[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/klHHPfB.png?1[/img][/center]
[center][b]Christopher Arthur III[/b] | [b]Maya Hoffman[/b][/center]
	An expensive sports car pulled up in front of the red carpet that acted like a crimson road to the Roy Walley Convention Hall. From the driver’s side door, Christopher Arthur stepped out. Dozens of camera flashes sparkled in his direction, just like fireflies blinking in the night. Even though it was long past dusk, Chris had sunglasses on and the reason for the shades was obvious to anyone who observed the camera shutters clicking away.

	“You do realize that you went around the block three times, right?” The valet told Chris as he approached towards the car in order to open up the passenger’s side door.

	[color=C0C0C0]“Well, I had to give this bad boy a spin.”[/color] Chris pulled off his sunglasses and slip them into a pocket in his sport’s jacket. He then tossed the car keys over to the valet [color=C0C0C0]“But don’t get any bright ideas.”[/color]

	Chris circled around the car to help Maya out of the vehicle. Although Chris almost seemed to enjoy the limelight that came with being both a celebrity and a genuine superhero, Maya was entirely unaccustomed to the attention. As they walked down the velvet carpet, she clung to Chris’ torso, as if she were shrinking away from the attention. It did not help that it took the two almost an hour to get inside the convention building due to the paparazzi’s excessive desire of information and exclusives.

	Even Minerva was even there, waiting to bug him with ‘official’ business. Ever since the Hounds of Humanity severed the head of S.T.R.I.K.E., their core leadership, the spy organization was thrown into chaos and its secrets became instantly vulnerable. 

	“A word, Mr. Arthur.” Minerva commanded him with her usual cold tone.

	[color=C0C0C0]“Oh, come on! This night has once already been interrupted by supervillainy, twice if you count the whole Hounds of Humanity thing!”[/color]

	“Are you not the least concerned?”

	[color=C0C0C0]“Nah. They’re big boys. They can handle it. And I’ve put into place some safety features just in case things take a turn for the worst.”[/color]

	Chris was referring to the database of metahumans and other persons of interest that S.T.R.I.K.E. had been compiling for the last several months, if not longer. Chris knew that this sort of information would be dangerous in the wrong hands. Therefore, he embedded deep in the system’s code a kill switch that would wipe the system clean if anyone ever tried to access it remotely or if S.T.R.I.K.E. Before Chris had left for this event, he double checked to make sure that his kill switch had worked as planned. The only copy of this information that remained was in Chris’ possession.

	[color=C0C0C0]“But go ahead and alert some of those nice agents that I might be hiring soon.”[/color]

	Chris and Maya [i]finally[/i] walked into the convention hall, where they were first greeted by [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4003794]Daniel Emerson[/url]. This fundraiser was organized to commemorate those who had recently died and to help support their loved ones in this dark time. Although he had plenty of resources to cover the expenses for his diseased relatives, unlike many of the other families, Mr. Emerson made sure that his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were recognized, just for commemoration.

	“Chris, I’m so glad you were able to make it.” Mr. Emerson offered his hand to Chris, which he immediately shook. “It really means a lot to me. And I’m sure it means just as much to them, too.”

	Mr. Emerson then turned towards the display that had been set up for his deceased relatives. There was not a jar set up in front of it, since Mr. Emerson did not require the financial support, as I have already mentioned.

	[color=C0C0C0]“Oh, it was nothing. You were there when my parents died, so it just seems fair to repay the favor.”[/color]

	“Well, we can talk some more later. I still need to do some more rounds about this place and I don’t want to keep you social butterflies from the party.”

	After Mr. Emerson strolled away to greet some of the other guests, Chris and Maya began to weave through the crowded reception hall. Unbeknown to them, two women, one dragging the other behind her, were fighting against the mass of guests to get to Chris. The first women, a brunette, who was in the lead, had a nature beauty that was perfect for a model from the 40’s and 50’s. The girl who she was dragging behind her, a blonde, was more focused on not spilling the drink in her hand.

	“Excuse me. Mr. Arthur?” Chris turned around to find the brunette woman standing there. When he saw the second girl, he immediately recognized her. In fact, he had forgotten that she was living out on the West Coast.

	[color=C0C0C0]“Yes?”[/color] The brunette held a small book in her hands, holding it out in front of herself.

	“Could you sign this for me?” The woman asked him. Chris agreed and received the book from the woman. When he flipped it open to find an empty page to sign, Chris noticed that there were several signatures from the various members of the Avenger’s movie cast.

	[color=C0C0C0]“You do realize that I’m not Iron Man, right?”[/color]

	“Of course, I know that!” The brunette rolled her eyes, “I think people can easily distinguish you from Robert Downey Jr.”

	[color=C0C0C0]“You would be surprised.”[/color] Chris then pulled a pen from his jacket pocket and scribbled his signature inside the small book that belonged to the brunette women. [color=C0C0C0]“So, do you want me to write anything else?”[/color]

	“Oh, just put down ‘To Emily’, or something.” Emily replied.

	[color=C0C0C0]“Do you want me to also include Aubrey over there or just you?”[/color]

	“You know Aubrey?” Emily gestured to the blonde girl standing behind her.

	[color=C0C0C0]“Well, I have dated some Viera models in the past.”[/color]

	[color=b22222]“In your dreams.”[/color] Aubrey took a gulp from the drink that she had been holding onto for this entire time.

	“You can just put my name down.” Emily tried to quickly switch the subject because the tense situation that was developing because of Aubrey’s obvious dislike of Chris. She then turned towards Maya, who had been standing beside Chris the entire time. “But who’s your date? That’s a beautiful dress.”

	“Thanks.” Maya blushed as she replied to Emily.

	[color=C0C0C0]“This is Maya Hoffman.”[/color] Chris quickly interjected, since he assumed that she was being a little overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the entire event.

	[color=b22222]“So, what happened to the armored chick? Just the flavor of the month?”[/color] Aubrey chimed in on the conversation. While she was waiting for Chris’ answer, she took a sip from her drink again.

	[color=C0C0C0]“Um…”[/color] Chris pondered on how he should respond to that answer. Aubrey had made her question vague enough for everyone else not to guess that she is actually the metahuman known as Arachne, but since Chris knew this information, he understood that she was referring to Archangel. [color=C0C0C0]“She kind of turned out to be a killer robot.”[/color]

	Aubrey had to cover her mouth with her hand to make sure she did not accidentally spit up her drink. She almost laughed at the absurdity of that idea that Archangel was a robot. However, when she noticed everyone else was not taking it as a joke, she made sure to repress any urges to laugh at the irony.

	[color=b22222]“Wait, you’re serious?”[/color]

	[color=C0C0C0]“In the world that we live in, how is that surprising?”[/color]

	[color=B22222]"But still, you got cat-fished by a computer? And I thought you were supposed to be smart or something."[/color]

	“Well, thanks for the signature!” Emily finally told Chris. After seeing the hostility building up between Chris and Aubrey, she knew that she had to cut the conversation short lest the tense moment escalates any more than it already had. “I hope you enjoy your stay in Pacific Point.”

	[color=C0C0C0]“We’ve been meaning to watch the local baseball team play, but things have been so hectic around here that we’ve have not had a chance to do so. But at least it is not like Lost Haven, where it seems like a world-ending crisis is just the average Thursday.”[/color]

	“Oh, the Pacific Point Pythons are quite fun to watch. Aubrey and I went to a game a few weeks ago. For some strange reason. baseball is so much more enjoyable in person than on television.” Emily noted.

	[color=C0C0C0]“Speaking of baseball, I’ve heard that Aubrey here has quite the [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/1755823]swing[/url].”[/color]