[hr][h1][i][color=Aqua]Jennifer Caspin[/color] & [color=Red]Meifeng Vuhong[/color][/i][/h1][sub][@ToadRopes][@Maxx][/sub][hr] "Well..." Jennifer trailed off as she tried to find a proper answer to Ratchet's question (When there really wasn't one - Jen hasn't spent enough time around them to really tell). She scratched the back of her neck, and calmly looked away. Before she turned back to Ratchet, shrugged, and just said, "... I guess this is the city's [i]usual[/i] brand of craziness." Calling back to what she said during the Fiend's assault on the fair. "... That ugly motherfucker lucky." Meifeng hissed. "I'd bust his ugly ass yap if we fought for real." She rolled her eyes. Well, she guessed what's done is done. She'll head over to the Eastover Woods later and break up a tree or something. Ugh. Though, Taylor quickly distracted her from the thought of Aiden (And how his ass will go unkicked). "... Party you saaaay?" Meifeng grinned widely enough to bare her white teeth. "I'm down for a party, giiiiirl!" Meifeng said, loudly and very excitedly. "This is exactly what we need. After that bullshit at Downtown, I could go for a [i]real[/i] party." Meifeng said, gleefully. "Just tell me the time and place, and I'll be there..." Meifeng quickly peered over to Jen. "... Jen will be there, too." "Wait, what?!" Jennifer asked no one in particular... but she knew exactly that she wasn't interested in a party. They were messy, and pull of booze and boys. She'd probably find herself in an alleyway, unconscious, and with a bruised bum. "[i]Oh, no, no, no, I-[/i]" Jen was aptly cut off by Meifeng wrapping her arm around Jennifer's neck, pulling her closer. While Jennifer struggled, Meifeng just laughed. "C'mon girl, you need to get out more, and this is perfect! You're invited to a party by a rich girl." Meifeng released Jen - before she half-smiled, as she yet again closed her eyes and shrugged. "Who in their right mind would resist an offer like [i]that[/i]?" "Well, I..." Jennifer rubbed the side of her head. "C'mon, it'll be awesome!" Meifeng said. "I promise you won't have a bad time." "I... Alright," Jennifer started off, nodding her head. "I'll go." She said with the most confidence she could muster. "Knew you'd reconsider." Meifeng put her hands on her hips, and winked at Jennifer. She quickly got out of that pose as she walked over to her best friend and grabbed by the wrist. "Now let's get out of here, we need to head back to the Priscilla so we can pick outfits." Jennifer allowed herself to be carried off. It was about time that they left the Isabella Isle. It was fun - nearly spoiled by a psychopath, but undoubtedly fun. She wanted some time to rest before this party popped off. "I'll see you at the party, Ratchet." She said goodbye to Ratchet first. "Bye, guys." "[i]Later ladies![/i]" Meifeng shouted as the two girls disappeared. [hr][h1][i][color=Dodgerblue]Lihua Vuhong[/color][/i][/h1][sub][@Raijinslayer][/sub][hr] Lihua gave Alek a look. One eyebrow raised. "I would appreciate that, Agent Vol- Alek." She quickly said, trying to contain her laughter. "It's quite flattering that you'd consider getting that for me." She was fine with everything else Volkov was saying - about Lijuan and Meifeng, and getting them jewelry - but it was clear that he was trying to flatter her - even flirt with her. What? Was he trying to get with the [i]great[/i] and [i]powerful[/i] Lihua Vuhong? She chuckled a bit underneath her breath. Maybe. Lihua didn't dash the idea away... at the same time, she decided that two daughters is enough. "Oh? They're doing fine. Lijuan is twelve months old now - but I've left her in the hands of babysitters while I'm on duty... I would leave her to Meifeng, but she's always out and about. Causing trouble for me to solve later." Lihua started laughing for a few moments. "I tell you, she's constantly saying that she wants to be a NEST Agent some day, when she really wants to [i]find herself[/i]." She shrugged before continuing. "I'm certain that Meifeng will appreciate the jems... Lijuan is simply too young... but maybe for once she gets older." Lihua smirked. Alek was clearly at a loss as to what to order once they sat down. Lihua had to contain her laughter. "... Just get him the house special fried rice." She leaned in, and said to the Waitress. She nodded her head, wrote down their orders on a notepad, only to turn around and walk away. "Me? There's nothing really worth talking about. I'm just a simple woman that takes her job [i]very[/i] seriously." [i]Or else I'd be living on the streets.[/i] [i]And I refuse to let that happen.[/i] [hr] [b][u]8:23 PM[/u][/b] The day passed by quickly, and eventually, it was simply nighttime. Verthaven really came to life at this hour. At day, Verthaven was a vacation hotspot for people of all ages, genders, and ethnicity. At night... that's when it [i]truly[/i] becomes a bloody paradise. Criminal, and their lawful counterparts, are roaming the street. Waiting for the right moments to do battle. Time to see what it means to really live in Verthaven. [hr] [hr][h1][i][color=gold]Carole[/color], [color=PowderBlue]Taylor[/color], [color=Aqua]Jennifer[/color] & [color=Red]Meifeng[/color][/i][/h1] [sub][i]Written in collaboration with [@Maxx][/i][/sub][hr] After the Fiends had wrecked downtown and the National Guard had decided to put the downtown area in lockdown, Taylor and Carole decided that they would rent a place in Knightdale Rows, the safest area of the city. They found a luxury double beach house on the boardwalk and decided that they would stay there until the downtown area was reopened. It was a nice house, three stories and poshly decorated on the inside, with white leather furniture and a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling above the parlor. On the roof was a jacuzzi and a fairly large swimming pool, as well as many tropical plants to set the mood It was much more spacious than the penthouse they had been absolutely [i]languishing[/i] in before, so they rented it out of pocket and moved right in. To break the new place in, the two of them decided to have a party. So right after Taylor left the boardwalk and pulled Carole off of her new boytoy, the two of them went to work to get the house ready. Decorations were put up, music was chosen, and one of Carole's servants went to a nearby liquor store and bought plenty of liquor. Wine, vodka, whiskey, all of it was brought in for the night's celebrations. It happened that a good deal of people came to the party, some friends from Academy Twelve and Academy 218, and others the rich and overprivileged of the west coast who decided to fly their private jets to come and drink someone else's booze. Carole sat on the couch in the sitting room, resting on Brayden's shoulder while he draped his arm around her like they had been dating for a long time. Taylor stood at the door in a white cocktail dress with an over-the-top boa wrapped around her neck. A champagne flute rested in her left hand. She greeted each guest with a hug and french kisses and spoke to them for a few moments before moving on. The house filled up quickly with meta who Taylor had befriended at school: Neal, a psychic creator who built sculptures: Claire, a punk girl with electrokinesis: Ryan, a rich member of the Corvo family who was a telepath: Jasmine Chang, who Taylor explicitly did not remember inviting: Johnny Valos, son of a millionaire nightclub owner and Taylor's ex-boyfriend, along with his younger brother Jake, who was Carole's ex-boyfriend: Gabe, Jake's twin sister, who was off to the side, hitting up some girls: Sylvia, Johnny's half sister (not related to Jake or Gabe by blood), who was sitting on the couch, playing on a guitar: Abe, a professional meta boxer with earth manipulation: Eli, a priest-in-training with healing abilities: and Drake FUCKING Blackmore, who was dancing with a lampshade over his head, with bottles of vodka in each hand. As the sun began to go down, Taylor began to wonder if her new friends from in town were ever going to arrive. She finally walked back into the living room to socialize, leaving the door closed. A servant waited to open it up for any newcomers. She sat down on a chaise and sipped at a fruity alcoholic beverage which she did not know the contents of as the others shared their experiences since school ended. It was nice to get back in touch with her old friends. [hr] "Hey, don't tell me you're not [i]excited[/i], girl?" Meifeng's voice was enough to "wake up" Jen. She raised her head, and turned it over and saw Meifeng looking at her with that usual wide smile that wouldn't be out of place on a child. She shrugged, trying to come up with a good answer. "I'm pretty excited... just that I'm very nervous about this." She had to be honest with Meifeng (and herself) when she said that. She's been invited to a party by some rich people she didn't know. This was part exciting, and part terrifying. Because Jennifer didn't know what to expect next. "I... get the feeling that these kids are just going to be a bunch of rich assholes that'd tear into us for not being rich enough - Or! They invited us so they can prank us." Jennifer quickly voiced her concerns. Almost instantly, Meifeng stopped, and burst into laughter, kneeling over as she wrapped her hands around her gut. Making Jen look at her with wide eyes. She stood straight up, and faced Jen. "C'mon, Jen, you watch [i]waaaay[/i] too many movies for your own good, no one does [i]that[/i] anymore!" Meifeng said after the laughter subsided. "Don't you know you live in a world of superhumans? If they even [i]think[/i] about hurting you, I'll go [i]Carrie[/i] all over those rich fucks." She stepped over to Jen and put her hand on her shoulder. "For you, of course." Having Meifeng say that really... improved her mood about the party, and all of this. She brushed her bangs out of the way, and looked at Meifeng with her blue eyes. It was really reassuring, honestly. She felt glad she has a friend like Meifeng. "Thank you... I, uh, needed that." She nodded her head. They began walking again. "... But, really, though, can we stop to talk about this outfit of yours?" Meifeng stopped again, and pointed at Jennifer's attire. "We're going to some high class party, and you decide go [i]hipster[/i]?" She reached over, and flicked Jennifer's [url=http://fashionlover.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/balmain-tee-flower.jpg]shirt[/url]. Her eyes quickly drifted down to the jean shorts she wore, and the (quite frankly, good) black boots she was wearing. On top of that, Jen just had to wear a black artist beret. "Oh, come on, this is my style." Jennifer grabbed the ends of her shirt and pulled it down. "But look at me, who do you think they're gonna make fun of, Jenny?" Meifeng did a pose, showing off [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/5f/ef/80/5fef80986fcef590b72a7fb3b45a126a.jpg]the black dress[/url] she was wearing. Usually she dresses much more masculine, but, in [i]this[/i] case, she's more than willing to make an exception. This was a dress Lihua bought her for special occasions. Well, rising the social ladder is special enough. And Meifeng wore black boots to go with it. "Me, or you?" "They're going to make fun of you for being a tryhard." Jenny laughed. "Yeah, yeah, look who's talking." Meifeng pointed at Jennifer, with narrow eyes. Banter out of the way, they quickly made their way to the party's address. They quickly found a luxury beach house... Nice, nice. Looked like a real place where you'd throw a party if you're rich and famous. Meifeng noticed that there as a pool on top. Nice! This is gonna be real good. The excitement overtook Meifeng as she quickly grabbed Jen by the wrist and pulled her towards the beach house. "[i]Let's go, let's go, let's go![/i]" "Hey!" Jenny shouted. [hr] As Meifeng and Jen walked into the living room, Taylor rose to greet them. She was on her second delicious-yet-mysterious fruity alcoholic beverage, and it was beginning to show just a tad as she walked to greet them. "Ah, mon amis," she said. "How are you? Welcome to the party!" "[i]Heeeeeeeeeeeey![/i]" Meifeng loudly shouted, raising her arms into the air, while she quickly ran over to Taylor. "This party off the chain! She flopped down on the seat next to Taylor, and grinned widely. "Just tell me where the drinks are, I told Jen that we're [i]not[/i] leaving this party sober." Calmly stepping over to Taylor and Meifeng, Jennifer sat down next to Meifeng. Crossing her legs, so no one gets the impression that she's unlady-like. "Hey." Jenny quietly said, looking around. She was amazed that she was invited to this party in the first place. No one around here really paid her any mind, honestly. And now, she's partying among the best. Maybe her newfound popularity has to do with the fact that her power awakened.... and that reminded her. While she's partying, Penny is still out there, cold and alone. No, no... like Meifeng said, think positive. "I... don't really intend on drinking a lot, but give me something." She said, just to appease Meifeng. . "You heard the girl, she wanna get wasted!" Meifeng shouted. Taylor laughed. "Oh, don't worry," Taylor said. "You don't leave one of [i]my[/i] parties remembering how you got there! Make yourself at home, and I'll get you something good." Taylor walked away into the kitchen to get the bartender (because of course every party had to have a bar). She returned a few moments later with two glasses of a pink-colored liquid. She handed both Meifeng and Jen a glass and then sat back down with one of her own. "So is Ratchet coming?" Taylor asked. "I... think so." Jennifer asked - her attention was still on the cup that was presented before her. She... didn't know what it'd do to her. She looked it up on a few Metahuman forums, and most people noted that alcohol wouldn't do anything to a higher-tier regenerator. Which, by all means, Jennifer fit to a T. So, maybe she'll give this a shot (Get it?). Jennifer quickly grabbed the drink, and immediately downed it, feeling the drink travel down her throat... She liked the taste of it. Yet, it didn't give her any buzz. She looked around, though, and saw both girls staring in astonishment. [i]Okay, maybe I overdid it.[/i] "Daaamn, girl. For all that shy quirkiness, you sure love your liquor." Meifeng laughed - because it takes a special someone to down a drink the second you get it. Hell, Meifeng hasn't even [i]touched[/i] hers. Though, that was because of a nervousness about getting caught by her mother. Maybe she'll just distract herself by putting all the attention on Jen. "Yo, give the alchy another one!" She quickly shoved her drink into Jen's hands. [i]Aw, crap, another one?[/i] Jennifer groaned, and her eyes widened. [i]Okay, okay, you can do this, Jennifer.[/i] She thought to herself, as she quickly put the cup to her lips, and let it pour into her mouth. "Mon dieu!" Taylor said. "That was fast! I didn't know you were such a serious drinker!" Taylor drank from her own cup and laid her head back. Then she realized something. "We need some music," she said. Johnny stood up from his chair, his fluffy white pimp coat trailing behind him as he walked to the music player. "I've got a song for you, babe!" Johhny said, taking an iPhone from one of his pockets. He asjusted his star-shaped sunglasses and set up a bluetooth sync with the music player, a fancy-looking wood-paneled Bose on a shelf next to the gigantic flatscreen. He hit a button and the music began to play. [hider=Here I Come by The Roots][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ys9owWbBH8[/youtube][/hider] Taylor wasn't a huge hip-hop fan, but she couldn't help but bob her head to the song. A few moments later, Carole stumbled back into the room, a bottle of Fireball in her hand and one of the straps of her red dress pulled down. "Jesus," Taylor said. "What the hell happened to you?" "None a yur buziness," Carole mumbled. She looked around for a few moments, and then turned back around to leave the room, undoubtedly to go play with her boytoy more. "That was my friend Carole," Taylor said. "Ever since she got offered to be a Playboy model, she's been acting this way. You'd think being a millionaire would already be enough for her, but no, she has to show her tits to millions of alcoholics and prepubescant boys." "Oh, have fun!" Meifeng waved goodbye to Carole, as she walked off, to go continue doing... whatever it is she's doing (Meifeng don't judge). Taylor went on to describe the girl as Carole, being a playboy girl. Hey, if she wanted to do that, then that's fine. "She seems like a nice girl, you know." Meifeng shrugged, with a everpresent grin on her face. "But, hey, she's actually doing a [i]service[/i]. You know how many sexually repressed men, angry lesbians, and prepubescent boys she's helping daily?" She shrugged, laughing a bit. "I just hope she can live with the fact that most of her photos will end up really sticky. Ha! " "Personally, I find it ridiculously sluttish," Taylor said, finishing her drink "I mean, it's not like she needs the money. She just wants to do it for...fame, or something. She wants to be the next Kim Kardashian and be all over magazines. Not sure exactly why..." Some of the other partygoers were beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol. Claire, who had brought her own beer, ran upstairs with some boy with spiky blonde hair with a beer bong like a frat boy, and Neal was telling a few girls about his art show. "[i]Tian naaa[/i]..." Meifeng muttered to herself in Chinese. Well, in her eyes, if you have it, flaunt it. If you don't, then, well, it'll make them want to see them even more! This might be because Meifeng kinda found Carole (And Taylor) pretty hot, but she doubt they swung that way (Then that'd be great). "Sometimes you gotta go with the flow. Let her figure this stuff out for herself." This topic made Jennifer looked around a bit. It made her a little uncomfortable. Talking about how she's showing her skin for the world to see. "Well..." Jen made one attempt to butt into the conversation. Before shaking her head, and wondering what she should say. [i]I'm terrible at giving advice - or talking in general.[/i] She thought to herself, briefly. "... What Jen is trying to say is, she wants some more drinks!" Meifeng loudly shouted, trying to get Jen drunk as possible. "Then let's load her up!" Taylor shouted, raising her glass in the air. The room cheered. Taylor got up and came back with a bottle of vodka. As she handed it to Jen, the room echoed with shouts of "CHUG IT! CHUG IT!" Taylor was fairly certain that this was a terrible idea, but the drink in her system told her otherwise. She noticed Jasmine and her old roommate (whose name she couldn't remember) leaning against one of the walls with their arms crossed, simply observing the rest of the party. [i]God, that girl is weird,[/i] Taylor thought. [i]Oh hell no.[/i] Jennifer thought to herself, as she started chewing on her fingernails. She was practically shaking. She didn't feel a thing from the alcohol. She was wondering if she should just quit while she's ahead and give up. Yet, the crowds cheering her on made her. [i]Damn it, Meifeng.[/i] She cursed her friend. "[i]I-I-I-I...[/i]" Her teeth were chattering, as she looked around. Frantically biting her nails. Until she just came out and said it, "[i]I don't know![/i]" Taylor slid down and put her arm around her. She felt like this was going to end very badly, but she couldn't help herself. "Just try it, ma cherie," Taylor said. "Come on, it'll be fun! Maybe when you're done I can introduce you to a few of my friends." She winked at her. Taylor noticed a very large Russian man with an eyepatch enter the room with a glass of whiskey and a pretty girl at his side. Good ol' Valery. [i]Okay... maybe....[/i] Taylor was mighty persuasive. Having her hold her... she didn't know. She quickly let out an exhale, and then grabbed the bottle of vodka. "Alright, I'll do it!" Jennifer shouted at the very top of her lungs - putting a bit TOO much energy into it. Everyone shouted, and cheered her on as she turned the top off, and put the bottle between her lips. "[i]... Oh God, this is gonna end badly....[/i]" The thoughts rushed through her head as the alcoholic rush of liqour flowed into her mouth. She kept the bottle to her lips as it flowed in, and quickly reached the bottom. And good [i]God[/i] it tasted awful. It burned her lips, and virtually every part of her throat. And every part of Jen was saying "put that toxic shit down, girl" but she had to be [i]cool[/i]. She also started this. Eventually, the bottle of vodka reached the bottom (which felt like years), and she slammed it into the table. And the crowd went wild. "[i]Ooooooooooooooh, shit![/i] You are [i]one[/i] freaky nerd-girl!" Meifeng congradulated Jennifer as she slapped her hand onto her best Friend's back.