Julia lay in her bed, her music blaring, drownding out her own thoughts. It was what she wanted though, it was all she could do to stay sane some times. As the disturbing images of her thoughts began to leave her head, there was a light rap on the door. She sighed as she ignored it, only to have a sound of wood splintering echoeing from her door at the obvious frustration of her visitor. Slightly annoyed, but still able to put on her bright spirits, she flung her slender legs off the bed and Pulled the door open.
Looking to be in her mid 20's, she stood at about average height, her full red lips curled into a smile, her eyes an auqa blue as clear as a mountain river. She wore tight jean shorts on her slender hips, loosly fitting tube socks, and a sports bra that held a modest bust. What was the most striking about her was her shoulderlength hair, a pearl white as pure as snow.
Shouting over the loud heavy metal that had just increased in volume when she opened the door, she greeted the youth in a bright tone, "Hi! Is there something I can help you with!?!?"
Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks, having been caught before he could make his escape. Thinking quickly, he nervously rose the volume of his voice to stellar heights, trying to convey a sense of annoyance and anger.
"Y, yeah! You better run!" he hollered, shaking his fist at the end of the hallway. Then, with all the acting chops of a daytime soap star, he feigned shock at the voice behind him. "Oh! I didn't see you there."
"I was just coming back from a, uh, concert.. 'cause, you know, I love music! Yeah, can't.. can't get enough of it.. Anyways, saw some kid beating on your door!" he explained, complete with elaborate hand gestures. But when he noticed the large sliver of wood stuck in the palm of his hand, he quickly shoved them into his jean pockets. "And, I, uh.. chased him away. Darn teenagers, huh?"
Julia caught a quick glance at the youth's newly bruised hand and and giggled as he shoved them into his pockets. The boy didn't look more than 20, and yet exceptionally strong for his aparent age.
She grinned and indulged him, "Yeah... Teenagers. Real hell raisers they are," she said with a wink. "But I can understand. My music's a little loud." She went back inside, the door slowly swinging open as she left it ajar, and she lowered the volume to a more conservative level. Her tiny studio was rather neat with the belongings she lacked to clutter it. A closet, a futon, a TV and a small dresser with a laptop and her rather sizable stereo on top of it. As she turned back to him, she spied her utility belt stern on the floor, and quickly kicked it under the bed, hoping he didn't notice.
Walking quickly back to the entrance. she gave him another smile, drawing his eyes to hers as she greeted him more propperly.
"I'm Julia Wright. Nice to meet you. Do you live in these apartments or do you just chase away unruly teenagers and do good deeds like everyone else?"
He edged closer to the open doorway, peeking in on her. Unlike his place, there was actually a sense of interior design working in the room. He chalked it up to the feminine touchings of its owner. There was always some show on where a high-class woman was turning crap into gold. When she returned to the hallway, he moved back to give her some space.
"Ah, you know how it is in this city. Everybody's gunning for the keys to the city," he replied, grinning, obviously thinking he had successfully duped her with his hackneyed story. "Oh, sorry, forgot.. the name's Sebastian Stevens. I live across the hall." He turned to regard his door, drawing her attention to it as well.
"So, cool music you're listening to.. Who is it?" he asked, wiping the bloodshot from his eyes in an attempt to hide his lack of sleep.
Not far from where they were standing a door flew open, and from the doorway stepped a man wearing a pair of orange pajama pants, and a yellow sleeveless undershirt. He also was wearing an orange rebreather which glowed with yellow light from the vents. His hair was a mussy brownish-red, and his eyes glowed yellow. He turned to the pair standing in the hall, giving them a sharp glare.
"The music isn't enough is it? You have to go and bust down doors and talk loudly? Some people have to have their sleep or it gets veeeery unpleasant," said the man. He then sneezed and a burst of yellow energy blew from his rebreather and busted a hole into the wall opposite his apartment.
"Well, crap. That guy is gonna be pissed. You see what lack of sleep does?"
It was at this point the door to the room with the newly formed hole opened, revealing a slightly annoyed, 8 foot tall man in gold armor.
"More annoyed than pissed, seeing as I'm trying to find a better place."
He looked at the hole and sighed. "I'm not even going to try to get that fixed."
Her smile instantly sunk at the mention of her music. She didn't really care what it was, just so long as it was loud and abnoxious. She leaned against door, now fully ajar, and sighed, a somewhat blank stare on her face as she looked down at their feet.
"I... I don't know what it is... I just turn it on... to distract myself... from things."
She brushed a lock of snowy white hair from her face, and looked back up at him, trying to put her smile back on.
"Well, Sebastian. Can I invite you in? Maybe for a cup of coffee? I'm kind of a night owl, so I tend to forget other people are trying to sleep at this hour."
Leaving the door and her invitation open, she walked over to the TV and switched it to the news, where yet another righteous hero stood triumphantly over a defeated villain. Smirking at the report, she strolled over to the tiny walk in kitchen and began pulling out her french press coffee maker, searching for anything else that might classify as breakfast.
He then turned to the tall gold man.
"Hey, dude, how do you sleep like that? Isn't the armor kinda uncomfortable?" he commented as he grabbed another rebreather and replaced the scorched one on his face. "Well, anyway. Can you believe these guys? They make a ruckus and don't even listen when someone tries to complain. I tell ya what. I'll call the super in the morning and tell him that some stupid Hellions broke your wall. Sound good?"
Noticing the others coming out to complain, he quickly accepted the offer. Not so much for the company, but just to get away from perhaps being the next thing that ended up with an energy-blasted hole through it.
"Hope that guy never gets a cold," he mumbled, shutting the door behind him.
"Coffee? Um.." Bastian had never had any before. "Sure, 'cause.. coffee is good. Yum!" He smached his forehead, embarassed at his actions. But forcing himself not to dwell, he moved further inside, looking around for a place to sit.. not really realizing he hadn't been invited to. But what were you going to do? He was just a kid.
"I used to be up nights, but I ended up sleeping half the day and feeling like I'd missed something," he called into the kitchen. "Nice place you've got here! You must've lucked out, mine's a craphole."
He blinked. Did he really just say 'craphole?'
The golden man held his arm up and willed the armor to melt back.
"Its more of a second skin...and I sleep standing up. As for the hole...yea, we'll blame the hellions." He looked toward the pair as they went into the woman's room.
"I think I'll go complain to them again. Hope that...uh...cold or whatever made you sneeze like that gets better."
Haunt shuffled into the building, still sore from an earlier encounter with the Banished Pantheon that day. He'd been living in Paragon for a while, but hadn't learned about the heroes housing program until he'd registered after the Rikti War, and even then he thought that he didn't need one, focusing all of his efforts on rebuilding the city and catching the two hours of daily sleep he needed in whatever safe place he could find. For a while he'd been spending this time in Hide Park, but after wasting half the day trying to locate his com that a band of clockwork had stolen while he was asleep, he decided finding a somewhat more secure place was neccessary.
He'd been assigned a room in the apartment building earlier that day, a small place with a mini-fridge, bed, stove, and television set, just as he'd requested. He was going through the building, barely aware of the crackle of cheap televisions and the hum of some of the technological heroes' chargers, but overriding them all was a loud racket coming from his hallway.
"No Eidolon, we're not asking for someplace else. It was nice enough of them to provide the room, especially considering the fact that we have jobs," he mumbled to the shadowy face at his shoulder. True, he had requested a room before joining First Strike Security's operative program, but the point still stood.
He continued down the hall, noticing four people, two of which entered the room the music was coming from as he approached. He recognized Riv, a fellow Operative, and turned to him after reaching the remaining two heroes.
"Hey, I didn't know you had an apartment here too," he said, still sounding somewhat out of it, apparently in need of some sleep, and not bothering to raise his voice above the music.
Julia raised an eyebrow at his comment about "yummy" coffee. Pressing the grinds through the steaming water, she took the device and poured two cups. She gave him a smile as he looked about, looking for a place to rest his tush.
"I used to drink it to wake up in the evenings because there's no sun. Now I'm just kind of used to it. You can sit on the bed, if you like... I don't really have any chairs. Don't really have the need for them when that futon doubles as a couch."
Placing a couple slices of bread into the toaster, she came back into the main room, and offered him the mug of black murky liquid. Pushing slightly on the edge of the bed, the other side propped up to create a comfortable sitting bench. Reaching over to turn off the stereo and then taking a seat, she took a delicate sip of her coffee and watched the news. She continued to smirk and shake her head dissapointingly as superheros thwarted the petty crimes of the street punks, making their high and lofty accomplishments known to the starving media.
"So, What makes you want to be a crime fighter kid? I'm assuming this complex is still a housing developement for 'superheros', right?"
A girl giving him something to drink, inviting him to sit on her bed.. Sebastian was sure he'd seen this one the Turner Classic Movies channel. Say what you will about the government's standards of living for their heroes, at least they splurged for cable.
He took the mug, taking a seat on the converted futon at the opposite end, doing his best to immitate the men he'd seen on TV as he crossed his legs.
"Well, it's kind of personal.. Not, like, 'Gasp, I must hide my secret!' personal. Just probably kind of boring," he shrugged, taking a sip, and almost sputtering at the taste. "Wooah, that's.. good! Strong." A little cough, before he sat the mug aside.
"Guess I'm just trying to see if someone like me can make a difference," he answered, turning his attentions to the television. Pre-recorded footage of a hero hitting on the woman he'd just rescued from a burning building was being played during a montage of that month's greatest heroic deeds.
"Definitely not to meet girls, at least. Some people.." He shook his head, before glancing over to Julia. "Then again, I guess I do get to meet some interesting people. So, what about you? It's not because of the glamorous lifestyle, is it?" he asked with a laugh, motioning at the 'splendor' of the room. You'd think Paragon would try to put its protectors up someplace with a few more amenities.
Julia took another sip, and diverted her attention from the television for a moment. "I guess... mine is personal too... Not supposed to talk about it really. I've always wanted to make Paragon a better place to live. Didn't really know what I was getting into before it was too late. But now it's all I know how to do, so there's no backing out. To stain thy hand with the blood of justice..." she trailed off, as if reciting something. Throwing her head back, she relaxed, looking up at the ceiling as if to find some meaning in it that would explain everything to her.
A low beeping sound came from her closed laptop and a red right blinked dimly. As if coming out of a trance, Julia snapped to complete awareness, leaping of the couch and over to the tiny portable computer. Lifting up the screen, she intently read for a moment, then typed in what seemed to be a furious reply. Jumping back to the kitchen to turn off the coffee pot, she raced over to the now comfortable youth.
"I'm sorry Sebastian, but duty calls... You understand, right?" Quickly ushering him out the door and granting him a vibrant smile, "It was nice meeting someone in this complex. I don't get out much since I work at night. Hope to see you again." And she slammed the door almost right in his face as he heard the toaster pop from the kitchen.
((my first time doing this so if it is not great sorry 
))
" We should be at the PC in five min lil' Dude." The words came for a young tired guy named Sonney. He was proped on a small Wal-Mart bag against the window of the tram. The little boy looked at him dumbfounded saying, " How do you know mister. I didnt hear anybody say we were near Paragon City,ain't they post to say that?"
Sonney turned towards the boy. He brushed his long blonde wavey hair out of his bronze completiton face and smiled at the kid. " Well lil' Bro I think the Conductor Dude will say it in 5....4.....3.....2...." Then over the speakers of the tram a deep dull voice came over and annouced with no excitement in his words, " We will be in Paragon City, the city of the worlds greatests heroes, in five minutes! I repeat we will be in Paragon City in five minutes! So please get your things ready!"
Sonney smiled at the young boy and turned back to prop his head back on the window.The young boy looked at the man in awe.
6 Minutes Later
Sonney stood at about 5'9. He wore a fitted tshirt with torn jean shorts. He looked like a typical surfer from California. He stepped of the tram with his Wal-Mart bag looking and observing his surroundings, seeing heros flying passing him left and right.
Bro, you came here to change your life and be a known hero. No turning back now, bro.
Sonney begin to walked toward the busy streets of Paragon City but stopped because he felt a togging on his shirt. He turned around and saw the kid who was sitting next to him. "Hey mister, that was cool thing you did back there. Are you a hero?Whats your name?" Sonney chuckled at the fact that this was the first time someone called him a hero. He smiled and said, "Yeh lil' bro I guess I am a hero and my name...." Sonney thought for a minute. He wanted his named to be catching and orginal, something that told his background. He looked at the boy and said the first thing that came to mind, "Cerebro Tsunami."
Sonney smiled at little boy and then touched his temple and he was off. A beautiful shimer of light trailing him as he ran yelling back to boy, "Later, lil Bro." Trying to look all cool for the boy he didnt not notice the pole he was running straight towards. In a matter of seconds Sonney hit the boy thinking to himself Man bro you need to work on yo flashy exits dude He looked at the pole he just hit and notice an ad for an apartment for heroes on fifth called the Whitmoore Apartment Building. " Cool tools, I thought I would be living on the streets. I thinking I am going to like it here in the PC," Sonney said aloud. With a quick touch of his temple he was off towards the apartment building smiling with a boyish excitment on his face.
Bro dont forget about those poles. Sonney chuckled.
((Sorry for the long intro but i will be getting to the apartment soon))
"Not a problem! You should come over some time, I'll repay you for the.." And the door shut in his face. "..coffee." Sebastian glanced over to the small group that had sprung up since his incident with the door, who were now all looking at him.
"I had coffee," he remarked with a sheepish grin, before rushing to get inside his own place before they remembered exactly who he was. Then again, once they did realize, they'd now also know where he lived..
But he tried not to think about it, instead latching the door behind him and heading for the couch. The ratty furniture was a welcome sight as exhaustion crept in again, Sebastian falling face first into the patchwork cushions.
With a hefty sigh, he tilted his chin up, focusing on the black and white photo of his little brother, smiling and enjoying the day as he played ball with his adoptive father.
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "Laugh all you want. Let's see how suave and sophisticated you are in ten years." Once again burying his face in the cushion, Sebastian fished around the edge of the couch, feeling for a half-empty water bottle he'd left there before trying to get some sleep.
And now that the music was gone, he could go back to doing just that. Finally feeling the familiar shape of the bottle, he casually lobbed it over his shoulder to hit the lightswitch. His accuracy was dead-on, leading one to believed he'd done something similar many nights in the past.
With the lights off, the teen finally allowed himself to drift back to sleep. He just hoped nothing else would come up to interrupt his biological clock. He had a long day tomorrow.
"Hey Haunt...yea, I've got a place here...don't use it much though. I've been thinking of getting a place closer to the office actually. You here to get a bit of free room?"
Sonney finally made it to the Whitmoore Apertment Building hitting another pole along his way. He walked toward the place wondering where he should be going or what he is doing there in the first place. Bro you most of hit that pole real hard. You are here to get a place dude. Sonney began talking to himself not knowing he just walked right pass the night guard.
"Sir! Sir, may I help you," the gaurd now running toward Sonney yelling! Sonney psychic mind finally noticed the guard and turned around. (( Sonney powers are new to him so he is not use to his new mind senses))
The guard look at Sonney with bewilderment on his face" Sir this apartmen...." Cutting him off Sonney said, " Yeh I know old bro, I dont look like a hero but I am one, dude. My costume is in the bag." He began to pull out a full body wetsuit with a logo of wave on it out of his bag. " I know it is not much bro, but didnt have any money to get me anything flashy."
"The heroes of this city become stranger everyday," the guard thought to himself. "Hey I heard that," Sonney said.
"Well my name is Mr. Green, so don't call me bro anymore. Here is the key to the room down the hall on the 7th floor." Mr. Green looked at Sonney and smiled and went back to his job.
Sonney took the key and walked into the building. It wasnt that bad of a place. He was just glad he found a place were he could lay his head down at. Sonney walked up to the 7th floor greeting heroes as he passed. Some spoke back and some didnt but he was use to some of the rudness from where he was from. At last he made it to his floor. He looked down the hallway and it was deserted only with some small rubble and dust on the floor where he noticed a large hole in the wall. He peeked into and saw a tall golden armored figure standing in his room. Cool threads , Sonney thought to himself and left the huge hole in the door and headed for his room. Once he entered in his room he threw his bag on the floor and fell on top of bed. He was tired and he wanted to sleep something he hasnt done since his new found mind abilities. Bro once you get some money you will get a flasy armor like golden bro back there. Sonney thought to himself as his mind faded dreaming about riding the waves back home in California.
((sorry I didnt know the floor or the room numbers so i just made it up...If it is different I will edited it)
**WHAMMO**
The entire apartment building shuddered for a moment, and a hall on the first floor gained a brand-new impression almost, but not quite, in the shape of a person.
"Ow." She stated, pulling herself out of the wall, bits of mortar and shards of brick sifting down out of the hole. "That's a nice check there. Here, lemme cash it." With a grating sound, the dust, pieces of brick, and a few rocks nearby gravitated towards her hand, still encased in its heavy metallic glove, and formed what had to be the mother of all sledgehammers.
The Troll blinked up at the very large woman, abruptly realizing that there might have been a reason the leader had told him to follow her, not to try and beat her up. Moments (and another resounding *WHAM*) later, he was driven up to his waist in the concrete by an overhead blow.
"That'll learn ya." The huge, yellow-skinned woman stated. Not that the [Censored] could hear it, but....
As she dissipated the hammer back into more or less a cloud of dust, she mused that the Trolls were really learning to hate her. I mean, really, following me all the way from Skyway City? She'd have to watch out for tails next time around. Extra ones, that is. She noted, her rather reptilian appendage swaying slightly behind her as she strode to the steps of the apartment.
"Oyo, Mr. Green." She greeted the man, pulling out her registry card from one side of her black bustier to show to him.
"Evening, Destroya. Having a bit of trouble?" It hadn't taken the guard long to get used to the large woman's direct manner. The black skull-mask had bothered him a little longer, but really, it seemed to fit her.
"Aaaah, nothin' th' cops can't handle as they come 'round when ya call."
Mr. Green nodded, stepping out of the way of the yellow behemoth, as she ducked to fit in the door. As usual, her stiff, spikey blue hair brushed the doorframe, almost taking a splinter or two with it.
While tromping up the stairs, she noted that the second floor music junkie had finally turned it down for once, and chuckled as she removed one of her heavy, mechanical-looking gauntlets. "I swear, 'sabout time. Can't never get any sleep 'round here withhat goin' on."
She paused at the second floor for a moment, noticing the gathering.
"Oy, what is this, a hall party er somethin'?"
((I said I'd do it, so.. here it is. The following is the opening post to what will hopefully be yet another big group-RP for the boards. It works on the basic assumption that the Paragon City government has offered to house its heroes for free in exchange for their service, but that they started running out of room and had to buy up tons of property, not all of which is top grade. This RP in particular takes place solely at the Whitmoore Apartment Building. You can read more about it here. So, withour further ado..))
Sebastian Stevens couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the memory of his past that kept him up; the fear that he could fall asleep and wake up having missed an entire portion of his life. Perhaps it was the haunting faces of the victims of Paragon City that appeared on the nightly news, as if taunting the heroes that couldn't save them. Or maybe it was the blaring music coming from across the hall.
Yeah, that was probably it.
He'd actually put up with it the last couple of nights. After all, a seventeen year old who couldn't party seemed a little odd. But under these circumstances, anyone would eventually crack. And the funny thing was, the people in this building were other heroes! You'd think they'd have a little common courtesy for their own kind.
This was what Bastian continued to repeat in his head as he approached the offending apartment. He wasn't the most forward person, and if he didn't practice what he was going to say, he just knew he'd end up stumbling over his words and come off looking like a schmuck.
A quick knock was given, but there was no answer. Thinking he hadn't been heard, Sebastian beat his fist against the sturdy slab of wood -- which turned out not to be as sturdy as he thought, when his enhanced muscle strength kicked in and left a large, cracked indentation in the surface.
Muttering a curse he'd learned from one of the local gangs, Sebastian fidgeted in place. In light of the recent turn of events, he decided it would be best to go hide in his room. But before he could get two steps from the scene of the crime, the door was already opening...
((Feel free to jump on in. Wee.))