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Mason blinked twice. The stranger stood at the entrance in wait of a response, but her words were left to hang in the air. And in that moment, his thoughts raced. 

Just seconds ago, when the door had barely opened a sliver, on instinct, his mind had begun to fill itself with as many different scenarios as the small window of time could allow - realistic or not - in order to prepare himself for the worst. [i]This[/i] was far from the worst. In fact, the peculiar sight had actually eased a bit of the tension he felt, once he was able to process it. What a strangely mundane image to see in a place like this: a slightly dazed young woman with her hair disheveled and eyes that longed for more sleep, wrapped snugly in a blanket to fend off the morning chill. Had she just gotten out of bed? If he hadn’t been so stressed just a minute ago, he would’ve let out a small chuckle, though his expression had softened a bit. She looked frightened.

[color=E1F99F]“Oh! I...uhh...no-”[/color] Yeah. He hadn’t spoken to anyone for 3 weeks; he took a deep breath and straightened his posture.

[color=E1F99F]“No. Actually, I’m not a part of any group. I was hiding from the Boyz; you know em’? Those trigger-happy thugs out there.”[/color] His diction was notably fast, with a serious but relaxed tone. [color=E1F99F]“And I uhh...only realized I wandered into somebody else’s turf after it was too late. Are [i]you[/i] a part of em’? The Gal- something or other? If so uh- sorry about that.”[/color] He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled meekly as he spoke, allowing his voice to sound a bit friendlier by the end.

Upon hearing the man speak in a flurry of somewhat anxious verbiage, Hana’s tensed shoulders dropped slightly. She figured she didn’t look very threatening wrapped like a burrito with her blanket in tow, seeing that the man didn’t seem too alarmed by her sudden entrance.

[color=ffe8e8]“Oh, yeah. We’re called the Gal Pals, but not because I agreed with it.”[/color] Hana let out a small chuckle, maintaining her wariness of the man as she spoke. [color=ffe8e8]“I don’t know about the Boyz but I think they’re the ones that just attacked us...”[/color]

Hana paused for a second; it seemed like the roaring of gunfire had ceased for the moment. It was likely that several of the members of the Gal Pals decided to jump into action to ward them off. Most of the members, if not all, had some kind of cool offensive ability which were useful for scenarios like this anyway.

[color=ffe8e8]“I have a feeling the others are fighting them right now. They’re-”[/color] Hana abruptly silenced her phrase and noticed her mistake in the middle of it, before speaking again, at a softer volume. [color=ffe8e8]“I mean, we’re Deltahumans, so, I don’t think the Boyz are going to last long.”[/color] She laughed, nervously.

Mason hesitated; due to the nature of his Delta ability, he wasn’t too keen on disclosing his power to just anyone. This person seemed genuine, but it was too early to fully trust her, and he had yet to see any other members of her group. Then again, because there were too many unknowns, it would be difficult to justify acting in complete secrecy, if exchanging information between them could prove more helpful for their safety.

However, before he could produce another thought, a low, thunder-like pulse sounded in the distance and in a moment, grew uncomfortably closeby. [i]An...explosion?[/i] He dashed forward towards the doorway the young woman had been standing in and pushed her into the hallway along with him as the window panes behind them were shattered by the blast, bursting into the room with deafening clangs. 

He took a second to recover a bit before he slammed his back to the wall and slid down into a loose sitting position, hand placed over his pounding heart as he let out a deep exhale.

[color=E1F99F]“Was...was that- one of your friends?”[/color] he asked with a shaky smile, betrayed by the panic in his voice. [color=E1F99F]“Oh and uh- you okay? I don’t regularly like shovin’ people around but, my body just sorta moved on its own.”[/color] He averted his gaze in embarrassment. 

Before Hana realized, she fell onto the floor with a thud, masked by the shattering of window panes where she once stood. It took a minute for Hana’s thought process to catch up with reality and take in what had just happened, only snapping out of her daze when the man had breathed a sigh of relief.

[color=ffe8e8]“Oh my god.”[/color] Hana peeked through the door at the shattered glass fragments, now strewn across the hardwood flooring. [color=ffe8e8]“Y-yeah, I think that might have been someone in the Gal Pals, but I don’t know all their abilities yet. It might have been someone named Frances, maybe? I guess your initial impression of us isn’t the best.”[/color] She ended her phrase with another nervous chuckle.

[color=ffe8e8]“Um, thanks for that, by the way.”[/color] Hana gave the man a bashful glance. Her hair had become more disheveled from being pushed into the hallway, so she quickly smoothed out what she could and tucked stray strands behind her ear. [color=ffe8e8]“I’m Hana by the way.”[/color] She stretched a timid hand from her blue, fleece wrapping, inviting the man to shake it.

[color=E1F99F]“Heh. No problem.”[/color] Amused by the look Hana gave him, he let out a small laugh to match hers before he gave her a quick but firm - almost business-like - handshake. [color=E1F99F]“Mason.”[/color]

Having regained his composure, he slid the same hand back into his pocket and raised one of his eyebrows at her remark about the explosion. [color=E1F99F]“Hmm. You...think? You don’t sound very sure. And nah- I don’t even know enough about the Gal Pals right now to form an opinion on ‘em.”[/color] He sighed as he stood back up.

[color=E1F99F]“Hey.”[/color] He lowered his voice and spoke with more urgency, gazing at the end of the hall in deliberation. [color=E1F99F]“It’s gotten quieter; the bullets’ve died down but, it’s a bit early to celebrate. In any case, Hana, you obviously know your group much better than I do. Should we head to where they are?”[/color]

[color=ffe8e8]“Yeah, why not?”[/color] Hana smiled as she got up, dusting herself off in the process. [color=ffe8e8]“Hopefully they’re done blowing things up.”[/color]

Hana led Mason down the corridor, blanket in tow, towards the stairs that would lead to the roof, where she knew Jack and Yoko usually were. She was surprised, however, that he seemed willing to head towards a group of people that objectively seemed violent and destructive, from what had just happened. 

[color=ffe8e8]“Say, what makes you interested in meeting them? Are you looking for a group to stick with?”[/color] She paused, looking back at him with a raised eyebrow as she walked. [color=ffe8e8]“I mean, I hear opinion on the street about Deltahumans aren’t exactly kind - well, we were just caught up in an explosion made by one…”[/color]

Mason was a bit disturbed by the nonchalance in her tone when she referred to her group [i]blowing things up[/i], but he shrugged it off - mostly; perhaps something like that was normal now.

[color=E1F99F]“Mmm...Honestly? I don’t mind. Tryin’ to survive on your own gets pretty boring so, why not? And I mean, not that it matters but...I’m a Deltahuman too.”[/color] He smirked mischievously.

Hana gasped, [color=ffe8e8]“Oh?”[/color] She felt relief knowing that Mason was a Deltahuman too. They’re less likely to judge, since they’re in the same position. [color=ffe8e8]“If - if you don’t mind me asking, what are your abilities?”[/color]

Of course, it was [i]that[/i] question. Given the circumstances, he’d rather provide an answer than avoid it, albeit a short one.

[color=E1F99F]“Ah, it’s nothing special. It doesn’t actually [i]do[/i] anything on its own. It’s a buff, basically. When I activate it, I can make a Deltahuman’s ability stronger.”[/color] She didn't need to know the details, but simply knowing about it could benefit them both, though it would depend on what ability she had. [color=E1F99F]“So? What about you? What’s your ability?”[/color]

Hana expected the question to be reflected back to her, but she still felt a little uncomfortable answering. Despite being a Deltahuman, she felt like her ability was barely a pass to qualify as one, yet, she didn’t classify as a regular human either. It was funny though, that Mason’s power seemed to be the antithesis of her own.

Hana let out a laugh, this time without a nervous undertone. [color=ffe8e8]“Your abilities are the opposite of mine! I- well, my ability isn’t much. I can nullify someone’s abilities when I touch them. Kind of like, um, those collars FAMA agents use, sometimes.”[/color]

Mason followed up her laugh with one of his own, though a much more controlled one. It was nice to hear her loosen up, considering what had happened just a few minutes ago.

[i]A nullification power, huh.[/i] She downplayed it, but the devil’s in the details; it could even be dangerous. He wasn’t sure if Hana had deliberately undermined her own ability or not, though the latter seemed more likely given her behaviour so far.

[color=E1F99F]“Wait, so you’re telling me...people like the one who just conjured a god damn explosion, you can stop them-”[/color] He snapped his fingers. [color=E1F99F]“Just like that? And here you are sayin’ it isn’t much?...How [i]do[/i] you nullify somebody’s power anyway?”[/color]

Hana was surprised at Mason’s interest in her ability - in contrast with her own disinterest in it. [color=ffe8e8]“W-well, I don’t think I would be able to stop the explosion if it’s already happening, but I can prevent - or rather, delay - someone from making it in the first place, if I have some kind of physical contact with them anyway.”[/color]

Before Hana had the chance to go more in-depth with her explanation, they had arrived on the roof where Jack and Yoko were. To her surprise, there was a third party who Hana didn’t recognize standing in front of them, by the entrance to the roof. It was likely she arrived there a bit before them - she had her arms raised, looking at Jack.

Hana instinctively stopped in her tracks, backing into Mason unintentionally. She tilted her head towards him and lowered her voice to a whisper. [color=ffe8e8]“Oops. I think we just walked into something.”[/color]