The Challengers UK: (New chapter link on last page)

[Orojed13]

Katsumi tracked the dog-like animal as it walked in. It was obviously a hunter and seemed to be quite proud of itself. When the creature had begun to snap on the bones, Katsumi waited for it to quiet before continuing. When he finished his request, the witch confirmed she did indeed have information about Sid. In return for it, she required an unspecified favor to be called in at any time in the future, and again she threatened unpleasantness if thinks didn't go her way. Then she mentioned a name she shouldn't have known. It must have been a coincidence, a lucky guess that he had lost a loved one and had called her his angel. The witch couldn't possibly have known about Black Angel. Unless she had read his mind when he had drifted into that flashback. The flashback that the tea had triggered... Katsumi's eyes tightened as the revelations cascaded, connecting together. The witch had powers to obtain knowledge either from magic or a meta ability. It appeared she could read thoughts as well. the Asian made sure to make a mental note to watch his thoughts around this being.

As the woman pulled out a contract, Katsumi stalled for time to think by reading the contract through, word for word, twice. Finally though, he decided that he would have to agree. He signed the piece of paper and slid it back toward the woman. As soon as he had, the witch simply backed up what Terron had told the assassin, except... Katsumi could hear the pauses, as though the witch was trying to find the right words to hide information while still holding to the terms of their agreement. That told him....

The mind is a wall
First thing seen by enemies
I will close the gate

Over and over, Katsumi chanted that haiku. He focused solely on those words flowing through his mind. While continuing to chant to himself, Katsumi thanked the witch for her assistance and walked out. The walking continued after he was outside of the shop, aimlessly wandering for several minutes until some distance had been made. Finally, he let the thoughts flow.

The witch's pausing had told Katsumi exactly what he needed to know. Someone that carried a business of information brokering by word of mouth tried not to hide paid for information unless it benefited them directly to keep it a secret. Otherwise, no one would trust the information holder in future exchanges. The witch probably knew exactly where Sid was. Though, from her wording, Sid had probably transformed into another person. He was Sid's essence, but not Sid. The shopkeeper would give him no more information, and the one who used to be Sid would be a completely different person in looks, name, and personality. Katsumi knew what he would have to do. He would have to gather his gear, and find out more about what the witch knew. How was the real question.

With the witch's uncanny ability to know things she shouldn't meant invading her shop was a bad idea. Even using remote controlled spy cameras would run a high risk of being found. That left only one option. It was one that Katsumi didn't prefer, but it was the only real viable option he had. He would have to gear up, and go on a stake out. He would be back after he had build a new piece of tech he had finished the plans for on the plane ride here.

With the decision made, Katsumi headed back to his London safe-house. Once there, he set to work building a tracking device. It would be the size of a dime, and would be held by an acrylic based adhesive giving it a super strong bond that would resist all sorts of elements. The only problem is that in order to attach it, he would have to do it by hand until he could make a launcher of some sort. Finally, the assassin suited up, grabbing all his gear. He locked the door and remotely set his booby traps behind him. Red 53 was finally in London, and he was headed to watch over the voodoo shop. He would find Sid, or whoever he had become.

Location: Maeva's Shop/London Safe-house/Back to Maeva's Shop Mood: Suspicious Thoughts: She's hiding something. I will find out what.

[Wilhelm3]

╠ ЈΔΣGΣℝ ╣

“Cyborgs are not reverent; they do not re-member the cosmos. They are wary of holism, but needy for connection- they seem to have a natural feel for united front politics, but without the vanguard party. The main trouble with cyborgs, of course, is that they are the illegitimate offspring of militarism and patriarchal capitalism, not to mention state socialism. But illegitimate offspring are often exceedingly unfaithful to their origins.”



Will took Jason's hand and heaved. The larger man fell down on top of him, pulled by the cyborg's weight. They chuckled, embarrassed, and both stood independently. Will smiled, abashed.

"Sorry about that." He.sighed. "I still forget that I'm obscenely heavy. Sometimes." He shook his head. "It kinda sucks." He halfheartedly smacked a button on the wall. Will sighed again as the cell door slid closed, hiding the few fragments embedded in blood-splatter. The last bits of Carol Haladay vanished from view as the two turned and walked away.

"So," Will glanced at Jason out of the corner of his eye. "To say this morning's been eventful would be a pretty big understatement. What do you want to do?" At this point, he couldn't care less. Life had been a roller-coaster-ride of stress, disaster, and near-death situations for the past few years. He needed a break, even one for a few hours.

LOCATION:Challengers' Base WITH:Jason Jackson/Iron Fist THOUGHTS:

I'm bored. What do we do now?

dogcat101

[Sanokun711]

T H E x U N C L E

Seth continued to watch while listening to Shaundi's explanation about the spar and how his nephew would be okay. Of course that didn't matter to him. A kid vs a full grown adult, and worst of all it was Sheera. He knew from updates from his nephew that Sheera was very blunt, and stern. She might push him too far.

Seth continued to watch the screen as the monitor displayed Jr deploying bat like tech, and then his clones. They we're defeated easily and destroyed by the Russian and he watched as his nephew was slammed and then stomped on by the Russian. 'This is easy?' he thought to himself.. His annoyance level slightly rising. He had second thoughts on the whole joining the challengers.. If Sheera was pushing him this hard, what would happen in a life and death situation? Of course he knows he shouldn't be babied and Jr is pretty smart for his age.. But if someone who's on Sheeras level we're to fight against his nephew, what would his odds be?

"Let's go.." he said in a low tone. Anyone could tell the spar did more harm than good in his eyes, it was unsettling and only clarified that his nephew wasn't cut out for this type of work. He was confronting Sheera.

Seth followed Shaudi into the training room his eyes locked on the Russian. He casually walked over to her, his muscles tensed.. Anyone could tell he was angry at her, but he wouldn't swing but he knew it would be hopeless and he wouldn't like to yell at her in front of her teammates. "Can I talk to you?" he said with a clenched jaw. The Russian followed him to a co-ed locker room as he closed the doors behind him. "What the hell Sheera!" he screamed.. So much for not letting anyone hear. "He's a kid damn it! He isn't cut out to fight like that!" he continued to yell. "You think you could have traumatized him anymore?" he said. He watched as the Russian had a annoyed face on her look, she didn't yell back or anything. She waited patiently till he was done. He took a deep breathe waiting for Sheera's response.

Location:Training Room. /color] Mood: Angry Thoughts: Damn it!

siris99

Demonic_Werewolf94

[Roskuel]

..................

Where: An apartment building

Thoughts: hm....

Montoro's head rounded the corner, his target in view. This should be easy enough, though... it being 'her', made it more difficult than necessary. He needed a way to keep her under control. A way to keep her from being frightened. Accomplishing both was more impossible than most would understand. He couldn't be threatening. He also couldn't just show up at her front door. He slipped back behind the wall, unnoticed. She would be back in her apartment soon, so he needed to move fast. As he circled the building, his eyes counted the many windows and floors to find hers. Francisco sent small projectiles to stick on the base of a couple windowsills, arming them accordingly. Locating any more exits, he repeated the process, leaving one unmarked. She would be entering her apartment.. now. Francisco went back around to the front of the complex and waited for someone to walk in. He followed behind, but was swiftly stopped by the man at the front desk. "Sir, unless you are buzzed in, or live here, you need to leave." Montoro straitened up his tie and spoke, "I am aware. However, I'm sure you can make an exception for someone with a warrant." The man cocked a brow, "Excuse me?" Francisco pulled a folded piece of paper from his suit coat and handed it to him. The man eyed it for a few moments before lifting his head, handing back the paper, "Very well, but you are to enter that apartment only. I catch you on any other floor.. in any other room, I'll be forced to call the authorities." Francisco nodded, "There's no need to worry. I am the authorities. Thank you for your cooperation." With that, Montoro headed up the stairs, stopping for a short time to set all the cameras in the building to loop. He would be gone before anyone noticed.

Montoro stepped out onto her floor. He shut, and bolted the door connected to the stairwell, then jammed the elevators with the press of a button. He didn't need any surprises. The suited figure placed himself at her door, listening. She finished up a call to the police, then began pacing. Francisco placed a transparent disk on the ground, then knocked on the door, silently bolting to the window at the end of the hallway. The disk projected a hologram of an officer. Montoro clung to the outside wall of the complex, making his way to the window he had not set a charge on. Through his earpiece, he heard the door open... Chiara began with a question. She asked if she could help the officer. Montoro spoke through the mic, allowing the hologram to sync with his voice. From Chiara's perspective, it would seem quite normal, unless she tried to touch the 'man' which... would be ridiculous, "I'm terribly sorry to bother you madam, but we received a call a little while ago about a domestic disturbance from one of your neighbors. It was reported that two males had a scuffle at your door. Are either of them present, or able to speak with me?" She shook her head, explaining that they had vanished. She even became slightly upset, telling him that she just got off the phone with the station. Chiara wasn't happy that they were sending someone for a domestic disturbance call, but not for her possibly missing boyfriend. He moved silently through the window, placing a charge. "I apologize if my arrival was.. less than satisfactory. I'm just trying to do my job madam. You try to have a good evening." The door shut, Chiara standing there for a moment to think about what she had just seen. When she turned... a face.. then darkness.

Montoro sat in the chair waiting. Her head moved.. her eyes fluttered open. She was slightly disoriented at first, but was extremely quick to realize her situation. She thrashed around, but found that she was bound. Montoro had strapped her to a chair with Terph. Her eyes glared into his with fear, hate... a ferocity that made him somewhat unsettled. He wasn't so sure that the stone would have effect on her. It nullified the meta gene.. Chiara's DNA was changed through chemical reaction, not through traditional natural selection. So, whether it was a 'meta gene' or not, remained to be seen. He wanted to avoid making her feel this way, but it was just.. not possible. He had no choice, "Calm down Chiara. I'm only here to talk." A few swears from her, and a long range spit later, he sighed, "If you want me to loose you... I'll need to trust you first. Can I do that? Can I trust you?" She seemed to think for a moment before letting him know she would not run. He slacked the Terph, letting her go. Immediately, she bolted. "It won't do any good. The exits are set with proximity mines. You go anywhere... it won't end pretty. Chiara froze in place, turning to him. She was angrier than before. "I wouldn't suggest fighting me either. You don't want your new boyfriend coming in to find your apartment blown to bits. Try explaining that one." Her fists clenched before she slowly took her seat, watching Montoro's every move. She was cautious. She had every right to be. Chiara was paranoid, believing that Montoro had every intention of destroying her. This was not the case... but that didn't keep her from holding it as a truth.

Francisco took a seat as well, seeming to relax. She shot him a look. The kind of look that said, 'start talking, or i'm going to end you.' The same one Darren had given him. "Chiara, as much as you want to believe it, I don't mean you any harm. I'm not here to take your power. I'm not here to annihilate you. I just want to ask you a few questions... about the accident. Can you tell me what happened? Anything you remember?" She strained to give any details... she didn't even want to be speaking with him, much less divulging information about her life altering gift. When she finished, he spoke again, "I see... Well.. What about after? The abilities. How did they come about? What kind of control did you have in the beginning?..... How did it effect you mentally.. physically?" he asked. Montoro was being careful to only ask questions about the original accident. Her first experiences. He was making it clear that he wasn't trying to pry into her abilities as they were now. He just needed origin.

[Demonic_Werewolf94]

Location: HomexxCompany: No one>FranciscoxxMood: Scared, AngryxxOutfit: Irish

The red-head did one more circuit around her living room and then stopped, fingers gliding over the screen of her phone before she placed the phone to her ear. When it was answered on the other end, she said, "Yes, I want to make a report... My boyfriend was attacked and dragged out of my apartment by his... 'supposed' best friend and I don't know where they went. I'm worried." The woman on the line promised to do what she could but that there was really nothing that could be done at all, due to the fact that her boyfriend was a grown man and sometimes guys did crazy things. Chiara sighed before thanking the woman - for nothing - before hanging up and beginning to pace again. She thought maybe she should try to call JC but... Something told her not to. And if he didn't answer? She knew she'd be even more worried and panicked than if she hadn't called. Right now... She could fool herself into believing that everything was okay by not pursuing it any further. Chiara made a promise to herself to call him if she didn't hear anything before the day was out, however, because waiting any longer would drive her crazy. She made another circuit, half-way through another step when there was a knock on her door. Again?!? What was with all of the people showing up at her door today? The red-head took a breath to steady her nerves before crossing the space between her living room and her front door, opening it to find a police officer there. Her heart jumped into overdrive but she kept a calm demeanor and asked, "Can I help you with something, officer?" She stood in the opening of her door, preventing the officer from seeing inside her apartment without appearing to be blocking him. "I'm terribly sorry to bother you madam, but we received a call a little while ago about a domestic disturbance from one of your neighbors. It was reported that two males had a scuffle at your door. Are either of them present, or able to speak with me?" asked the officer. Chiara shook her head, "No, they... Vanished. I couldn't find them." One of her neighbors had called the police about a domestic disturbance? How dare they?!? "I just got off the phone with the station..." They had sent an officer to check out a possible domestic disturbance but not about her possibly missing boyfriend? "I apologize if my arrival was.. less than satisfactory. I'm just trying to do my job madam. You try to have a good evening," said the officer. "Yeah, right. Good-bye." Have a good evening? Ha. That was unlikely. Chiara shut the door and stood there for a moment, thinking over the short conversation that had just transpired. Something was off... The Irishwoman sighed and turned around, blinked once, saw a face and then... Nothing. Darkness. Chiara shifted her head and her eyes fluttered open - her head was pounding - and she went to move her hand... Only to find that she couldn't. Instinct kicked in and she strained against whatever it was that was binding her to the chair before her eyes landed on the one person she didn't want to see: Francisco Montoro. Her eyes narrowed, glaring at him, practically sparking with fear and hatred... and perhaps a ferocity that was not entirely human. They were still in her apartment, she could see that much, but something was wrong... She couldn't feel the plants in her apartment. No, wait... They were there, she could feel them... But barely. And her control over them, usually so smooth and natural, felt sluggish and slow... What the hell had he done to her? "Calm down Chiara. I'm only here to talk," said Francisco. "Go to hell, you b*****d!" she snarled, straining against the terph again - not that it did any good - before spitting in his face. He sighed, "If you want me to loose you... I'll need to trust you first. Can I do that? Can I trust you?" Chiara quieted for a moment, giving the idea some thought. Could he trust her? More to the point, could she trust him? He had just used some of the most under-handed techniques she'd ever seen to catch her unawares and he wondered why she didn't trust him.

"I won't go anywhere," she said finally - the terph had hardened with her struggling and was starting to cause her arms to hurt - "Let me out of these." The second he released the tension on the ropes, she bolted towards the front door, only to hear: "It won't do any good. The exits are set with proximity mines. You go anywhere... it won't end pretty." She froze, heart hammering, anger sky-rocketing to new heights. He had booby-trapped her apartment!!! She turned, slowly, bare feet making no sound on the floor, eyes sparkling with hatred and anger. "I wouldn't suggest fighting me either. You don't want your new boyfriend coming in to find your apartment blown to bits. Try explaining that one." And now he was bringing her boyfriend into this? She clenched her fists. Even if she wanted to fight him, she wouldn't have been able to; the plants still weren't responding as they should have been even though she could still feel them. It was as if her connection with them had been dulled, nearly severed. Chiara knew she didn't have a choice at this point - he had made it so she didn't - at least until her abilities came back online properly again, so she moved back over to the chair he had had her tied up on, sitting down and watching his every move as though he was a rabid animal. How had he found her? She'd taken every precaution she could to avoid being caught by the camera's that were plastered all over London, even disabling a few in the apartment itself, where she could, and making sure that whenever she traveled around the city, she was in and out wherever she went, to minimize exposure... Except for when she was out with JC. Damn. After she had sat down, Francisco sat as well, seeming to relax and she glared at him, giving him a look that said "start talking, or I'm going to end you." Her powers weren't functioning properly but that didn't mean she couldn't do whatever it took to get him out of her life for good. He said, "Chiara, as much as you want to believe it, I don't mean you any harm. I'm not here to take your power. I'm not here to annihilate you. I just want to ask you a few questions... about the accident. Can you tell me what happened? Anything you remember?" While Chiara didn't believe that he didn't mean her any harm and wasn't here to take away her abilities or get rid of her entirely, she was surprised, though she took care to maintain that mask of hatred and anger... She didn't want to show any weakness. "I had been working in my lab, just like any other day. But then I heard a clicking sound near the back and I knew that I was supposed to be the only one in the lab because you always told me when there would be inspections or if you would be dropping by... So I went to check it out. But before I could get anywhere near... My whole lab went up in flames. I woke in the hospital with burns over most of my body. The doctor's didn't think I would make it." Clearly they had been wrong. And why was he bothering? There had been an investigation into the destruction of her lab and she was sure that he'd spent his time checking it all over as well. There was nothing she knew about the accident that he didn't. What was more, even if she did have more details, what made him think that she would tell him anything? He was the last person she wanted to be speaking with, much less divulging information about the best and worst day of her life thus far. When she finished, he spoke again, "I see... Well.. What about after? The abilities. How did they come about? What kind of control did you have in the beginning?..... How did it effect you mentally.. physically?" Her eyes narrowed. He was prying into her gift. "You know I stored all of my work in my lab. All of the plants, paperwork, and chemicals I was working on; all of it was destroyed, so I don't know what was the catalyst that started it all," replied Chiara shortly. However, as she chewed over his other questions, her eyes grew a bit distant as she attempted to remember details. She wouldn't give him everything. He couldn't have all of the details. And, of course, there was the problem of the fact that she didn't even have it all worked out for herself either. When she spoke next, her voice was softer. "I first knew something was different because of the healing. I was supposed to be covered in scar tissue, if I survived at all... But obviously I'm not."

How did it affect her mentally? Physically? What did it matter? Why did he want to know? "Look, why does this even matter? Why do you care?" snapped Chiara, features hardening again, withdrawing back into that protective shell of hatred once more.

(( Ooc: ))

Roskuel

[Tegian]

Novik's smile slowly slid from his face as Celeste informed him that due to 'gender roles' ballet was not something most men would do, because it somehow attacked their ... masculinity, he was pretty sure that was the right word for it. These creatures, though infinitely intriguing had so many backwards ways of thinking he could hardly keep track of it all. Thankfully, Celeste didn't seem to put out by his quick change of subject to ideas of where to go for the rest of the day, and he was further gladdened by her near excitement to go to the zoo. He'd wanted to go to one of these zoo's for awhile.. he knew they held animals native to the planet and he could take a few guesses as to why.

"Yes, lets go to the zoo. I would love to see some of the animals this planet has to offer." Novik spoke cheerily after they finally left and locked up the studio. He held out his bent elbow so Celeste could once again link arms with him and they started on their way... to the nearest bus stop. As soon as Novik had seen one of the buses he absolutely had to take a ride on one. Celeste seemed willing enough to pay for the both of them, simply because he had no way to pay for himself, then they were off.

Thankfully, they only had to transfer to one other bus before arriving at the zoo, and Novik acted almost like a child with his excitement to get inside and see the animals. It was, thankfully, not too terribly long of a line before they finally managed to get their tickets and enter the zoo, grabbing a map of the place on their way. Now the question was, "What should we look at first?" He asked as he unfolded the map and started looking at possible places to start.

Location: London Zoo Thoughts: I hope we can see all the animals today

[Tegian]

Kayleb lit up when Sheera came over with a little bit of a smile on her face. He knew how rare it was to see one of those on her, and it made him glad she had finally managed to wear one again after so long of being out of sorts after her fight with Zephyr.

"I don't mind waiting." Kayleb replied to Sheera asking him to wait just a bit longer. "Take as long as you need, I've no where else to be" The pair talked a few moments longer while they waited for Jr to return, but something seemed to put Sheera off and she excused herself from him just moments before Riley entered, shortly followed by Seth, Jr's uncle. Kayleb watched Sheera head out with Seth before startling a bit when he realized Riley had come straight to him, and thanked him for helping out.

Kayleb had a slightly tough time understanding exactly what was said, because he's never much talked to Riley and the accent was horribly hard to understand with english not being either of their first languages. But, he knew without full understanding wht it was Riley was saying, he was being thanked for helping him out just minutes ago. Kayleb gave a shy kind of smile as he grasped the outstretched hand and shook it, "You really don't... you don't have to thank me.. I like helping you guys out.. it's all i'm really good for around here anyways.." He gave a half kind of shrug, not sure what else to say on the subject.

Location: training room Thoughts: It's my only use.. don't thank me....

[siris99]

Location: Training Room

Riley was glad to see Kayleb shake his hand; they might not have understood each other when speaking, a fact not helped by Riley's thick accent, but the message had gone across. "Yeh good fer more than that. After all, yer a Challenger. Besides, the big guy owes yeh his life." he told Kayleb, smile grinning a bit to try and keep Kayleb from getting down on himself. From what he had been told, all the Challengers had been needed for the rescue of JC.

Kayleb was a part of the team, albeit one who got down on himself quite a bit. If anyone should be down on themselves, it should be the Scotsman. Completely overrun by the same opponent twice in two weeks. Yes, the second time had been a surprise, but Amanda wasn't unconscious. Riley used that embarrassment as fuel to train even harder though. And speaking of Amanda...

"I shud go check on Amandah. Thank yeh again Kayleb." Riley nodded at the winged hero before taking his exit. Riley had no clue Amanda was in the state she was in, but he felt it only right to go see her and pass along his thanks. So he was clueless as to what waited for him as he headed for her door. Unfortunately, Mist was already gone as Riley rounded the corner, so the teleporter couldn't give him a heads up.

Riley knocked twice on Amanda's door, figuring it was only polite not to just barge in on her. What if she had been changing?

"It's meh, wanted teh thank yeh." he said through the door, his voice cheerful at being healed up and not stuck in a coma a second time.

[Demonic_Werewolf94]

◆<"I don't mind waiting," Kayleb told Sheera, who nodded; she had expected as much from him. It wasn't like Kayleb to put people out of their way - especially when it was her - and so she wasn't surprised that he had said he didn't mind waiting for her to finish up with Jr. <"Take as long as you need, I've no where else to be."> She nodded, <"It won't take long; there has been no heroes patrolling today and I don't want any of the criminals to believe we have disappeared... So I would like to get moving as soon as possible."> It had been a lax day among the team, though it was not necessarily a bad thing... As the most... interesting thing was the moment on the rooftop with Darren... The Russian wanted nothing more than to forget that had happened at all. And she didn't want to speak to him about it ever again. Her attention was drawn from Kayleb to Riley as he entered the room to thank him for healing the wounds he had received - Sheera guessed that there had been another run-in with Rotor - and then someone she hadn't expected to see walked in: Shaundi. Why was the leader of the Detroit team in London? It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out how she had gotten here, as Manuel's abilities were quite well known and it made him a bit of a chauffeur for anyone else who needed to get places, but why was she here? Didn't she have things to worry about in Detroit? Ah but if the leader from another team was here, that meant that she was likely here to speak with JC... Whenever he returned to the base, of course. Sheera favored the brunette with a nod in greeting. Again, however, her attention was drawn away from Shaundi when Seth entered the training room directly behind her and she could tell, by the look on his face, that he was pissed. Fantastic. "Can I talk to you?" he asked, jaw clenched. She nodded and followed him into a small area meant for changing into work-out clothing, where he closed the door and then rounded on her, practically screaming, "What the hell Sheera!" Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "He's a kid damn it! He isn't cut out to fight like that! You think you could have traumatized him anymore?" She resisted the urge to strike him down then and there as he screamed at her. Irritation unfurled in the pit of her stomach like a venomous snake and she tamped it down, waiting until he had finished screaming at her before taking a breath and saying, "Cut out to 'vight like 'zat? No, 'e's not. 'iz 'vhy 'e lozt," her eyes became dangerous teal blue slits. "Traumatize 'im? 'ow can I 'ope to traumatize 'im 'vhen 'e 'as lived 'zhrough car crash 'zhat killed parents und kidnapping 'zhat almozt rezulted in 'is death? Jr is brave child, rezourceful und clever. 'e facez danger 'ead on und to bezt of ability." Sheera didn't yell. She never yelled. And if she did... That was a sign to run. Her voice stayed level and even, irritation causing her accent to thicken slightly, but there was a hard edge to it, as if daring Seth to yell at her again or to try and cut her off. "Juzt because you are a'vraid of 'zhe 'vorld does not mean 'e 'zhould be," she hissed. "'zhe choice to be 'ero is Jr's. 'vit or 'vit'out your 'zupport, Jr 'as great potential und 'vill be great 'ero."

Location: Training roomxxxxThoughts: ...xxxxMood: Focused

Sanokun711

Tegian

[Roskuel]

<<< Click Pic for Music

((EDITED A LOT!))

Location: Maeva's Shop
Thoughts: Who is this?

>>Sid is gone. Humanity sighs in relief.<<
[-{C}-{7}-{4}-]
>>I'll make them choke on it.<<
|<T>l<F>|<L>|

|A| man entered the shop. Before long he was speaking to Maeva. Arthur was intrigued. He stood out of sight, in the back room. Hearing what the man had come for was the hook that dragged the king from his inner thoughts. He wanted to know where Sid was. He wanted to kill him. This... mercenary was a professional. No one would have come to this man with such a task unless they thought it was possible for him to complete. Whether or not he could, was a silly thing to assume. Judging by the power he felt coming from the contract killer, he wasn't even in the same class. However, the person who wanted Sid dead (if he knew the shifter) had put an extreme amount of faith in this man. So, he was obviously useful. He could hear Red 53, but could not see him. Not yet. He did not want to give away that he was in the building. The mercenary might think he was being spied on, and it would cause problems. It was a brief conversation, as there wasn't much for them to speak of. Sid was already dead, after all.

"You'd love that wouldn't you; for me to be dead. Take it from me, it would make your life much easier." Arthur's body jerked to look behind him. There he was again! Twice in a day. He could not respond; would not respond. As the maniac had said before, he had just been talking to himself. "Maybe that is false information." Arthur looked confused, "Oh, not you talking to yourself. What I mean is, maybe I am more help than you realize. Take for instance.. KIN, out there. Obviously he's going by some other name now, but he used to be my mercenary. Ah.. good times." Arthur's face twisted, seeming more interested in what Sid had to say, at the same time continuing not to speak. He's been sent to kill you. You do realize this, don't you? Sure, the name he seeks is 'Sid', but... a change in name and appearance doesn't make you any less of Katsumi's target. Once he finds out who you 'were', he will try to kill you." Finally, Arthur responded quietly, "He will fail." Sid smiled mischievously, "See, there you go again; killing off potential allies. Why take him out, when you can recruit him. He is loyal to his contract, yes, but what if you can make his contract seem... nullified? Technically I am already dead, remember? So, you take away his purpose and replace it with new purpose. Set for life as an assassin for the high king." As much as Arthur wanted to ignore the voice.. it was speaking truth. He was too quick to dismiss those that might join his cause. Perhaps.. he would do as the voice said. At the very least, he should attempt it. If the plan failed.. he would dispose of this.. Katsumi. "Very wel..." he trailed off as it seemed that the figure had vanished again. He was still trying to talk to the voice within his mind. Why? The voice spoke to him as if they were separate entities, yet continued to prove that it was nothing, but a figure of Arthur's imagination. He needed to control this; lock this mental image away.

Arthur stepped out of the back room just after Katsumi took his leave. He turned to his wife with a glare of uncertainty before gliding over to her, kissing her head. "This man is not going to give up that easily." She inquired how he might now such things, "Something churns within my gullet. It is unsettling. Perhaps I am just famished." He pulled a few stones from his pockets, creating a table laden with food and beverage from the old kingdom. He sat at this table and began filling himself as he spoke of the Factions he had gathered. His army was over four hundred men strong, and growing by the hour. There were more willing to follow his ideals than he first assumed. Maybe they were scared? Maybe they had a hunger for a new world. Though it would be new to them, it was based on a time long passed. Arthur spoke more of his ideals. He wanted to embrace the technology in this era. More specifically, what men had learned about metas.. and how they had planned to stop them. He drew from a time when Sid was in power of this life. He had helped the OWC take out a military camp, where he copied a very interesting weapon. One that was purposed for taking down metas. He would equip his army with these weapons. He would also need a way to get the citizens on his side. That would be difficult without some form of push. These humans held to their positive and negative views of metas. He would need to focus on the negative, pushing them toward a hatred of the species. Which meant he needed to seem human. Love brought people close together, but hatred would bond them as brothers and sisters. This also brought forth a clever plan. He would become a politician. He needed to be seen as a man with a strong stand against those with too much power. Before long, the people would love him.. and stand with him. As much as he hated the thought.. he would have to become another person for a length of time. Kill a politician, and take his place. He 'could' try and do it as himself, but it would take too long. He needed rank now.. not later.

As he took the final bite of his meal, he stood with a smile. "What did I say?" he asked in an 'I told you so' manner as he walked to the window, peeking out the shade. "I know you suspected he would return, but did you know he was going to try and spy on us?" She nodded with a grin. Of course. His wife knew more than he did most of the time. She was a woman of infinite resources; both physical, and spiritual. It intrigued him how Sid had slipped through her fingers like sand on so many occasions. It seemed an impossible feat. His faith in Maeva held strong, regardless of her shortcomings with Sid. The comment directed at her about whether she knew about Katsumi's intentions, was simply a light hearted one, meant to be a comical nod toward her obvious knowledge of the situation. Arthur walked over to her and latched his lips onto hers, rubbing her midsection before making his way to the door. "I am taking a stroll, my dear. If I want to fight in the shadows, I'm going to need an expert." he smiled, gripping his suit coat before stepping outside.

Arthur walked for a good amount of time, zigzagging through the neighborhood, being sure not to step beyond it. He wanted to stay close to the shop. There was no reason to get himself into trouble right now, and if he went outside this area.. he would likely run into such. As he rounded the corner, a small oriental man ran right into him. The man apologized, as did Arthur before they went about their ways. Arthur smiled turning into an alley rather swiftly. He appeared on the other side, looking at the man who seemed to be reveling in his success. He did not notice until the last moment that Arthur was standing in front of him. The tracker that had been placed upon Arthur during the run-in, was placed between his fingers. He could see it in Katsumi's eyes... he was processing. Would he run? He could run, or he could stay and listen to what the king had to say. After all, Arthur didn't look as if he was angry or ready to attack. In fact, he seemed calm.. almost as if he just wanted to chat. The tracker was tossed to him. When he caught it.. nothing happened. If this had been Sid standing in front of him, he could have expected something terrible. This was obviously not Sid. Still, Katsumi held the tracker between his index and middle finger, at arms length. He wasn't going to run. Interesting. "You strike me as someone who enjoys opportunity. What if I were to offer you bounty beyond that of which mortal man can provide." Katsumi nodded for Arthur to continue, "I am attempting to recruit the best of the underground to rise with me to glory. I do not offer a contract by physical means. Nor do I request a singular target for my own benefit. In their stead, I can insure you a steady flow of work, and a continuous profit. In essence, I am requesting that you stand beside me as my brother and assassin. When the world comes to my feet, kissing as the lesser do, you will have no need to kneel. You will stand proud and feared by those who once spit on your profession. You will receive more power, more wealth than you can imagine. All I ask is your fealty." The mercenary wanted to know how he could trust him. "If you can trust me for just a few moments, I will show you." With this, Arthur approached him, slowly putting his hand upon his head. He needed to use his power in a way that did not leave an impression of Sid's ability. So, he created a memory within Katsumi's brain. One that showed him the vast lands of England in it's original state. Visions of castles, servants, and himself sitting upon the throne flashed before him. Before long he was back in the present, looking very focused. Arthur removed his hand, waiting for a response. Yet another question flowed from Katsumi's lips. He needed more. He needed to know that Arthur was capable of succeeding in his endeavor. The king could definitely supply him with this... proof. "Follow me." he offered, taking a few steps beyond Katsumi. After the mercenary gathered a few things, their journey continued.

Music for next scene!

They walked for what seemed a few miles before coming upon a large warehouse. They entered through a back door, climbing a flight of stairs that led to a catwalk high above an enormous crowd of people. There had to at least be a few hundred of them, all scurrying around like busy ants. "My loyal subjects! Servants of the old kingdoms!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and took positions, standing in near perfect lines. "I have brought before you a man, hand picked by me, your king, to assume a position of power! He is having some trouble understanding the power I possess! This man wants proof. What say ye?!" The crowd slammed on their breastplates, and stomped their feet in unison, causing a massive wave of sound to echo through the building. "I want your voices to call out through time! I want to hear the old kingdoms from your tongues! We die as heroes!" The crowd replied, "WE RETURN AS GODS!!!!" With that, they kneeled, fists over their chests. One man shouted, "All hail King Arthur!" The rest followed suit, "ALL HAIL KING ARTHUR!!" Arthur turned to Katsumi, chanting ringing through the building, "Are you satisfied, Katsumi?" He was.. impressed, but there was something else. This man was thorough, but he expected as much. "If you want, I will certainly allow you to continue your contract. It would show you are loyal to your word. Though I must emphasize, Sid is in fact dead. It would not be logical to proceed. However, if you, regardless of my advise, pursue this dead man... and you find our information to be false.. I will assist you in his death." At the end of his words, Katsumi laid before him, and swore his fealty. Arthur placed his hand upon the assassins head, "As king of the old and new, I accept you into the folds of my house. I shall provide as a king should for his family. Rise, and stand by my side and in my court as The King's Blade." A force that could only be described as a magical wind, blew through the warehouse. Katsumi's uniform changed, flowing over his face and gear as he stood. Arthur had his Blade. He had his Hands. He had his wife. He had most of his army. His heir was on the way. The King would soon rise to power.

[Demonic_Werewolf94]

ＣＥＬＥＳＴＥ ＳＯＬＳＴＩＣＥ
XX↳xa.k.a. Luxx

"Yes, lets go to the zoo. I would love to see some of the animals this planet has to offer," Novik said cheerily, causing Celeste to smile. "Of course. I think you'll truly enjoy it; when I was a child, my parents would take me to the zoo and it was one of the most wonderful experiences of my childhood." She looped her arm through his and they began walking... But only to the nearest bus stop. Much to Celeste's amusement, the second the alien saw one of the buses he wanted to ride on it and she didn't really mind. After all, it would be quite a trek to the zoo if they just walked and while she was more than capable of flash-traveling them to their desired destination, it would be better and more beneficial to Novik if they took a bus instead. As it was, she had enough money to pay for the both of them to ride and only had to transfer once before arriving at the London Zoo. She paid for them to enter as well - Novik didn't have any money to pay for himself - and then looked over his shoulder as he opened a map. "What should we look at first?" he asked, eyes scanning over the map for possible places to start. "Well... I think it would be smarter to go this way-" Celeste used her finger to trace the path that left from the entrance and went past the birds of prey exhibit and a few of the monkey's - mainly the Gorilla kingdom, the Gibbons, Colobus monkeys, Diana monkeys, and Mangabey's - and it would send them on their way on a counter-clockwise loop around the zoo, allowing the to see most, if not all of the animals before the day was out. "I'm not sure we will be able to go see any of the events, such as what may be showing at the amphitheater, but I think we should be able to see most of everything before the day is out. Shall we?" Her smile was absolutely radiant but what could one expect from a person such as her? Novik could never hope to receive such a smile from Sheera, as it was rare for her to smile at all, and it was unlikely any of the other female members of the team would offer to take the alien to a place like the zoo. And Celeste liked to spend time with the alien. She thought he was fascinating and intelligent and fun to be around. Luckily for them, things had been a bit slow today which gave Celeste the time to give Novik a ballet lesson and to take him to the zoo. Had it been any other day, where the team was running all over the city going on patrol and fighting criminals, they wouldn't have had the time to do anything more than say hello... If they were lucky.

Every moment of ＬＩＧＨＴ and ＤＡＲＫ is a miracle

Tegian

ooc: ugh. shite post is shite. sorry.

[Orojed13]

Red 53 ran across the rooftops carrying a duffle bag in each hand. He needed to place a lot of equipment and would prefer that he made it without being stopped. Many questions could be raised if someone were to search him as they would find top grade video cameras, listening devices, and various other surveillance equipment. Finally though, the ninja made it back to the voodoo shop unmolested. Apparently, The Challengers didn't patrol quite the same way that they did in other locations.

On the rooftop, Red 53 quickly began hooking up his gear. He placed cameras so they would cover every entrance and exit. The sound equipment would pick up from every room connected to the front. Once all the equipment was in place, the assassin pulled out a portable battery and hooked up all the devices. Next, he pulled out a router from his bag and plugged it in. A computer came after that and was quickly booted up. The small, black laptop took mere moments to boot. Red 53 pulled up a program that began to synchronize the placed devices through the router. After he checked that video feeds were working, Red 53 turned on the sound monitors just in time to here then end of a conversation. "I know you suspected he would return, but did you know he was going to try and spy on us?" Shortly after that, he heard a kiss followed by another comment. "I am taking a stroll, my dear.If I want to fight in the shadows, I'm going to need an expert." Then, there was the speaker walking right out the front door.

Red 53 saw an opportunity that couldn't be missed. He quickly stripped off the top half of his suit and threw on a red leather jacket and jumped across the street to the roof of the voodoo shop, using a burst of telekinesis to quiet the landing to nearly inaudible. After that the undercover assailant dropped to the alley behind and began moving on an intercept course. When he saw the man turn the corner, Katsumi bumped into him at the last moment, grabbing the man's arm for balance, quickly placing his tracking device in the man's cuff link. After that he quickly turned the corner and waited for the tracker to register movement. Sure enough, it began moving soon after. It was strange though. The man was moving directly... Katsumi turned around to see him coming around the corner holding the tracking device out.

As the mystery man came close enough he held up Katsumi's tracker. Before saying anything, the device was tossed back to it's owner. The Asian caught the dime-sized object before his forefinger and middle finger, holding it out at arm's length. Katsumi processed the different options before him. He had been compromised. The assassin could try to take out this man before him in an attempt to contain the leak. He had no idea what this man's powers were, but they obviously allowed him to know the tracking device had been placed immediately. The ninja could run, hide, disappear. That would definitely be a good idea, but there could be information to gather in this encounter that would be lost if he chose to do so. That left one final alternative; Let the man speak his piece.

The man opened with an ace. Katsumi never turned down a job unless he had good reason to, and this smelled of a big payout. He simply nodded for the man to continue knowing that silence was often the best way to get the most information from a tartget. The man quickly explained that he was seeking not just one contract from the assassin, but to take the assassin in as his own. Instead of living paycheck to paycheck, the ninja would have a consistent employer. He would have a place to finally call home. She would have loved to finally be able to settle down... Katsumi quickly shutdown that line of thinking. This was all too good to be true. he was too logical to take a man he didn't know at his word for something so life altering. "I will need proof that you are someone worth swearing fealty to. I do not know you and would be an idiot to just follow your word," Katsumi said, finally speaking to the man.

The man asked for a moment of trust and reached out his hand toward Katsumi. The first instinct was to defend himself, but he quickly told himself that if the man wanted to hurt him, he would have attacked in the beginning moment of surprise. Katsumi allowed the contact and was rewarded with an amazing vision. The lands of England as they were in the time of fairy tales. The rolling hills, the windy fields, the beautiful rivers. It took everything Katsumi had to stay focused with all this natural beauty about him. Then the vision changed to the wondrous castle atop the hill. It looked just as the story of Camelot had been described. There, sitting upon the throne was the man dressed in royal attire with servants bowing to him. They stood shouting, "Long live the king! Long live Arthur!"

The vision ended, but Katsumi could feel it in his memory as though he had really been there. Before he could delve into the memory for all the fine details, the assassin asked one more request, "I have seen your vision. I need but one more thing. How are you to go about retaking England? I need to know you can acquire the manpower, the army needed" Arthur then simply requested Katsumi to follow him. Katsumi mentioned he would need just a moment, returning to the rooftop and re-gearing himself in costume and weapons. Red 53 returned to the man and followed.



Red 53 was just behind Arthur, watching the activity in the warehouse. The synchronicity begot awe in the amount of discipline these men showed. They were an army with a purpose and equipment. They showed fervor and loyalty. Red 53 was impressed. There was one last thing that needed to be attended to. The assassin responded to Arthur, "I am impressed. The only thing left is that I am currently in contract to kill Sid, as I'm sure you know from your eavesdropping. I will swear my fealty to you for that which you have promised, but I need to complete my mission I was originally contracted for. What is a man good for if he cannot keep his word?"

With the promise that Red 53 could finish his business while operating under Arthur, the ninja went down on both knees. He laid his weapon, his kusarigama, before him on the ground and touched his head to the floor. "I give you my fealty. You are my lord that will protect and provide for me. In return I will give you all my efforts," Red 53 said in an official voice. With the power that flowed by this binding agreement, Red 53 stood as Red 53 no more. He was now The King's Blade.

Location: Across the street from Maeva's shop/In Arthur's Barracks Mood: Focused/Impressed Thoughts: I need this information./I will join this man.

[Silquestnocte]

Celia Winter

Celia listened to Jack's response to her ambiguous question with her head tilted slightly to the side, bright gray eyes intently focused on him. Although she sincerely trusted what Jack was saying, he didn't seem like the type to lie (and he certainly had been rather up-front about everything else so far), there were still quite a few mysteries about him. Although they were not hers to pry open, she could try to read his face to best she could, and maybe offer assistance if he needed it. It never hurt to offer help to someone who needed it. Celia couldn't stand the idea of not doing anything when she knew that something could be done.

Celia smiled as Jack said,"Better. I'm on the mend and I think I'm going to be able to find what I've been looking for; I got a lead the other day from a friend of mine and I'm going to follow it up after I'm done here and drop these few... groceries off at my apartment. What about you? How's working for Maeva?" That was good, it was nice to know that his problems were indeed resolving. Maybe someday she'd find out what it was all about, and perhaps meet his friend too, but she had the feeling that its wasn't going to be for some time.

She paused trying to think of how to put her new job into words. "It's pretty... mundane. Inventory, cleaning, just normal shop stuff. Today's little errand that she had me do is honestly the weirdest thing so far." Celia tapped a nail on the carrying case containing the bottled snow and frozen rose, both courtesy of Jack. Well that errand, and the way the items seemed to move by themselves, and how Maeva seemed to know just about everything that went on in her shop, and the creepy bird of hers that seemed just a touch more intelligent than a bird should. There was also a man, she hadn't really met him yet, that seemed to hang around Maeva in a familiar way. Her guess was that was Maeva's boyfriend, maybe even husband. Celia wasn't dumb enough to try and pry into those mysteries either. Maeva probably wouldn't appreciate it, and Maeva was someone Celia didn't want to mess with, regardless of whether she was her employer or not. There was... an distinct aura of power that seemed to hang around her. Celia didn't care to find out how that power could be used to silence a nosy person.

So she kept her mouth shut, but her ears and eyes open.

Their food arrived soon afterwards, and it looked great. Celia had just sampled the warm soup when Jack's phone rang. Her cheerful face folded into a worried one as she watched Jack's forehead crease. Her concern was apparently well placed, as Jack soon said "Dammit. Celia, I'm sorry but it looks like my friend has gotten himself into something and he needs a little help." Celia wondered what kind of trouble his friend had run into, if his friend was in the same line of work as Jack, then it could be quite serious. Her face continued to crease with worry, her spoon was soon resting in her bowl, completely abandoned in favor of clasping her hands together in front of her.

Jack dropped a few bills, enough to cover the meal and the tip by the looks of it, "In case I'm not back before you finish," he said with an apologetic smile, one that was genuine, as he stood up. "I'll catch you around."Jack winked , at which Celia started blushing again, and then started to walk out of the cafe, Celia shot a "Good luck Jack" at his receding back, then he was gone.

Celia sighed, not sure what to think about all of it, his occupation, his un-delineated problems, his good looks, and friendly (and vaguely impish) behavior. It was still a little hard for her to accept the fact that Jack made a living breaking the law. He was such a nice guy, there was no way he was bad at heart. Criminals to her had always been hardened thugs wrecking things, pushing drugs, Metas who wanted money and power more than anything. She mechanically ate her meal, not really tasting anything, her mind was moving far to fast for her to take in a new sensation.

Somewhere in her thoughts, she realized that technically, she was a criminal as well. An illegal immigrant for starters, and at least guilty of arson, and two man-slaughters. Her spoon dropped back into the now empty bowl with a clatter. She knew that what she had done was wrong, but surely her reasons made it bit more right than others, right? No matter how she could try to rationalize her actions, it was still there. She could easily be carted of to jail if she made the wrong move. It had never really sunk in just how badly she had messed up... Well, she'd just continue living, surviving, just like she always had. Someday, perhaps she'd find a way to repent. But for now, Celia was just going to muddle through what she already had on her plate.

Was there really anything else she could do? It's not like she could rewind time, and actually fix things. The only thing she could do was keep on moving, and pray that the future would be brighter than the past.

Her thoughts wandered away from the ethics, and into the much more uplifting topic of physics, and specifically how she could figure out how to fly. For pete's sake, she could shoot flames hot enough to melt steel from her body, there had to be a way to channel that heat to create an up-draft right? A glider seemed impractical, her flames would burn right through the material, or melt it. Then "Splat!". Plus it would be hard to land in a city. No, it had to be something small, something really strong too. She sighed, slightly disappointed when her brain couldn't come up with anything that fit those criteria. Her gaze wandered to the window, where a group of teens were happily chattering away as they walked to their destination. One of them was holding a skateboard. A small light bulb (or really, was it a Bunsen burner?) went off in her head. She'd have to write down that idea when she got home, try to work out the math of what she had in mind. Just because Celia never had the opportunity to graduate high school didn't mean that she couldn't figure out what she needed.

The waitress soon dropped off the check, which Celia tucked the money Jack had left into. It had been enough to pay for the meal, and had plenty left over for a fairly good tip. Celia got up to leave, and smiled to herself as she saw the happy face of the waitress on the way out. Jack hadn't shown up yet. "Guess his friend really needed help." she thought to herself. Celia was a bit worried about him, but she had seen some of his powers in action. He could without a doubt take care of himself.

Celia looked around for a road sign, so she had an idea of what direction she had to head in order to get back to Maeva. None of the street names were familiar, this wasn't a part of town she frequented, and London was a big place. She stopped in front of a map, trying to figure out where she was, when she felt a vaguely familiar cold breeze... She turned around in the direction of the cold "Jack?"

Location:Restaurant

With: Jack

Feeling: Cheerful, slightly worried

Demonic_Werewolf94

[Demonic_Werewolf94]

Maeva Kryme

→ The Voodoo Queen

☠ Her head did not even turn as the beads that formed the curtain to the back room shifted, admitting her husband into the main room of her shop. However, she did tilt her head to the side, taking in the look on his face - he was uncertain of something, though she didn't have to guess what - and she closed her eyes for a moment as Arthur kissed her forehead, opening them again as he said, "This man is not going to give up that easily." Maeva cocked an eyebrow up. "And how might you know that?" she inquired, reaching down to pick Vol'Jin up by his middle, shifting him to sit on her lap. The dark-skinned woman proceeded to pet the odd creature as Arthur said, "Something churns within my gullet. It is unsettling. Perhaps I am just famished." She watched as he pulled a few stones from his pockets, changing them into a table laden with food and drink from the old kingdom... Their kingdom. Oh how she missed those days, when things had been less complicated. Now they had much more work to do in order to reclaim what belonged to them but it would be worth it, in the end. Arthur began to eat and as he did so, he told her of the Factions he had managed to gather; his army was over four hundred strong and growing by the hour. Perhaps there were more willing to follow his ideals and leadership than they had first thought. Whether it was out of fear or out of hunger for a new world or even a hunger for power, it meant that they were one step closer to reclaiming what belonged to them. Arthur continued to talk, telling her more of his ideals - most of what she knew already - but more specifically telling her that he wanted to embrace the technology of this era. Here she knew that he was pulling from a time when Sid was the one walking this Earth, a time even she knew from experience. They had helped the OWC take out a military camp - where she had used her own blood power and Vol'Jin's poisoned feathers to kill many men - and they had found that the humans had created a weapon purposed for taking down meta-humans... If Sid had managed to copy that weapon - as she suspected he had - then it would be a simple matter to equip Arthur's army with such a weapon and it would make them very formidable. Even the precious Challenger's wouldn't stand a chance. However, he would need to get the citizen's of England on his side, which could be quite difficult. Maeva knew that her King had a plan to do such a thing, so she wasn't worried. What she didn't like was that the plan he had meant that it was likely he would be gone for long stretches of time and she would not get to see him. As she had gone for so many years without being able to be near her king in the way they once had, she knew she could handle it, but now that they had a child on the way... She liked it even less... Maeva's head cocked to the side. Vol'Jin drew his lips over his teeth and growled low before jumping off her lap. So he had returned... What a brave little man he was, certainly worth the contract. "What did I say?" asked Arthur as he stood, his voice implying an "I told you so", as he headed to the window and peeked through the shade. "I know you suspected he would return, but did you know he was going to try and spy on us?" A grin flitted across the Queen's lips and she nodded; of course she had known Katsumi would return, just as she knew a great many other things. While she was aware of her shortcomings where Sid was concerned, she knew that there were few others on this Earth who could handicap her in such a way again. Not even the Game would have a chance against her, should she chose to go against his own plans. Arthur crossed the space between them and gave her a kiss, his hand rubbing over her mid-section, before he told her, "I am taking a stroll, my dear. If I want to fight in the shadows, I'm going to need an expert." She silently wished him luck, knowing he wouldn't need it. As soon as the door closed behind him, the Queen stood, brushing down the front of her clothing before beginning to tidy up the shop. Vol'Jin aided her by using a feather duster held sideways in his mouth and going over the shelves he could reach without putting his paws on valuable wares. However, had anyone happened to walk in, they would have noticed that her eyes were not open as she moved around the shop. Instead, they were closed, as though she was listening for something or was watching something that couldn't be seen by anyone else. And, indeed, she was. Maeva saw it all. The interaction between her King and Katsumi, the warehouse, the army, their conversation... All of it. And then... Yes. Her eyes flashed open. So the King finally had his Blade. Things were about to become very interesting in London and she was going to enjoy every moment of it. ☠

Orojed13

ooc: eh. edited slightly.

[Demonic_Werewolf94]

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"If i-i-i-i-it wasn't for those other t-t-t-wo..." Rotor's voice trailed off, skipping like a broken record, and Jack frowned; clearly his friend was in pretty bad shape. "At l-l-l-l-least this worked." He pulled out the communicator he had stolen and a smirk flickered across Jacks lips. "Came through with no problem. The distress call might have also alerted those two flakes from the Detroit team though, so don't go crazy with it." The last thing they needed was for heroes to show up wherever it was Jack or Rotor who was needed by the other. "Y-y-y-you're good. I'm going b-b-b-back for repairs," said the injured shape-shifter, slowly getting to his feet; any human who would have taken this kind of damage wouldn't be moving, which is why Jack knew that their meta abilities were so important: it kept them alive when it was most needed. However, the white haired teen only nodded in response, watching as the jets on Rotor's back opened up, the jets failing to ignite the first couple of times before finally managing it. "Enjoy your d-d-d-d-date," joked his friend before taking off. Jack only took the time to flip him the bird before disappearing from sight and leaping off the rooftop. He'd been gone longer than he'd initially thought he'd be, as the intervention with the two new heroes had caused the fight to run far longer than it really should've, and he wondered if Celia was still going to be at the cafe when he got there. While he could have just forgone going back, Jack was nothing if not polite when it came to women he had ended up asking out to lunch and to just leave her in a part of London that she probably wasn't familiar with? He couldn't, in good faith, expect her to find her way back to Maeva's shop without a little help and since he was the one who had placed her in an unfamiliar territory... It was only right that he helped her out of it. "Right because I just want to help her..." Since when do you do anything for anyone if it doesn't benefit you? Jack pushed that thought away and focused on getting back to the cafe before Celia left. While he knew that he would be more than capable of finding her if she left before he got back, it still wouldn't exactly paint a very good picture of him to her; she already was uncomfortable with his chosen profession and while Jack didn't ordinarily care... It was good to have allies in all kinds of places. And having one in Maeva's shop would be the best one to have. At least... That's what he told himself. Regardless, the white-haired meta made it back to the cafe just as Celia stepped outside; it seemed that he was too late to continue their lunch... Date? It wasn't a date. Was it? No. No of course not... Jack shook his head and swooped past her, the breeze that usually accompanied him causing her hair and clothing to move as though on their and Celia turned in the direction of the breeze. "Jack?" As if on cue, he materialized, that impish grin curling his lips. "In the flesh. Sorry that took so long. Need a lift back to Maeva's?" He was dressed back in the nicer clothing he had manifested earlier to go into the cafe, instead of the ratty brown pants and hoodie he usually wore. Jack offered her his hand and if she took it, he would pull her close, pick her up, and then take her back to work... Even if he still didn't want to go within two-hundred feet of the shop. And, besides, he still had to be careful flying around the city, since he didn't know if Sid was still looking for him, Rotor, or Diana, and then there was the problem of Maeva having attempted to kill him over a year ago on the day of the stadium incident. So, needless to say, going anywhere near people who wanted him dead wasn't exactly high on his to-do list... But Celia wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell to get back to work on time if he didn't lend her a hand. So here he was.

Location: In front of a cafexxMood:Playful, slightly pained, SeriousxxThoughts:Well, well, well

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Silenced Nocturne

siris99