What Happened in Edmonton

[+Ark1002]

 

Tendril looked over at the man.

"Yes, I would like some."
Tendril smiled, thinking back to the last time he had gotten tea. A thievery, a knife to the back, money in a pouch. He had taken the vintage tea as a trophy.

Edited October 29, 2018 by Ark1002

[Hemalurgic Headshot]

Before he knew it, Liam was driving down a road lined by small shops. Though the road itself wasn’t in the best shape and the shrubbery lining it had overgrown, most of the shops were in good condition. A window was bashed in here and there, but often the window had been covered with wood or cardboard, and Liam saw customers in a few of them. There was an air of life on this road, a resilience of community that had survived Calamity.

The van slowed down, and Liam moved over to the curb. He noticed a few side glances and even an open stare as he did so, but many more averted their eyes. Simultaneously he noticed the telltale signs of concealed weapons on a few of the pedestrians. Calamity had still left its mark, and the red war-fitted Volkswagen wasn’t exactly inconspicuous.

“One hundred and twenty-somethingth street,” Kokichi mumbled, squinting through the window. Liam relaxed inwardly. Seeing Kokichi back on their feet lifted a weight that had been resting on his shoulders. “Wanna poke around or keep moving?” They asked. Liam glanced around at the street and nodded.

“I was thinking the same thing,” he replied as he grabbed his jacket and shotgun. “Let’s go see why we’re here.”

Liam elected to move the van to an alley before they went snooping around. Though he doubted that many of the citizens would do much, Liam would prefer not to attract the attention of any local Epics. Once on the sidewalk, he turned to Kokichi and gestured to the row of stores. “So, where to first?”

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Present Day 

Edmonton wasn't Edmonton anymore. 

That was more or less expected. Some Epics kept the names of the cities they conquered; others decided names like Miami and Atlanta were too sensible and changed them. Still, Olympia Polaris wasn't bad, as city names went, and there wasn't much point in complaining anyway, so Nathan didn't bother. Entering from one of the southeastern checkpoints would have been simplest, but Jade thought it best to approach cities from angles that gave fewer clues as to their point of origin. 

"You think your mom has spies this far east?" 

She'd shrugged, and the unease he'd glimpsed had made him drop the subject. She took his hand and an extra jump, and they landed a fair distance from the northeastern edge of the city, hopefully far enough to evade notice from any lookouts and to give the impression they'd reached Olympia Polaris by ordinary means. The packs on their backs—stocked with survival gear, which Jade insisted was a must in the northern wilderness, superpowers or no—helped sell the illusion.

Walking after a series of jumps seemed to help Jade clear her head, and it seemed they needed to do a good bit of it before reaching the areas where people lived. The northern sector didn't seem to be a popular locale; the first cluster of houses they passed stood empty, some windows broken and others crusted with years of dirt and grime. When they did pass an occupied dwelling, the owners called their children inside and then stood in the open door, watching them until they were gone. The slam of a door echoed down the street. 

Nathan thought of Portland, and then shook the thought away. This wasn't Portland. The locals they'd spoken to had mentioned competing factions and a semblance of peace. It wasn't Portland. 

Sightings of residents increased as they moved toward downtown, and while Nathan still sensed tension, it was a different sort. The residents here didn't hide in whatever structures were available, but walked out in the open. More than one sported the conspicuous bulge of a barely-concealed firearm; simple logic dictated that others would have weapons better hidden in their bags or clothing. He and Jade attracted more than a few long stares, but those usually ended at their packs and the apparent conclusion that they were just passing through. 

He'd been no stranger to walking in Newcago, and he'd only done more of it since Oregon's destruction. But weariness always set in sooner or later, and he longed for a place to set his pack down, something to drink and maybe to eat. Despite the odd broken window, downtown Olympia Polaris boasted a number of restaurants, aromas wafting out from open doors. He was just about to ask Jade if she had a destination in mind when the answer appeared before him, written in yellow script on a black sign. 

"Destination Doughnuts," Jade read aloud. He could hear the smile in her tone, growing with each syllable, probably due to the smell of fried sugar drifting toward them, enticing as the promise of warmth and comfort and relative safety it implied. 

Seems like a sign. Nathan almost said it, but the unintended pun was bad enough to give him pause. "Looks like a good place." 

"No." Jade took his hand, her voice breathless with wonder, and led him toward the door. "It's destiny." 

[DrakeMarshall]

"Whoever you want me to be, master."

A pure and perfect orb of blood bloomed from the epic's outstretched hand, suspended for a moment in the empty space between her and Quietus.

The display was... Pleasing. Blood epics had a good aesthetic going, without even trying.

Her offer of servitude, although suspect, was also pleasing. She could be more than a mere prisoner or plaything.

"My name's Red."

Red. A simple name. To the point. Blunt. Unlike the sharpened steel that gave her those scars.

It was not lost on Quietus that she still asserted her name, immediately after offering up her identity to him. Consciously or not, she resisted giving up her individuality completely. Quietus would fix that. Women were like shoes, in that both of them had to be broken in.

His pupils dilated as he switched into heat vision, sizing her up. Her body was warm. Not unusually warm however: she was unafraid. A sweet and delicate moth drawn nearer to the flame. The marks on her body laid her bare. They bespoke a special familiarity with physical pain, but probably as a coping mechanism for emotional pain. He caressed her bare neck and shoulders, feeling her warmth, running his fingers along the criss-crossed scarring.

"Great. Red," Quietus drawled out with a slight smile, hand still resting on her bare skin. "You can call me Quietus. I will be exacting your servitude either way of course, but why should I trust that your offer is genuine?"

[the winter system]

“I was thinking the same thing,” Lee answered in a sort of confusing way that didn’t really fit the binary options they’d give him. He pulled his jacket on and grabbed the gun. “Let’s go see why we’re here.”

As Lee stashed the car in yet another alleyway, Kokichi watched the street. The moving maples seemed dull, almost designed to fade into the background without any notable individuality. It took effort to focus on any of them in particular.  Not there. 

It took a few seconds for any of the writing on the buildings to catch their eyes. Most was meaningless graffiti— x Epic was here, the end of times is coming and it’s not fine, and the like— along with a few blood stains that hadn’t been cleaned. Kokichi considered writing LOL onto a wall, before they found where their eyes were trying to drift.

”So, where to first?” Lee asked, returning right on time with their observation. 

Destination Donuts? Now reality was flying at their speed. The door was just closing on a couple of (probably?) maples. They didn’t hear any sorta bell— prob uninstalled cuz Epics being all easily murderific. An exaggerated grin split open their face, with golden light and stars exploding around their wide eyes, as they pointed at the place. 

“Donuts!” Their own creations were real, but to Kokichi, they didn’t taste like much. Nobody else ever commented on it, so maybe... Eh, whatever, they hadn’t nommed on proper maple food for ages. Hopefully that’d taste like actual food. “Big want.”

—

He ran his fingers over her neck and shoulders, the touch firm and possessive, yet warm and inviting. Not quite tight enough to bruise her skin, but Red felt the strength in his veins— if he desired to, he could break her neck before she could throw up any sort of defenses. Beautiful. 

She was like clay in his grip, melding into whatever form he chose. The blood beneath Red’s skin rushed to her cheeks, in part naturally. His intense eyes were calculating before they were passionate, but the fury was there, waiting to be unleashed. 

This was not the same kind of unnatural allure the cowardly posture from before had exuded, with some sort of ability designed to entrap those around her. This man commanded her attention, and he would not run, as evidenced by the barely controlled hunger in his eyes. If anyone deigned flee, she presumed, he would hunt them, 

Of course, Red wouldn’t run. She had no reason to, considering this was exactly what she’d desired. The thought of her exes drifted away from her mind, new longing consuming her attention. 

“Great. Red, you can call me Quietus.” Can? The word was suspicious. Regardless, his hand still clenched her shoulder and a single turn of phrase wasn’t enough to halt the fresh need running through her. “I will be exacting your servitude either way, of course, but why should I trust that your offer is genuine?”

A test, if her heartbeat sense was any indicator. He was sizing her up, a piece of meat on his plate, and she obliged. 

“With your strength, Quietus, as I’m sure it is vast enough to dissuade any thoughts of betrayal, and precise enough to punish those who dare disobey.” 

[DrakeMarshall]

The epic answered in a breathy voice, positively dripping with submission. Quietus was going to enjoy her considerably.

“With your strength, Quietus, as I’m sure it is vast enough to dissuade any thoughts of betrayal, and precise enough to punish those who dare disobey."

"Yeah, pretty much."

An interesting case. She was literally begging to be abused, in every way. While they might be diverting, conventional methods of breaking her in would probably fall short. Quietus debated with himself the merits of finding a creative weak spot to control her with, or instead deliberately assailing what he knew to be a less vulnerable side of her and seeking heights of physical pain that could master her anyhow.

Or he could just do both of those things.

"The way this works is pretty simple. I don't generally take on prisoners as slaves, because most prisoners aren't worth my time. Fail me, and you're not valuable enough to be a slave, and so you get the same ending most prisoners do."

He rested his hand on the cuffs that restrained her.

"You will start by explaining in detail what you can do for me, apart from getting captured by a team of incompetents."

[Kidpen]

                                                                                                

Armageddon sighed. In hindsight, coming to the Webrynth completely unannounced might have been a bad idea, but he had somehow assumed that Arachnerd spent all her time in here, just whiling away the hours spying on everyone else. Standing up in defeat, he was about to call to his Apocalypse Guard to head home when a small spider came up carrying a rolled up piece of paper.

Alright... there are two possibilities here. One, it's for me from someone who knows I'm here. Two, it's for Arachnerd, who isn't here. Might as well take it. Opening it up, he found himself more and more interested in the contents. A meeting, scheduled by Epoch? Sure to be interesting. "Change of plans!" he yelled, "We're heading for Epoch's territory!"

[DrakeMarshall]

"Very well, N- Nathaniel. I'm Stephany."

A false name, but it would have felt weird to give her real one since she hadn't used it in ages. She never even liked her given name that much anyways. Plus, she kind of doubted his name was genuine either.

"So, are there any people and/or places I should stay away from? I'm from Calgary," she explained truthfully.

Maybe he could give her an idea of which factions she might approach. Epics of Blindside's caliber had to take refuge in a bigger name epic eventually, willingly or not. It was better to do it by choice. The important decision was who.

"Miss Rook, you are under arrest for using an unknown epic power against this government facility, and accomplice in the epic-assisted break-in of another government facility."

Taya blinked in the bright light, clearing the last of the drowsiness from her eyes. She noticed the guns pointing at her.

"What."

"You will relinquish your bag and put your hands above your head."

Taya let out an inarticulate noise of displeasure. "Can we not do this right now."

"You are under arrest," the officer repeated.

"I can see that. And I very do not have time for it."

"You will make time fo--"

"Did you miss the fact that I was here on diplomatic business? Or perhaps you missed the part where the actual government pulled out and left us all at the mercy of complete monsters."

"If you do not comply within three seconds, force will be used to subdue you."

Slowly, she placed her hands above her head. "I wonder, have you ever read their files? The epics outside your little haven?"

"Not personally, no. Now drop the bag."

"Chrysalis. Violent takeover of Calgary. Several hundred instances of unwilling bodily control over civilian bystanders. Several war crimes."

"That is unrelated. Kick your bag over to me, now."

"Karabiner," she continued quickly. "Vicious local arms trafficker. Kidnapping, exploitation, premeditated murder, desecration of the dead, and the occasional act of ethnic cleansing. Zealous neo-Nazi and epic supremacist."

"I said now!"

"Quietus," she pressed on stubbornly. "Chief enforcer of ERA. Multiple counts of perversion of justice, several types of theft, premeditated murder, rape, cold-blooded torture, mutilation, blackmail, a few instances of slavery, and inducing suicide."

"Detain by forc--"

A flurry of dark and indistinct feathers filled the room, followed shortly after by several gunshots.

.  .  .

"Well, that could have gone better," Taya said to nobody in particular, looking back over her shoulder towards the Alberta Government office.

You win some and you lose some. Or something like that. She flung her pack over one shoulder, stifled a yawn, and left the office behind her.

She hoped the illusory storm of feathers wouldn't take more than a few days to fade.

[The Young Pyromancer]

A newcomer?  Probably a Minor Epic, judging by the fact that they didn't seem to be too arrogant.  Probably perception based.

"Well, for starters, don't go into South Common."  Nicroburst started ticking off fingers.  "The Epic there is named Typhon.  He's really big and dumb, and just stays there, but anyone who goes in dies.  Next, don't go through areas where the air seems weird and shimmery unless you are completely sure of the time distortion ratio and that it isn't a wall.  If it's an area of slowed time, then you could be stuck there for years while only seconds pass for you, and if it's a wall of distorted time, you'll get stuck there for days or weeks or until someone gets you out.  And it isn't very pleasant."  Nicroburst grimaced.  Not pleasant was an understatement. When he had first come to Olympia Polaris, he had thought the distortion was water vapor or something and had gotten taken in by Epoch's goons temporarily.  Getting stuck in the barrier was like getting slowly sucked through a straw, then being inflated back to proper size by some kid with a bicycle pump.

Where was he?  Ah yes.  "If you see a black forcefield, that's where some sort of light Epic has set up.  It's not certain death, like South Common, but people who go in there either can't or won't talk about what happened inside.  Some people have come out insane, others with portions of their memories missing, and still others never come out at all.  There are regular supply runs for food, but besides that, not many people go in or out anymore.  The Epic there supplies a large portion of the city's electricity in exchange for the food."

Nicroburst scratched his hair unconsciously.  "In the west there is the Belt, a group that is led by a gravity manipulator named Orbit.  They supply a drug-like substance called Amberlight.  Past them is a large group of Minor Epics.  They aren't much of a threat, but there is a bunch of them.  I would advise staying away from them, as they act a lot like petty thugs."

"Below and to the east of the middle of the city is an area covered by webs.  Don't go there.  No one really knows for sure who or what is in there, but there are a bunch of spiders."

"If you are after somewhere to stay, I would advise either Epoch's territory- he's the one who creates the barriers, an area still under the control of the old government, or a place where there aren't many others around, like the north.  That's where I am."

"Oh, and if it's night and it looks like it's raining backwards, get inside or you will start losing your memory."  Nicroburst grinned at Stephany.  "Any questions?"

[the winter system]

"A few things," she purred, tendrils casually pushing the pins in the cuffs to unlock her. "Some boring. Tracking and empathy aren't much. Others?" 

She raised the presence beneath her skin, carefully pushing her jacket off over her shoulders almost effortlessly. It was a practiced maneuver. She angled her head down in front of him, exposing the almost entirely backless shirt. The coating of rusty not quite armor slid down and around to a single point, delicately slithering.

Once, she'd focused on subtly. Marbles turning into darts and the like. Then, she'd seen a world die around her. Miami's collapse hadn't been anything like Oregon's-- she'd fled the night before everything went south and other Epics came to fill the power vacuum. There was no wasteland, no fires she watched burn out till almost nothing was left.

All the subtly in the world couldn’t cause that. 

Her true power wasn’t exactly top notch. The brute force came more from the speed than the durability of the blood, though that speed wasn't anything to laugh at, and many people were perturbed by the gorey nature of the move. She doubted Quietus would be. 

Pieces of blood she'd stashed in pockets or the like flooded towards the area at the base of her spine. Blades began literally ripping through her skin to form the length of the two fluttering tentacles. She waved them back and forth for a moment, in a gesture reminiscent of jazz hands. 

[+Ark1002]

Tendril, growing bored, decided to ask a question.

"So. This city seems to have a complex political environment. Where in the town is safe for me, and where is dangerous? What are the biggest powers of the city? How dangerous is the city overall? If I were to take a stroll around the perimeter of the city, how many epic territories would I enter? And, on estimate, how many epics are in the city?"

Well, maybe more than a question.

While he had been speaking, he had subconsciously unfurled his tendrils and started poking holes in the ground. Looking down, he realized that there was a complex spiral pattern going in a circle around him, smoking. He also realized he and his chair were hovering at least a foot of the ground. I need to learn to control that.

[Hemalurgic Headshot]

 

Part 1 of the HH/Winter/Twi collab. HH is in black, Winter is in purple, and Twi is in blue.

---

“Big want,” Kokichi said. Big want… what? Liam didn’t have time to ponder the phrase before Kokichi dashed off to pastry paradise, or more specifically, Destination Doughnuts. How… appropriate, Liam thought.

Their burst of speed didn’t end up trampling anyone.

The only thing it did damage was the door, which they basically completely blew off its hinges with their enthusiastic kick.

“MAPLES, HOLY F--”

The word which was totally not going to be a swear, Mister Moral Prissypants, was interrupted by the unnecessarily loud clang of the door against the ground.

Maples, Jade had learned, did not usually refer to the delicious syrup. And in this case, she was pretty sure it didn’t refer to the long rectangular donut topped with glaze made from the aforementioned syrup.

But she didn’t have time to be pleased at being mistaken for a vanilla. Or a maple. Or whatever people everywhere called people who didn’t have Epic powers, because whoever had broken the door off its hinges was either an Epic or literally the most colorful maple she’d seen.

An Epic. Another Epic. In the donut shop. Only the fact she was next in line for the chocolate-covered creme-filled donuts in the display case kept her from grabbing Nathan’s hand and making a run for it.

Liam barged through the--well, the door wasn’t there anymore--entrance. “Kokichi!” He yelled. He opened his mouth to scold them for literally destroying property but stopped when he noticed that they had the attention of the entire establishment. Several customers were hiding under their tables, and those in line seemed like they weren’t sure whether to bolt or turn invisible.

Instead, Liam shifted his grip on his shotgun. “My apologies for your door,” he said to the cowering clerk.

He leaned close to Kokichi. “What are you doing,” he whispered.

“Uh, getting donuts?” They looked from Lee to the people, who seemed a little skittish. Their entrance had been a little bit surprising, they supposed. Still, there wasn’t any real good reason not to have a super cool dramatic entrance when they could. “You do have bucks, right?”
They could pull their own bucks out of nowhere, but like, that was probably bad for the economy? Or something like that.

Wait, did they even have bucks here? What even was money. Why did some peeps ask them for it and others just give them free stuff? The world is a confusing place.

Jade allowed herself to relax a little, but not much. That Epic, the one with the admittedly amazing hair--Kokichi, apparently--was just there for donuts. Only donuts. Of course, Jade knew firsthand how a simple diversion like that could turn into something far more involved, and that was assuming nothing happened to remind Kokichi that things didn’t always go their way. But a quick glance toward the display case told her there were plenty of donuts to go around, and a good number of each kind. The chances of things getting ugly weren’t quite slim, but they weren’t as great as they could be.

The clerk finally tore his gaze from Kokichi,  as though suddenly remembering he could busy himself with something aside from cowering. Look busy, act helpful. That was the way to keep Epics as close to happy as you could, and the clerk remembered that just in time to hand the woman in front of Jade her box and take her money. The woman hurried out the yawning doorway, head ducked as she passed Kokichi and their bearded companion.

Jade’s turn.

She’d gotten an order from Nathan, but hadn’t thought to write it down and only remembered the way he’d looked at everything, the way he’d discretely counted the money they’d earned working odd jobs along the way. He wouldn’t protest if they got one of everything, and yet….

“Uh--chocolate. And, um, apple.” He’d ordered apple something. Something with apple in it.

“Apple fritters, or apple topping?”

Jade managed to look away from Kokichi just in time to escape notice--or so she hoped. Calamity, those earrings were cool. “Y-yes.”

“And what kind of chocolate--”

“I said yes.”

The tension in the shop lessened as the clerk resumed his duties. The next person in line was getting her order. Liam checked his pockets. “Bucks? Do you mean money?” He asked Kokichi.

They gave a thumbs up.

“I can pay for you if you need it.” That was all the answer they needed. Liam sighed as the nervous patrons moved aside to let Kokichi get in line, right behind the woman getting her order. This is certainly awkward, he thought as he scanned the shop again. If Kokichi’s cutscene has taken them here, there had to be something of importance, somewhere.

Kokichi scanned the list of flavors. They couldn’t read some of the words thanks to their very in depth education which tots wasn’t the result of a patchwork of lessons from different peeps and the few years of actual school they’d attended, pre-shenaniganry nonsense. A  few had been crossed out or written over a few times. Kokichi could probably find/make the stuff for those ones, but that’d be kinda weird. There were plenty of available flavors, images of which floated in their eyes.

The background maples went back to whatever they were doing, though the noises were a lot more subdued. The only peeps who weren’t all blurry and vague-like were the person who worked at the counter and the couple in front of them.

So many options. They could go for which one looked the prettiest, but then they’d have to eat it and tots destroy that pretty. They seated back and forth, donuts appearing around their head where stars of confusion post-boinking would usually go.

Kokichi leaned to the side and forward, poking their head towards the woman in front of them who looked like a maple. There was something up with her, so maybe there was a reason they were here, beyond just donuts. (Not that “just sugary stuff” wasn’t a great reason to do literally anything.)

“What did you get?” Were her shoes different colors? Probs she lost one and found another, in a different shade, to replace it. That was logical.  Didn’t account for why they focused on it as if it was some sort of clue. “Totally random definitely maple-ific stranger who is probably completely irrelevant in every way?”

If they weren’t relevant before, they would be now, cuz fate or Calamity or whatnot liked to mess with them.

“Um. Chocolate. And apple.” Kokichi was sizing her up, though for what, Jade had no idea. Hopefully not a fight. She wasn’t sure what a fight with an Epic who could make donuts swirl around their head would look like, but she was fine not knowing. Perfectly happy in her ignorance. “I mean, not together, ‘cause that’d be kinda weird, but--well, they’re in the same box, but they’re not on the same donut so they’re kinda together and kinda not, so I guess you could eat them together but that would be even weirder and they might not go, so…”

She didn’t hear Nathan’s footsteps over the noise of the shop, but she felt him beside her even before he spoke. “Did you, uh, get the donuts?”

“On their way,” the clerk said.

Jade didn’t look to see how many donuts were in the box. She knew she’d ordered too many, if only because putting that many donuts in a box took time.

Nathan didn’t ask who Kokichi was, but a quick glance showed her a more veiled version of an expression she’d seen back in Nevada when a rattlesnake had crossed their path. Fear wrapped in exaggerated calm. But with a rattlesnake, she could simply port them to a safer area. She didn’t yet know what to do with Kokichi.

“Nice to meet you,” Nathan said, though he didn’t extend a hand. “I’m Nathan.”

“Jade,” she said, catching Kokichi’s glance toward her shoes. Maybe she could change them quickly, make them the same color--but Kokichi had seen them both and there was no way to know if they would dismiss what they’d seen as a trick of the light or put two and two together. Probably best to keep Kokichi and math as far away from each other as possible.

The newcomer, Nathan, gave Kokichi an appraising look. He seemed to Liam the type of person who sought out weaknesses in his opponents before he struck. He wasn’t sure what Nathan would find in Kokichi, but his companion was clearly nervous.

Liam stepped up to the pair and extended a hand to Nathan. “Liam. A pleasure,” he said.

“And I’m Kokichi.” An awkward moment passed. They were pretty sure this was the encounter that was gonna have some shenaniganry results and might end up heavily influencing the outcome of their murder quest, but for now, they just sort of stood there. “So… now what?”

“Got your doughnuts, ma’am.”

Jade nearly snatched the box from the clerk’s hands, barely ducking Nathan and Liam’s clasped hands as she did. “Donuts!” she said. “Donuts are next.”

Nathan caught the clerk’s slightly panicked look a moment before she did, dug the money out of his pocket and handed it over. We don’t need change, change is for losers, just don’t worry about the change, she wanted to say, but she didn’t know how much more money they’d need and leaving the change behind wasn’t a great idea.

She traded a glance with Nathan, but the glance didn’t decide anything. There was simply no way to tell if it would be safer to stay or safer to leave or safer to run off and hide in the bathroom until Kokichi got bored.

But there was one option. One option that was nearly always safe, assuming you weren’t dealing with a Steelheart or a Nighthound.

“You guys want some donuts?”

Donuts? Liam blinked, his train of thought broken. He had been too absorbed in deciphering every word anyone said. There had to be something here… sparks, it hadn’t even been a whole day with Kokichi and he was already thinking like this. This couple could very easily be innocent, completely ordinary, yet here he was, analyzing them as if they were hiding secrets.

“That’s very kind of you. Should we sit down?” Liam gestured to an empty booth. He couldn’t shake the feeling that these two people were important, but at least he could be cordial.

 

[the winter system]

Part 2 of the HH/Winter/Twi collab. HH is in black, Winter is in purple, and Twi is in blue.

Kokichi followed Lee’s lead-- lol, that sort of rhymed-- and slid their way across to near the window.

 

Jade had thought they might each take a donut or two, ask a few easily evadable questions, and leave her and Nathan to make an exit. Instead, Liam wanted to sit down and Kokichi took a window seat and sparks now they had to sit down and make awkward small talk. Jade usually didn’t mind small talk--there was a way to make almost any question interesting, if you gave an answer they weren’t expecting, and that either took care of the awkward part or got the other person to walk away--but small talk with an Epic was bound to be awkward no matter what she did.

 

Well, awkward up until they wanted a fight. That, technically, would end the small talk.

 

Nathan quickly claimed the side of the booth across from Kokichi and let her slide in before taking the seat beside her, across from Liam. They shared another quick glance, and Nathan gave a small tilt of the head toward Liam. Jade nodded, but didn’t quite relax. He seemed ordinary. If Kokichi was willing to travel with a maple-vanilla-whatever, then they probably weren’t the type to kill at random.

 

Probably.

 

Jade clasped her hands on the table, grabbed one of the creme-filled donuts and held it in both hands, swinging her legs beneath the booth. She had to say something, had to get this conversation over with so she could port the two of them to the other side of town without anyone seeing.

 

“Nice donuts,” she said at last. “And the shop is nice. And so was the--er, I mean….” Calamity. She took a bite of donut and swallowed. “It’s nice. All nice.”

 

Liam selected a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles. Besides being slightly awkward, Jade didn’t seem particularly unusual. Nathan, on the other hand, could be more than met the eye. He had the capacity to be hiding something, but Liam had no idea what. Sparks, that was what was so frustrating about this. Liam would be entirely happy with leaving now, but he knew that because of Kokichi, something important was here, and with every moment he grew more sure it was these two.

 

“So, I noticed your, uh, packs. Do you hike? Out of town?” Liam took a bite of the donut and silently cursed himself. Packs? That’s so random. Small talk was never his thing. Bear always loved to talk, and Liam let him.

 

Jade had an answer, but it got lost the moment Liam asked why they had packs and if he was asking about that he’d want to know about the survival gear and then he’d want to know where they’d come from and where they were going and she’d thought about what to say but she couldn’t remember it now, and--

 

“You could say that,” Nathan said. “Jade’s from around here, been showing me through.”

 

Kokichi pulled one out of the box. It was the brightest, most flavorful, and funnest looking of the bunch. It was practically glowing with flavor, the light reflecting in a way designed to arose hunger in the eye of the beholder. Everyone in the room would, by extension, be enjoying their meal so much more.

Why did they hesitate?

I won’t. The small moment would pass undetected, or it would be completely obvious to everyone around them. So Kokichi shoved it into their mouth, taking too big bites, expecting the rush of flavor that should come.

 

That didn’t come.

“Lee,” they said, food still in their mouth as they tried to conceal the concern that was rising in them like the acid in the back of their throat. “That food I gave you before. Did it taste like anything?”

 

“Hmmm? It tasted normal. Should it have tasted different?”

“Oh.”

That was an understatement.

But... what else was there to say about whatever this was? How long had they been like this? They couldn’t remember the last time they’d tasted anything, besides the rust of blood or burn of acid.

 

“Oh.”

Kokichi’s voice dropped off in sync with Liam’s heart. The encounter with the illusion Epic had shattered Liam’s impression of Kokichi as a carefree, hyperactive youth, and he was beginning to realize just how much they were an Epic of extremes. If things started to escalate--and just after he hoped the donuts would solve everything--Liam had to get Kokichi back to the van.

 

He leaned towards Kokichi. “Do we need to leave?” He whispered.

 

Jade had always been aware of how little she understood what had happened to her. Nathan had something to do with it—he had everything to do with it, despite his protests—and it likely wouldn’t have happened without that song playing. But now, watching that pain she’d known all too well come over Kokichi like a cloud over the sun, she knew it more acutely than ever. It was as though she’d been lost in the wilderness and found her way to some hunter’s cabin in a fugue, and now she heard Kokichi calling out from those same woods. She wanted to tell them which way to go, where to find the path, how to avoid the thorns and the wild animals and the river that would sweep you away if you so much as leaned in for a look.

 

But she didn’t know. She’d been a monster and then she’d been a girl again, and saying as much wouldn’t help a bit if she couldn’t say how it all happened.

 

It was Nathan who spoke up, as she seemed to have forgotten how. “We...we can go if you need a minute.”

 

“No, it’s fine.”

 

Fear or pity.

 

If they had to choose, they’d pick the fear anytime. But it wasn’t like they could just switch between a moment of melancholy and a moment of rage, not without consequences later.

 

Not for something like this. This was small; it was something they could laugh off. No reason to make into a thing.

 

“F, my sense of taste.”

 

They didn’t seem to care too much about the aftermath of the Donut Incident or whatever it was that had happened, which was a good sign. Or at least, not a bad sign. Jade wanted to relax a bit, but all she could think of was the other ways this conversation might go wrong. If a donut not tasting the way Kokichi thought it should taste was enough to cloud their cheer, then something equally small could set them off, and Jade couldn’t guess where those potential fuses might be.

 

Sparks. She’d been there. She should know how to handle this better than anyone.

 

“So,” she said after a minute’s consideration led her to conclude that Are you from around here might not strike Kokichi as a neutral question, tied as it would be to past they’d tried to escape, “Is--is it nice here? It seems nice. Some of it. I mean….”

 

She trailed off, taking another bite of donut--which, while not bringing the pure joy she’d wanted from a donut, tasted as delicious as any donut she’d had.

 

“It seems like a good city,” Nathan put in. “Fairly safe, or as safe as any city can be. Better than Calgary, at any rate.”

 

“Haven’t been here long.” Kokichi put the donut down and went back to playing with the drawstring of the yellow hoodie. “No idea what Lee’s deal is. I yeeted myself into his van earlier today, so...”

 

That strange look Jade had wasn’t going away. They’d thought it was pity, but… it wasn’t quite. At the very least, it wasn’t just pity. There was something else there, something familiar.

Something haunted. Those jokes should’ve, by all rights, brought them back from this uneasy tension.

Edited November 7, 2018 by winter devotion

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Part 3 of the HH/Winter/Twi collab. HH is in black, Winter is in purple, and Twi is in blue.

 

“I move around a lot,” Liam explained. No need to mention the Circle. “I’ve been to every province except the Northern Territories. Even before Calamity, they were hard to get to, but I’ve heard that some particularly… territorial Epics have taken up residence there.” He wiped his hands on a napkin. These donuts were good. “I haven’t had much of an opportunity for sightseeing, though.”

“So, what brings you to ‘Olympia Polaris?’”

 Jade didn’t look to Nathan, and Nathan didn’t look to her. They’d fielded this question before in a few other places they’d stopped, and their answer had been the same each time.

 “Just passing through,” Nathan said. “We never stay in one place too long.”

 Jade nodded, trying to avert her gaze from Kokichi without making it too obvious she was doing so. She must have been staring, must have been making some sort of face, because now they were the one giving a strange look. No, not strange—questioning, and more apprehensive than curious.

 Sparks. She’d have to just stare at a wall or something the next time she and Nathan stopped.

 “Canada’s chill.”

 She’d noticed them noticing her noticing them, which meant they now noticed her noticing them noticing her noticing them and... okay, that was getting a bit ridiculous.

 Talking about places like this could lead to talking about the past, more generally. “In which I mean it’s literally freezing in— what is it, late August? Early September?”

 Who even kept track of that, yo.

 Liam deliberately avoided eye contact with Nathan, instead glancing out the window. Conveniently avoiding the question; nice move, Nathan, he thought. Thankfully, Kokichi had recovered, because Liam knew there was more to this couple, and he was getting closer. Not quite, but closer.

 “Where were you last? I wonder if I’ve been there once,” Liam inquired.

 Jade saw Nathan freeze for a second. No one in Saskatoon or Fargo had seen fit to ask where they’d been; but then, Olympia Polaris was in better shape than most cities. People here had time to ponder questions like that.

 “Came over from Saskatchewan,” Nathan finally said. It wasn’t an answer to Liam’s question—probably not the one he wanted, anyway—but it was true enough and didn’t give away which direction they’d come from.

 He might just be curious, Jade told herself, but she didn’t sound too convincing. When people wanted to know out of curiosity, they asked where you’d come from or where you were going. They didn’t ask where you’d been last.

 “Ah, from the east.” Liam mentally calculated the possible routes. Likely Saskatoon, but since Nathan has mentioned Calgary, they might have gone through Regina… “Honestly, everything from Winnipeg to British Columbia is just flat and farmland. A pain to drive through.”

 What else can I glean from this information, Liam pondered. Saskatchewan… the highways through the province only really link Alberta and Manitoba, so they’d likely have come through Winnipeg if they came going west. He reached for another donut, more brain food. They seem like the rugged sort to travel that kind of distance, but Nathan’s voice… it’s not eastern enough. Certainly not the Maritime Provinces. Could it be American? Liam wracked his brain. Wasn’t there an American agent? Salmon?

 Jade’s stomach clenched the way it had back when she was in school and the teacher set a test on her desk. Even one she’d studied for. Even one in math class, or science class, or some other subject she knew backwards and forwards and sideways and upside-down. That question was a test, and she hadn’t studied. They’d seen a good bit of the scenery, but not from behind a wheel or the window of a passenger seat. It had come in glimpses before she ported them fifty or so miles ahead, or more slowly as they followed the general lay of the road. Sparks, there had been times when they’d gone off-road, walking a few miles through the middle of nowhere while Nathan hummed a couple bars of “I Miss You” just to be on the safe side.

 “We’ve done more walking than driving, honestly,” Nathan said with a small chuckle. Jade could only nod, trying not to look as though she wanted to hug him then and there.

 Liam’s eyebrows raised. “You walked? Sparks, you have my respect. How long did it take you?”

 Nathan laughed, taking another apple fritter. “Too long. It’s good to be back in civilization, I’ll tell you that.”

 It was the best answer either of them had. Jade knew Canada was a country even bigger than it looked—and it looked pretty big. She didn’t know how long it ought to have taken them to travel by foot, but she did know that by all logic they shouldn’t have been so far north and west only weeks after setting out. Liam could either fill in the blanks with what he knew...or he could take that vague statement and use it to pick the rest of their story apart.

 Liam chuckled and took a bite of his donut. A dead end, he thought. If he wanted to get more specific answers, he’d need to ask more specific questions. However, the more he considered it, Nathan did sound American. Likely northern, but Liam didn’t know enough American dialects to be sure. This didn’t give Liam any definite conclusions; Nathan could just be an immigrant pre-Calamity. But if he wasn’t… Liam considered the possibilities. If the pair had come up from the States, through Winnipeg… which state was that? His American geography was lacking.

 Geography was not one of Kokichi’s strong suits and it was made worse by the fact they knew next to nothing about how time/space was SUPPOSED to work. This conversation wasn’t going anywhere. There was something weird going on, and they wanted to know what it was!

“What’s your deal?” they interrupted, pointing at Jade. “Why are we here? There’s nothing special about these donuts, and you guys are the only noticeable peeps here, so why you?”

 Jade wasn’t sure what Kokichi meant by only noticeable peeps—there were plenty of people there, and the guy in the corner feeding his pet ferret bites of maple bar was certainly noticeable—but she knew the question meant she had to come up with something, and come up with it quick, before their temper flared.

 “We didn’t come from Winnipeg,” she blurted before she could think of anything better. “We started a little further south.”

 “Yeah, just a little,” Nathan agreed.

 “A tad.”

 “So you are American,” Liam smiled, setting his donut down. That settled one thing. “And I agree with Kokichi. There is something special about the two of you. Whatever forces of destiny that control the world brought us here, and we met you.” Liam paused. “The forces of fate or whatever (aka Kokichi) deemed this place important enough to draw us here, and I am confident that one or both of you is the reason.”

 He spread his hands on the table. “Both of you seem like good people. But Kokichi is right: ‘what’s your deal?’”

 “Sooooo cool,” they added, very constructively. They waved back and forth, stars in their eyes. Lee looked awesome when he talked toughlike that.

 His natural stare was buffed up by their power. Not anywhere as scary as them, but it was plenty intimidating.

 Jade had never done well with people staring at her or speaking too sternly—not when she was in her right mind, at least—but there was something about Liam’s stare that made it hard for her not to quail beneath it.

It’s probably Kokichi’s powers, she told herself. An Epic who could make stars appear in their eyes and set up some sort of awesomeness field around a donut and--apparently--lead them to the two people harboring the most interesting secret out of anyone else in a crowded donut shop could intensify a stare. It was logical, it made sense, and Jade still had to bite her lip to keep from spilling everything out in a panicked apology.

“Look, we’re here by choice,” Nathan said, leaning forward and driving an index finger into the table for emphasis. “And we’re not here to make any trouble. We just want to rest up and enjoy some donuts before hitting the road again.”

Jade bit her lip, trying to think how much Liam wanted, how much Kokichi wanted, how much Nathan wanted to hold back. She had something in mind, but didn’t speak it aloud. Best to let Nathan decide how much to reveal.

“We have rubbed shoulders with some pretty powerful Epics in more than one city, if that’s what you mean by our ‘deal.’” 

[DrakeMarshall]

"Taya?"

It was Jayce on the line. 90% sure.

"Hiya. What's up?"

"I heard about the government incident."

"Oh. That."

"What happened?"

"I slightly did not reconcile the Shield to the government. They weren't so much interested in talking. Can't imagine why."

"I noticed. Government people are still laboring to get rid of the feathers you left behind," Jayce sighed. "We're sending one of ours to quietly remove them. Keep in mind that the whole situation is somewhat sensitive... Can I still count on you to pull this off?"

"Probably. See, I'm still alive and whatnot. And I still have a plan."

"Do you?"

"Most of a plan," Taya amended. "There may be a sprinkling of pieces to metaphorically stitch together, or wrinkles to metaphorically iron out. But, it would hardly be fair if things continued to go wrong, now, would it? Thanks for dealing with the feathers, by the way."

"I see." There was a long pause before she spoke again. "Is there anything we can do to assist you?"

"Well, now that you mention it. Yeah. There's a thing you could do."
 

Probably-not-actually-Nathaniel grinned at her. "Any questions?"

"Calamity," Blindside thought out loud, walking in step behind him. "That's one oddball city, even for epics."

The provincial government, the drug kingpin, or the barrier epic. One of these would have to do.

"So what's the deal with the old government? How do they fit into things? Are they epics or what?"

Asking casual and innocent-sounding questions had never been her forte. Oh well.
 

I still need to find these people. Before the big meeting thingy.

"Yo, has anybody seen anything weird lately?"

Unconsciously, some of the passerby looked warily back over their shoulders. Towards... A donut shop. The door was blown clean off of its hinges. The smell of fresh baked goods wafted from within in the form of visible lines suspended in the air.

"Well, that could have been more difficult."

From what little Taya knew of her mark, it was actually a legitimate lead.

Funny how that worked.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Drake Marshall
spacing

[Voidus]

 

Dark.
Megan stumbled through the darkness, left hand stretched out in front of her, feeling for something solid to use to guide her way. Her right hand instinctively dropped to her side, searching for the matching warmth from Alisons hand. How many times had Alison helped her when they were younger and the power went out? How many times had she snuck into her sisters bed during a storm?

But she didn't find the warmth. All she could feel was the cold, matching the cold that she'd seen behind her sisters eyes when they'd finally reunited.

----------------------------------

As her vision faded, Impact cursed softly to herself. She held one hand out to steady her body, ready to break her fall. But this wasn't a feinting spell. She still felt dizzy, but no more than she had a moment ago.

Cursed Epic had another secondary power. Must have been scared when he saw Megan, thought she might be backup.

She pulled herself back and up, making sure that she wasn't in the same place as the last time the Epic had seen her. Unless he was a complete idiot he'd probably have some way to see in this darkness but it didn't seem like he could fly. She hovered just out of arms reach, straining her ears for any sound, but it was her sense of touch that noticed the rapid movement of the Epic. The displaced air rushed past her, almost pulling her along in his wake.

She shot after him, arms waiting for any slight feel that would indicate a body for her to crush.

Light returned to the world just in time to alert her to the wall she was about to crash into. She forced herself to a stop mid-air, thanking Calamity for perhaps the thousandth time for the unique quirk of her ability that let her apply it uniformly across her body and prevent whiplash.

Perhaps a hundred feet away she saw a huddled shape, Megan knelt on the ground and seemed to be crying.

How can she do that in public? Impact marveled. Idiot girl.

She glided towards her sister, roughly jerked her hand up and growled to her in an authoritative tone.

"Come on. We need to talk."

Neverthere watched from a distance as the darkness vanished from the city. She'd managed to jump outside of the range of it, but she hadn't had enough time to guage the epicenter. But still, there were only two likely candidates. Two blank spots on the map that she had yet to explore.

"Now, Typhoon? Or the mystery man?" She wondered to herself. She projected into the sky above the city, looking down at it, towards the two locations.

"Well, who doesn't love a little mystery?" She said, vanishing from the sky into a wisp of mist.

[Ataraxian Wist]

Nate had just stepped outside of the bakery, and was finishing the last of the eight bagels he'd purchased, when something down the street caught his attention.

"What the...?" He wondered aloud. "Destination Doughnuts? That's an unfair name. Just glad I didn't notice it before I ate, or I might have overdosed on sugar and let the monster out." He shuddered. Last time he had eaten more than a serving of ice cream, he had never ended up finishing it. He had started policing peoples 's calories by Bloodlighting them to keep them from ever actually eating their ice cream. Granted, they had been perfectly pleased with him when they weren't busy phasing their spoons through the table or cutting - and regenerating - their suddenly weak mouths with them. That part had been painful.

Nate realized he had been saying parts of that thought out loud, and quickly slammed his mouth shut. It was easier to keep quiet when he was thinking about memories than when he had to process new information. It was not any easier to contain Bloodlight, however. He got even more distracted by remembering things than talking, which left him prone to silly accidents. He had to exercise constant vigilance, or he'd stub his toe and turn Epic.

"My boots are not in good repair. I mean, they're great boots, but I don't know when I'll be able to find another pair. I'll take the Saab to be safe. Traffic is so light, that's actually safer. Nice change."

Carefully pulling the key to his red 9000 Aero from the front pocket of his jeans, he unlocked the door, climbed in, and started the engine.

"I love that sound," he said as the engine roared to life.

Nate drove the few city blocks between the bakery and Destination Doughnuts, then parked the car. Climbing out, he noticed something he hadn't before: the door to the doughnut shop had been completely thrown from off its hinges, and was lying amid pieces of its glass front between him and the counter. "Bother. Gotta save the shoes." He grumbled, stepping carefully around the glass shards so as not to slide one under his foot and slip and fall to the ground, where the corpse of the door awaited him, bearing keys to unlock the cage that was his body and let out the monster he held there.

"No need to get all poetic now."

He turned his head sharply to find the source of the voice that spoke so knowingly to the the things in his head. Then he realized it had been his own voice, and his mouth still remembered the shape of the words coming out. Clamping his mouth shut so as not to appear insane - which he was definitely not - Nate finished moving into line. There were three people in front of him.

Nate looked at the doughnuts in the display case as he waited his turn. "Maple. Ha!" The man in front of him - not quite six feet tall, probably forty years old with a brown goatee and full head of neatly styled hair - chuckled at his joke.

"If there were also some vanilla flavor that would be quite ironic," the man commented.

Nate was about to ask how the man knew that term for non-Epic people, but one look at his face - specifically his reaction to what Nate's own face must have looked like - told him the man had already said too much and would not speak further on it. Nate nodded to show that he respected that, and returned to his mumbled inventory of the display case.

"Glazed... Bacon? Chocolate frosting... Pink frosting with sprinkles... CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE..." Nate had decided.

"One of those pink ones, with the sprinkles," the man in front of him said, then put some money on the counter and walked away.

"Must be a regular," Nate mumbled.

"How can I help you?" The man behind the counter asked.

"FOUR-HUNDRED-THOUSAND CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE DOUGHNUTS!" He said excitedly. Then he realized how much sugar that must have meant, and that he was not that rich, and that his stomach physically could not hold that many doughnuts, and that... He had said it alone. He looked around for Celia, but couldn't see her anywhere. "But she always says that with me..."

Nate suddenly realized that the man behind the counter was giving him a funny look.

"Or, ya know, just two. That will do."

Nate purchased the doughnuts and looked for a table to sit at. In a matter of moments, he had gone from cheery - albeit cautious - hopefulness to a familiar sense of despair that he knew the pastries would only worsen. He had always gone out for doughnuts with Celia before.

"And coffee, of course, though I generally didn't drink any myself because that was too risky."

He hadn't noticed before, but he suddenly realized that there was a peculiar texture to the air at the table behind him. As if... One of those Japanese cartoons - "an-ih-may" he recalled - had somehow been superimposed on reality. Nate noted, after a moment, that it was also affecting his table, and stretched even farther behind him, but the epicenter was definitely a girl at the table where he had first noticed it, with painfully - but also awesomely - bright purple and gold hair.

"Epic," he thought aloud. "And wait... Is that a girl?"

He was thinking softly, but he was sure one of them must have heard him by now. He wanted to bolt, rather than stick around and see what An-Ih-May Epic did. Unless they were a Canceler or an Assumer, he could probably take them, and he could even take the casualty count down by a significant amount, but... Well, he was in all likelihood more dangerous to the civilians as Bloodlight than she was. He was? They were.

Nate was sure they'd noticed hi now. If not An-Ih-May Epic, then surely one of their companions. There were three others at the table, including a bearded Canadian man, - at, least, if the stereotypes were at all accurate - another man who did not look like a stereotypical Canadian, and a young bright-eyed woman with curly black hair.

"Might as well introduce myself, with how long I've been staring at them," he muttered through his doughnut.

He swallowed, walking over and extending his hand to An-Ih-May Epic - whose gender he still could not determine to save his life - since they were the one who'd probably have felt his eyes boring into their head.

"Hey, noticed your, ah, aura. Pretty cool." He stammered. "I'm-Nate-please-don't-kill-any-innocents-right-now."

Edited November 29, 2018 by Ookla the Palindrome
Added picture.

[The Young Pyromancer]

Viktor blinked.  "You should probably avoid South Common, though it is not necessarily what it seems.  The biggest powers are probably the Epic known as Epoch, The Belt, an underground motivator group that has been lurking about, and the Epic known as Typhon.  There is also two other large groups, but they are mostly filled with rabble."  Viktor allowed a note of condescension into his words.  "There is a government of humans that only survives by bargaining with Epoch to the east, but they have barely any real power.  Oh, and there's us."  Viktor smiled and sipped his tea.  "I would say the city isn't very dangerous if you don't draw attention to yourself.  Most of the headstrong Epics left for Calgary long ago, or were 'disappeared'.  If you went around the border, by which I assume you mean the part inside the bubble, a lot of it is no man's land."  Viktor paused, considering.  Of course, he didn't actually have to pause.  He had already figured out the answer.  Viktor would unsettle the man if he answered a question like that right away.  "About five," he said slowly.  "And as to the number of Epics, I have no idea."

Viktor leaned forward.  "Now, I have a question for you.  What is your goal?"

Oh, and please don't burn fractals in the carpet."

Nicroburst shrugged.  "They are normal people.  They only survive due to making a bunch of deals with ERA.  I heard they were planning on arranging something with Steelheart of all people, but, well, obviously that didn't work out.  Honestly, I think they are kind of brave, to maintain independence like that."

"So what's with you?"

[+Ark1002]

"Goal?" Tendril smiled. "I want to survive, I want to live life how I want to. Currently, I'm just waiting for a good opportunity to show what I mean." He hovered further up, letting the chair drop, and smiled. "Any further clarification necessary?"

[the winter system]

Some guy wandered into the shop, mumbling and then contradicting himself all over the place. He didn’t even wait for his order, which was, like, totally stupid. One does not waste donuts.

Kokichi leaned back into their seat as he approached their table, the picture of relaxed elegance— oh, who were they kidding, they looked like a brightly colored hyperactive small bird that’d had an accident at the crayon factory.

The stranger stuck out his hand. He was probably important for some reason or another, so Kokichi grabbed it and energetically shook him up and down. 

"Hey, noticed your, ah, aura. Pretty cool.” They nodded, giving him a thumbs up with their free hand. "I'm-Nate-please-don't-kill-any-innocents-right-now." 

“Hi Nate-Please-Don’t-Kill-Any-Innocents-Right-Now, I’m Kokichi. This is my super bestie foreva, Lee, and these two are Jade and Nathan. We’ve been awkwardly trying to interrogate each other without admitting that’s what we’re doing for a bit now!”

They struck a cocky yet cute pose, charming but deniable if Nate-Please-Don’t-Kill-Any-Innocents-Right-Now was a straight faced bloke without a sense of humor. 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Nathan wasn't sure what to make of Nate. He was dressed normally enough, and looked normal enough, but most people didn't walk around narrating their own thoughts. Most people didn't order four hundred thousand chocolate-chocolate donuts, either, though it wasn't difficult to picture Jade doing that. 

Of course, in all his time among Epics, vanillas, and everyone in between, Nathan had never met anyone who'd adopted the moniker Please-Don't-Kill-Any-Innocents-Right-Now. Not that it was a bad addition to a name, especially in a city full of Epics inclined to ignore that request; it just wasn't one he'd ever heard before. 

Kokichi grabbed his hand and shook it with enough enthusiasm to catch anyone off-guard. “Hi Nate-Please-Don’t-Kill-Any-Innocents-Right-Now, I’m Kokichi. This is my super bestie foreva, Lee, and these two are Jade and Nathan. We’ve been awkwardly trying to interrogate each other without admitting that’s what we’re doing for a bit now!”

Jade's forehead hit the table as she let out a small but audible groan, and Nathan couldn't have argued if he'd wanted to. 

"We've told you we're not Canadian," he said with only a hint of the irritation he felt. "I'm not sure what more you want." 

[Hemalurgic Headshot]

Lee looked the newcomer up and down. Nate, huh, he thought. He couldn’t tell if Nate’s stammer was simply awkwardness or out of terror. The “please-don’t-kill-any-innocents-right-now” suggested the later.

“We’ve told you we’re not Canadian,” Nathan said, attempting to center the conversation again. “I’m not sure what more you want.” Beside him, Jade knocked her forehead on the tabletop. Liam could empathize.

He glanced around at the assembled group once more then sighed. “Well, if we’re being frank, I don’t entirely know what I want.” A thought crossed his mind. “Actually, there might be one thing. If you happen to possess some indispensable skills and have your evening free, I could use your assistance.” Liam nodded at Nate. “You too, since you’re here.” It was a bit too late now to get anything more out of the couple, so it was time to be blunt. Euphemistically.

[Ataraxian Wist]

“Well, if we’re being frank, I don’t entirely know what I want.” A thought crossed his mind. “Actually, there might be one thing. If you happen to possess some indispensable skills and have your evening free, I could use your assistance.” Liam nodded at Nate and added “you too, since you’re here.”

Nate did have some skills that, once known, could be considered indispensable. He had run point in all of the Survivors' Epic-killing missions and acted as ambassador in negotiations with the Epics they didn't kill, even before gaining his powers. But... Those last were the problem.

"... Can't let that happen," his muttered musings concluded. "Well, I do have some very useful skills, but... I might jeopardize the... Whatever-it-is you intend to do. Oh. And 'Please-Don't-Kill-Any-Innocents-Right-Now' isn't part of my name, I just nervous around other Epics."

Nate wasn't really a master of face-reading, but even he realized he had said too much. "... What... Did I say?"

[Voidus]

Wiping a stream of sweat from her forehead, Lexi leaned against the wall of a long-abandoned bookstore. The thin trails of dust tickling her throat as she took a deep, steadying breath.

Well, I think that's the last of them gone.

She'd managed to escape the last of the gang that was pursuing her, losing them in a momentary blackout that seemed to block out the sun.
She'd almost broked her neck trying to run without being able to see, but she'd been on enough supply runs in the dead of night that she was somewhat accustomed to navigating by touch.

She was about to start taking a roundabout route home, not wanting to risk any more people with guns chasing her, when she realized where she was.

"Destination Doughnuts?" She muttured, looking at the storefront.

Well they seem to have quite a few customers today. Guess they could stand to lose a couple.

She scouted out a few nearby back alleys, pulling a small sack out of one of her bags she managed to fund a few of what she was looking for. Their dirty grey bodies twisted in her grip as she tried to place them in the bag without being bitten.

After collecting a half dozen, she walked around the back of the doughnut store, using a nearby trash can she got enough of a vertical jump to pull herself over the roof as silently as she could manage. She shimmied carefully towards an open window, and slowly opened it, revealing a checkered tiled floor that was in need of a mopping and a urinal.

Men's bathroom? That'll do.

She dropped the sack in through the window, loosening the opening enough that they could get out, before throwing herself off the roof and into a roll, darting around a corner to see what happened. She gave it a minute or two before the rats made their way out into the main restaurant.

[kenod]

Kaitlin walked along the road looking at the city ahead. Seeing the amount of people increase she adjusted her hoodie, making sure it hid her face, trying to avoid drawing attention to the crystals in her skin. Not that it mattered of course, she thought, looking at the woman walking beside her. With her pink clothes, she was drawing looks from everybody around them. Kaitlin felt herself growing jealous. "Why can't I wear something like that," she thought to herself. Of course, if she knew the disturbed looks people would give her then, looking away as soon as they'd noticed her skin. The woman walking next to her noticed her looking at her, and turned around. "What, is there something on my face?" Neverthere asked, smiling. "Ah, no..." Kaitlin stammered quietly. "Wanted to ask how I keep my hair so nice? Trade secret I'm afraid." Neverthere said with a giggle. "Or did you have a question for me about the city?" "I did," Kaitlin said, slowly. "Well then, speak up a bit, I can't hear you like that." Neverthere said, leaning in towards Kaitlin's face. "Well, you didn't tell me how to get past the checkpoint," she answered. "Of course I didn't," Neverthere replied, tapping her foot on the ground. "I don't want to be seen at the checkpoint, and I want to see how you manage on your own." She smiled. "Of course, I expect that you won't tell them about me, right?" With that, she disappeared in a puff of mist. Sighing, Kaitlin started walking again, feeling everybody around her looking at her, shocked by the girl who just vanished.

Slowly Kaitlin walked towards the checkpoint. A guard moved towards her. "Can you take of your hood please, miss?" he asked. Kaitlin started thinking. Would she take the hood off? That would immediately show him she was an Epic. But if she didn't take it off, he'd probably send her away. Besides, he asked her, didn't he? She didn't want to offend him. While she was thinking the guard waved a second guard over, getting suspicious. Quickly, he threw back her hood. Immediately, Amethyst reacted. She summoned her shards, holding them at the throats of the guards. "Show no weakness," Margret's voice sounded in her head. "You're an Epic, those weaker than you should obey you. Kill all those who don't." But then, didn't Margret betray them? Amethyst stood there, motionless. "Kill them," she heard Marget say. "But the Epics here won't like that," she thought. "They insulted you, they need to pay." Margret again. "Neverthere might be disappointed in me." As soon as the though cross her mind, Margret's voice disappeared. Focusing, she saw the looks of the guards. Quickly, she pulled her crystal shards back. Trying to make herself seem in control, she started talking, unconsciously trying to sound the same as Margret. "I'll let you live, despite your insult. Tell your master I'm not looking for trouble with him, as long as he leaves me alone." With that, she walked past the checkpoint, trying to look in control, feeling the stares of the people around her. Quickly, she pulled her hood back up, trying to hiding her face. Even so, a small smile appeared on her face, happy that she managed to do this on her own. She started walking into the town, hoping that Neverthere would praise her for how she got in. On her hand a small shard of crystal slowly shrunk away.