[center][img]https://i.ibb.co/rMhVYVZ/Raf-Banner4.jpg[/img]
[color=f7941d][b]Location:[/b] Apartment > Street[/color] [b]|[/b] [color=f7941d][b]Interaction:[/b] None/Open[/color][/center]

	The coffee table was decorated with an empty, greasy pizza box surrounded by several empty bottles of cheap beer, a bag of Rafael's surprisingly potent herbs, and a dirty rolling tray.  Rafael and Dave were laying on their respective couches, their eyes bloodshot and glimmering as they stared at the television screen.  The program they were watching had come to an end and the credits began to roll.

	[i]"Coming up next, stay tuned for more of our Party With The Penguins Marathon..."[/i] declared the television announcer.

	"No!," Dave moaned, "No more penguins.  Something else.  [i]Anything [/i]else!"  Rafael scoffed, but abided the request as he grabbed the remote control and began flipping through channels.

	[i]"...we were ON A BREAK... [b]kshhh [/b]...gives you wings... [b]kshh [/b]...confirmed fatalities in the San Francisco area... [b]kshh [/b]...Well, fuck you guys! I'm going home!"[/i]

	"Wait, go back!  Go back one more," Dave demanded.  Raf looked to him, slightly confused.  Dave was not one who typically liked to watch the news.  Regardless, he flipped the channel back.

	[i]"...got our eye in the sky, Kristi Phillips.  Kristi, what are you seeing out there,"[/i] asked the news anchor to their helicopter correspondent.

	[i]"Michael, the situation is very volatile, as one would expect. Authorities are moving in and... Oh my god! The terrorist just hurled two people at... oh, I'm going to be sick.  Two people were just thrown into a helicopter.  So much blood-"[/i]

	"[color=f7941d]Bro, fuck this. I'm going back to South Park,[/color]" Rafael declared before delivering on that statement.  Dave wanted to protest, but his apathy was supercharged with intoxication and herbal influence.  Instead, he just watched on as the cartoon kids ripped on eachother.  Then came a forceful, urgent knock on the door.

	It wasn't the knock of a friend coming by or a solicitor going door-to-door to sell some crappy product or service.  This knock was specific, unique.  Raf and Dave knew exactly who was on the other side.  They both looked at eachother, their faces painted with panic.

	"Cops!"

	"[color=f7941d]Shit![/color]" Raf exclaimed. They were each hit with that surge of adrenaline you get right before you know you're about to get caught doing something wrong.  They launched themselves off the couch and onto their feet before surveying the room to quickly count how many transgressions they had committed.

	"It's the police!" shouted a voice on the other side of their apartment door.  "Open up!"

	"Aw shit, man!  Should I go flush it?!" Dave was not maintaining his cool at all.  He looked at the bag on the table as if it were a murder weapon before gazing back up at his roommate.

	"[color=f7941d]Fuck no,[/color]" Raf said incredulously.  "[color=f7941d]That shit is like green gold.  Go put it in my Fun Box with the rest of my shit - in my room, bottom of the closet, underneath the dirty boxers.[/color]" he instructed.  The dirty boxers was Raf's ingenious added layer of security for the container of all his illegal substances.  He figured if no one wanted to touch those boxers, they couldn't possibly get to his Fun Box underneath. "[color=f7941d]I'll try and get rid of them, but you have to play it cool, got it?[/color]"  Dave nodded and did as he was told while Raf made his way to the closed door.  "[color=f7941d]Hi, uh, officer,[/color]" he called out loudly while looking through the peephole.  He could see two uniformed men on the other side.  Neither one looked very happy.  "[color=f7941d]What's up?[/color]"

	"Open the door, son," one of the officers repeated forcefully.  "We're in a state of emergency.  Everyone needs to evacuate."

	Relief coated Rafael's entire body.  This wasn't a raid afterall.  He turned the doorknob and cracked it open just a bit before sticking his head out. "[color=f7941d]Oh, thank god.  I thought you were here because of all the dru-, uh, drrragonss...[/color]"

	"Excuse me? Did you say 'dragons'?" asked the officer's partner.

	"[color=f7941d]N-no.[/color]" Rafael's mind was working at half speed, the haze of the drug and drink combination working in full effect.

	"You clearly said 'dragons'."

	"[color=f7941d][i]You [/i]said dragons,[/color]" Raf shot back, showcasing his unparalleled wit.  He then raised his eyebrows as if silently asking the officers if that retort was good enough to move on passed this subject.

	"Listen, we don't have time for this.  I'm sure you know by now that there is a dangerous situation in progress and everyone is encouraged to leave the city, at least temporarily.  Get what you absolutely need and get out as quickly as possible, alright?"  Before Rafael could answer, the two police officers walked away, heading to the next door down to deliver the same message to Raf's neighbors.  He slowly shut the door and looked back to see Dave standing in the kitchen with sunglasses on.

	"[color=f7941d]What are you doing? What's with the shades?[/color]" Raf asked.

	"If they saw my eyes, they'd know we were fucked up.  Plus they make me look like a badass.  No one wants to mess with a badass." Dave gave a little flex before shifting back to a state of concern.  "They're gone, though, right?"

	"[color=f7941d]Ya.  They said we gotta go.  I guess because of that stuff on the news,[/color]" he deduced.

	"Yeah, the giant lady.  I tried to tell you earlier," Dave pointed out.  "It's getting wild out there with these altered folk."

	"[color=f7941d]Altered folk?  Wait, how giant was this lady?[/color]" Raf was finally connecting dots.  In response, Dave held his hand out flat right by his own forehead, showing his own height.  He then went slightly higher, signalling that she was taller than that.  He then started jumping up and down, pointing skyward in obnoxious exaggeration.  Clearly this woman was supernaturally massive.

	At this point, curiosity was getting the better of Rafael.  With a small squint, he turned around and opened the door once more before heading outside.  Dave called out behind him, asking where he was going, but Raf didn't bother to respond.  He made his way out to the sidewalk where people were running around like crazy.  Cars were honking, helicopters could be heard overhead.  Police and ambulance sirens were blaring out in multiple directions.  And that's when he saw her...

	The star of the show, an altered human just less than a mile off in the distance that stood a couple of hundred feet high. Rafael's jaw dropped.  His vision began to tunnel as his body went on autopilot, moving slowly toward this massive woman with small, uncalculated steps.  Soon his was off the sidewalk, walking into the street between idle cars to get a better look.  He could hardly believe it.  

	Normally something like this would scare the hell out of him.  He wasn't sure if it was the buzz from the alcohol or the high, but the only thing he felt currently was an odd curiosity.  

	Then he felt a speeding truck.  
	And then he felt the wind through his hair as he went airborne.
	Finally, he felt the asphalt with his face, and then his legs and, of course, his arms as he went tumbling down the street.

	He heard a woman scream, but soon realized it was just Dave.  His roommate ran up to him and struggled to get words out of his mouth.
	
	"Ohmyg, hoah, jeezus, are you okay, man?!" he finally managed to sputter.  "Why the hell did you go wandering in the street like that?  I can't believe that asshole in the Chevy just plowed right through you!  What the hell is wrong with people these days?  Why aren't you talking?  Oh, lordy, do you have brain damage?  Blink once if you can hear me!  Was that a blink?  Was that a normal blink or a 'I can hear you' blink?  Damnit, now [i]I[/i] can't stop blinking..."

	"[color=f7941d]Ugh, fuck off, I'm fine,[/color]" Rafael finally said, pulling himself up off the road with minor strain.

	"Oh... good.  But, uh... [i]why [/i]are you fine?" Dave asked, perplexed.  It was a fair question, Raf realized.  As he came to his feet, he looked down at himself.  His shorts were a little tattered and his shirt was now torn in several spots, exposing portions of his soft midsection.  However, there was no blood, no wounds, and no scratches to speak of.  Rafael froze for a moment, trying to process what had just happened, but Dave was a little quicker on the draw.

	"Oh, man.  You're one of them, aren't you?"  The mulletted stoner began backing up slowly, cautiously, while pointing an accusatory finger at his roommate.  "Holy shit, you're Altered."