[h1]Cole[/h1][sub][sub][sub][@Mr Allen J][@Spoopy Scary][@Defacto][@Zombiedude101][/sub][/sub][/sub] [hr] "B-b-boyfriend?!" The slap to his ass made him yelp in surprise as his face went beet red. Meifeng was messing with him. Again. As the crowd collectively swiveled their heads towards him, he shrank in her arm, shying away from the attention as best as he could. "I-I didn't agree to this, Mei -" The loud gunshot interrupted him as it rang out across the beach. A moment of stunned, deer-in-the-headlights silence followed, after which all hell broke loose. People began screaming as they panicked and ran for the nearest exit. Some even ran past him, vaulting over the low fence and onto the beachhead as they ran. Cole ducked down along with Mei, hands above his head. His heart was racing, but more importantly his vision was racing faster. He could see the frenzied spirals of data from phones all around him as people panicked and ran, people taking the time to compose [i]tweets[/i] of all things, along with the usual 911 calls that were directed to Verthaven's police department. That gave him an idea though...as Meifeng called up her water powers and dashed over to a fallen figure that could only be someone friendly to them, he whipped out his phone and jacked in. The onrush of his metaphysical body transferring into the digital world was something he would never grow tired of; like falling down an endless hallway as the walls and ceiling and floor stretched out around you like a rubber band, and you fell and fell and fell until you hit the ground at which point everything snapped back into place, slightly different than in was before. Around him, chaos reigned, as usual, but where there had been tiny silver strings of data before, in his vision now were bright, glowing highways, each one diverting itself away into the sky or out somewhere else in the city. His physical body was crouched down next to Jennifer, totally spaced out staring at his phone while people crowded around him trying to escape. However, his metaphysical form was more angelic, akin to a humanoid being made wholly of energy that glowed a bright white. Cole quickly began a search that would take him to a mobile tower near Haven, in an attempt to get a route there where he knew his friends were closing up shop. He quickly found a young lady whose frantic 911 call was being routed through the tower nearby, and hopped onto the highway out, traveling the huge expanse of space in a heartbeat. Once at the tower, he scanned Haven for any outgoing mobile signatures and quickly identified that of his friends, thankfully the only two phones present, and prepared a quick message. It would show up as a text message, of course, but anyone familiar with Cole's data powers would recognise the signs; a private number, untraceable and uncallable, fully structured sentences, even a signature. With the message sent, he quickly backtracked to the beach and reentered his body. The entry back into the meat world knocked him to the floor, panting and gasping for breath. The whole thing had lasted merely seconds, but it left him out of breath, as if he'd sprinted a full neighborhood in a matter of seconds. As he gulped down air, he hoped that his friends would see the message he'd sent and come to their aid. "J-J-Jennifer? I j-just sent a message to my friends. They're metas too, they'll help us." [hr][h1][color=lightgreen]Marcus[/color] and [color=gray]Audrey[/color][/h1] [color=gray]"Everything check out, Marcus?"[/color] [color=lightgreen]"Yep. Oh, boss, we got a bit of mozzarella in the fridge that's gonna expire though. Mind if I take it back? We already got extras."[/color] [color=gray]"Hmm. I guess. You going to cook something?"[/color] [color=lightgreen]"Pizza, maybe."[/color] [color=gray]"Hmph. Well go outside and lock up shop. We are done tonight."[/color] [color=lightgreen]"You got it boss."[/color] Marcus strolled out of the cafe and grabbed a long pole with a hook on it for the outer metal shutters. The day had been a long one, especially without Cole around to help out. Thankfully it hadn't been [i]too[/i] busy, and the two of them had been enough to keep the kitchen churning out food, the coffee machine dribbling out drinks and their customers satisfied. As he reached up and grabbed the edge of the shutter and pulled it down, he could hear Audrey inside, rummaging around the pantry and rearranging things that he knew he himself would rearrange the next day. They could never keep the place organised for either of them; Marcus was messy, and Audrey was neat and tidy. Those two things would never mesh together, like oil and water. Suddenly he felt a buzz in his pocket around the same time he heard a faint and distant crack in the air. Like a gunshot. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as Audrey walked out of the kitchen, phone in hand. [color=gray]"Did you hear that?"[/color] [color=lightgreen]"Yeah. Must've been just a car backfiring though. Nothing special."[/color] She shrugged and strolled back in as Marcus checked his phone. A text message, oddly enough. From a private number. He paled. Only one person sent him texts from a private number. And only one person signed off his private texts with JCS. Apparently Audrey knew the same too as she rushed back outside to join him. [quote] Guys Trouble at the beach Metas involved Need help Girl that can turn sand into glass = friendly Girl that can control water = friendly Anyone with me = friendly Anyone else = not friendly Please hurry - JCS [/quote] [color=lightgreen]"Shit! John's in trouble!"[/color] [color=gray]"I'll close up shop, you go help Cole! Go! [i]Podvin' eto, blyat! Idti![/i]"[/color] [color=lightgreen]"Got it!"[/color] Marcus ducked underneath the closing shutter and ran outside to where his bike was parked. He unlocked the chain, hopped on and pedaled as fast as his legs could carry him. The sounds of battle carried along the wind across the empty beachhead as he cycled. Hopefully he'd reach there quickly enough. Several minutes later he caught sight of a raging battle along a stretch of beach near a waterfront house, along with the copious amounts of people running away from the scene, coupled with the lone police car already parked there. The beach area was fenced off, but he caught sight of the mentioned girls; one was turning the sand around her into glass constructs when she was blindsided by a wave of sand thrown by a man in a weird looking getup. Next to him was a woman in the same type of getup, not to mention one of her arms was on [i]fire[/i] and the other was [i]frozen[/i]. Those were the metas that were harassing his friend's friends, huh? The water girl soared in overhead and landed next to her friend, whipping a water-powered kick that sent the man sprawling onto the sand. Still cycling towards them, he diverted his path from the concrete sidewalk to the sand. His tyres fought for purchase but he kept pedaling anyway, using his speed and momentum to bring him towards the fence that divided the outside world from the battle raging on the beach. With all the speed and strength that he could muster, he made an almighty bunny hop, leaping up into the air towards the fence as he let go of his bike and grabbed for it, vaulting over while his bike clattered against the metal fence. Marcus landed heavily on the sand as he dashed towards the duo of dangerous metas, roaring as he called forth the power of his bones. With a burst of pain, shards of bone punched through his palm and into his hands, instantly breaking as he severed their growth and flung them at the pair. It probably wouldn't do much, but it'd distract the two of them from their real objective, whatever that was. The shards were sharp, pointy and very dangerous, and he gave the duo a wide berth as he dashed around them, flinging shards the whole way, until he reached the pair of good guys he knew were friendly. He skidded to a stop in the sand as long blades of bone extended from his forearms, above his hands, giving the two girls a glance and a grin as he stood in an almost predatory stance. [color=lightgreen]" 'Sup? Cole sent me. He said you guys needed help, 'n here I am."[/color] [hr] Meanwhile, back at Haven, Audrey finished locking up her cafe and hopped onto her scooter. As the dinky little thing purred into life she hoped and prayed that her two boys- no, [i]employees[/i] were safe. She'd show up soon enough. Hold on tight, fellas.