[IC] Retaking Jump City

[pyroman]

Episode one: Just a Slice

"Ugh... I know that we've had worse fights and all, but this guy was tough..." A somewhat high pitched spoke tiredly as fell onto the pitch black sofa, letting out a long sigh after colliding with the piece of furniture. Three other voices groaned in agreement with the youngest of the team, and the fifth members said nothing as she floated to her exhausted friend. While she did agree with him, she didn't see how useful it would be for her to voice her opinion. Everybody already knew what she thought on the subject, as evidenced by the light bags under her dark purple eyes that almost appeared black.

After nearing the sofa, the grey skinned woman sat down next to her green skinned friend, at a distance that wasn't very common for people who were just friends. She said nothing, but nothing needed to be said from her, and she would keep fairly quiet until her opinion needed to be voiced.

"Well guys, I guess this just means that we have to kick our training up a notch." Another voice spoke, this time coming our of the elevator, getting an annoyed groan from one of the other members, who simply stared at the leader of the Titans. The observer was able to see that the iconic mask of the leader was ripped up, exposing one of his eyes to the world. Most of his costume was ripped up, and it didn't seem to phase the leader at all.

"Oh come on man!" The same man that had just groaned called out as he was going through the fridge. "This will me like the fifth notch that we have to kick up this month alone! I'm telling you robin, it can't just be us out there protecting the city. All of the other titans have a second group, why don't we?"

"Because we aren't them and we don't need a second group, Cyborg. Things are getting tough, but that's how it's supposed to be. We can't just pick people up off of the streets and make them into heroes." He spoke calmly and evenly as he walked into the room and over to the other sofa, right next to the one where Raven and Beast Boy were at.

A young woman followed Robin to the sofa and sat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and getting him to look at her. "Robin, I know that you do not want to put people in danger, but Cyborg is right. Our enemies are getting stronger and I fear that we won't be able to keep up with them. The very least we could do is see if there are any other heroes in the Jumping City that would wish to become a Teen Titan"

Once again, Starfire was able to convince Robin to do something that he normally wouldn't do if somebody else told him. He loved and respected his wife, and valued her opinion above anyone elses. With a small sigh and nod, Robin gave in to the will of Starfire. "Alright Star. We'll look around and see if anyone is up to the task." He then looked around to his teammates and stood up. "But if we don't find anyone, then we're going to kick our training up three notches." He said, getting a groan out of everyone, including Raven.

---

Currently in his civilian clothes, Ryan Pratt was walking up to a pizza joint that he had heard about. He was fairly new to Jump City, and was currently renting a small apartment. Before he left, he had heard about how many Villains attacked the coastal city on a monthly basis, and knew that it was the perfect place to get strong. He needed to become stronger, and he was prepared if any monsters were to attack.

With a small smile on his face, the young man walked into the pizza joint and stood in line to order.

[boredbrain]

"Oh, won't you shut up already?" A young man's voice echoed across his parents currently empty apartment. "I know I'm hungry, and I know you want free, but I don't care." The voice practically shouted, cutting through the static of an old television set and the noise of the traffic on the street. "Okay, you know what, if I get dressed and go get some food, will you leave me alone." The voice once again poked through the noise. "What do you mean I'll have to eat soon anyways? Okay, fine!" Riley slung his bedroom door open. He exited his room that was filled with action figures and posters of superheroes and entered the apartment of a hoarder. There were boxes piled up everywhere, old rusty bits of metal, cobwebs littering the wall, old records thrown on top of piles of junk, junk that rose so high it completely sealed off a broom closet. The junk was twice the size of Riley, who was a little shorter than his friends, but he didn't care.

Riley never cared what other people though, because he had a secret. Someone who was always there, whispering to him, talking to him, and right now: annoying him. Riley's body was indeed inhabited by another consciousness, one that was more evil than good, one who hated people, and one that was stuck in the body of Riley. The consciousness' name was Malice, and it yearned to break free. However, last time that happened he ended up hurting people. He wasn't going to do that again anytime soon. Malice hated him for that.

Riley began to creep over piles of garbage, until he got to the door. Despite the weather Riley picked up his jacket from the hook beside the door and swept outside. Riley swung his jacket on and pulled the collar up to his neck, his neck which was covered in black spots, he straightened the sleeves, which covered more black spots, and rushed to get outside. Riley was in a hurry, he didn't realize how hungry he had been, luckily he lived almost right next door to a local pizza place.

Riley swept into the pizza place swiftly, and stood nervously behind the person in front of him.
"What's with the white hair?" Riley whispered to Malice, a little louder than he meant too.

[Experiment 249]

"Yeah, but Nicola has better taste in food." Judah said aloud. he wasn't initially worried of someone thinking he was a freak in Jump City due to the excessive amounts of super powered individuals. What was one guy talking to himself going to change? "Plus you don't even eat, at least she eats like, souls or whatever." He laughed to himself.
I still say pizza would be the best choice to eat. It has a little more protein in it than - Alexis attempted to argue, only to be cut off by Nicola and Judah in unison
"Burgers!" Judah exclaimed as he hopped into a booth and picked up a menu. He didn't bother to look at it, he could never decide for himself.
Hey look, Alexis, they have pizza here too! Nicola exclaimed. A Pizza burger! Get that it sounds amazing!
Judah read it over, waiting for Alexis to respond, but heard nothing. He sat silently reading the description over and over in his head waiting for the waitress to arrive at his table.
'An all beef patty topped with cheddar, Swiss, mozzarella and Romano cheeses with pepperoni and pasta sauce between two toasted homemade burger buns! $6.99'
He sat in the booth alone, it seemed, with a smile on his face, his red eye showing as opposed to his blue eye. It was how he kept score on who made the last decision for Judah. Right now it was three in a row for Nicola, and Alexis was obviously not willing to allow four in a row as she sat on the other side of the booth, flicking her hair over on of her eyes with her arms crossed. Nicola sat next to him, holding his arm and resting her head against his looking the menu over.

[ReaptheMusic]

From the large glass window she stared in. The being in there... had others on him from the Otherworld. Perhaps... they... could guide her back. Clad in a canvas tarp wrapped around her body and made into a hood over her head, the alien turned and stepped around the wall, into the diner. She was greeted by an initially cheery-looking waitress until the waitress saw her attire... and the fact that she was absolutely soaked, like someone had submerged her into a pool and thrown her into the restaurant despite the fact that it hadn't rained in the area in days.

"Uh... Welcome!" The waitress piped up nervously, attempting her best to return to her gleeful facade. "Table for one?"

The girl, her face hidden by the low hanging makeshift canvas robe, shook her head so mechanically that the poor waitress wondered if it wasn't some kind of robot in disguise. Then the canvas-clad girl raised her finger and pointed to the table where the boy sat, a being of light across from him and a being of dark beside him. From what she could gather, this was some sort of eatery. Every word spoken by the waitress reflected into her brain and transmuted into all possible uses for it, decoding the language of the planet.

"Oh... You're... with him?" The waitress asked quizzically. The canvas-clad, dripping wit water, said nothing. Chuckling nervously, the waitress grabbed another menu. "Right this way," She chirped, her facade completely back on now as she led the canvas'd woman to the booth and sat her down. As she did, the bits and bobbles on the table with the boy bounced, as though something heavy was just sat down. The booth she sat on creaked in horror at the weight pressing down on it but didn't budge. "Anything to drink?" The waitress chirped again.

More silence.

Cringing, the waitress walked away, but not without giving a few odd looks at the boy sitting there. Across from the boy with the beings from the Otherworld, the canvas-clad girl slowly pulled back her hood, revealing her white hair and foreign monochrome features. She stared at the boy with such distance she may as well been some sort of robot. Then she pointed at him.

"You talk... To the Otherworld..." Her voice was monotone and flat, seeming to carry no weight and yet every word was dripping with intensity. "I want... to know... Where I am..."

[cerozer0]

"Vi? What kind of name is that?"

"Violet, Vi for short. Isn't that a nice name? Better than not having one, right?"

"I'd rather not be named after my deformity, jerk."

"It'll stick eventually, Vi."

---

Jump City was bustling, a silver metropolis that hung close to the west coast and sang out with the roar of cars and people and buildings like a monster. It was much different from the greenery of the country side, as different as night and day. Back "home" the only noise would have been the cry of birds and the whir of technology, and she wouldn't have to be so worried about being struck by vehicles or receiving odd stares from civilians. Where she was once together with someone else and stranded in the middle of no where, now she was utterly alone, surrounded by cold hearts, tall buildings, and burning asphalt. The sun above shone brightly, warming Violet to an uncomfortable sweat as she attempted to find refugee under the shade of some of the buildings.

"Who knew such a place could be hotter than home, even with all these buildings around!" Violet whispered to herself, pulling the black hood over her face further, shrouding her features in shadow. The color purple glowed from her free hand momentarily until she shoved it back into the hoodie pocket, intertwining it with the other hand that was already hidden within the woolen throw-over that was already much too big from the short girl. Many folks passed by the overly-dressed teen, sharing their confused gazes with one another over and over until Vi couldn't stand just standing and being viewed much longer. She took off for the next shaded already, beneath a overhanging, corner building simply titled "Pizza". She glanced about before taking a seat a few feet away from the door, curling her knees up into her chest as she let out an exhausted sigh.

Violet had been on the move for at least two weeks now, jumping from town to town with only a hastily packed bag, twenty dollars (which was now down to five), and a deformity and power that reduced her chances of conversing with and befriending people. She was tired, hot, and terrified. Why did she leave, she didn't have to... All she did was... Hurt... Him. Violet allowed her head to lower until her forehead was resting on her knees, mouth drawn into a tight line. It had been an accident, he made her angry, so angry. He had no gloves, no protection from her hands.. And she just...

The sound of a bell made the small girl freeze and glance up, finding that the door of the pizzeria seemed to ring when someone entered or left. More stares were given to the young girl, and an especially cold glare was being thrown her way from one of the employees inside. Violet pouted back in response, but slowly rose up and wandered to the left of the building, walking until she discovered a wall of the pizza place without a window to lean against. Cars rushed passed, gleaming colorfully in the sun, and Vi watched with bored eyes, hoping to forget her mistakes with each passing metal contraption.

Vi eventually lost all interest in the flurry of rainbow machines passing by, instead turning her focus onto one of her now-free hands. Shades of purple swirled across her skin, producing a faint hiss. It had once been so much worse, her arms had almost been completely inhumane, just large, jagged appendages that only knew how to destroy. She had claws, and her skin was layered and almost crystalline, but He had calmed it, and now it was just a deep stain on her tan skin. He expressed his desire to help her control it, trained her a bit, but now she was alone. Yet, despite not having someone pestering her to control; it anymore, Vi still felt it her job to keep it in check and prepare it. Perhaps this taint could be used for good... But probably not. With one final sigh, Vi shoved her hand back into the hoodie pocket and lowered her head, allowing the shade of the buildings to keep her semi-cool as she sank deeper into her own thoughts, ignoring the bustle around her as she should have done a few hours before.

[WatermelonTango]

An odd blue fuzzy creature stood triumphantly over this new cityscape from his rooftop view. The young alien boy was dressed in a rather strange getup, complete with a finned helmet and pointed sunglasses. He pressed a small button located on his glove and suddenly a billowing red cape sprouted off of his back. His arms were crossed with a stoic pose as the sun glinted off of his sunglasses. The young yordle was named Rumble. Rumble Piltover. But the civilians of this planet would know him as Galaxian, the famous crime fighting space explorer who was also a galaxy-class dancer.

Underneath this vertically-challenged-yet-metaphorically-gigantic form stood a notably taller machine, the Venator Rex. Ever since Rumble had crashed his mech through the earth's atmosphere in a burning ball of fire the poor thing had been in pieces. It took him 2 weeks to rebuild. It took another week to install the dance protocols. Now ole Rex was ready for a test run. Rumble nimbly leaped from his perch on the robot's arms to the cockpit and lowered the windshield. He quickly began mashing commands into his gloves as Rex hummed to life. According to the human satellites Rumble had hacked, this city was known simply as "Jump City". He didn't think there could be any better place to test the leg hydraulics. When every system came online Rumble experimentally nudged one of the two joysticks, and one of Venator's legs lifted off the ground.

A good start. He put his right leg back on the ground and repeated the action with the left. Happy with the results he began a simple walk cycle and began testing out the other systems. Everything was working perfectly and a smile crept over his lips. Who's the genius? He's the genius. Suddenly Rumble pulled back on his controls and Venator performed a short hop. The hydraulics absorbed the impact of the landing smoothly.
"Sweet! Your back to your old self again! Well, there's only one more thing to do." Rumble said aloud as he tightened his grip on the controls. Suddenly his mech was sprinting towards the edge of the building.
"What else do you do in Jump city but JUUUMP!" He was hurtling off of the edge of the building towards the building next door. Rumble flipped a switch and the rockets engaged, giving him a burst of speed.

He cleared the gap and landed on the opposite building and skidded. In fact, he skidded a bit more then comfortable. It seemed like he was about to slide off the roof entirely. Rumble quickly mashed on his gloves and the torso spun around while it engaged it's thrusters in the opposite direction to slow him down. Rumble slid all the way to the edge of the building before he finally stopped. Pebbles fell down to the alley below in deafening silence. Rumble let out a sigh of relief before he engaged the dance protocol in celebration of a successful test. He laid back in his seat as his mech began busting a move.
That was a week well spent. He thought as his robot autonomously performed various human dances, such as the robot or the chicken dance. Venator Rex then began walking like an Egyptian in glorious fashion... right off the edge of the building. Rex landed upside down in the nearby alleyway in a most undignified and uncool manner. Shattered concrete lay scattered around the crash site. Rumble crawled out from underneath his mech and pulled out his notepad.

"Note to self; Do not engage dance protocols nearby ledges." He pocketed his notepad and whistled. Rex picked himself up off the the ground, shook the dust off of his robotic frame, the got on his knees to allow Rumble to enter. There were a few scratches but it would be very easy to fix.

"Good boy. Now hows about we get ourselves something to eat, huh?"

[pyroman]

Ryan sighed to himself lightly as the person behind him commented about his hair. While it wasn't the craziest natural head of hair around, His pale skin, vivid blue eyes, and silver hair did make him stand out a bit more than other regular people. While he said nothing to the person behind him, he glanced at whoever was there just to see what they looked like, only to see that he looked like an average person. With a soft sigh, he made his order and sat down at one of the tables.

As he sat there, he thought about his parents. They weren't happy with his decision to leave, but they understood why he had chosen to do so. He had done a little research beforehand, and his parents helped him get a somewhat inexpensive apartment in the coastal city, along with some money to get him started. He hoped that by the time he returned home, he'd be strong enough to not let any lives slip away from his grasp.

[Experiment 249]

Judah looked up from the menu for a second, along with Alexis and Nicola. Alexis' face was one of respect while Nicola went right back to the menu.
'You can see us? Me and the demon that is? The boy is real.' Alexis said, scooting over in the booth and gesturing her to have a seat next to her. 'Judah, aren't you going to introduce us?' she said in a still sweet tone, while she kept her mild annoyance with Judah hidden behind a smile that was pure white and purfect.

"Mmnnnnh..." Judah moaned, sinking into his jacket with the menu closer to his face. He didn't want to be with anyone but Alexis and Nicola for the rest of his life. he didn't want to deal with real people. "Mmm" he hummed again, his eyes wide and peering occasionally up from the menu to look at the girl who seemed to be made of metal. He thought to himself 'What is she and why won't she go away, please tell her to leave.' He couldn't even speak to her out loud.

Hearing the thoughts, Nicola looked to Alexis. 'You can tell him, I got a menu to look at over here pretty girl.' she scoffed and forced her head in front of Judah's to view the menu. She was blocking his view but she didn't care for his presence behind him. This human food looked good and she wanted some. She could feel him starting to sweat behind her and chuckled a bit. She loved suffering, a little less when it came from Judah, but suffering was suffering.

Aexis pouted for a minute and then went back to her normal cheery self.i She is a Taalunian. She may look like a girl, but members of her species have no gender. She seems nice, I don't sense any strong evil presence on her. Also she can hear and see us, it's a thing their species can do. I'm Alexis, that one is Nicola, and the boy is our anchor, named Judah. He's really sweet when you get to know him, trust me.' Alexis smiled gesturing for Judah to put the menu down and talk. Judah simply sat and did nothing.

'Have fun getting him to talk, Hahahaha!' Nicola cackled and punched through Judah's arm cackling at him hiding behind the menu. She brushed her hair around her horns.

[ReaptheMusic]

"Alexis. Nicola. Judah."

The names would be converted to memory the instant they spoke as she responded in her same monotone voice. She continued to stare at Judah with her white eyes. As she sat there in silence for a moment, a long, hollow, echoing sound emerged from her body. The girl in canvas blinked, but didn't comment on it. Though on her planet this would signify hunger, she was unsure if she could consume human food yet. Taalunia had been well known for its crystal gardening, and was a main source of food for them. Yet these strange scents that wafted about the room did smell appetizing.

"You know..." She asked, her head turning almost mechanically toward Alexis. Her voice took on something that sounded like hope and sadness, but it was such a little change one could wonder if she had changed her voice at all. "Of Taalunia?"

[boredbrain]

Riley watched the white-haired kid walk to a table and sit alone. He shrugged and walked up to the counter.
"No..."He whispered. "I'm not going to do that..."
"Excuse me?" The person at the counter said, his voice drowning in confusion.
"I just need a whole pizza." Riley said. "Double pepperoni." The man nodded. He began pounding the order into the monitor of his cash register.
"That'll be 21$."
Riley nodded and pulled out a debit card, one his mother insisted he get. He swiped it and sat down to wait for his order.

Riley sat a table or so over from the white haired kid. "Shut up!" He hissed. He leaned onto the table and tightly grabbed onto his head. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" He whispered.

Riley looked around sharply, as if he had a serious problem with paranoia, no one could hear him talking to himself. No one, he was sick of being such an outcast. His life had become miserable since Malice entered his head.

Riley focused on the napkin dispenser, just so he wouldn't burst into tears.

[cerozer0]

As the sun continued to blare down without regret, Violet attempted to keep herself cool by following the shadow of the Pizza building, which continued to move as the sun drifted lazily across the sky. Her short attention span had kept her semi-busy, as she had eventually begun to wander up and down the length of the building, taking note of some of the stranger looking folk, both on the street and within the windows that she could peer through. So far, she had seen an oddly colorless lady sitting with a man in the pizzeria, a man with pink, mohawk hair, a suspicious looking teen in all black, and a mother and her four children. So many odd things that she didn't have the pleasure of seeing back in the country.

Vi eventually returned to her windowless wall of the corner building, taking a seat on the semi-cool concrete as she began picking at her nails, humming a soft tune. The mid-day rush was beginning, as more people and cars seemed to be rushing by now, yet Vi could only feel herself growing more and more bored with each passing second, despite all the new colors and people and glares that surrounded her. She had no where to be, though, might as well just rot away on the sidewalk for the rest of her life. Those thoughts continued in her head until somewhat flashed, just out of the corner of her eye.

Maybe it was just her imagination.

Maybe it was just another passing car.

But whatever it was, Violet couldn't help but notice. A sudden boom from a nearby alley, the shine of something metallic falling from the sky. Maybe something fell from a construction site... Maybe someone got hurt. Curiosity took hold of reasoning, and Vi glanced around the street before crossing over. Alleyways began to sprung up between the high-rising buildings, and Violet glanced into each one, eyes glowing from beneath the black hood until she finally saw it. A giant, metal, rob- Robot? Well, that was somewhat unexpected. She stood slightly out of view of the contraption, just outside of the alley, and assessed the situation. The concrete was shattered, seems as though this robot did fall from a building, and the cockpit was inhabited by a... What the heck was that? A squirrel? A rat? It was blue, small, and furry and Vi found it to be absolutely adorable.

No wait, yeah it was cute, but how the hell was it piloting a robot?! Maybe it could talk... Maybe it would be friendly, and maybe it was hurt from the fall it most obviously took moments before. Perhaps she could start a conversation, ask if it was alright and, ya know, why it was in a robot. Violet pulled her hood further over her head and moved forward slightly, half entering the alley,

"Uhm...!" Violet waved slightly, hoping to grab the creature's attention, "are, uh, are you okay?"

[WatermelonTango]

Rumble's ears twitched as he heard a voice behind. He slowly turned around to see a human creature standing in the alley with and astounded look on it's face. He stumbled for a moment before gaining his composure.

"Erm.. um.. Yes! Of Course! If there was such a thing as gravel cookies, I'd be the toughest cookie of all of them! Cause you know gravel is tough and... Ahem." With a glint of his shades the yordle performed a nimble back flip and landed in the cockpit of Venator.
"Allow me to introduce myself! I am known as Galaxian! I am a universe class crime fighter, space explorer, and dancer! I am as swift as a Comet, as passionate as the sun, with all of the strength and mysteriousness of a black hole!" Whilst Rumble Rambled on him and his robot did various heroic gestures that would put the power rangers, superman, and all of the fantastic four to shame all at once. His cape was waving in the wind despite there being no breeze at all.. it was an important feature as far as he was concerned.

"However, you may call me Rumble. Rumble Piltover." There was a moment of silence as he watched the stunned expression of the human. He wondered if that was how most humans reacted when they saw such majesty... lined with a bit of silly ridiculousness. He wasn't positive of the gender of the human since shockingly he has done little to no research on their biology since visiting the planet, and he thought it might be rude to ask. He should probably get on that.
"Okay so I know you probably have a lot of questions, which I would love to answer. But I must ask- where can a space explorer get a bite to eat around here?"

[pyroman]

Walking through the streets of Jump City, a rather tall figure slowly glided across the sidewalk. It didn't seem notice the odd looks coming its way, as only one thing was on its mind at the time. The blue armor that he wore was oddly feminine, although he was called a man by the human that he protected. There was only one gender in his species, and he honestly had no need to care about his gender. The only thing he cared about what the little girl that he watched over, and she was the reason he was in public in the first place.

He had found out a few months ago that her human body did not fully accept the sustenance that he used to stay alive, and her body would only take a few nutrients from the food instead of all of them. He had been taking care of her for a little more than a year before he found that out, and he decided that he needed to get her food that was served on her planet, rather than created unnaturally like the 'food' that he ran on.

Turning to a random human, he looked at the man straight in the eyes and gave out no expression as he spoke softly. "Human. I require a small portion of food. Please tell me where I can find somewhere that can serve food in small portions."

The man that he was talking to stopped imediately and listened to the tall... man. The being didn't seem to be evil, but he was still somewhat afraid of the thing that he knew wasn't human. He pointed down the street and ran off, afraid to be around the somehow intimidating alien. Said alien simply looked in the direction that he was pointing in and began to walk to a restaurant that had the word "PIZZA" on the front. For as long as he had been on earth, he had taken to noticing that humans had several different ways of pronouncing things that were spelled the way. He assumed that it was a regional dialect thing, and didn't bother to look more into it.

Walking to the Pizza joint, the tall figure was forced to bend slightly over in order to get through the doors, but was able to stand back up with about an inch of space between the top of his helmet and the ceiling. Passing the line completely and moving straight to the counter, the alien looked at one of the people at the cash register and spoke in the same soft and calm voice as before. "Human. I require a small portion of your 'Pizza.' I have a sufficient amount of currency to pay for it, and would be pleased if it were to be brought to me in the quickest time allowable."

"Um, Hey! There are people in line, so you have to go to the back and wait!" One person called out from behind the tall man, causing him to turn and look at the one who was talking to him. His calm face suddenly turned into a heart stopping glare as he walked over to him. When he spoke this time, his voice as a cold edge to it that stuck fear into the person who spoke out against him.

"I require the food NOW. If you chose to get in my way while I carry out my task, I will have no choice but to take action." His cold voice seemed to affected the man as he took a small step away from the armored alien.

[Experiment 249]

'No I can't say I know of your world, simply of the dead who come from there.' Alexis said smiling. She had stopped looking to Judah to do something and decided to converse with the alien girl.

Before any of that could happen, however, the doors swung open and a man, maybe, walked in, taller than almost every human Judah had ever seen walked through. The shock alone caused Judah to jump and drop the menu and throw Nicola out of the booth. The thing walked to the counter, with a look of death glaring at a customer. "Sh..Should I-we help? He seems big... can we take him?" Judah asked Nicola.

'Judah no, we'll take care of it, Nicola and you would be too destructive. We need to take care of this the right way, and the being itself doesn't seem evil, he just doesn't understand.' Alexis said, shoving her way over to Judah. 'If we can just get him away from here we can calm him down. We don't need to hurt anyone until they've hurt someone else. Choose me!' Alexis glanced to Judah. She was tired of waiting and nearly demanded he chose her to fight with.

Judah looked to Nicola, who was eyeing the stranger. 'I say we throw him through a wall and teach him some manners. Big jerk needs to know that only we do the shoving around here. And hey, I haven't tasted alien blood yet. Give me a chance, let's go.' Nicola said, never looking to Judah, licking her lips and digging her claws into the booth. Had the been able to damage anything, there would be chaos everywhere. Luckily she was intangible.

"Alexis when I say so, let's go." He whispered, careful to not let anyone hear other than this silver girl in the rags. He watched the thing at the counter through the only reflective surface, the chest of the Alien at her table. Hopefully she won't mind.

[boredbrain]

Riley watched the big man come over. His food had just gotten finished and brought out. It was a steaming hot pizza fresh with steaming cheese and pepperoni. It was glorious and Riley didn't want to share, however he knew what he had to do. He stood up and walked up to the man. He went to tap on the man's shoulder. "Hey, I just got my box. I can't eat a whole one, you guys can have some if you're that hungry." He said kindly.

Malice started screaming hatred into Riley's head. 'He's evil! Dastardly! A Villian! wreck him! Let me out! I want to beat him!" Malice was throwing a fit.

[ReaptheMusic]

"Wait."

The monochrome girl stared at the boy across from her with her white eyes. "Do not attack. He is confused. Perhaps it would even be best if we merely ignore the individual. He poses no threat. Be vigilant." Her words were still monotonous as hell, but they now held with them a sense of urgency... if you could call it that. It was more like she'd come to a normal speed of speech by human standards. Her eyes slid over to watch him out of the corner of her eye and she raked a surprisingly sharp nail over her skin. It began to ooze what looked like some kind of mercury.

"I will aid you if necessary, Otherworld Anchor."

[cerozer0]

Violet listened to the apparent alien named Galaxian or Rumble ramble on about how he was a great crime fighter, and while most would be frightened by a talking, walking puff ball that had control of a robot, Vi couldn't help but smile and play along. Once his great speech was completed, she removed the look of shock from her face and clapped, grinning. Aliens weren't a rarity nowadays; she had seen plenty back at His lab, so it was completely rational for something like Rumble to be here in front of her, prancing about like some ballerina/super hero and spouting what mostly sounded like nonsense. Nonetheless, he was amusing, and a possibly savoir for the bored Vi. Plenty of questions came and went from within her busy mind, but it became obvious that he wasn't prepared to answer any at this time. At his inquiry about food, she stopped clapping and pulled her hood further over her face before turning to point in the direction of the pizzeria she had just wandered away from.

"There's a pizza place just this way. I can treat you to something there, if you'd like." Ack, Vi you idiot! She felt her hidden hand clench, nails cutting into her skin as a way to punish herself for promising to spend the little money she had. Oh well, this was a chance to make a new friend, and seeing as it was an alien her deformity wasn't as odd as it would be to another human. A sheepish smile painted her half-hidden face, and with a hesitant flick of the wrist she instructed Rumble to follow her. Upon exiting the alley, though, she took note of a few anxious looking people who all seemed to be glaring at the back of a floating... Man? Vi could only see his back and weirdly-shaped helmet before he vanished fully behind the pizzeria doors. Violet glanced back at Rumble, then returned her attention to the doors. Shadows moved from behind the tainted glass and frames of the building, and anxiousness made her skin sizzle.

No, don't worry. Worry allows it to spread.

Violet rubbed her hands together hastily, a tick she constantly did whenever she felt nervous. Now, a floating creature wasn't exactly something that would make her anxiety flare, but there was an oppressive feeling that she suddenly noticed as soon as her eyes had settled on the person. That was enough to set it off. No, no, don't worry. Violet pulled her hood over her face again and then dug into her pocket, pulling out five dollars and a bit of change. She counted and re-counted the money, calming her tense nerves silently before turning to smile at Rumble,

"Let's go eat, huh?" The sheepish smile was back, "pizza is great, have you had it before? It's dough, tomato sauce, and cheese, topped with whatever else you would want on it. I'm sure you'll like it, I definitely do!" Vi was rambling a bit, but it was a way to keep her anxiety at bay.

[WatermelonTango]

"Just one sec." Rumble said as he clicked a few commands on his gloves. His mech then proceeded to step into the nearest dumpster.. then it's arms fell off. Then it's legs popped off as well. Rumble's entire robot was in pieces, but it was designed to be able to come apart and quickly put itself together again for easy storage. He then removed his helmet, and like a hologram the rest of his super hero outfit faded away to be replaced with more casual wear. He neatly placed his helmet on his seat before jumping out of the dumpster by Violet's side. The lid of the dumpster slammed down and Venator Rex was successfully hidden. Rumble doubted that anyone could seriously hijack his robot with all of the security measures he had installed, but better safe then sorry.
"When you're in Rome you do as the Roman's do. That's a human saying is it not?"

Rumble was grateful for this human's assistance. He followed her out of the alley as she instructed.
"This "pizza" sounds interesting. Kind of like Snaggle beast pie, but we've never thought to put fruits into it. Sounds weird.. Let's try it!"
Rumble resolved himself to find a way to repay her generosity after this. It was the hero's way was it not? But suddenly it occurred to him that he didn't even know her name.
"So, what should I call you?" He said, not letting the sight of the gigantic man phase him. In fact he casually made his way to the front door of the pizzeria as if it was a completely normal day. He got a few odd glances from the gathering of people there but the sight of the humungous metal blue guy kept most eyes off of Rumble. The Yordle struggled a to open the front door, but he tried his best to hold it open as he waved Violet in. Why did humans make their doors so heavy! On his planet doors opened themselves!

When he entered the joint Rumble hopped into the first cubicle he saw and cracked open the menu. Human food was so exotic! He pondered all of the odd things on the menu. Rumble took note of the prices listed. Somehow he was doubtful his currency could be used here. Yeah. He certainly owed her one after this was through. Rumble briefly noticed the commotion happening at the front of the line. It wasn't until now that he realized how freaked out the humans were.
"Is he a local?" Rumble asked Violet with a lone finger pointing at the tall one.

[pyroman]

Feeling something on his shoulder, the being turned around to look at the person who had just been poking him. His glare suddenly went away as he looked at the young human, and listened to what he had to say. Quickly afterwards, he shook his head. "Although tempting, I cannot accept your offer. You used your currency to obtain the pizza and I am required to do the same." He then turned back around to the counter where the cashier was pulled out actual human American money from some compartment that wasn't able to be seen from any angle.

"Here is the currency. Prepare the food quickly. She does not enjoy waiting for her food, and gets upset." He said as he walked over to the counter and put the money down, allowing the cashier to take it. However, the man did no such thing and began to shake lightly as he shook his head in a 'no'.

"I-I'm sorry sir, but like that man back there said, you need to wait in lin-" The cashier was stopped as the hand of the blue armored alien destroyed the counter with a single chop.

"I have presented you your currency and politely requested that you prepare the food! I have said previously that I will take action if one were to get in my way, and you are doing exactly that." His cold hard glare returned as he looked at the cashier who was trembling with fear of the force that he used to break the counter. Many other people in the pizzeria let out scared gasps as they moved away from the alien. They didn't want to end up like that counter. "She will not be happy when hearing about this, but it must be done." He said quietly to himself as he attacked the counter again, making an open path to the back of the pizzeria.

While he was watching the events unfold from his seat, Ryan decided that now it was the time to act. It appeared that others were also on guard because of him, and he figured that it wouldn't hurt at all to have them help in bringing this strange alien down. The white haired young man stood up from his seat and exerted a cool air around him while creating gauntlets out of ice. he didn't have his suit with him currently, but oh well.

"Hey!" He called out, getting the attention of the alien man. "I don't know what you're hoping to accomplish by doing this, but I can't let you go through with it. These people were here first and you aren't more important than they are." He spoke calmly, increasing the cool air around him.

The alien shook his head and glared coolly at the young man. It was a different sort of glare, not one filled with hate, just a determined and focused stare. "I am not, but she is, and she will get what she needs by any means necessary. If you wish to face me, so be it."

[boredbrain]

"Oh crap!" Riley hissed as he fell backwards in fear. That blue man practically demolished the counter with one blow! How in the world did that happen?! Well, actually Riley didn't think it was too uncommon. He quickly crawled to his table and flipped it over, breaking the bolts that it was bolted into the ground with. Riley began to scarf his pizza, reverting to stress-eating. "Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap." He muttered.

'You wanted to be a hero...' Malice's voice echoed. 'Unleash me, hero...I won't do anything too bad....' Malice hissed.

Riley took deep breaths. "Fine. Swear to me you'll only attack him, swear it!"

Malice began to cackle.

Riley shouted out in what seemed to be pain as he curled into the fetal position. The skin around his chest seemed to burst out with black ooze. The black ooze began to wrap itself around Riley over and over. It was building muscle, then a face.

Riley slipped into Malice's mind as Malice's body took over.

Shortly after a few seconds of the sickening goop flooded around Riley, Malice was forged. He had sharp fingers and depressed jet black eyes. He had large sharp teeth and spiky shoulders. "This...Feels...Good..." Malice hissed out as he hopped over the table. "Hey! Blue freak!" Malice hissed, his voice sounding more dark than most villains.

With hardly any warning, Malice scooped down, picked up half the counter and swung once. He let go and the piece of the counter rocketed towards the Blue Alien's head.