[center][h1][color=red]S[/color] [i]a m a n t h a[/i][/h1] [img]https://i.imgur.com/YdB71c9.jpg[/img] [quote=Samantha Howard][color=red]"I just want to eat. What is with you people? Also this is a small collab post, too."[/color][/quote][/center] Richard Davis enjoyed a good game of baseball and had gone to every game he had the chance to, ever since he was a wee lad. His earliest memories were of the time he spent with his father, both playing catch and religiously cheering for his team to win. Quite honestly, the only thing that could rival his love for the sport of baseball was his strange obsession with clocks that caused him to open a small shop focused on them. He was perhaps not the most normal individual, sure, but then again, neither was his young employee, Samantha, who always seemed a bit 'off' to him. She was much too stoic for her age, and that had terrible implications. She must have gone through something terrible, and as far as he was aware, she had nobody to fall back on. She had once told him her parents were of no relevance to her anymore, and he suspected she had no place to stay. So Richard Davis being a well-meaning, genuinely good person, he would offer what he could. A small job at his shop was the least he could do for how hardworking she was, even if she appeared disinterested. Today was no different. He wanted to do something nice for her, and he hoped she might share his love for a good old game of baseball. But judging by her reaction to his initial invitation, that was certainly not the case, and it took a lot of convincing to finally get her to come with him. Thankfully, he knew she was especially susceptible to bait in the form of the promise of a free lunch. He opted out of thinking about how this could be misconstrued, and instead tried his very best to get Sil into the spirit of the game. And though her facial features did not reveal it, he could swear as the game picked up and she munched on her hotdog, that she was enjoying her time here. That only added to his own enjoyment of the game. Regrettably, the fun times weren't to be. The Penrose Platypuses were to face off against the Harkview Honey Badgers, with his home team pulling ahead not even innings in, as was tradition. Things were going excellent, until some commotion had called for the game to be postponed. Something terrifying appeared in the stadium, sending it into a panic. Davis looked closely at the culprits. They were... wrapped in bandages? Didn't those things look like... A revelation struck him. Those things, those monsters, they could only be... [b]"This must be the work of the Morningwood Mummies, those bastards! How dare they interrupt this game! Are they that angry about last season? Why the nerve of some people!"[/b] Unlike Richard Davis, Samantha knew what was going on. And she knew they needed to leave quickly, lest they be caught. She did not want to transform while Davis was around, even if he would likely pass it off as something else, like most humans did. It just felt... wrong, somehow, but she couldn't explain why. All she knew is that they needed to vacate the premises immediately. In the commotion being caused by others, her hotdog was knocked out of her hand and landed on the dirty stadium floor. She gave a solemn look towards the hotdog before grabbing Davis and taking off towards the exit, ignoring his complaints. Other people hadn't understood the danger those mummies possessed yet, and so she managed to escape with Richard without much problem. As for the others? They did not concern her. [b]"In my day, things like that would never be tolerated! Why I oughta...and what's up? Why did we leave?"[/b] Richard Davis was worked into a fit, but Sam remained stoic as ever. She glanced him up and down, then asked him a question. [color=red]"Are you unhurt?"[/color] [b]"Huh? Oh, nothing serious. Some rude kid elbowed my arm in all that hassle, though."[/b] he rubbed his side for emphasis. [color=red]"Go home, it's safe there. Do not return."[/color] she told him, to which he could only reply with a confused look. He still was not sure why she just ran them out of the stadium over a little prank, but she seemed dead serious. And if she was that worried, he figured he may as well listen. [b]"Alright, alright. But what about you? What do you plan on doing, Missie?"[/b] he asked. There was a small pause before she answered. [color=red]"I've got something I have to do, I'll talk to you later."[/color] He'd spent enough time with Samantha to just barely see past her stoic guise. And what he saw was concerning to him. If he got the feeling right, she almost seemed as upset as he was. What could have caused that? ....... ....... ........ Samantha concealed herself nearby the Stadium, made sure nobody knew where she was, and then contacted Veronica via the artifact she was gifted by the Mint Agent. [color=red]"...What is the deal with the stadium? Is it the Mint's doing?"[/color] she asked her usual tone. But Veronica herself would probably be able to surmise that Sam wasn't exactly in a pleasant mood, if her phrasing was anything to go by. [color=#bd71e8]“The Mint does not operate in the same manner as Chloe, Sam.”[/color] Unlike Silhouette, the irritation in her voice was easy to pick up. It wouldn't be for most people, but Sil knew veronica long enough to be able to tell when she was sufficiently annoyed. [color=#bd71e8]“I have my hands full with a side project at the moment. I've only briefly heard about the monster attacks, and I can confirm none of them were started by any of my agents.”[/color] There was a faint sound in the background. Something like the crack of fire, or electricity? It was hard to place what was happening on Veronica's end. [color=#bd71e8]“Is there a reason why you suspect Mint activity?”[/color] Samantha nearly sighed in relief when Veronica answered that the Mint weren't a part of the commotion in the stadium. [color=red]"I know that."[/color] she replied. [color=red]"Such a flamboyant attack is uncharacteristic of the Mint, more than anybody else, I'm aware of this."[/color] she stated resolutely. Afterwards, Silhouette did not speak for a few seconds. Veronica would hear nothing but silence for the few seconds between the moments when Silhouette spoke, but she had just transformed. There was just no auditory cue for it. [color=red]"But I intend to get involved. And any Mint involvement would prove to be problematic, for obvious reasons."[/color] [color=red]"With that cleared up, unless you might have need of me, then I'll indulge myself for a little bit."[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“Actually, your involvement in this could prove useful. We were just speaking about Chloe a moment ago, and I did not bring up her name out of the blue. Do you remember what she gave you?”[/color] Veronica was likely being cryptic in the event that someone was listening along. [color=#bd71e8]“You might as well give it a test drive. I'd like you to report your findings later.”[/color] Samantha had almost forgotten about the object Veronica was referring to was even on her person. She wasn't personally intending on using it without instruction, so this was rather convenient. [color=red]"I see, then I'll give you the rundown when we next speak."[/color] To be completely honest, she wasn't a fan of being a test subject in this case. Her eye betrayed no signs that this would kill her when used, but she'd much rather see its influence on a person that wasn't herself. Still, if she could get enjoy herself a little and also do something for Veronica, then she did not mind. [i][color=red]Wait, enjoy myself...?[/color][/i] She stared at the strange gem Chloe had given her for a moment, before deciding to use it. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but it was a vaguely familiar one. If she were asked to describe how she felt when initially using the "steroid", she would have to say it felt similar to using the Black Coin. It was less intense in both the surge of strength and the tainted influence it projected onto her, but it certainly reminded her of that accursed coin. Samantha, or rather, Silhouette, raised her hand to her features, and found her face had been locked into a wide grin. She quickly corrected that, shook her head, and placed a hand on her chest. She took a deep breath and tried to clear the funk out of her head, but a dark, familiar whispering had invaded her mind. [color=red][b]Kill, maim, fight.[/b][/color] It repeated these words over and over again. Enough to drive Sil mad, had she not already grown accustomed to such voices long ago. She calmed herself down, shoved those unprofessional, pointless thoughts from her mind, and sighed. [color=red][i]This isn't safe.[/i][/color] She decided immediately that this would be the first and last time she'd ever use something like this. She did not want that second voice, that corruption to claim her identity. At least not entirely. She was aware that her mood was already influenced by the corrution, this 'steroid' only made it more apparent. But since she'd already used it, she would have to see just how worthwhile the boost was. So, Silhoutte approached the Stadium, blade in her hand and ready to strike at whatever laid in her path, unsure of who started this mess, but she was damn sure she would be the one to end it. Her lunch had to be avenged.