[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4335609]Previously...[/url] "David Lin, welcome to paradiso," crowed Kenny, pushing open the run-down fence. If he hadn't looked twice, he would have looked completely past it, and only now could he see the well-oiled hinges disguised by the trash-heap of a door. They went through the decrepit foyer of a long forgotten building and up a set of stairs, stopping in front of a surprisingly well-kept door. "Uh...is this--" he began. "Looks cliche, doesn't it? Yeah, it kinda is." She shrugged, pulling a key from her belt and slotting it into place. As the door opened, David was caught off guard by a sudden blast of bass. Kenny pushed him forward and shut the door quickly behind him. "Ernie, shut that shit up! We have a newbie here." Kenny threw her coffee cup across the room, where it bounced off the wall, hit the power button for the outrageously loud amp, and bounced into the can after. David blinked. How the fuck-- Then he noticed the decor. Outside had looked ugly as all hell, but in here...it was like any old apartment. If he was honest, it was a ridiculously clean apartment, apart from the snack wrappers and empty Monster cans lying around. "Fuck off, Kenny," the man she had called 'Ernie' glared at her. "I was just finding my groove there." "You'll be okay, big guy," said Kenny, bouncing into an overstuffed armchair. "Where's Garfield and Vince?" "Probably fucking in their room," grumbled Ernie, gingerly setting down his guitar. "Swear to god, they haven't stopped since they hooked up last week. Maria left an hour ago. She could hear them grunting through the walls." "Horny bastards," Kenny muttered. "And how about Hannah? I thought she'd be around." "She had a dance lesson," Ernie said. "Thanks for reminding me: I was gonna try and make something for our anniversary tonight. Got groceries and everything." He glanced at David. "Yo, nice to meet you, man. You like chicken parm?" "I...I guess?" David hated himself for stuttering, but he really hadn't expected any of this. Maybe a group of druggies getting high or something? "Dope. Let me know if you're sticking around, otherwise I'll eat your bit too." Ernie disappeared into the kitchen, and a moment later a FWOOM could be heard as flames erupted out from around the corner. "Shit!" came Ernie's voice. "My bad, guys." What had he gotten himself into? --- The night passed quickly, and David found himself watching the sleeping forms of the people around him. Why not? The Rat Swarm had been taken care of, and Phantom had already found that the petty criminals were either already being handled by other Epics and the Police, or they were hiding after the swarm invasion of the evening. He'd basically been reduced to a glorified babysitter. He took the time to review what he'd learned, while he watched Kenny sleep. Not that he was being weird or anything: she was lying on the couch opposite his body. Everyone else was in their own rooms. Everyone else. Ernie, Hannah, Garfield, Vince, Maria, and Kenny. Kenny didn't live here: these people were her closest friends, but she lived with her aunt and uncle across the city. Her aunt and uncle weren't the most supportive of her career choice, or so she'd told him after a few drinks. Ernie and Hannah were an item, for two years now. Ernie's lumbering frame, coupled with Hannah's tiny one, was a strange juxtaposition, but they seemed happy together, and David didn't know them enough to say anything else. Vince and Garfield were a ghost writer and a classically trained flutist, respectively. They were also both newly out of the closet, and after years of sharing a two-bed room, they finally snapped. When he got he tour of the house, David saw that their beds had been pushed together to make a queen-sized one instead. Maria...holy shit. When David had first met her, he reacted like he'd met any other person. He smile, cracked jokes, and shared a few quality memes he'd recently found. But for fuck's sake...he couldn't stop looking at her. She dressed well, like she had been taught how to flatter herself perfectly: and god damn, did she have looks worth flattering. Her eyes were a dark chocolate brown, but they shone out of the tawny skin of her face, so easy to get lost in. He hoped she didn't notice how much he was staring, because he wasn't trying to be some weirdo creep after first meeting the girl. But Jesus Christ, she was magnetic. Maria had found his memes "interesting", even smiling a few, but Kenny had howled with laughter, along with Ernie and Garfield. Somehow, by the time they all went to bed, David felt as if he'd known them all his entire life. They all were a little bit different, but somehow they all lived, loved, and got along. Hannah was a sound designer: she made sound effects and recordings for the industry. Maria was a singer and a voice actor, and Ernie was a producer, like himself, as well as a pianist. All in all, a good group of people that he was glad to have-- "HOLY FUCK DAVID WHAT THE FUCK--" Kenny's voice jarred him, and he shot up three feet in the air toward the corner. "No no no what the fuck dude please tell me you didn't die--" She started to hyperventilate, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Without thinking he swooped down in front of her. "No, no, Kenny. Kenny don't freak out, I'm fine, I'm just--" "Ohhhhhh." Kenny's terror rapidly faded. "Oh, shit! Dude! You're an ep--" "Yeah, I'm...I'm special." He made hushing noises with his hands. "Please, please keep your voice down." Kenny nodded, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "You're one of us, man! This is fuckin' awesome!" She reached down and grabbed the TV remote from the couch. "HEY GUYS!" she shouted, and David winced as he heard the shout through two sets of ears. Kenny threw the remote without looking, and it flew across the room, bounced off the wall, and hit the lightswitch. "DAVID'S ONE OF THE BOYS!" With a start, David's Phantom vanished, and he lurched upright on the couch. "What the fuck, Kenny?" he asked angrily, even as doors opened and lights began to turn on. He resigned himself to the worst, as the room started to fill. He'd really fucked up this time. Why hadn't e just been an invisible Phantom like normal? "Dude, this is so cool," babbled Kenny. "I didn't think we'd find any other musical people like us, but here you are. This is fuckin' dope, we're like...some kind of musical Epic ninja team." Wait, what?