[center] [center][s]-------------------------------------------------[/s][/center] [center][h2]CITY-U[/h2][/center] [center][h2]7/3/2/50[/h2][/center] [center][h2]HERO ASSOCIATION HQ[/h2][/center] [center][s]-------------------------------------------------[/s][/center] The world is a hazy mess of sound and panic, something is happening and to Arduous that is never a good thing. He mindlessly blinks as the screeching seeps in, furrowing it's way into his freshly awoken mind. “Show time? No, no, nap time.” he says before he can even start thinking, the fog of sleep still shrouding his mind. He sits motionless for a second. “Yes, yes [b]ok.[/b] I'm awake.” he sneers, snatching the thin printed tape from his muscular companion. “A robbery?….THAT BASTARD. Who the hell does he think he is [b]waking me up like this[/b]” Arduous grumbles clasping the all too sharp edges of his office chair, his forearms pressing into the chair, elbows splayed in the air above due to the chairs semi-circular shape. Arduous exhales a quick “Hmph” as his eyes burn with the promise of vengeance. He slams his palms into the hapless chair vaulting into the air, forcing the chair to retreat. He suddenly straightens in the air landing like a practised gymnast in the very spot the chair has once just been. He glares at the black phone machine, “Right, we're off” the words escaping his mouth in a spit of patronising tones. With new found energy Arduous marches towards the door, eyes set forward, radiating more drive and determination with each step. “Ah….I forgot” he mutters under his breath before, like hitting an invisible wall he stops dead. His head drops forward, shoulder slouched, the gusto and determination leaving him like air leaving a balloon. He spins, his eye's a glaze. Memories of the last week, the letters, the notices fill his head. All unheeded. All ignored. With the weight of memory pressing down on him Arduous trudges back to his desk pulling his seat by it's semi-circular cushion behind him. He slops one elbow onto his square mahogany desk, his hand cupping his now dropping forehead. His other hand cranes around and grasps the knob of the top draw, with an effortless flick of the wrist the draw flings open, exposing a mess of trinkets and oddities. laying atop the pile is a dusty, fraying pamphlet, detailing trams times in and around City U. Arduous takes a second to read and absorb the schedule, he listlessly hoists the chair onto it's back legs, rocking softly in rhythm with the mid-day breeze. [i][b][h3]!![color=f7976a]SLAM[/color]!![/h3][/b][/i] His chair careens backwards causing the suddenly alarmed man to yelp in surprise. He blinks the blur of impact wearing off quickly, and feels a rush of emotion and energy His mind races “bank robbery, awake, car, Angelo, robbery, car, now?…” He swivels with a start, springing up into a standing position. “Right, [b]I said we're off[/b]” he huffs strutting down the corridor Tram pamphlet gripped tightly in hand. [center][s]-------------------------------------------------[/s][/center] Arduous yawns as he stares blankly at the morning news, “Mysterious activity on the rise in Deuxieme Quadrant” the article title reads, he turns looking at the gargantuan man, now wearing a luchador mask, posing in the reflection of a dime gum ball machine. “Are these things ever on time” ... [/center]