[IC] H.UN.T(Sunja and 'Gumi)

[Aces Away]

Daemon woke with a groan as his comm. link rang on his nightstand. He flopped his hand around on the stands, searching blindly for the damned device. His hand finally grasped the small earpiece and he pushed it into his ear, pushing the small button to allow the call through. Looking to the clock quickly before answering, he let out a frustrated groan.

"It's five o'clock in the morning, what the hell do you want?" He grumbled, stuffing his head back into his pillow.

"You need to come in, it's recruitment day and you need to choose your partner." The voice filtered through.

"Can't it wait until a humane hour of the day?" a sigh sounded from the other side of the line.

"Lucid, you promised." came another voice. He grumbled; the leader of the organization really pissed him off sometimes.

"Fine." He hit the button to end the connection before getting out of bed and getting into his costume. His eyes lit up green and he switched the lever on the side of the mask, and the mist began filtering through his nose and mouth. He pulled up his hood and left his apartment, dodging anyone who might find it odd to run into the Antihero in a random apartment building. He'd long ago disabled the cameras, convincing the landlord with a long-standing illusion that they continue to work 'til this day. He got up to the roof and began to run, pulling off his hood as he jumped roof to roof to get to his location. A dilapidated building served as the facade needed to hide the network of underground facilities. He preferred the ones in the air, but those weren't for new recruits until a few weeks in.

He stepped onto the tile with a domino mask symbol-he rolled his eyes in distaste at the stupidity and obviousness- and waited for the white mask to glow. Seconds later, he dematerialized, reappearing in the stereotypical, chrome-covered facility. With a huff, he stepped into line with the other "Mentors", who lined up in front of the recruits.

"Welcome new recruits. I'm the director, Mercy Danaher, you're here to get your senior partner and begin training. You'll start by doing a test run in their city-" Lucid interrupted her with a cough. She turned to him with a bemused look.

"I'm not taking any newbies into my city, you want them to get eaten alive? It's like friggin' Gotham City, 'cept it's real." She glared at him.

"Then let's hope he's a tough one. Are you a tough one, Koyaani?" She called the last part towards the row of recruits.

[elphrain]

As much as Matthew hated to admit it, he was terrible at this traveling thing. At first he was excited to venture off into the new city, but as he continued to get lost and bump into countless people, it was just too overwhelming. “This is nothing like what it looks like on T.V...” He groaned as he was just barely able to make it into a subway and finally relax. Matt took out the map leading to the secret H.UN.T base and nodded when he finally was able to memorize the route. He looked out at the cityscape for the 20 minute ride before finally arriving in the vicinity. 

“Huh...”, Matt trailed, looking straight at an old abandoned building. “This is the place, right...?” He scratched the back of his neck and realized it wasn't exactly what he was expecting, but the more he thought about it, the building had to be the real deal. Matt walked a bit away from the crowds of people to put on his coat and adjust his mask, then went through the entrance. He tilted his head slightly when he noticed a mask design on the floor of the building. On a whim he stepped on the tile and it suddenly started glowing. He was a little surprised and never saw anything like that before, but was soon materialized into the base. It took him awhile to get over the shock, but by the time he got to the office he already collected himself.

Matthew was greeted by a room filled of seats and an atmosphere that felt like an awkward waiting room. There were other recruits in seats doing various things to occupy their time. Matt let out a shallow breath as he walked towards a desk with a secretary and signed himself in. Yeah, this definitely felt like he was in a hospital. He turned around and slowly made his way to the only seat left, sandwiched between a girl in a hood and a guy with a skeleton mask. As he sat there with nothing to do, the entire room was silent. 

“Can it not sound like someone died in the room...” He thought while looking around and then suddenly felt anxiety in the pit of his stomach. The pin-drop silence in the room wasn't helping his heart go any slower, either. “Pull yourself together, Matt!” He breathed in and tried to calm himself down. If he got a little too nervous, he might end up breaking something, and that wouldn't look good for the first day of training.

After a good 10 minutes of Matt arriving, the secretary seemed to get a call and stood up, alarming everyone in the room. “The mentors are ready to see you.” She said, and everyone got in a single file line into a large room that resembled a warehouse. By the time both the mentors and trainees were lined up, a woman with fiery red hair and an eye patch on her left eye came in the room and introduced herself. 

"Welcome new recruits. I'm the director, Mercy Danaher, you're here to get your senior partner and begin training. You'll start by doing a test run in their city-" Matt didn't notice, but there was a mentor that he didn't notice arrive previously. He interrupted the leader and chimed in with his own response.

"I'm not taking any newbies into my city, you want them to get eaten alive? It's like friggin' Gotham City, 'cept it's real." She glared at him. 

Matt wasn't sure if it was just him noticing it, but he sure felt like there was some hostility in the room. There was a little bit of nervous shuffling between those beside him. Matt peered over at the hero and then looked at the leader. Her eyes were soon fixated on him.

"Then let's hope he's a tough one. Are you a tough one, Koyaani?"

“Yes maam!”, He responded with a loud voice, a nod, and stood up straight. The way the guy in the mask describe it seemed very off putting...but why go for a town with less crime rate, when instead he could improve dramatically. “This is what I signed up for...” Matthew chanted in his head, letting himself remember that this thing was not going to be easy. He knew that, of course, but actually facing that reality was another story. Sure the road may be tough...but he was willing to take on anything. 

He continued to face the both of them, waiting to see if the hero would be willing to train him.

[Aces Away]

"Oh god, he's a boyscout." Lucid said in exasperation, tilting his head back lazily as he spoke. "I swear you do this stuff on purpose Mercy-"

"It's Director-"

"-But I'd prefer not having a guy that'll get killed quickly. Because, honestly, kid's gonna be an easy target." He continued as though Mercy hadn't interrupted him. "Grayelle city will chew 'im up and spit him out." He looked critically at the other man. "Give 'im to Lightbulb, he'd have fun in Crystalden." Said hero leaned out of the line to glare at Lucid.

"My name is Irradiate!" The hero complained, before silencing and standing straight by the Director's command.

"One, you call me the Director, Ma'am, or something respectful." She spoke, and he rolled his eyes at the glare. "Two, he's the same age as you. Three, what've I told you about insulting the other Heroes?"

"One, I'm all but forced to affiliate with you, so respect is down the drain." He mocked. "Two, their all kids, all the recruits. And three, his suit is practically a fucking lightbulb, I'm simply calling it as it is." He spoke, leveling her with a toxic green glare of his own. "If you want the kid to die, I'll take him. Ten bucks says he gets injured the first job." He looked down when his phone beeped, a notification of one of his father's weapons truck being on the move. He turned around and began walking to the Transferal Tiles.

"Take him with you!" She called after him. He waved his hand over his shoulder.

"Aye Aye, Captain!" He paused. "Sorry, I mean 'Aye, Captain'!" He stepped onto the Tile and disintegrated. Mercy looked back to Koyaani with an angered sigh.

"Just go with him." She told the recruit, moving to pair up the other recruits and heroes.

Lucid waited, crouched outside the H.UN.T entrance that's in his city. They all look the same in every city. All dilapidated buildings at the edge of the town. He's the only one that ever uses this entrance, but it looks like the kid will be using it too, now. "So glad you could join me." He said sarcastically as the guy appeared behind him. "I'm Lucid. Ever take down a weapons caravan?

[elphrain]

"Oh god, he's a boyscout." Lucid said in exasperation, tilting his head back lazily as he spoke. "I swear you do this stuff on purpose Mercy-"

Matt blinked his eyes a couple times in awe of what the mentor just said. “Wait, he's talking about me...? Seriously?!” Matt had a hard time believing this was really the task force, he imagined it would be a little more professional, or at least strongly urged heros to act professional. Everything around here was just really a big surprise for him...

"-But I'd prefer not having a guy that'll get killed quickly. Because, honestly, kid's gonna be an easy target." He continued as though Mercy hadn't interrupted him. "Grayelle city will chew 'im up and spit him out." He looked critically at the other man. "Give 'im to Lightbulb, he'd have fun in Crystalden."

Matt's eyes bounced back and forth between the mentor, another hero, and the director bickering. He glanced at the other new heros with his face under his mask feeling flushed from the embarrassment. When he looked back at the mentor speaking again, for the first time Matt noticed his eyes were bright green.

"If you want the kid to die, I'll take him. Ten bucks says he gets injured the first job."

Matt coughed a little bit at the sound of that blow. He could hear someone in the back hiding a chuckle. “Wow, are you kidding me? Not even like a little faith in me?” Matt sighed and didn't know what else to do besides wait around from an instruction from the director...a part of him kind of didn't want to work with this guy just because of his attitude. He noticed the mentor walking to the Transferal Tiles. His head jerked back to the director as she frustratedly let him leave. “U-Uh, alright!” He sped up and ran towards the guy as fast as he could, but he already vanished. Without hesitation he stepped on the tiles and was taken back to the building entrance. He saw his fellow teammate crouching on the wall, actually waiting for him.

"Yeah, right back at you.” He tried his best to return the sarcasm but it ended up coming out almost coldly. 

"I'm Lucid. Ever take down a weapons caravan?”

Matt was surprised that he hadn't learned his mentor's name sooner, and he felt it suited him but he wasn't exactly sure how yet. He then thought for a moment and frowned. All of the crime he helped take care of wasn't all that exciting as the stuff that happened in the city. “Nope. Any helpful information I should know about it and how we'll carry out the mission?” He questioned Lucid, but felt slightly apprehensive to what was to come. This task force wasn't everything to him, but at the same time he wanted to prove to himself that he could handle this fairly well. “I mean, I am training anyway, but it'd still be such a downer if I ended up getting shot...it'd be even worse if I ended up dying...” He thought while waiting for a reply.

[Aces Away]

Lucid scoffed. "They're gonna be using semi-automatic assault rifles, and Tec 9's with barrel extensions. I hope you move fast, kid." He stood up and turned to Koyaani. "Look, I'm not a good teacher, and I'm shit at working with others. You got the short end of the stick when they shoved you on me. I either piss everyone off or scare them away when they see just how much of a hero I'm not." He heard the rumbling of armored trucks. "Stay here until I've pulled them to a stop and they start firing. I don't know what your powers are, but if they can work at long distances, use that to your advantage, stay on top of the building if possible." He didn't wait for a response, walking out onto the abandoned road as the trucks quickly approached. The horn honked and he stared intensely at the stiff driver. Suddenly, the man screamed and veered off course, crashing the truck into a nearby building as he attempted to get away from the horrific sights that played before his eyes. The truck behind him came to a sharp stop and men filed out from the back of both trucks. Twelve in all from the second one, ten from the first.

"It's Lucid!" One guy yelled, holding up a Tec 9. Lucid hit the button on the wrist if his glove, forming his full mask, and ran forward as the others began raising their guns. He grabbed the first guy he reached and held his head still, forcing him to look into his eyes as he implanted the vision in his head. The guy began twitching, his eyes flicking to his former comrades, who he now saw as horrific creatures snarling and snapping in his direction. Lucid ducked behind the wall as the guy started shaking and raising his gun again. Lucid knew the man, of course. Terrence McGinnis; he was the right hand man of one of the underbosses under Daemon's father. Daemon never liked him. He listened as the gunshots rang out; Terrence firing on his comrades. He waited for the sound to disappear, indicating Terrence had been gunned down. Upon hearing it, he pulled out his two bo-staffs and ran out from behind the wall, knocking the first guy out with a swift slam to the back of the head. He turned around and took out the hidden blade from the staff, cutting off the hand of someone trying to catch him from behind. The group from the second truck was down. Now for the ten from the first truck.

"Your turn kid!" he yelled, backflipping as someone tried to take him out with a swipe of their gun. He landed in a crouch and swept the guys feet out from under him. 13 down, 9 to go. He was surrounded by said 9. "Any time now, kid." He whispered, honestly interested in his powers. Why would Mercy pair someone incompatible with him, after all.

[elphrain]

Matt didn't know what to say to Lucid at his explanation, but somehow he oddly felt like he understood the guy a bit more. He didn't have a very long time to dwell on that though, because they both heard the sound of the trucks pulling up.

"Stay here until I've pulled them to a stop and they start firing. I don't know what your powers are, but if they can work at long distances, use that to your advantage, stay on top of the building if possible."

Matt was about to reply to Lucid, but he already walked away. He took cover on top of the building and watched the men come out of the truck. Luckily his powers did work long distance, or else he'd be in some big trouble. He didn't plan on doing anything yet, but listened and watched carefully. Matt was curious to see what his powers were, so he kept watching. A bunch of men came out of two trucks fully armed and ready to take them down. He watched Lucid run towards one of the men and seemed to almost force him to look into his eyes...and almost immediately the man started to act strangely. Within a matter of seconds the man started firing his gun like a madman, and Matt ducked a little just in case he caught any stray bullets.

Does he make his victims go crazy or something? Maybe he makes them see...illusions?” Matt thought to himself, but soon tried to pull himself together and focus. He peeked over the building and saw Lucid taking down the rest of the guys. He looked around the area and tried to figure out what would be good to move. The number of enemies soon decreased to nine, and he was readying himself to get involved.

"Your turn kid!" He heard Lucid yell, and Matt perked up and decided it was now or never. He concentrated on his power and decided to do something that would distract them first, then he could damage their weapons. Luckily, there were some loose boards and bricks near the building that he threw at the rest of the men. While the dust was still looming in the air, he used the chance to pull a gun away from the guy who looked the most distracted. The gun fell down and fired a couple shots at two guys in the feet. He didn't plan that...but he wasn't complaining. He used his throwing daggers to pierce two other men, but he only had five of them and he missed the rest.

Then, there was one last thing he could try. He knew he wasn't strong enough, but he wanted to do it anyway. Matt channeled his energy and tried to focus it on his next target...he wanted to move him. He stared at the man, and he seemed to pause, but after a little bit...he wasn't moving. He was disappointed and frustrated that it didn't even have an effect – but suddenly the rest of the men started to glance up. Some rubble from the building was starting to crumble at an alarming rate...and Matt was on that building. He backed away and hastily made his way down the ladders. The running and the extensive use of his power was really having an effect on him. He made it to the abandoned street and tried to direct the rest of the rubble over the armed guys.

The situation didn't exactly go as he planned, but he was able to take out the rest of the men. There were some groans from the guys, but there was nobody standing up in the street except for Lucid and him.

“I've never done anything like that before, I'm surprised I didn't end up hurting myself...” He thought, but noticed that when he moved his arm he felt a little bit of bleeding. “Spoke too soon. God dammit.” He didn't know what it was from, maybe he got nicked by a bullet or something, but he decided to ignore the bleeding for now.

"So...we did it...", he trailed, trying to start a little bit of conversation and hoping Lucid would say something about his performance. He had a feeling his mentor wasn't going to think of him exceptionally, but he didn't mind criticism. He honestly needed to improve...especially if their missions were going to be like this.

[Aces Away]

"Heh, you're a telekinetic." Lucid laughed to himself as he heard the guys being taken down around him. Then the building began crumbling and he laughed louder. When it was all over, and Koyaani was by his side, Lucid put his hands on his hips and kicked the bricks from the remainder of the building, laughing once more when the kid spoke up. "Sure as hell did. Nice trick ya got there." He let out an amused huff. "Now those bastards can't show up in the middle of my fights. They'd have to run from the next city over. And I now have an excuse to come in late." Figures the kid would take down the building with the Transferal Tiles inside. Lucid was honestly grateful. He looked up at the other man and nodded. "Not bad for a first job in Grayelle." He gave him a once over, stopping at his arm and grinning- not that Koyaani could see it through the mask.

Retracting said mask into it's unformed state, let his toxic green eyes bore into the kid, who'd not said anything about him killing the enemy. Most Heroes freak out because, 'you're not supposed to kill people if you're the good guy!'. Honestly, Lucid never said that he was a good guy, that was their own assumption when they'd first brought him in. He mentally shook his head and grinned-still uncaring whether the kid could tell or not- and patted his good arm.

"Mercy totally owes me ten bucks. I hope you can work with injuries, kid, 'cause this is one of two stops; the second of which, his guy'll tell us." He hefted up the only conscious enemy-only a couple more still alive, but unconscious- by the front of his shirt and shook him roughly. "You've got two options, henchman; One, you tell us where these weapons were going, and how many people are at that point. Or Two, I give you a terrifying hallucination that drives you subconsciously in the direction of the endpoint, no matter if you think you're going the complete opposite way." His green eyes pulsed, as though enhancing the statement.

"W-why don't you go after some other people for once!" He shouted bravely, as though he weren't quivering in Lucid's grip. Lucid stiffened considerably before slamming the guy against the wall and getting close to his face.

"Well, you're just so damn easy to get the drop on that the others aren't worth my time." He lied. "Now, option one will be off the table in ten-" he raised the disclosed sword to the man's nose. "-nine-" blood began dripping from the slowly forming cut. "-eigh-"

"Warehouse five on the corner of Easton and Bakely!" He yelped, closing his eyes and screaming as the sword left his nose, slicing across his cheek in a way sure to scar. He dropped the ground, bloody face in his hands.

"Thanks, henchman." He said, putting the sword back into his bo-staff, and putting his bo-staffs back onto his back. "C'mon, kid. We'll patch you up once this is over." He took off running. It would take about ten minutes to get there, even with his speed and shortcuts.

[elphrain]

"Sure as hell did. Nice trick ya got there." He let out an amused huff. "Now those bastards can't show up in the middle of my fights. They'd have to run from the next city over. And I now have an excuse to come in late."
Matt glanced at the dilapidated building that look like it had just been slammed by a wrecking ball. He let out a groan and hoped the task force wouldn't make him pay that off. Or at least hoped they wouldn't find out that it was him...but he was glad he was able to prove himself a little worthy. He really had to get used to his special ID, Koyaani, in that case. If he made it through the next mission, that meant that Lucid would be his mentor...and he could really be a hero.

Koyaani turned back around and saw some men laying on the floor that seemed dead...he didn't do that, did he? “Did they get killed by the bricks, or was it because of Lucid?” He thought and glanced back at his mentor who he didn't notice was looking at him. Koyaani never actually killed anyone before, and he at least tried not to, but this wasn't his city and was it much different then where he grew up at. The criminals back in his town never had anything stronger than a handgun and usually surrendered after he used his powers on them. Koyaani definitely felt bad about the dead men, but if they didn't fight back they could have killed them...or just him, actually. “I should be thankful to Lucid...I thought he would have just let me die on the mission, but he took his precautions.”

Lucid patted his arm and Koyaani felt like the guy was laughing under his mask from the tone of his voice.
"Mercy totally owes me ten bucks. I hope you can work with injuries, kid, 'cause this is one of two stops; the second of which, his guy'll tell us."
Koyaani felt his mood drop to an all time low. Even though he tried to hide it, Lucid could tell he was injured. “Well at least I'm not completely injured. Or dead.”

Lucid walked up to a henchman that was conscious and pulled him by the collar. He started interrogating him by threatening him with his power. When the guy wasn't giving information, Lucid started pressing a his sword to his nose, and the man starting talking within seconds.

"Warehouse five on the corner of Easton and Bakely!" The man screamed, and Lucid withdrew his force. “His methods are a little rough, actually...Hey wait a minute, isn't there something in the task force code about this?” Koyaani thought suspiciously, but couldn't say anything for certain since he wasn't thoroughly informed with the standards.

”C'mon, kid. We'll patch you up once this is over." Lucid took off running, but Koyaani didn't know where the warehouse was, so he absolutely had to catch up with his mentor.

He didn't know it would take so long to get there, and Koyaani had to catch his breath when they finally made it to the warehouse. He thought he was going to go crazy trying to keep up with Lucid and all of his shortcuts. On the bright side, his wound wasn't bleeding all that much and he felt pumped to continue with the mission. When they arrived at the warehouse, there were already some people outside so they both hid behind some empty trucks. They watched as trucks were loading and men talking among themselves about where the other shipments were. Koyaani stayed silent until Lucid formed some kind of plan.

[Aces Away]

Lucid listened dutifully as the henchman outside kept talking. "Yeah, the boss came to personally get this shipment, his favorite guns are the Tec 9's, 'parrently." one spoke up as he and another walked in front of the trucks. Lucid stiffened and shifted lower, the shadow of the truck covering him and Koyaani. The green glow from him was too bright, however, and they were noticed by the two lackeys. "H-hey! What the hell're yo-" Lucid grabbed the first, covering his mouth as he dragged him down. He stared the second in the eyes and he kept walking as though he was still walking with his partner, no intruders in sight. Lucid then returned his attention to the first, pinning him to the ground under him and keeping his hands on his mouth as he struggled. Lucid straddled his waist to keep him still.

"Shhhh, shh shh." He insisted, his toxic green eyes horrific even without the help of his powers. They were fierce, angry, with no hint of the sarcastic man from the first site. "Now, I'm gonna ask some questions. I want your answers quick and to the point. Do that and I'll let you get back to whatever family you may have. You got a family, man?" The guy nodded frantically. "Then I'm sure you want to answer my questions and run home to them, quit this stupid idea of a job." Another frantic nod. "Good. Are there any of the semi-automatic weapons here, or just handguns." He pulled his hands away slowly and the guy gasped.

"J-just the handguns. The semis were supposed to be here five minutes ago." He replied shakily.

"How many men?"

"Ar-around 24"

"And...did you say the big man was here?" He asked in a low hiss. The man began shaking his head, hesitant to answer. Lucid glared. "Allow me to reiterate; is. Daniel Malone. In. That. Building." He growled, holding the guy's head still so he couldn't shake it anymore.

"Y-ye-yes." He answered.

"Good. Thank you." He hefted the man up, pushing him in the opposite direction of the warehouse. "Go home. Don't come back. If you do; I'll know." He warned. The guy nodded frantically and began running. "C'mon kid, we're done here." He said to Koyaani, walking away from the warehouse. He was stiff, no grace left in his movements, no fluidity like before. His movements were robotic as he snuck out of the warehouse district. He wasn't ready to face his father as Lucid. Wasn't ready for the Boss to see the Anti-hero behind his organizations slow downfall.

He showed up at his apartment, not thinking of the fact that he had told Koyaani to follow him. His apartment was bland; no pictures, no posters. Just rich green walls with black carpet. It was a big apartment, though. Perks of having money from a mob. He had a laptop on his kitchen counter and a small flatscreen on his living room wall. His bedroom was off to the side. The whole apartment looked so clean it was as though no one had ever lived in it. He stood like a statue in the middle of the living room as he tried to calm his anger, both at his father and himself. It was all too silent.

Home sweet home.

[elphrain]

Koyaani followed Lucid around as he stealthily took down a henchman and asked him questions. “He sure is good at that interrogation thing. If I tried doing that I'd sound like an idiot.” He thought while watching him, but also tried to look around the area just in case anybody came over. Lucid questioned him about the armored trucks, the shipments, and then the boss. He seemed heavily interested in the boss.

“Is the boss his main target?” Koyaani questioned to himself. “A boss with an association this big must have a lot of henchman...”

Once the boss was confirmed for being in that building, Lucid let the man run away and he turned to Koyaani.

"C'mon kid, we're done here."

Koyaani blinked and before he was able to absorb those words, Lucid was already walking away from the warehouse. After the excitement Koyaani built up for his first big mission, Lucid expectantly called it off. He was sure surprised, but he wasn't going to say anything against it. However, to Koyaani, he couldn't shake the feeling off that this entire thing seemed heavily...personal. “It can't just be because of the fact the warehouse seems to difficult to take on, right? Or maybe he just felt he couldn't do it right now...?” Koyaani was perplexed, but apprehensively followed behind his mentor.

The walk was silent as he followed behind, but Koyaani rather enjoyed looking at the different buildings in the city. Before he knew it, they showed up in a residential area and what looked like Lucid's apartment. He glanced around curiously at his mentors room. It was spacious and nice, but there wasn't very much decoration. It almost looked like he just moved in. “Does he spend all his time on his missions? He must be a busy guy...”

Matt cleared his throat and hoped that Lucid actually knew he was following behind him. “Um, do you have first aid stuff in your bathroom?” He then took a step deeper inside the room, but paused to look at his feet. He saw that there was a trace of a muddy stain on the floor, and he looked up at Lucid. “Oh, should I take off my shoes?”

The floor was carpet and he didn't want to be rude, so it couldn't hurt to ask.

[Aces Away]

Lucid looked up, pulled from his reverie by the cough and questions. "Shit, I...I didn't..." He sighed, ruffling his hair in exasperation. "Do whatever you want with your shoes, I don't care." He walked into his bedroom and took the first aid kit out from under his bed, walking back out while opening it. "Shirt off, kid." He demanded, forcing him into a seat. He didn't have any disinfectant, so he went into the kitchen and got some vodka.

He returned to Koyaani and lifted the other man's arm. "This'll smart." He warned. Actually, using alcohol is extremely painful when dealing with an open wound, but it's better than leaving the wound to get infected. He poured the vodka, holding the kid still as he flinched from the pain. "Okay, I lied, alcohol hurts a lot." he acquiesced, releasing the other's arm. His eyes lingered on the other's form fora little longer than necessary before he looked away. He was still stiff, still upset, but he was trying to hide it a little more. With a sigh, he looked to the other again.

"Listen, it's usually protocol or some shit for Hero and Recruit to bunk up during the partnership... Despite me being an unusual case... If you don't have a place to stay, you can stay here. Just don't forget to knock so I have time to put my mask on." He said.

[elphrain]

Koyaani took his shoes off and placed them by the door neatly. He stayed standing in the living room as Lucid walked off to get some supplies. When he came back he made him take his shirt off and forced him into a chair. Koyaani sighed and wondered how long Lucid was going to keep referring to him as 'kid'. At first he didn't seem to notice it, but now he felt like it was his new nickname. He hoped it wouldn't come to that...according to the leader, they were actually the same age.

Lucid lifted his arm and just before he put some alcohol on his wound, he warned him about the pain. By the time it was actually washing off on his arm, he clenched his teeth at the sting. Thankfully the process didn't take too, and Lucid released his grip on him and Koyaani looked at his wound a bit before relaxing his arm by his side. He said a quiet 'thanks' as he was finally able to get over the pain.

"Listen, it's usually protocol or some shit for Hero and Recruit to bunk up during the partnership... Despite me being an unusual case... If you don't have a place to stay, you can stay here. Just don't forget to knock so I have time to put my mask on."

After Lucid had explained that, Koyaani almost forgot that he didn't have a place to stay. Before coming to the city he was worried about his boarding, but now that Lucid was allowing him to stay at his apartment he felt reassured. “Wow, really? Thanks, that'd be great.”, he responded and grinned under his mask, “Alright, no problem. Same goes for me.”.

Koyaani let out a sigh and finally felt like everything was in order. Now all he had to focus on was training. He yawned and realized how tired he was. “If you've got a blanket or something I can probably crash on your couch, if you don't mind.”

[Aces Away]

"Sure." He walked over to the couch, pulling the back forward until he heard a click. He then released the back and it fell flat to form a bed. "My sister comes over sometimes and I give her my bed, so I bought a futon." He said in way of explanation. "I'll get the extra blankets and a pillow." He said as he walked towards his bedroom, coming back with a black pillow and two green and black blankets.

"Can you guess my favorite colors?" He asked sarcastically, making up the futon. "Feel free to watch TV, not much else to do in my apartment." He offered, sitting in a nearby chair and running a hand over his face in exhaustion. Her fallen asleep ten minutes before H.UN.T had woken him this morning. Now, it was only ten in the morning and he felt like passing out.

[elphrain]

Koyaani was shocked when he saw Lucid demonstrate that his couch was no ordinary couch, it was a futon. He was especially happy that it was a bed, because he definitely couldn't sleep well on a couch.

"My sister comes over sometimes and I give her my bed, so I bought a futon."

Koyaani simply nodded and watched Lucid walk off to get the rest of his bedding. He found it rather interesting that Lucid had a sister, especially since he hardly knew anything about the guy.

Lucid returned with a blanket and a pillow and tried to reach for them, but paused when he realized they were black and green. He was sensing a pattern here...

"Can you guess my favorite colors?” Lucid joked and Koyaani let out a laugh. Well, at least Koyaani knew what colors to get him if he ever had to pick out a present or something. When the bed was completely made up, Lucid told him he could watch T.V. if he wanted, so he got on the futon and decided to see what was on television. He flipped through a bunch of channels and was fascinated by how many channels Lucid had. The only interesting thing that seemed to be on, though, was something that looked like a soap opera. “I'll only check it out...I'll go to sleep after this...” He mumbled drowsily, but the more he was glued to the T.V, he completely forgot Lucid was still in the room. In the back of his mind he thought he went to his bedroom, so he just kept watching the drama in the episode unfold.

[Aces Away]

Lucid stared as Koyaani turned to a British soap opera. He honestly couldn't care less as his eyelids drifted closed where he sat. Loathe as he is to admit it, he's found himself watching the very same soap opera when he'd ended up on the futon. Not that he watched TV a lot, but sometimes he needed noise from the outside to get him to sleep. To fend off any nightmares. He passed out in the chair sometime around one of the guys professing his love to another, only to get turned down for their teacher. He honestly never understood the show, but him and Koyaani both zoned out to it so who cared.

Five hours later, both men were shocked back into reality by harsh, quick nockings on his door. His head shot up and his eyes bore into Koyaani's.

"Daemon! Daemon open up! C'mon bro, I want to come in!" A voice cried through sobs from the other side of the door. Lucid sigh and went to answer the door before remembering his outfit, and who he had in his apartment. 'Way to go, Dami; you don't even know I have a secret identity, and you still blew it!' he thought, staring at Koyaani.

"Shit." Came the slightly muffled swear through his mask. "This is useless now. But this stays between us, kid." He spoke as he threw his outfit off, leaving him in his boxers as he hid his outfit in a panel in his closet. "Coming, Dami! Just hold up!" He called, not finding it hard to make his voice tired. He looked to Koyaani and though for a minute, his eyes flashed green as he looked to his sister through the peephole. He didn't know what Koyaani really looked like, but to Dami- and now, subsequently, him- he was also in boxers, with a toned and tan body, square jaw, and slightly rough features. His eyes returned to their chocolate brown and he opened the door and got a stomach full of crying 17 year old.

"Jason broke up with me when he found out about daddy!" Was the first thing out of her mouth. Daemon sighed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Why do you always tell your boyfriends about him?" He sighed. She looked up.

"Well, because they should know that daddy's a-" he stiffened, but she'd paused and looked over his shoulder. "W-who's that?" She asked. Daemon's eyes widened, he hasn't really thought of a backstory. "Oh my gods! He's your boyfriend, isn't he?!" She exclaimed, and Daemon's head snapped between Koyaani and his sister. Well, he did make it look like some random guy in boxers was in his apartment. "I knew you were gay, but damn you got a good one-"

"Dami!" He interrupted, covering her mouth with his hands. "Um, this...this is Blaine. He's...a friend." She coughed.

"Boyfriend."

"Dami!"

"Hi! I'm Dami, Daemon's little sister." She said, walking passed Daemon to Koyaani. "You are very handsome and far out of my brother's league. Shame you're gay."

Behind her, Daemon smacked his head in embarrassment and exasperation.

[elphrain]

He was starting nod off just when he heard a sudden pound on the door. It jolted him awake and he turned to the side to see...Lucid? Since when was he in the room? “He didn't hear me watch this thing, did he? Oh god...”

Koyaani listened to the person who was pounding on the door, and it was a girl who sounded distressed.

"Daemon! Daemon open up! C'mon bro, I want to come in!"
Daemon? Koyaani raised his eyebrow and wondered if that was his name. He saw him walk towards the door but paused to turn at Koyaani, then took off his mask.
"This is useless now. But this stays between us, kid."

Koyaani blinked after seeing what uncovered the mask, and he honestly didn't know what to think. He was definitely able to see his face, which was unbelievable, but he was somewhat tired so his vision was blurry. He rubbed his eyes, but by the time he looked back, Lucid was taking off his clothes.

“Uh...” Koyaani mumbled and was extremely confused. He assumed the girl at the door was maybe his sister he mentioned, so he stayed still and tried to pretend he didn't know what was going on.

When Lucid opened the door, a young girl came sobbing and hugged him. He drifted off a little and thought she was saying something about telling her dad about her boyfriend. His eyes widened open, though, he heard the girl's attention go over to him.

They were both staring at him. Koyaani touched his face and still felt his mask there. He didn't know whether to take it off or leave it there, but before he got a chance to decide, the sister spoke up again.

"Oh my gods! He's your boyfriend, isn't he?!"

Koyaani felt his entire body freeze. Was this in his dream or something? Of course, he was watching a gay romance before he fell asleep, so maybe he accidentally left the T.V on. He started getting worried and hoped he remembered to turn it off, or else he had to wake himself up just to see.

"I knew you were gay, but damn you got a good one-"

By this time Koyaani had tried to pinch himself multiple times but he still wasn't waking up. This really must have been happening, then. He looked up and then caught something he didn't realize before, and wait – Lucid was gay? “I know I said I wanted to learn more about him, but now I feel like this is too much for me to handle...” He thought, nervously sitting on the futon and remained frozen. Lucid soon covered his sisters mouth and introduced him as Blaine, and as a friend. Or...did he hear that wrong? Did he say boyfriend? Koyaani was so drowsy he didn't know what was going on anymore.

"Hi! I'm Dami, Daemon's little sister." She said, walking passed Lucid to Koyaani. He stiffened up and prepared to hopefully not make a fool out of himself.
"You are very handsome and far out of my brother's league. Shame you're gay."
For some reason Koyaani laughed at that. In fact he laughed rather loudly. The lack of sleep was probably getting to him.
“T-Thanks Dami...nice to meet you.” He managed to get out before finally calming himself down. Koyaani touched his face briefly before feeling extremely confused. If his mask was on, then did Lucid put an illusion on his sister? “He probably did, but I find it funny that he'd imagine me so handsome, well according to his sister.”

“Uh and I'm, uh...I...” He peered over at Lucid who seemed completely frustrated. He scratched his head and thought about his sexuality a bit. He wasn't gay, so he couldn't agree with the statement. He never went out with a girl before, but he was always okay with guys too, it was just that the chance had never risen. “Um, well...” He trailed off, feeling his head break into a sweat, “Enough of me, it's great to finally meet you! Daemon, do you want to get your sister something to drink? I hope I'm not interrupting you guys so you can just pretend I'm not here!” Koyaani started shifting himself up from the covers in attempt to make himself look awake. He felt it was best that he just avoided the conversation entirely. He had to admit though, this whole situation was kind of interesting.

[Aces Away]

"Um, yeah, right! Dami, howabout you head into my room and rest a bit, take a nap. I'll leave some water by the bedstand." Daemon said softly, ruffling her hair. Dami nodded tiredly, walking towards Daemon's room. Just before she loses the door:

"Try not to be too loud with your boyfriend while I'm here." She whispered, closing the door right after.

"Dami!" Daemon sighed, heading to the kitchen and then dropping the water off in his room, before returning to Koyaani. "Sorry 'bout that. She doesn't have much of a filter..." He mentioned as he sat back down in the chair. "I really didn't mean for you to find anything out about me, let alone that much that fast..."

[elphrain]

"Try not to be too loud with your boyfriend while I'm here." Dami whispered, and Koyaani couldn't help but let out a quick laugh as Lucid walked away to get his sister some water. His sister seemed like she wasn't buying into what Lucid said no matter how many times he had to tell her they weren't dating. Koyaani didn't really mind the misconception, it would just make things a little awkward with his sister, if anything.

Lucid soon came back into the room and sat in the chair beside him. "Sorry 'bout that. She doesn't have much of a filter..."

Koyaani laughed to reassure him. In a way he could relate, he was the oldest of three other sisters. “It's alright. She seems really friendly, though.”

"I really didn't mean for you to find anything out about me, let alone that much that fast..."

“Hey, I don't mind. Don't worry though, promise I won't tell anyone about your secret ID and stuff.”, he then looked around cautiously and continued in a hushed tone. “To make it even, I could take off my mask? This thing is really irritating me, I've been wearing it all day.” He was a little apprehensive to have to reveal himself so suddenly, but now that Lucid wasn't so much of a mystery he felt comfortable about it.

[Aces Away]

"Uh, sure...I could keep the illusion up if you want, but it is a little dangerous without the chemicals from my mask keeping my powers at bay." He explained "There's a chance of it warping the illusion, and I'd rather not give my baby sister nightmare." He scratched his head.

"You...don't mind that I'm..." he trailed off. "Y'know. Some guys get real uncomfortable about that sort of thing." He thought back to all the times he'd kicked guys' asses when they tried to jump him and a one night stand outside a gay bar. Needless to say, the one night stand usually became him consoling the fear filled man instead.

[elphrain]

“Oh, I see...well in that case, I don't want that happening to your sister. It all works out, then.” Koyaani replied, feeling heavily relieved. He was just about to start pulling off his mask when Lucid started speaking up again.

At first he didn't really know what he was talking about, but then after a second it sunk in. Almost immediately he smiled in friendly reassurance. “What? Of course I don't mind! Everyone's different, you know? I'm all for accepting people.” He wanted to say more, like how he wasn't exactly straight either, but he didn't want to embarrass himself so he decided just to laugh a little.

Now that he was looking at Lucid, well, Daemon, now more closely, it felt kind of strange. Not in a bad strange way, but he found it so odd that he knew a hero's identity. He was also pretty good looking and seemed young too. Somehow his appearance under the mask fit as being Lucid, but as Daemon he just felt more gentle. Or maybe Koyaani was just over thinking it.

“Well, uh lemme take this thing off...” Without having a feeling of hesitation, he pulled the mask off and let out a quick exhale of relief. “Damn, I think it left a mark in my skin...” He gently touched the places where the mask ended and felt a crease, so he tried to rub it in hopes of it going away. “Do I look anything like how you imagined me?”