[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/315998304305545227/315998637735936004/coollogo_com-39941120.png[/img][/center]
[sub][center]An Unwanted Eye: Prelude[/center][/sub]

One Day Before the Catastrophe
[hr]
Halted were the wheels of the blue Honda Civic outside the Amim residence's honey colored door. From the vehicle's gut stepped a sleek young man; his hair lay against his neck and rained past his shoulders. His frame was thin, his face canvassed like a demigod. The young man had nerve thrusting through him as he made his way up the stone steps which provided advance to the carpeted front porch of the gaudy brick house. A well manicured fingernail pressed the doorbell.

Shati released her surprise audibly, each of her family member's eyes locked themselves onto their youngest member. Bibi, the matron, exercised her head-of-house privilege and ripped the silence,

"And who might [i]that[/i] be?!" Bibi knew, of course, Shati and Bibi had already discussed the details of Shati and her new boyfriend's daytime foray. This was before Shati's elder cousin, Hassan, returned home as a costumed hero-monster-thing. Rahna furrowed an eyebrow, her slender wrist whirred the mocha in her mug. Rahna’s graduate studies had kept her away from the daily goings of her immediate family and perhaps for too long. Bibi rose and strode to the door where she opened the door and at once her forest green eyes lay on the pencil bodied boy who stood before her,

“And you must be Manuel!” Bibi glimmered, she stepped aside so Manuel could enter, a weak grin broke across his jaw, then Manuel stepped inside. Gold shone from the lightning bolt on Pantheon’s chest, and Pantheon’s eyes were shivs which stained the young man’s body with suspicion. Pantheon didn’t blink once. Rahna smelled the tension and jabbed an elbow into Pantheon’s ribs and she only brought injury to herself. Pantheon understood, and retrieved his etiquette: he kicked a chair out from beneath the table and it slid a few inches. With a sly tone Hassan spoke,

“Have a seat.” he still hadn’t blinked.
Shati groaned and rolled her eyes, “You don’t have to be such an idiot [i]all the time[/i], Hassan.”

Manuel was sweating.

Amused by the even the smallest--but affectionate--sufferings he could cause Shati (and because there was nothing particularly interesting to the actual Pantheon amalgum about the course of human social interaction) Hassan assumed control, and the iron stare weltered into malcontent glee. Manuel had unconsciously frozen in word and deed for several minutes, resultant of his awe and fear of the massive costumed figure a few feet away from where he stood. He had seen something like that same lightning bolt on television a while back following the attack on Lost Haven University, but he relegated it to myth. He was already fitting in with the skeptics that were the Amim clan. Shaken from his stupor by fear and reverence, he assumed his position in the seat next to Pantheon. A flash of masculinity washed over Manuel, Shati was siting across from him. He couldn't let himself seem small, not while his woman was watching!

So, Manuel did the most masculine thing he could think of. . . he gave her the flower he had picked from his father's garden thirty minutes before he got there. Bibi let out a near inaudible "aw" sweltering with approval; Rahna, reminiscence; Hassan, over-protection and respect. Shati flashed an embarassed beam of her own. Rahna split the sap in the air with inquiry,

"So, where are you two going?" Rahna put on her own matronly pitch,
"Well," Shati and Manuel said in unison,
"Three," Hassan spit,
"What?" Shati churned, Manuel's eyes widened, Rahna was taken aback. Bibi gave a slight frown.
"Don't eeeven act like you don't know what's been happening out there. Maybe they don't know yet that you're related to me, but it won't be long before they do. [i]When[/i] they find out, y'all are all liabilities. I really am not trying to be, you know, a 'hero who has to go on revenge spree because all his family was murdered" trope. . . regardless of how cool it might be."

Rahna open palm slapped Pantheon across the face, the loud clap reverberated through the whole house. Holding his jaw, Hassan's voice seethed with a desired retaliation he knew would remain unfulfilled, 

"WHAT WAS THAT F[COLOR=YELLOW]OR?[/COLOR]" the clown of a question received no answer. Pantheon moved his attention back to the young lovers seated diagonally on either side of him. He continued,

"So, yeah, anyway, I'm coming with and I don't care if you like it or not." Pantheon smiled. Manuel posited the day's most effective question,

"How are you gonna fit in my dad's car?"

All were stumped.

"That's right! It [i]is[/i] a small car!" Shati brightened at her unintentional trump card--big corporation cost cutting. She supposed she was free from Hassan's eye, he never did take well with her and the whole 'having a boyfriend' thing. It was something about 'knowing how boys think.' It was part of the reason Shati never told Hassan anything ever. Hassan gave the impression he was defeated. He would, of course simply fly there and watch in secret but he would never let them know of his glorious countermeasure. Shati stuck her tongue out at her cousin and then the two rose and moved toward Manuel's car. Rahna and Bibi slicked their similarly large nigh-oval shaped eyes to Pantheon, who sat calm after soaking in the apparent rebuff.

"I know what you're thinking, son. Let the girl have her fun, hm?" Bibi always read her son easily.
"She doesn't need you bre--" before Rahna could finish, there was a man-sized hole in the ceiling, Pantheon had waited until Shati and Manuel had driven far enough away before he made his advance.

"Damn it!" Rahna was exasperated, "You know, [i]ohm[/i] when you said he had gotten 'a hard head', I didn't know you meant he was a [i]fool.[/i]"

Bibi threw her hands up, "I did the best I could with him--he gets the dumbass from his father." she chuckled to herself. Rahna peeled her keys from her pocket and headed toward her truck, it was about to be a [i]fun[/i] afternoon.