, ol' Kyles came through despite the years. At the sound of her hesitant voice, Mia couldn't help but bear a slowly-developing smug smirk. Ha. To think she just made a Big Five of the Skulls lose her chill and convince another one of theirs to back off. Suddenly she felt her presence here to be a whole lot more larger. Honestly, it made her feel a little even more dangerous. Well, sort of. Mia knew she was already dangerous. If she breaks bones and destroys furnishings by accident, she can probably shatter a person just exerting half of her effort. She hasn't actually tested her limits yet. She never had to. She often wondered what she could do if she put all she had into a scuffle.

Even though she was able to get some leverage with some of her past history with Kylie, Mia was irritated to hear that she still needed to prove herself. She would have rolled her eyes if she could feel them.

"Oh yeah?" Mia replied. She set her hand on her hip and shifted her weight from one leg to the other. The expression on her face was clearly unimpressed. Really? She had to prove herself to a bunch of drunkards living on the street? She'd thought they'd be balls-to-the-wall ready for somebody after the kind of shooting they took the other day. Hell, even if just for some cannon fodder. Was a blind woman getting here untouched not a good enough indicator?

"And how would one of those potential let-downs go about doing that?"

Leila cursed under her breath-cursing audibly was a sign of being defeated, or at least stymied, and Miss Khan was never defeated. Leila, however, encountered defeat with annoying regularity.

But that's what separates good tacticians from brilliant ones. A master of plots and schemes doesn't count on only one possible good outcome. Leila preferred to keep her adversaries in a constant skin game, and this was one such example.

For instance, Shaun's presence at a meeting with one of the top Skull lieutenants, in Skull territory, all by his lonesome? Well, that would certainly raise questions. While she hadn't outright anticipated his treachery, she had intended to discredit the fair doctor regardless. Shaun held no sway over her, or her companion-Lynn preferred to fight from far outside the range of Shaun's telepathy, and Leila had worked out a way to disrupt his mind-reading. If it was a SAM spying on him, word would quickly spread around the organization. People would begin to doubt the doctor-as surely they were by now. How many years had he been leading the fight against the Skulls, to no avail? He was an idealist, and Aurum had long since stopped playing by such black and white morality.

Alternatively, the Skulls or the ACPD find such material-and if they would readily distribute it to discredit him. Sure, the Skulls weren't very organized (or, in Leila's experience, intelligent), but that was basic propaganda. If they had hard proof of Shaun's presence there? It'd be on the cover of every single tabloid. Meanwhile, she suffered no such risk-if the Skulls questioned her, she could easily explain her presence away. But her own name and influence would grow-was Miss Khan corrupting the wide-eyed Smithton after all this time? And if he was questioned, the good Doctor would be forced to admit his incompetence, saying he couldn't read her mind.

And if he came clean about her motives? She would come through on her promises. There were security systems in place around his mansion. They would not slow her down. She would make him listen to the agonized thoughts of every one of his precious SAMs before she put a bullet in his head.

Miss Khan was not one to half-ass vendettas.

Regardless, the bugs were dispersing-whoever was commanding them was likely too intelligent to gather them all too her. Following them at this point would be too difficult, and the ACPD would be closing in soon. Miss Khan turned and found the nearest storm grate, entering the sewers and dropping down into the darkness below. She quickly began to ward off any insects that may have followed her, filling the air around her with a pesticidal mix of DET and insect-killing fluids. It probably wasn't good for the water in the sewers, but Leila wasn't too terribly concerned.

"Khutulun?"

"Right here, Miss Khan."

"I'm calling off the trail."

"Understood. Shaun spoke to me, said that he didn't plan this."

"Like hell."

"Yeah. He had a second person with him, behind the ivy. Must've been Tobias, their numbers guy."

Leila cursed. "I don't intend to have any more parleys with that cretin. However, he won't slip two of his rats against me if we do."

"Next time I'll just put a bullet in his oversized head and be done with it."

"Agreed. Khan out."

Leila began walking down the sewers, not expecting any confrontation, but ready regardless. She had no weaponry on her, but still a few errands left to run. It would be a trip back home, and then perhaps she'd pay a visit to the Skulls' favorite biker bar.

Lynn came to a stop on one of Aurum's rooftops, kneeling down. She was breathing a little heavier than normal, but was by no means exhausted. Sparring with a metahuman and Aurum's finest will leave you in pretty damned good shape. The KINGFISHER agent quickly disassembled her rifle-the MacMillan was designed to do so-and slung it into a backpack over her shoulder. Making sure her pistols were within easy reach, Cordelia Lynn descended from the building and went to explain the situation to the ACPD.

Nikki Biyung, & Melissa 'Missy' Baroness.


Alright, alright... Things were actually going according to plan, for once. The two mystery ladies stopped their search. In fact, thanks to her precautions, they were no where near them. Damn! She needed to pat herself on the back once - Oh what the hell am I saying, I nearly got myself killed! Nikki quickly grabbed her hood, and threw her head back, letting out a moan of exasperation. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." She repeated to herself as her black hair fell down. She felt so stupid for putting Shaun's ass on the line like that - In fact, she felt bad for putting her own ass on the line like that. Thankfully cool heads prevail as there were far stupider things for her to do in that situation. Like call the entire swarm back to her like a tool.

Of course, the bugs she were using to watch them drop dead, and she got a glimpse of what killed them.... Insecticide? Where the high hell did she get poison from? That gave Nikki a hint of the woman's power, something that has to do with poison? That was definitely something that could render Nikki useless very easily. Hopefully this will be the last time she encounters this woman.

"What happened, Nikki?" Missy asked, interrupting Nikki's train of thought. For once, she pulled her surgical mask down, slightly, and showed the deformities around her mouth. "I don't know a damn thing, but I can tell that you screwed up big time."

"Yeah... But..." Nikki looked around. There wasn't sight of those women, but she wasn't about to start mouthing off about it in Skull territory. She dispersed a bit of the swarm she had on standby. Keeping the flying insects to act as her surveillance system. "We'll talk about it later." Actually, she wanted to talk to Shaun about it. Just who the hell were those women? Skulls, ACPD, or a whole 'nother faction? Or some back alley. Actually, Nikki was a bit afraid to ask. Telepaths and all. He could make her forget the whole scene with one though.... Note to self, write this down. Actually, Nikki could do that. There was a napkin and a pen in her pocket. While she was walking, she scribbled a little message for later: Note to self in case of mindwipe: Shaun met two strange women at around six, shared philosophy and thoughts about Aurum City, and nearly blew his cover, and after getting a little TOO careless, nearly had those ladies turned on me! Before she lazily stuffed it into her pocket. Thanks to her bugs, it'd be hard for her to bump into someone. Then again, if Shaun wanted that meeting erased from her head, couldn't he read her mind, steal the note and... Erm... She's thinking too much.

That said, Nikki didn't waste any time in getting home. Once she was in recognized territory, she was at home stretch, she quickly started jogging. Appearing as if she was a girl going on her daily jog... Whatever keeps the ACPD off her ass. Missy was still walking like she normally was... Looking dark and brooding as always. Nikki didn't need to look back, a fly was keeping track of the biokinetic. She almost ran into the gates of the manor, since she was focusing on Missy. Well, the Korean girl walked through the front gates, with Missy following twelve steps behind her.

Nikki stopped for a moment and threw her back against the wall. She threw her head back again, huffing and puffing. Now that she's back, she shed one concern and can focus on what's on her mind: How close she was to f*cking everything over. She sent the insects she had enthralled away, since she didn't need them anymore, and she had plenty on the manor. However, Nikki didn't get escape from Missy, who walked over to her like she owned the place, and asked, "So, we're back... Let's have that chit-chat."

This boner chick was starting to get on Nikki's nerves. She grated her teeth, hissing through them, "...Let's have that talk later, kay?"

"Whatever." Missy rolled her eyes as she walked away, she turned her head back towards Nikki, stating, "But don't think I'll forget."

"... Ugh!" Nikki bellowed the moment Missy was out of earshot. It was like she couldn't pull off one damn thing without it blowing up in her face. She nearly got herself, Missy and Shaun killed. That... That.... Nikki had to realize that she isn't that clever. Sure, she played it smart in a situation, but she could have been better. She was too focused on trying to get in a position where she held all the cards that she hadn't thought of subtly, or being discrete. She had hoped that Shaun wouldn't know....

No, no, no. Just stop, Nikki.

Beating herself up over it would serve her no good. She took a step off the wall, and inhaled, just to get her mind clear. She needed something to take her mind off the incident. She exhaled, before taking a walk. Now a woman that was free from her heavy thoughts. Nikki past the party, but didn't want to have anything to do with it. Everything was having fun... Oblivious to what their illustrious leader was up to. Nikki noticed Amanda, and made a house fly that was buzzing around attach itself to her ear. Nikki then used a little trick she came up with to transmit a message. The insect buzzed at just the right rate to mimic speech, "Meet me in the gym when you're free." Before Nikki released her control over it, and it went on it's way.

Clearing her mind was easy. She would either read a book, browse the web, or head into the gym to train. Hm. The gym was the obvious choice right now, since she wanted to get stronger. Those women look tough. Tougher than Nikki ever was... Which is why she'll improve herself to their level. The gym was empty, predictably. Everyone was at the barbecue enjoying themselves. Which made it far more convenient for herself, since she liked it better when she was alone. She found herself a punching bag, and just closed her eyes as she jabbed it. Very carefully. She didn't want to hurt herself.

No matter how hard she beat the punching bag; Nikki still had a lot to think about.


Samson Isiah Jeross.


"Heha... Now that you ask..." Samson snapped his fingers, and his thumb ignited into flames. It had the steady flame of a lighter. He made the flame larger and more intense, hot enough for Taylor to feel it. Before the flame disappeared like it was deprived of air. "I'm a firestarter, a twisted firestarter." He started laughing. "The fire part goes without saying. But, I have to say how much fun fire powers can be." He snickered quietly. "One time, I sent this mugger home with his ass on fire." He was so caught up in his own story that he forgot a question he meant to ask Taylor, "Um, what's your power, again?"



Hector Bronson Jeross.


Hector spent the beginning of the party getting ready. Staying up late meant that he had to sleep during the day... Dammit, he should stop browsing the internet every time he can't sleep. That meant that he now had to get ready right when the party got started. He was shaving. Creatively. He made a razor blade out of some crystals and started shaving. So far so good, he'll just throw his blue hoodie on, and enjo - Crap! Hector slipped for a moment and cut himself. Not a bad cut... Well, he was trying to put it lightly. He was oozing blood down onto his neck. Now it looked like someone tried to slit his throat and failed miserably! No, no, no, no... Hector wasn't going to this party looking like a literally bloody fool.

Umm... Dammit.

Hector threw some peroxide on the wound, it stung a bit, but nothing Hector hasn't experienced before. Then he lazily threw a band aid on it, and hoped that it would stop the bleeding. He grabbed the hoodie, and threw the hood over his head... Despite looking like a creep, he would rather not be embarrassed with a wound like his. With the sky-blue skinny jeans and black combat boots he was wearing, he stepped right outside the door.

It was a short walk to the pool, and Hector saw all the familiar faces. The Amanda girl he saved the other night was harassing Corvo. Samson was chatting up a girl. And so forth. Hector didn't want to third wheel here. He walked over to the first person of interest: Lucy... A special sob story case that he heard about from Samson. There was a little bit of a gap between them, but what's the worse that could go wrong? Get rejected by a tween and spend the rest of the day crying while eating Ben and Jerry's? Just silly. He saw down next to Lucy, with a smile, "Hey, how are you doing?"


Amanda Daisy Blackmore.


The moment Ryan said he was gay, Amanda broke out into laughter. Crackling like the joker for at least five minutes. So, to say the least, Amanda thought that Ryan's homosexuality claim was, for a lack of a better term, total bullsh*t. When the laughter stopped, Amanda playfully jabbed Ryan. "C'mon... I don't need no telepathy to tell you that claim is bullsh*t!" She started laughing again, slapping her knee. "But... I have to say that two hot dudes making out under the moonlight... It's a little sexy." Her face blushed slightly, as she giggled underneath her breath. What broke her train of thought was a fly touching her ear. She was about to brush it off when the vermin spoke to her... Telling her to go to the gym. That's when Amanda instantly realized that it was her cousin, Nikki, calling out to her. The fly flew off after Amanda brushed it away. That's when Amanda had to blurt, "Ew, Nikki! Flies touch sh*t!"